• 한국학연구
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• no.50
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• pp.157-186
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• 2018

The study examines the process of resuming diplomatic relations and establishing a diplomatic system in the early 17th century. It focused on the discontinuity and continuity of the policy toward Japan in the end of King Seonjo's period and in the early days of Gwanghaegun. This is a studies on serial process of the restoration of peace after the Japanese Invasion of Korea. The process began with the Peace Negotiation, and led to the Resuming Diplastic Relations by dispatching Joseon Emissions to Japan in 1607. The Gwang'hae-gun regime agreed with Japan to sign on the Gi'yu-year agreement in 1609 and by doing so formed a platform for future Joseon-Japan diplomatic talks arranged through the Dae'ma-do/對馬島 island. Then, the Joseon government reinforced the principle of 'banning' Japanese envoys from approaching the Joseon capital, limiting the activities of the Japanese emissaries in Joseon territory to the Wae'gwan facility of the Dong'rae area. These actions of the Joseon government outlined the format for future diplomatic contacts with the Japanese in the dynasty's latter half period. At the time, when the Joseon people was facing Japanese presence in the south part of the Korean peninsula and the 'Jurchen' barbarians' in the north, Gwang'hae-gun considered 'maintaining relationships' with Japan and 'protecting the country' from the Jurchen threat as two top-level priorities for the Joseon defense. In order to do that, he had to establish Japan, which invaded Joseon for seven years in the 1590s, as a diplomatic partner to exchange talks with. He had to mitigate the anti-Japanese sentiment of the country's population, and intermediate clashing opinions in the policy discussion process. In the meantime, in order to deal with problems surfacing everywhere, Gwang'hae-gun maintained a stance of prioritizing the pursuit of public interest and amicable relationships, and not an ideological and principle-based one. It was quite a departure from the government's policy of the late 17th century.