Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n
scholar-bureaucrat
The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class.
Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...
,
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
and
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
, representing
Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
interests in the '' tongsinsa'' (diplomatic mission) to the
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669.
The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...
King Taejo dispatched a diplomatic mission to Japan in 1398–1399. This embassy to shogunal court of
Ashikaga Yoshimochi
was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).
Succession and rule
In 1394, ...
was led by Pak. In part, the envoy was charged with conveying a response to a message sent to the Joseon court by the Japanese ''shōgun''. In part, the Joseon ambassador sought Ashikaga involvement in suppressing pirate raiders which were believed to come from Japan. These pirates were variously known as ''
wokou
''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Kang p. 275. /ref>
Pak and his retinue arrived in Kyoto in the early autumn of 1398 (''
Ōei
was a after ''Meitoku'' and before ''Shōchō''. This period spanned the years from July 1394 through April 1428. Reigning emperors were and .
Change of era
* 1394 : The new era name was created because of plague. The previous era ended and a ...
5, 8th month''). ''Shōgun''
Ashikaga Yoshimochi
was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).
Succession and rule
In 1394, ...
presented the envoy with a formal diplomatic letter; and presents were given for the envoy to convey to the Joseon court.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annalese des empereurs du japon'', p. 322. When Pak returned from Japan in 1399, he brought with him more than 100 ''wakō'' captives, an explicit earnest of good fatih.
Pak also bore letters from the Ashikaga ''shōgun'' requesting original texts of Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist altar fittings.
Pak conveyed the following letter from ''Shōgun'' Yoshimitsu to the governor of Kyushu:
:"This instruction is hereby given to you, Ōuchi ''Sakyo-no-Tayu'' (
Ōuchi Yoshihiro
, also known as Ouchi ''Sakyo-no-Tayu,'' was a Muromachi period samurai clan head and military leader.
Yoshirio was the second son of Ōuchi Hiroyo, and a member of the Ōuchi clan which served under Ashikaga Takauji. The Ōuchi became known a ...
). The Korean envoy, in compliance with the command of his government, came to our country, crossing waters of vast expanse. He brought us a gift of great value from his nation, thus showing us great courtesy. We have highly appreciated this. Now that this envoy is returning to his country, we should send products of our land in recognition of this gift and as a token of our good will.
:"You are also instructed to inform the Korean envoy that all the pirates and persons of the unruly class in Kyushu have been arrested and punished in accordance with the provisions of our laws, and that we are sending troops under the convoy of our fleet to various far-off islands with the purpose of annihilating all the remaining pirate bands. Therefore, from this time on, all ships coming from and returning to Korea will be safeguarded. Thus will the friendship of the two nations be maintained.
:"For several years past, we have made many earnest attempts to publish the ''Daizōkyō'', a standard Buddhistic
sutra
''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
, but have not yet succeeded. According to our understanding, Korea has an excellent edition of this sutra. We would therefore ask that Korea meet our long-felt need by sending us a complete set of this edition. If Korea should grant this request, the propagation of Buddhism toward the East would be materially advanced. We also desire to have a large Buddhistic church
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
made of copper, and we also wish to secure good medicinal herbs from Korea. The Buddhistic sutras and accessories are needed in our country in order to save our people from suffering in a future existence. The medicinal herbs will enable our people to enjoy health and longevity in this present world. Korea possesses them in great abundance.
:"You are imperatively instructed to convey these desires to the Korean envoy and to impress him with our great need of and desire for them, in order that we may not fail to obtain them."
The Japanese hosts may have construed this mission as tending to confirm a Japan-centric world order. Pak's words and actions were more narrowly focused in negotiating protocols for Joseon–Japan diplomatic relations.
Recognition in the West
Pak's historical significance was confirmed when his mission was specifically mentioned in a widely distributed history published by the Oriental Translation Fund in 1834.
In the West, early published accounts of the Joseon kingdom are not extensive, but they are found in ''
Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu
by Hayashi Shihei (1738–93) was published in Japan in 1785. This book represents one of the earliest attempts to define Japan in terms of its outer boundaries. It represented a modern effort to distinguish Japan from the neighboring nations. ...
Joseon diplomacy Joseon diplomacy was the foreign policy of the Joseon dynasty of Korea from 1392 through 1910; and its theoretical and functional foundations were rooted in Neo-Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, institutions and philosophy.
Taejo of Joseon established ...
*
Joseon missions to Japan
Joseon missions to Japan represent a crucial aspect of the international relations of mutual Joseon- Japanese contacts and communication. In sum, these serial diplomatic ventures illustrate the persistence of Joseon's '' kyorin'' (neighborly re ...
*
Joseon tongsinsa
The Joseon Tongsinsa were goodwill missions sent intermittently, at the request of the resident Japanese authority, by Joseon dynasty Korea to Japan. The Korean noun identifies a specific type of diplomatic delegation and its chief envoys. From ...
Notes
References
* Daehwan, Noh "The Eclectic Development of Neo-Confucianism and Statecraft from the 18th to the 19th Century," ''Korea Journal'' (Winter 2003).
* Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin . (1997). ''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century.'' Basingstoke, Hampshire; Macmillan. ;
* Kuno, Yoshi S. (1940). ''Japanese Expansion on the Asiatic Continent: a Study in the History of Japan with Special Reference to her International Relations with China, Korea, and Russia.'' Berkeley:
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...