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The Implementation of the Foreign Policies to the Jurchens and the Japanese Marauders of the Kyongchagwan during the Early Joseon

KIM SOON NAM 1

1고려대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

During the early stages of the Joseon Dynasty the Kyongchagwan, a title given to official Tanghagwan-level Pongmyong-sasin (royal envoys), were regularly dispatched to local areas to oversee and manage the administration of national affairs. The Kyongchagwan were also responsible for the implementation on the ground of the policies pertaining to the Jurchens that lay to the north and the Japanese Marauders located to the South. While Joseon's foreign policy during the early stages of the dynasty revolved around the traditional notion of sadae (serving the Great, Toadyism) towards China's Ming Dynasty, there was also a cautious effort to use a mixture of carrots and sticks in order to establish amicable relations with both the Jurchens and Japanese Marauders. To this end, the Kyongchagwan were the ones who were responsible for the implementation of the basic tenets of Joseon's foreign policy. The dispatch of Kyongchagwan during early Joseon to deal with the barbarians to the north and Japanese Marauders in the South (北虜南倭, Bungno-namwae) can be taken as proof that the issues related to the Jurchens and Japanese Marauders were regarded as internal ones. Joseon considered the Jurchen-populated areas to the north as falling within the sphere of Joseon Dynasty both from a historical and actual standpoint. This notion also applied in the case of the Japanese Marauders to the south. Furthermore, as the issue of the Jurchens and Japanese Marauders was directly related to the security of the people of Joseon, they were also perceived as actual threats to Joseon. For these reasons, the issues of the Jurchens and Japanese Marauders were regarded as internal problems rather than matters that had been addressed from the standpoint of international diplomacy. During the early stages of the Joseon Dynasty, the activities of the Kyongchagwan vis the Jurchens were based on the fundamental policy of maintaining the peace by making amicable gestures while refraining from actions that might lead to military conflicts. During this period, the Kyongchagwan even directly visited Jurchen-populated areas in order to convey messages and gifts from the Joseon kings. Moreover, the Kyongchagwan also took steps to allow the barbarians living in the northern (Bungno) areas to take up residence in areas controlled by Joseon. Meanwhile, whenever the inevitable military conflict emerged, the Kyongchagwan would collect information pertaining to the relevant area prior to the battle and investigate the state of the relevant residential areas after the ceasing of hostilities. These activities on the part of the Kyongchagwan allowed Joseon to successfully implement its good-neighbor policy toward the Jurchens. Another important task of the Kyongchagwan during the rearly Joseon was that of negotiating with the Japanese Marauders to the south. To this end, the Kyongchagwan were dispatched to the island of Tsushima to conciliate and persuade the Japanese Marauders of the Joseon king's desire to maintain peaceful relations with his neighbors to the south. Although only in a limited capacity, the Kyongchagwan also took steps to make it possible for them to trade with Joseon. However, whenever conflicts or clashes emerged with the Japanese Marauders, the Kyongchagwan were immediately dispatched to investigate the actual state of affairs and to warn the Japanese to take steps to avoid the reemergence of such incidents. In conclusion, the activities of the Kyongchagwan played an important role in ensuring smooth diplomatic relations with the Japanese Marauders during the early Joseon. A look at the Kyongchagwan's international activities provides us with insight into the actual state of Joseon's foreign policy during the early stages of the dynasty. In this regard, we can surmise that Joseon perceived the Jurchens to the north and the Japanese Marauders to the south from the standpoint of the relationship between the king and subject (君臣, Gunsin). The Jurchens and Japanese Marauders were thus regarded as subjects to be ruled. Therefore, the dispatch of the Kyongchagwan to deal with the Jurchens and Japanese Marauders can be perceived as belying Joseon's perception of these tribes.

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