| This background study of the origins of United States-Korean relations, from the beginnings of American involvement in Korea in 1866 to the signing of the Shufeldt Treaty in 1882, places the role Americans and their activity in "opening" Korea within the context of a shifting pattern of East Asian international relations. While presenting Korea's desire to preserve its seclusion and the principal tenets of its traditional foreign policy of sadae chui with China and kyorin with Japan, it also investigates the continuous external pressure Korea faced from the leading Western powers as well as the basic character of Sino-Japanese rivalry over Korea.;In the final analysis, the United States's policy toward Korea could not proceed solely from American initiative. It was inextricably bound up with the changing network of international relations linking Korea with China and Japan.;Research for this study required Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, and American sources. It was done with the idea of attempting to study American diplomatic history in conjunction with the histories of other countries and their inter-relationships.;During the period 1866 to 1882, the purpose of the United States remained the same: to effect a treaty which would protect mariners and promote commerce. However, the methods for achieving this treaty shifted through three stages: (1) from 1866 to 1868, which dealt with the search for the General Sherman and a treaty through Chinese cooperation; (2) from 1870 to 1871, which sought direct contact with the Korean government and used force in an attempt to resolve the issue; and (3) from 1880 to 1882, which relied on diplomacy and sought first the "good offices" of Japan and then of China. |
