On Sin-Hon’s Shimhaeng Diary And The Treaty Of Ganghwa

This thesis, on the basis of Sin-Hon’s ShimHaeng Diary as well as the latest research results on the Treaty of Ganghwa, focuses on Korea’s attitude and position in Ganghwa negotiation, tries to review the Treaty of Ganghwa from Korea’s position and understanding, and recovers the real process of Ganghwa negotiation as completely as possible.This thesis is divided into five chapters.The first chapter mainly clarifies the purpose and significance of the research, research status, research methods and thesis structure.The second chapter introduces Sin-Hon, and expounds the value and significance of ShimHaeng diary as the premise and foundation of this research. As Korea’s negotiation officer, Sin-Hon recorded the process of Ganghwa negotiation in details in ShimHaeng Diary on the first line. ShimHaeng Diary is a rare precious first-hand historical data for researching Ganghwa negotiation process and the Treaty of Ganghwa. We can understand the real situation of Korea during the negotiation more directly and vividly through ShimHaeng Diary. Sin-Hon had positive attitude to learning and introducing the advanced western technology, and took the lead in practicing them actively. For Sin-Hon, the Treaty of Ganghwa is port opening and trade treaty aimed to seek Korea’s richness and power, seek Korea’s autonomy and independence.The third chapter expounds Korea’s success in implementing their positions and claims in Ganghwa negotiation, expounds Sin-Hon and Korea government’s explanation and understanding on the Treaty of Ganghwa according to ShimHaeng Diary’s records. ShimHaeng Diary’s records show that Korea understood the Treaty of Ganghwa in traditional position.For them, the Treaty of Ganghwa is a document for restoring Korea and Japan’s old relationship. They have been sticking to and carrying out the positions and claims successfully during the negotiation.The fourth chapter reviews Korea internal factors on the Treaty of Ganghwa, reconsidering the historical position of the Treaty of Ganghwa in Korea’s position. Signing of the Treaty of Ganghwa not only has the external factors like Japanese threat and the Qing government’s attitude, but also has the internal factors such as the civilized idea that inherit and develop its inherent practical thoughts and the king’s will, the role of the internal factors could not be ignored. Korea deemed the Treaty of Ganghwa as old relation’s recovery, not the beginning of a new national relationship. Or we can say, they wanted to understand and accept the Treaty of Ganghwa as recovering and continuing the old relationship.The fifth chapter is the conclusion of this thesis.