[Opinion] Korea’s Trade Agreement

In 1882, Daehan Jeguk, the Korean Empire, signed a trade treaty with the United States. The first article of the treaty in the Chinese version said that, “The Emperor of Korea and president of the U.S. will necessarily support each other if either side is insulted by a third party.”

At the time, the emperor Gojong and national leaders respected the term “necessarily support” as they thought it was a mutual defense treaty.

However, the treaty’s English version did not say “necessarily support” and U.S. leaders did not even know about it because the Korean side’s representatives were Chinese, who were mandated by Qing Dynasty leader Li Hongzhang.

During the Joseon period, no diplomats had enough English skills to review the two versions of the treaty. As such, the first Korean negotiation for a market opening with the West was not skillful.

The next year, when a U.S. minister plenipotentiary came to Korea, 18-year-old Korean Yoon Chi-ho came along with him as an interpreter. However, Yoon only learned English from the Dutch consul in Japan for five months--one hour per day.

On the other hand, Japan had signed a treaty with the U.S. 28 years earlier than Korea and negotiated with the U.S. in Dutch. Japan got a man by the name of Manjiro, the first Japanese studying in the U.S., to review and translate its treaties. He surprised his U.S. counterparts when he asked for a Webster’s dictionary in a bookstore during his visit to the U.S. for treaty talks.

Some say that the recently-concluded FTA with the U.S. is the “second or the third opening of Korea.” Before judging whether the expression is appropriate or not, one should realize how the term reflects Korea’s painful history just 125 years ago.

But things are different now. Language is not an obstacle for Korean trade negotiators like Trade Minister Kim Hyeon-jong and the chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon. Moreover, many Korean businesses operate overseas and even some enjoy large market shares.

Under such circumstances, there is some concern over Korea’s dependency on the U.S. Perhaps some people still have out-of-date and old-fashioned mindsets.

Kim Chang-hyuk, Editorial Writer, chang@donga.com