We are inviting RAS members and friends to the RAS online lecture via Zoom.

Sinmiyangyo Sesquicentennial: The 1871 US-Korea Military Conflict After 150 Years

Lecturer: Thomas Duvernay
Date: Tuesday, May 25. 07:30PM (Seoul)
Venue: Online Zoom

Summary:

In the late spring of 1871, the United States sent five ships of its Asiatic Squadron into Korea waters to make contact. The stated purpose was to obtain a treaty to protect shipwrecked seamen, with a secondary purpose to make a trade treaty if possible. Because of an apparent cultural miscommunication between U.S. and Korean officials, hostilities between U.S. and Korean forces erupted, culminating in the death of 350 Korean troops and three U.S. troops, but with no agreements between the two countries. With supplemental videos, then-and-now photos, and a recounting of the lecturer’s field research, this presentation will look at the battles that took place in early June 1871 and how they are viewed 150 years later.

Bio:

Thomas Duvernay has a doctorate in Korean studies and is a professor at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, Korea, where he teaches Korean history and English. His main historical focus is on the late Joseon dynasty of Korea, with an emphasis on the 1871 military action between the United States and Korea, which he has been researching since the mid-1990s. He campaigned for years for the return of the Korean general’s flag that was captured by U.S. naval forces in the action, and was housed at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum until it was returned in 2007. Besides writing about the 1871 action in many journal articles, he is also the author of a book on Korean traditional archery, which he has practiced since 1993. He has lived in Korea with his family since 1989, after first living in the country in 1984. His wife, Moon-ok Lee, is a Korean high school English teacher, and his son, Nick, is a PhD professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

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