A Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Corea or Chosen (), also known as the Shufeldt Treaty, was negotiated between United States and Korea’s Joseon dynasty in 1882.Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922. (1922). ; excerpt, "It is certain that in 1882 the United States recognized the independence and territorial integrity of Korea by entering into a treaty of amity and commerce with her as a separate national entity. The treaty was in due form. It was ratified by the Senate and in regular course it was formally "proclaimed" by President Arthur. Japan was the first nation to officially "congratulate" both Korea and the United States upon its consummation. This fact is noted in the report of Hon. John A. Bingham to Secretary Frelinghuysen, April 14, 1883. As though to emphasize the international effect of this treaty in recognizing this national entity, China protested the sending of Korean ministers to the United States, claiming suzerainty over Korea. The protest was patiently and fully considered on its merits and was overruled. Later China, conceding the position of the United States, also recognized, by specific treaty the independence and separate entity of Korea. Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, following the course of the United States, also made treaties of amity and commerce with Korea as a separate nation." [italics + bold added for emphasis]
The treaty's final draft was accepted at Chemulpo (present day Incheon) near the Korean capital of Hanseong (now Seoul) in April and May 1884.Yŏng-ho Ch'oe et al. (2000). ; excerpt, "Korea signed a similar accord with the United States (the Treaty of Chelump'o, 1882) that was followed by similar agreements with other Western nations." It was Korea's first treaty with a western nation. After the United States assented to the Taft–Katsura agreement, the intervention clause was effectively nullified.
Background In 1876, Korea established a trade treaty with Japan after Japanese ships approached Ganghwado and, following the Ganghwa Island incident, threatened to open fire on the Korean capital city. Treaty negotiations with the U.S. and with several European countries were made possible by the completion of this initial Japanese overture.Kim, Chun-gil. (2005).
Negotiations with Qing were a significant feature of the process which resulted in this treaty.Kang, Woong Joe. (2005) ; Kang, Jae-un (2006). ; Pletcher, David M. (2001). The Chinese played a significant role in the treaty negotiation, although Korea was an independent country at the time, which was explicitly mentioned in the treaty.
Treaty provisions
The United States and Korea negotiated and approved a 14 article treaty. The treaty established mutual friendship and mutual diplomatic arbitration with unjust or oppressive foreign powers; and the treaty also addressed such specific matters as extraterritorial rights for U.S. citizens in Korea and most favored nation trade status.Korean Mission, ; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Korea. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated May 22, 1882."
Abstract The treaty encompasses a range of subjects. Article 1 provides:
Article 2 ... exchange of diplomatic and consular representatives Article 3 ... United States vessels wrecked on coast of Korea Article 4 ... United States extraterritorial jurisdiction over its citizens in Korea Article 5 ... merchants and merchant vessels shall reciprocally pay duties Article 6 ... reciprocal rights of residence and protection of citizens of both nations Article 7 ... prohibiting export or import of opium Article 8 ... export of "breadstuffs" and red ginseng Article 9 ... regulating importation of arms and ammunition Article 10 .. reciprocal rights to employing native labor Article 11 .. students exchanges Article 12 .. further negotiation of provisions after 5 years Article 13 .. use of Classical Chinese as official correspondence language Article 14 .. the usual most-favored-nation clause
The treaty remained in effect until the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905.
Aftermath Joseon sent a diplomatic mission to the U.S. in 1883, marking the first ever such official visit to North America by Koreans. The U.S. treaty established a template which was explicitly modeled in treaties with European nations — Germany in 1883, Russia and Italy in 1884, France in 1886, and others as well.Kim,
The treaty remained in effect even until the U.S. recognized 'Article 2' in the Treaty of Portsmouth of 1905,Korean Mission ; excerpt, "Official rescript issued by Japan, November 22, 1905, declares: 'In bringing this agreement to the notice of the powers having treaties with Korea, the Imperial Government declares that * * * they will see that these treaties are maintained and respected, and they also engage not to prejudice In any way the legitimate commercial and industrial interests of those powers in Korea'". which eventually cleared the way for Japan's takeover of Korea in 1910.
See also
United States expedition to Korea Korean Empire (1897) Taft–Katsura agreement (1905) Hague Secret Emissary Affair (1907) Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910
References
Kang, Woong Joe. (2005). The Korean Struggle for International Identity in the Foreground of the Shufeldt Negotiation, 1866-1882. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ; Kang, Jae-un. (2006). The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism. Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books. ; Kim, Chun-gil. (2005). The History of Korea. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ; Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. Yŏng-ho Ch'oe; William Theodore De Bary; Martina Deuchler and Peter Hacksoo Lee. (2000). Sources of Korean Tradition: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries. New York: Columbia University Press. ; ; Pletcher, David M. (2001). The Diplomacy of Involvement: American Economic Expansion Across the Pacific, 1784-1900. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. ;
Further reading Arrighi, Giovanni; Hamashita, Takeshi and Selden, Mark. (2003). The Resurgence of East Asia: 500, 150 and 50 year Perspectives. London" Routledge. ; Walter, Gary D. "The Korean Special Mission to the United States of America in 1883," Journal of Korean Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, July–December 1969, pp. 89–142.
External links The 1882 U.S. and Korea Treaty: Draft and Final Versions