Joseon diplomacy

Joseon diplomacy was the foreign policy of Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1392 through 1910; and its theoretical and functional foundations were rooted in Neo-Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, institutions and philosophy.[1]

This long-term, strategic policy of sadae diplomacy (serving the great) characterized the Joseon-Chinese relations in this period. This contrasts with Joseon's gyorin diplomacy (neighborly relations) in its relations with Japan and others.[2] For example, envoys from the Ryūkyū Kingdom were received by Taejo of Joseon in 1392, 1394 and 1397. Siam sent an envoy to Taejo's court in 1393.[3]

Taejo of Joseon established the "Kingdom of Great Joseon" in 1392-1393, and he founded the Joseon Dynasty which would retain power on the Korean peninsula for five hundred years. As an initial step, a diplomatic mission was dispatched to China and to Japan in 1402. Subsequent missions developed and nurtured the contacts and exchanges between these neighboring countries.

A diplomatic mission conventionally consisted of three envoys—the main envoy, the vice-envoy, and a document official. Also included were one or more official writers or recorders who created a detailed account of the mission.[4]

In the 20th century, the Joseon Dynasty's bilateral relations were affected by the increasing numbers of international contacts which required adaptation and a new kind of diplomacy.[5]

Although conventionally mislabeled as the "Hermit kingdom", Joseon's sophisticated foreign policy initiatives belie the aptness of this term.

List of Joseon diplomatic envoys

Recognition in the West

The historical significance of some of these scholar-bureaucrats were confirmed when their missions and their names were specifically mentioned in a widely distributed history published by the Oriental Translation Fund in 1834.[6]

In the West, early published accounts of the Joseon kingdom are not extensive, but they are found in Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (published in Paris in 1832),[7] and in Nihon Ōdai Ichiran (published in Paris in 1834). Joseon foreign relations and diplomacy are explicitly referenced in the 1834 work; and some of the diplomats names are also identified.

See also

Notes

References

External links

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