NEW PEOPLE OF THE FAR EAST: THE LIMINAL SUBJECTIVITY OF KOREAN MIGRANTS IN THE AMUR AND USSURI REGION, 1860-1897

Abstract

This paper explores the liminality of Korean peasants and migrants in the Amur and Ussuri region by examining their socioeconomic conditions, legal jurisdictions, and individual subjectivity under Joseon Korea, Qing China, and Tsarist Russia between the 1860s-1897. In this paper, the Amur and Ussuri region is defined, subsequently its regional history and the indigenous inhabitants. By the late 19th century, Joseon Korean society was declining steadily due to factionalism among elites, corruption of the examination system, abusive yangban class, and heavy tax burden on impoverished peasants. Joseon Korea also experienced a series of natural disasters and peasant revolts. By this time, Qing China was also greatly weakened from foreign encroachments and had to sign numerous unequal treaties. In 1860, the Treaty of Beijing was concluded between Qing China and Tsarist Russia which transferred a large territory, known as Primorsky Krai (formerly a part of Manchuria), to Tsarist Russia. The treaty created tripartite modern borders between Joseon Korea, Qing China, and Tsarist Russia. This treaty marked an entirely new period for Korean history as it gained a new and powerful neighbor, Tsarist Russia. By this time, in Northeast Asia, the common people increasingly began to undermine the imperial subjectivity rooted in Confucian traditionalism and embraced the nascent consciousness of individual agency, which was particularly prevalent among the migrant groups. As a result, many impoverished Korean peasants searched for a better life elsewhere and simultaneously migrated to Manchuria and Primorye. The arrival of Korean migrants caused confusion between the three nations over their jurisdictional status. While Qing China and Joseon Korea had some previous understanding of illegal migrants, Tsarist Russia and Joseon Korea never had any diplomatic relationship. All three nations struggled to find a common ground to manage their movements and govern them. The officials of Tsarist Russia attempted to contact Joseon Korea iv and start a diplomatic relationship in the hope to resolve the issues of Korean migrants and open trade negotiations. However, Joseon Korea was still closed to the West, and therefore refused, at this time, Joseon Korea only traded with Qing China and sometimes with Meiji Japan. Over two decades later, Tsarist Russia and Joseon Korea finally managed to sign their first official treaty in 1884 (the Treaty of Seoul) with encouragement from Qing China. Between 1860-1884, Korean migrants were quintessentially the liminal subjects, betwixt in the transborder spaces. This case of Korean migrants is particularly unique in migration studies and does not fit into the existing migration categories. In this thesis, I will argue that applying the concept of liminality to Korean diasporic communities will highlight the resilience and adaptations of Korean migrants amidst various policies implemented by Tsarist Russia to successfully colonize their newly acquired territory and control its diverse inhabitants. This paper’s examination of Korean migrants in the Amur and Ussuri region, their subsequent struggles in new environments, and their liminal experiences as Korea’s first diasporic communities will help historians to broaden the understanding of overall historical changes and geopolitics of Northeast Asia.