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The Independence Association (독립협회, 独立協会) was founded through the initiative of Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-pil) on July 2, 1896. At its founding it was recognized by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite some remarkable achievements, by the late nineteenth century Korea found itself wholly unable to resist, or even properly comprehend the encroachments of foreign powers. Japan's recent victory over China had both removed the Chinese from the peninsula and exacted an acknowledgment of Korean independence, but the country's independence was fragile, with Japan, Russia, and other powers vying for influence. The group was founded by reform-minded citizens, and worked to strengthen Korean independence, promote national self-strengthening, create a public sphere, and advocate democratic participation in government decisions. The club published a newspaper, Tongnip Sinmun (The Independent), and worked to create symbols of Korean independence. It supported public education, journalism, and language reform. Its political program for reforming the government into a constitutional monarchy brought it into conflict with the Emperor and conservatives in the court, and the club was ordered to disband in December 1898. == Overview == It did not go unnoticed in Korea that Emperor Kojong and his high officials were prepared to rely on the support and benevolence of foreign powers to preserve the territorial integrity of Korea. If the government could not act in the face of such an external threat however, the people could, and did. The public at large reacted by attacking the government's ineffective policies and fought dauntlessly to maintain their nation's independence and freedom. The fight was carried out largely through the efforts of a newly emerging class of intellectuals that had been exposed to the liberal ideas of Western culture. At its roots, the "enlightened thought" of these new reformers represented a continuation of the old school traditions of Northern Learning within the Sirhak movement. It held to the same goals of achieving national prosperity and military strength through the introduction of new technology and the development of modern commerce and industry. The difference this time was the new reformers were reaching to the West for modernization, not to China. The enlightenment thinkers pushed the notion that their goals could be best achieved by throwing open Korea's ports and establishing commercial relations with the West. Topping the list of Korea's concerns was the acquisition of Western weapons technology to improve its ability to defend itself. In addition, Korea was very interested in acquiring new agricultural technology to help enrich the country. Gradually however, this concern gave way to a more radical stream of enlightenment thought that placed a high priority on political and institutional change in the government. The dynastic weakness and foreign aggression in both China and Korea between 1896 and 1898 led to a number of internal reform movements. In the search for new answers, Korea certainly had its own visionaries, men like Yu Kil-chun, who studied in both Japan and the United States during the 1880s and had visited Europe. Edward S. Morse, Director of the Peabody Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, had made three trips to Japan in the 1870s and 1880s and dedicated himself to bringing Asian art and culture to the United States. In 1883, Morse was asked to help organized the first official Korean delegation to America. Yu Kil-chun, a junior member of that delegation, became friends with Morse and remained in the United States to continue his education. After returning to Korea, Yu wrote the first Korean book on the West, ''Observations on a Journey to the West''. He wrote about the geography, history, politics, economy, society, and learning of numerous Western nations. He not only described what he saw, but measured Korea against the West and advocated that Korea follow the model of Western civilization in its drive for modernization. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Independence Club」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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