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Period: to
Taewongun's Isolation Policy
Cause:
Due to the increase in Christianity and other foreign people,e Taewongun held an isolation policy that refused to allow ay other people within the counrty unless they were Chinese. He strongly believed that the West was not beneficial and held faith in Korea's military, which was in fact lacking compared to the West.
Effect:
Following China's poor example, Taewongun's isolation policy brought detrimental effects to Korea. It met strong opposition from the scholars who knew that there was -
Period: to
Taewongun's Isolation Policy (continued)
Effects (continued):
a lot to learn from the West, such as technology, political rulings, social structures, economics and philosophies. Since Taewongun rejected all these ideas, Korea lost the chance to develop while the Japanese were developing to their needs. This created the background for Korea to be annexed without much struggle. -
Meiji Restoration
Cause:
Matthew Perry came to Japan with modern technology and forced the Shogun to give up his power. Angered by this, the shi-shi stood up adn formed an organization that would focus on modernizing Japan. They tried to reduce the gap between Japan and the West, through abolishing hierarchy, developing technology, imperializing other countries, and forming an army through conscription.
Effect:
It was through this modernization that Japan was able to be more advanced than Korea. -
Meiji Restoration (continued)
Effect (continued):
If it were not for the Meiji Restoration, then Japan would have been far back in military and technology as much as Korea, thus not being able to overpower them. However, the pressuring difference that Japan felt between Matthew Perry and themselves facilitated them to achieve for an advanced society, which allowed them to take over Korea. -
Kanghwa Treaty
Cause:
Due to the isolation policy adopted by Taewongun, Korea refused to open its ports to foregn powers. However, Japan wanted more markets to trade with so that their wealth will grow.
Effect:
Japan used Matthew Perry's method of overpowering Korea through military technology, and forced them to open their ports. The Kanghwa Treaty represented the weakness of Korea. Their attempts to stand up to Japan was futile, and it opened a pathway for Japan to annex Korea in the future. -
Tonghak Rebellion
Cause:
Due to harsh taxes on the peasants and corrupt government officials or the yangbans, the peasants decided to start a rebellion. Their founding belief "Donghak (Tonghak)" comes from the emphasis on equality of all human beings. Fueled with this belief, the peasants started an uprising.
Effect:
Since Korea did not have the military power to stop the peasants, it requested help from China and Japan. This rebellion allowed foreign troops into Korea, which facilitated the annexation of Korea
