FROM JOSEON TO KOREA: KOREA AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Source: The Booklovers Magazine, 1904
Korea’s autonomy came under severe threat in 1876 with the Treaty of Ganghwa, imposed by Japan under military pressure. This unequal treaty forced Korea to open three ports to Japanese trade, granted extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens, and marked the beginning of systematic foreign interference in Korea’s internal affairs. Subsequent treaties followed, including the 1882 Joseon–United States Treaty, which established diplomatic and trade relations. Although less coercive than the Ganghwa Treaty, it also granted the U.S. extraterritorial privileges and “most favored nation status.” Studies suggest that with the ratification of the 1882 treaty, Korea adopted a national flag. While records do not confirm which flag was used at the signing, some sources indicate it may have resembled the ensign depicted in Flags of Maritime Nations (1882). Emperor Gojong officially promulgated the design in 1883, featuring a taegeuk circle—a red-and-blue symbol representing the balance of cosmic forces—surrounded by four black trigrams, known as the Taegeukgi, as the national flag.[1] For further information on the Taegeukgi, please refer to the Primary Source Materials section (pp. 35–36).
Over the following decades, Korea’s autonomy continued to erode. Additional treaties with Western powers—including the United Kingdom and Germany (1883), Italy and Russia (1884), and France (1886)—opened ports and granted extraterritorial rights, incrementally limiting Korea’s control over trade and legal matters.
In 1897, Gojong, the last king of Joseon (조선, 1392–1897) and first Emperor, proclaimed the Korean Empire, officially changing the nation’s name from Joseon in an effort to assert Korea’s autonomy. The new empire, Daehan Jeguk (대한제국), lasted until 1910, when Japan forcibly annexed the peninsula, ending Korean sovereignty.
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] The National Flag – Taegeukgi, [South Korean] Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Over the following decades, Korea’s autonomy continued to erode. Additional treaties with Western powers—including the United Kingdom and Germany (1883), Italy and Russia (1884), and France (1886)—opened ports and granted extraterritorial rights, incrementally limiting Korea’s control over trade and legal matters.
In 1897, Gojong, the last king of Joseon (조선, 1392–1897) and first Emperor, proclaimed the Korean Empire, officially changing the nation’s name from Joseon in an effort to assert Korea’s autonomy. The new empire, Daehan Jeguk (대한제국), lasted until 1910, when Japan forcibly annexed the peninsula, ending Korean sovereignty.
Submitted by Sung Sohn
[1] The National Flag – Taegeukgi, [South Korean] Ministry of the Interior and Safety.