글로벌히스토리와 러일전쟁연구의 지평 확대

Global History and Transcending the Horizons of the Russo-Japanese War Studies - Reconnecting with the Yalu Crisis

Korean problem were in reality as much the tinderboxes from which the Russo-Japanese War ignited as the rivalry over Manchuria. Korean problem has originated with the Seoul-?iju(Ky?ng?i) Railway and the Yalu timber concessions. And It eventually led to the Russo- Japanese rivalry happened in the Korean bank of the Yalu River between February, 1903 and February, 1904. It has been Known as the terms Yalu crisis , the Yalu Issue and “The Yongampo Incident” in the Russo-Japanese War Studies, did not occur in isolation. It has various accidents involved; the Japanese acquisition of the Seoul-?iju Railway concession right, the exploitation of the Yalu timber concession, Russia’s lease of Yongampo, The opening of ?ju and Yongampo etc. And It is a well- known fact that this has been widely regarded by scholars as the immediate cause of war. Nevertheless, a century later there continues to be few debates either domestically or internationally over which party should bear responsible for the war and the war’s origins, at least as far as it pertains to Korea. It would be wrong way to go history involved its interpretation of the origins and characteristics of the Russo-Japanese War. In this study, I try to reconsider the immediate cause of war based on the Global historical standpoint. I especially refocus on the Yalu Crisis in the Korean peninsula in 1903. These include the competition for the concession rights for the construction of the Seoul-?iju Railway; the lease of Yongampo; and the opening of ?iju and Yongampo in the Yalu frontier. the rivalry which emerged over control of Yalu frontier of the Korean peninsula does not represent a simple episode which originated between the conflict between Russia and Japan. The Yalu Crisis led directly to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, and eventually resulted in providing Japan with the opportunity not only to annex Korea but also penetrate Manchuria, means that they should be perceived as important historical incidents on a scale similar to the Moroccan Crisis which eventually resulted in the advent of World War I. Moreover, Yalu Crisis can be perceived as the direct precursors of the eventual crisis which engulfed East Asia. This is the reason why the ‘Korean problem’ was important enough to result in the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, which has been referred to as a mini-World War, and why the Yalu Crisis which emerged on the Korean peninsula 100 years ago should be reanalyzed not only at the Korean history level but at the level of Global history. As mentioned above, I am of the mindset that the limitations of the arguments put forward by previous Japaneseand Russian researchers with regards to the cause of the war can be overcome when further emphasis is placed on the Korean problem, especially the Yalu Issues. The reason why is that the Yalu Crisis holds the Key to the solution of the question. In order to do so, Studies on the Russo-JapaneseWar should be carried out from diverse standpoints that include Manchuria and the Korean peninsula, but also incorporate the global policies which emerged during the early period of the 20th century. This kind of approach is needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of the Russo-Japanese War. To achieve this, first of all, more efforts should be put into uncovering the actual nature of the Yalu crisis which unfolded on the Korean peninsula during the period surrounding the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War.