Yongjong Island, Taiping Tower, forever peace!
Where did Korea begin to break away from the suzerainty of the Qing Dynasty?
Where did Japan begin to colonize Korea?
——This is Yongjong Island in the Ganghwa Island area, which consists of more than a dozen small islands.
Yongjong Island is an island facing China on the west coast of Incheon City, near Seoul, and Incheon International Airport is located on the island. Coincidentally, the hotel where we stayed during our early spring 2024 trip to Korea—the Sky Hotel—is situated on the east side of Yongjong Island, close to the Korean mainland, and directly opposite the hotel to the southeast is a seaside park. The cannon battery, Taiping Tower, and the monument commemorating the fallen heroes of Yongjong Town are all located within the park. In the early morning, I explored these ancient ruins with Xiao Wu, tracing the history that has influenced East Asia for over 150 years!
It turns out that Japan's ambition to annex Korea did not originate in modern times but began in 1592 (the 20th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty), when Japan, led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sent an army of 140,000 to invade Korea. Of course, Japan's ambitions were not limited to Korea but also included the Qing Dynasty! However, in the early stages, Japan failed to seize Taiwan and did not gain an advantage over the Qing, so it switched its target.
In 1875, Japan began to make its move on Korea. Japan sent three warships to Ganghwa Island on the west coast of Korea. The cunning warships neither declared war nor flew their national flag, and they simply opened fire on the Korean fortifications on the shore. After destroying the Korean batteries, the Japanese troops landed and looted the local town, which was called Yongjong Town. According to historical records, there were more than 60 households in Yongjong Town, and the Japanese soldiers, who committed all kinds of atrocities, looted most of the households and filled the three warships before leaving. At that time, the Koreans were completely baffled, as Japan had not declared war or flown its flag, so they had no idea who had robbed them.
Later, Korea found out that it was Japan who had robbed them, and how did they find out? Because of Japan's cunning move. It has been a long-standing practice for the Japanese to accuse others first. After returning to Japan, they fabricated lies, slandering Korea for attacking their survey ship, claiming they were "forced" to retaliate. The Japanese government took the opportunity to threaten an attack on Seoul, and the weak Korea was forced to sign the unequal treaty of the Ganghwa Treaty, which is also known as the "Ganghwa Island Incident." Through the "Ganghwa Island Incident," Japan successfully opened the doors of Korea and obtained various privileges. From then on, Japan's appetite grew larger, and its path of aggression became unstoppable, continuing until it was defeated by the World Anti-Fascist Alliance in 1945, having plotted since the Ming Dynasty and causing trouble in East Asia for over 500 years...
Meanwhile, on the other side, in 1895, the Qing Dynasty lost the naval battle to Japan, and Taiwan was forced into 50 years of colonial rule. Of course, Japan also completely ousted the Qing Dynasty from the Korean Peninsula, causing Korea to formally and completely break away from its vassal relationship with the Qing Dynasty.
History is a mirror, not only reflecting the contrast between past and present lives but also reflecting Xiao Wu's interest in history. Our "accidental" stay on Yongjong Island during this trip to Korea, with the hotel located next to the monument commemorating the fallen of 1895 in Yongjong Town, which was "outside the itinerary," may be a twist of fate.
Looking out to the distant sea from Taiping Tower, I conclude this essay with the inscription from the cannon battery: "The cannons exhibited here after restoration are replicas of the cannons from Geompo Deokpo Town, identical to those from Ganghwa Chojeong Town, displayed here to re-examine the history of Yongjong Town. The cannons of Yongjong Town were destroyed by Japanese bombardment in 1875, and 36 cannons were taken by Japan, leaving no actual artifacts behind."