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.[1]

Taejo of Joseon established the "Kingdom of Great Joseon" in 1392-1393, and he founded the Joseon dynasty which would retain power on the Korean peninsula for five hundred years. As an initial step, a diplomatic mission was dispatched to China and to Japan in 1402. Subsequent missions developed and nurtured the contacts and exchanges between these neighboring countries.

A diplomatic mission conventionally consisted of three envoys—the main envoy, the vice-envoy, and a document official. Also included were one or more official writers or recorders who created a detailed account of the mission.[2]

In the 20th century, the Joseon dynasty's bilateral relations were affected by the increasing numbers of international contacts which required adaptation and a new kind of diplomacy.[3]

  1. ^ Kang, Jae-eun et al. (2006). The Land of Scholars, p. 172.
  2. ^ Walraven, Boudewign et al. (2007). Korea in the middle: Korean studies and area studies, p. 362.
  3. ^ Kang, Woong Joe. (2005). Struggle for Identity, pp. 38-78.