1870년대 일본의 ‘정한’ 계획과 동해안

Abstract

In 1872, before the theory of “conquest of Korea” boiled over in Japan, Army General Saigo Takamori was setting up a military operation for “conquest of Korea”. He tried to prevent the outbreak of civil war caused by misgovernment through the “conquest of Korea”. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Taneomi Soejima, argued for an imperialist “conquest of Korea” theory as part of the conquest of the East and formulated his own “conquest of Korea” strategy. These strategies of Saigo and Soejima were flawed. They did not have information on ports where warships could land in northeastern Korea. Before this flaw could be overcome, Saigo, Soejima, and the other “conquest of Korea” sect were defeated in a political war. However, Soejima’s ideas for “conquest of Korea” were passed on to Hisato Sewaki, Shigeru Moriyama, and others within the Foreign Ministry. Sewaki attempted to infiltrate northeastern Korea to find a suitable port and investigate the process of using it for military operations, but opposition within the Foreign Ministry prevented him from doing so. Meanwhile, Moriyama attempted gunboat diplomacy following the example of Admiral Perry of the United States. Captain Yoshika Inoue, the commander of the Unyo warship, was dispatched for this purpose, surveyed the waterways around Busan and the east coast, revealed that warships could enter Yeongheung Bay, and resolved the northeastern port problem. In addition, upon hearing that gunboat diplomacy was not effective in Moriyama, Inoue loaded up with ammunition with the intention of causing an incident, and began investigating the waterways on the south and west coasts of Korea. Finally, he surveyed the waterways of Ganghwa Island, which he had heard was a fortress, and engaged in an artillery battle with the Korea defenders. Upon hearing of the Ganghwa Island incident, the Russian Minister, Takeaki Enomoto, regarded it as a “cause for war” and called for the Japanese Government to capture Busan, deliver an ultimatum, march to the capital, and land in Yeongheung Bay to disturb Korea. However, the Japanese government only proceeded with its gunboat diplomacy and concluded the Treaty of Ganghwa Island. Around this time, Enomoto obtained information that Russia was planning to seize Wonsan and informed the Foreign Ministry. The Japanese government insisted on using Yeongheung Bay as an open port to deter Russian expansion, and obtained the consent of the Korean Government, which showed reluctance. Yongheung Bay was an important place in the perspective of military operations for Japan both in terms of “conquest of Korea’’ and international politics.