Conclusion

Abstract

Japanese-Korean relations were often strained by animosity and mutual contempt, nevertheless at the same time they were characterised by close cultural and economic exchange. Their diverse state to state relations lasted four centuries between 1404 and 1811 and were interrupted only by Hideyoshi’ s invasions. During their long relations Japan and Korea manifested their national characteristics: Japan, a country with military prowess and pragmatic economic goals; and Korea, a country with a sense of moral superiority. Korea’s military weakness, geographical vulnerability and Confucianised bureaucrats and literati shaped its diplomatic approach of avoiding disputes and preserving neighbourly relations. Korea’s customary concessions to Japan’s demands were generated not only from Korea’s lack of military strength but also from its feeling of moral superiority based on the Confucian principle of ye (propriety) to discipline “barbarous” Japanese. Such a moralistic approach was without much success in neighbourly relations with Japan, for Japan’s diplomatic priorities rested on militaristic and economic advancement. In sum, for Japan, pragmatism took precedence over the idealism of a Confucian tenet.