Late Joseon Korea and the Korean Empire

The Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876 forced Joseon Korea into a new system of foreign trade and diplomatic relations. Reformers, conservatives and court factions disagreed over how to respond to pressure from Japan, Qing China, Russia and Western powers. Attempts at administrative and military reform repeatedly collided with domestic rebellion and foreign intervention.

The assassination of Queen Min in 1895 revealed the violence surrounding Japanese influence at court. King Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897 in an effort to assert sovereignty and accelerate reform, but Japan imposed a protectorate after the Russo-Japanese War and compelled Gojong to abdicate in 1907. Formal annexation followed in 1910.

Pearl S. Buck’s The Living Reed begins in 1881 and follows the Kim family through court crisis, the murder of Queen Min and the destruction of the old political order.