Kanghwa, Treaty of

Kanghwa, Treaty of 

a treaty concluded between Japan and Korea on Feb. 26, 1876, on the island of Kanghwa (Korea).

The Treaty of Kanghwa opened the Korean port of Pusan to Japanese trade and, after 20 months, the ports of Wonsan and Inchon as well. Japan sent an envoy to Korea who in fact intervened in the country’s government. Japanese subjects were granted extraterritorial rights in Korea (articles 4–10). In 1878 the Amendments to the Treaty of Kanghwa were signed, freeing the wares of Japanese merchants from customs duties and allowing the circulation of Japanese banknotes on the Korean monetary market. The Treaty of Kanghwa was the first in a series of inequitable treaties forced upon Korea by imperialist powers.

REFERENCE

“Dogovor, zakliuchennyi mezhdu Koreei i Iaponiei…. “In OpisanieKorei. Moscow, 1960. Pages 485–89.