ABSTRACT
Introduction China, Korea, and Japan were confronted with modernization in East Asia by being drawn into the system of unequal treaties as the result of the forced opening of their countries after long periods of seclusion. The Treaty of Nanjing in 1841, the Treaty of Peace and Amity signed between the United States and Japan in 1854, along with the Treaty of Friendship signed between Japan and Korea in 1876, signified the beginning of that process.
