‘Encounter’ between Korea and the West during the 1880s-1900s: Reappraising ‘Colonial Cosmopolitanism’

The period from the 1880s to the 1900s marked an era where the contradictory zeitgeists of “cosmopolitanism” and “colonialism” coexisted and intersected in both the Western world and Korea. The uneasy handshake between these two opposing ideologies gave rise to a hybrid concept termed colonial cosmopolitanism. This paper aims to critically explore the historical nature of the encounters (or clashes) and mutual exchanges between Western imperial powers and modern Korea during this transformative era through the lens of colonial cosmopolitanism. The analysis unfolds in three stages: 1) Summarizing the new forms and content of Korea’s landscapes that emerged following the “opening of ports” ; 2) Examining the characteristics of “top-down” cosmopolitanism as experienced by K ing Goj ong a nd K orea's elite s cholars and intellectuals t hrough diplomatic events and Western travel ; 3) Reinterpreting the alternative perspectives of “bottom-up” cosmopolitanism through the experiences of ordinary Koreans who encountered Westerners in their daily lives. Through this approach, the paper asks: what symptoms of colonial cosmopolitanism are reflected in the macro-micro-level interactions shaped jointly and separately by Koreans and Westerners? By interrogating this question through a post-colonial lens, without succumbing to the reductivismof Orientalism vs. Occidentalism, this study seeks to shed light on the shadows and illuminations cast by contemporary globalization. The paper concludes with two key arguments. First, post-colonial cosmopolitanism must act as a “connector” by dismantling the colonial cosmopolitan equation of “modernization = Westernization” imposed upon subaltern and colonized minds, and replacing it with the notion of cosmopolitan localism. Second, while the globalism of ruling elites tied to diplomacy and international relations often dissipates with the disintegration of nation-states, the emotional and affective globalism that takes root in individual hearts fosters mutual understanding through tolerance and patience. This form of globalism embodies the power and hope of solidarity, flourishing in the “in-between spaces” of unfamiliar nations, races, religions, and cultures.