ABSTRACT
The opening up of Korea by Japan in 1876 was a major turning point in the history of the Far East, effecting the entire course of the political developments in the area. Korea, a small peninsular country of the Far East, possesses a rich and unique culture of its own with “a long historical heritage and national tradition.” The policy of isolation and keeping away from the strange civilization of the West was stubbornly executed even after some decades when China and Japan had been opened by the West. A restricted mutual trade and commerce also existed at the specified border towns between Korea and China through licensed merchants mainly in the form of barter exchanges. “Korea’s geographical location, its relative military weakness throughout most of its history, and the foreign invasions of the past justified the bare minimum of dealing with its immediate neighbors.
