Sino-Corean War

Sino-Corean War
Date 1886-1888 Location The Far East, Corea, Manchuria Result Corean Victory Southern Manchuria ceded to Corea Northwest Manchuria ceded to Russia Establishment of the Poeja Kingdom Dutch establish a port on Terjan (Dalian)
Belligerents
Empire of Corea (Sjakwang Dynasty) Supported by: Netherlands Russia	Great Qing Tsjosjan dynasty Netherlands (allied until 1883)
Strength
315,000 men	190,300 men
Casualties and losses
17,000 dead and wounded	849 dead 1,879 wounded 12,000 dead of disease and attrition

The Sino-Corean War was a 19th century conflict in East Asia between the Great Qing Empire and the Corean Empire.

Background

Dutch Influence in Corea

To understand Corea, we need to take a step back into the 1700s. The alliance with the Qing naturally led the Dutch to have good relations with Qing's vassals. One particular region of interest to the Dutch was Corea, ruled by the Tsjosjan dynasty [Hankoel:조선; Handja:朝鮮] since 1392. Unlike the Qing, the Tsjosjan dynasty was more receptive to these western ideals (particularly of the Dutch strain) and gracefully and openly accepted these ideas in the 18th century. Books, scientific instruments, and most importantly, Christianity, were heavily imported into Corea. This influx of ideas would be known in the Corean language as Sjahak [Hankoel:서학/Handja:西學, lit: western-learning].

Dutch influence in Corea became firmly rooted in the southern city of Poesjan (IRL Busan), which the Corean king would later give to the Dutch East India Company in 1710 to serve as a point of contact for trade.

The Dutch Empire's bond with Corea is often claimed to have been stronger than that with the Qing. In the mid-to-late-1800s, many of the affluent Corean youth would be sent to study in Amsterdam, and would later serve in scientific or civil service posts in Corea. This led to the nation's heavy industrialization and helped Corea become one of the hubs for innovation in the region. There was a huge cultural exchange as well. In 1854, a Dutch-Corean scholar had invented a romanization system for the Corean language, based entirely on Dutch orthography, which is still currently in use in the modern-day.

The Humiliation War and The Sjakwang Coup

During the Humiliation war in 1850-1857, the Coreans fought alongside the Dutch in repelling the Canton rebels. Eight years after the war ended, Kjangmoen, the Corean king, died and was replaced by his son, Hjosjang. Hjosjang was a more conservative ruler. He had blamed the Sjahak (western-learning) as the primary cause of the Qing's ruin. In 1868, Hjosjang declared a complete reversal of Corea's embracement of the Sjahak-learning. Dutch missionaries were expelled and pro-Sjahak advisors in the king's court were exiled. In 1875, Hjosjang doubled down and issued the censorship of books and the persecution of Corean Christians. He made it illegal to purchase books published outside of Corea. This period was known as the Dark Era of Corea.

These policies did not sit well with the Amsterdam-educated Corean youth. In 1883, a coup d'etat was launched against Hjosjang. The Tsjosjan dynasty was removed from power and a new, liberal, and more enlightened dynasty came into power: the Sjakwang Dynasty (Hankoel: 서광; Handja: 曙光; lit: morning light), led by Moenmoe the Great [Hkl:문무/Hdj:文武]. Momoe the Great went as far as claiming that the Qing had lost their mandate of heaven to rule over Corea, and pursued a policy of Corean self-determination.

Dutch Betrayal, and the Sino-Corean War (1886-1888)

The Qing state, now severely weakened by internal strife, did not like what was happening in Corea. They decide to intervene in the Corean situation. Believing that the Coreans had strayed further away from Qing influence, the Qing state decides to send whatever troops they had left and restore order in Corea, a rash and ill-fated decision that would cost them their entire empire. This marks the beginning of the Sino-Corean War.

Expectedly, the odds were not in the Qing's favor. The Qing once again requests their Dutch allies to intervene. This time, however, no Dutch reinforcements were coming to their aid. The Qing were alone in the fight against Corea.

It was later uncovered that Moenmoe the Great (Corean king) had secured a secret pact with the Dutch a year earlier and got them to promise not to intervene in any case of Qing aggression. Furthermore, the new Corean state had secured the support of the Russians. Russian and Dutch support fueled the Corean war effort. The war ended with the Treaty of Peking (1888), with Manchuria partitioned between Corea and the Russians.

Shortly after, Moenmoe created a puppet kingdom in northern Manchuria to serve as a buffer between the Russians. He named it the Kingdom of Poeja [Hankoel:부여; Handja:夫餘], borrowing the name from the historic and ancient Corean kingdom of Poeja. He installed his brother, Tedjong, as the king of Poeja. In 1889, Moenmoe the Great declared the Empire of Corea and styled himself as Emperor of Corea and Poeja. This would not be the end of Corea's expansion though and would directly lead to Russo-Corean war in the 1930's.

Aftermath

The defeat at the hands of Corea completely rendered the Qing helpless, and the Qing's grasp on their western territories had waned. This triggered a race for territorial expansion between Russia (from the north) and Britain (from the south). This also led to a period of further increased Russian actively in East Asia and in particular in Japan.