Shin Dong-choon, President of the National Union for Free Unification, Doctor of Public Administration   The Korean Peninsula has historically and geographically been forced to survive amidst the influence of great powers. Until the Imjin War, the influence of China and Mongolia to the north was overwhelming, but by the late Joseon Dynasty, with the westward expansion of Western powers, it became a stage for the rivalry between maritime powers (Japan, the United States, Britain, etc.) and continental powers (China, Russia, etc.).

In places where the powers clash, survival is only possible with diplomatic capabilities and national strength, supported by an objective and stern understanding of international affairs. The Joseon Dynasty lacked the necessary capabilities, ultimately leading to its demise like the setting sun, and becoming a colony of Japan. Therefore, it is important for us, living in the Republic of Korea today, to reflect deeply on the state management of the Joseon Dynasty and learn from its mistakes.

Did the Joseon Dynasty provide for its people? The economy was extremely impoverished, and many people often survived by eating grass and bark. In the latter half of the Joseon Dynasty, numerous peasant uprisings occurred across the country. Far from feeding the people, corrupt officials imposed harsh taxes (e.g., "Hwanggu Cheomjeong," where taxes were levied even on infants, and "Bangnap," where officials paid for tribute items and resold them to the people at inflated prices). Hence, the righteous official Yi Mong-ryong wrote a poem denouncing the tyranny of Magistrate Byeon.

The fine wine in the golden goblet is the blood of ten thousand commoners,

The delicious food on the jade plate is the fat of ten thousand commoners.

As the candle's wax drips, so do the commoners' tears fall,

As the songs rise higher, so do the voices of resentment.

Did the Joseon Dynasty possess an army and weaponry sufficient to defend the nation? During the Imjin War, the Japanese forces were already armed with arquebuses and arrived in Hanyangseong with little resistance from Busan. The government troops, composed of peasants, suffered repeated defeats due to lack of training, insufficient weaponry, and being outnumbered. As a last resort, commoners, including righteous armies and Buddhist soldiers, resisted the enemy. The nobility's noblesse oblige was rarely evident.

What did the Yangban aristocracy do for their servants and slaves? In later periods, some nobles accepted money to free their slaves, but the slave system was strictly maintained, with slaves accounting for up to 40% of the total population, a feudal class society.

Why are the portraits of Yi Hwang and Yi I, prominent Neo-Confucian scholars of the mid-Joseon era, and Yi I's mother, Shin Saimdang, still featured on the banknotes of the Republic of Korea today? Unlike Japanese banknotes, figures who advocated for practical learning, enlightenment, and reform are conspicuously absent. TV dramas and movies often focus on court intrigues, factional strife, and fraternal conflicts. I wonder what the public can learn from these subjects.

The Imjin War and the Manchu War devastated the land, and the suffering of the people was immeasurable. Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong wrote the "Jingbirok," reflecting on the court's incompetence and the horrors of war during the Imjin War. However, the Joseon Dynasty banned this book, and it later found its way to Japan, only to be published in the 20th century.

During the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo, there was a glimmer of revitalization with reformist ideas such as practical learning, enlightenment, and Catholicism, but due to the court's indifference and its weak and incompetent nature, none of these were implemented.

Following this, the regent's isolationist policy persisted, and a prevailing sentiment of rejecting the West, such as Choi Ik-hyun's "Wijeong Cheoksa" (upholding orthodoxy and rejecting heterodoxy) movement, dominated. After sending the last Korean envoy to Japan in 1811, Joseon, in its ignorance of the international situation of Western expansion, brought about its own isolation. It became a scene of contention among Qing China, Japan, and Russia, all harboring ambitions to dominate Joseon.

Qing China asserted its vested rights and sought to maintain Joseon as a tributary state. In the 1882 Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Joseon and the United States (the first treaty with the US), they attempted to insert a clause stating Joseon was a tributary of China, and when Joseon planned to send a minister to the United States, they demanded Qing's permission, engaging in audacious diplomatic interference.

Britain occupied Geumdo Island in 1885 to prevent Russia's southward advance. After American missionaries first entered Joseon in 1883, they served as medical and diplomatic advisors to King Gojong, establishing hospitals, schools, and churches, spreading the gospel, and introducing Western civilization to Joseon. The United States had no ambition to dominate Joseon and lived a life of service and sacrifice for the people of Joseon, who were steeped in poverty and ignorance in a distant and unfamiliar land.

Instead of responding to this crisis, the court was embroiled in internal factional strife (pro-Qing, pro-Japan, pro-US, pro-Russia factions). Each faction sought to maintain power by utilizing external forces, plunging Joseon into a state of chaos and division.

The Gapsin Coup (1884), led by pro-Japanese enlightenment figures like Kim Ok-gyun, attempted to reform the court with Japanese support but ended after three days. Kim Ok-gyun fled to Japan and was assassinated by Hong Jong-woo, an assassin sent by Queen Min. Yuan Shikai of Qing forcibly escorted the Regent to Beijing, where he was confined for three years. He also took a Kim clan royal and her maid as concubines, engaging in outrageous behavior and demonstrating Qing's dominance. The Eulmi Incident (1895) was the assassination of Queen Min by Japan, a retaliation against Queen Min who had relied on the Qing dynasty.

Modernization reforms were attempted in 1894 with the Gabo Reforms but failed. When the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out, Joseon requested troops from Qing China, triggering the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Qing China suffered a crushing defeat against Japan, revealing itself as a paper tiger and losing its influence.

After the Chunsengmun Incident, where King Gojong's attempt to seek refuge in the US legation failed, King Gojong sought refuge in the Russian legation (Agwan Pacheon), requesting personal safety and leading to Russian interference. This led to the rise of the pro-Russian faction, and Prime Minister Kim Hong-jip was killed by the mob under King Gojong's order of execution. King Gojong, in order to raise funds for his rule, sold off various concessions, such as the mining rights for the Unsan gold mine, at low prices to foreign powers, and even sold official positions.

Japan, preparing for war with Russia, formed an alliance with Britain and initiated the Russo-Japanese War. Against global expectations, Japan emerged victorious, and Russia's influence in Joseon waned. With the Eulsa Protectorate Treaty (1905), Joseon lost its diplomatic rights to Japan, and patriotic scholars such as Min Young-hwan and Jo Byeong-se resisted and committed suicide. The Taft-Katsura Agreement meant that the United States also condoned Japan's dominance in Joseon, allowing Japan to solidify its control over the Korean Peninsula.

As the loss of national sovereignty accelerated, popular enlightenment and resistance movements such as Syngman Rhee's Manmin Central Assembly, the National Debt Repayment Movement, and newspaper publications unfolded. Righteous armies (righteous troops) led by figures like Choi Ik-hyun and Shin Dol-seok launched their final military resistance, but it was to no avail.

In 1910, Joseon became a colony of Japan through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. King Gojong and the treacherous faction led by Yi Wan-yong lived lavish lives in exchange for titles and vast sums of money, which can be considered the epitome of the court's incompetence and corruption in selling out the nation to foreign powers. Continuously playing the victim without reflecting on why the dynasty collapsed will not lead to a new future. Strangely, a dynastic state still exists in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

I hope the Republic of Korea does not follow the same path as the fall of the Joseon Dynasty. National survival is difficult with pre-modern, closed nationalism that deviates from international affairs and the universal flow of world history. Are not the current chaotic political phenomena a result of inheriting the inferior political DNA of Joseon kings and Yangban officials? Leaders and the people alike must bear the solemn responsibility of navigating the turbulent waves facing the nation and achieving national security and prosperity through wealth and strength.

Shin Dong-choon, President of the National Union for Free Unification, Doctor of Public Administration