Joseph Seeley and Dr. Kirk Larsen, Department of History
One of the most important lessons I learned over the course of this project was that a finished research project is often dramatically different from what is originally planned. When I began consulting with my advisor about doing an ORCA project together, our initial idea was to explore how Koreans remember the history of early U.S.-Korean foreign relations from 1866-1945 with the goal of eventually publishing an article in a scholarly journal. After beginning my research in earnest, however, I soon discovered the vast number of potential sources related to this topic. Knowing that there was simply too much information to tackle this subject adequately in an article-length essay, I was compelled to narrow my research topic. In the end, my ORCA research paper focused on one specific event in early U.S.-Korean relations, the controversial Taft-Katsura Memorandum (1905). This decision to narrow my topic was difficult at first, but soon proved wise.
Despite the fact that the Taft-Katsura Memorandum was just one event among many in early U.S.-Korean relations, its controversial and oft misunderstood nature makes it an excellent microcosm for examining how the present influences our interpretation of the past. Early in Korea’s history, the United States was simply one of many Western nations who vied for influence in Korea. In the last few decades, however, the U.S. influence on Korean politics has been unmatched by other foreign powers. As a result, Koreans antagonistic to the United States’ hegemonic power have used past events like Taft-Katsura Memorandum to legitimize their current opposition to the United States. In many cases, however, this use of the past as a tool for understanding the present rests on inaccurate assumptions about what actually occurred decades ago.
When I was taking Modern Korean History (HIST 348) last year from my future ORCA advisor Dr. Larsen, he was fond of telling me and the other students that “history is what people say, think, and believe about the past as well as the past itself.” As Dr. Larsen went on to expound throughout the course, history is a living, breathing entity that is constantly being reinvented and re-imagined. As societies change, previously forgotten historical anecdotes are embraced while others are simply discarded in the proverbial “dustbin” of history.
I discovered this to be exactly the case as I began conducting research on my topic. The Taft-Katsura Memorandum was a transcript of a relatively insignificant diplomatic exchange which took place between Japan and the United States around the turn of the twentieth century. At the time, current U.S. Secretary of War William Taft expressed the hesitant, non-official sentiment that the U.S. would not interfere with Japan’s plans to colonize Korea. To contemporaries this exchange was relatively unknown, but in subsequent decades it gained notoriety as a “secret agreement” wherein the United States betrayed Korea to Japan’s imperial ambitions. Later generations have taken this event and imbued it with more significance than it had at its inception, illustrating how fluid the process of “history” is. The actual events of this exchange had been well documented by other historians, but until Dr. Larsen and I began this project, little research had focused on the influence of the present on how Koreans understand the Taft-Katusra Memorandum or “Secret Treaty” as it is often remembered.
In order to paint a comprehensive picture of why Koreans continue to remember the Taft-Katsura Memorandum as a “secret treaty,” I investigated a number of sources over the course of several months. Early on in the research process, I realized that although many sources could be obtained through online outlets or Interlibrary Loan, there were many materials that could only be accessed elsewhere. The highlight of my research was going to the Library of Congress and National Archives in Washington D.C. Thanks to the generosity of ORCA donors, I was able to spend a week in Washington, which gave me adequate time to investigate a number of these sources, including rare North Korean history textbooks published immediately after the Korean War and official diplomatic correspondence from the turn of the century.
After conducting extensive research in both Provo and in Washington D.C., I spent the next few months working with my mentor Dr. Larsen on an article-length essay that could be published in an academic journal and thus bring my research findings to a wider scholarly audience. The constant process of writing, revision, rewriting, and more revision proved difficult but educational. As I strove to articulate my ideas more thoughtfully and concisely, I noticed my abilities as a historian improving. Our co-authored article is not yet ready for submission, but in October I was able to present a significant portion of this essay at an academic conference.
On Friday, October 12, 2012 I had the opportunity to present my research at the annual Western Conference of the Association of Asian Studies. Before attending this conference I had previously participated in various undergraduate history conferences. These experiences provided me some familiarity with the format of an academic conference, but I was nevertheless nervous over the prospect of speaking to such an educated and well informed audience. Thankfully, my panel at the conference was chaired by a wonderful scholar, Dr. Robert Swartout, who was highly supportive of my research and generous in his praise of the work I had done. After the conclusion of our panel presentations, I was able to field a number of the questions from the audience about my research, which helped me realize which parts of my presentation had been most effective. Dr. Swartout also provided several helpful pointers about various aspects of my research paper.
This ORCA project has been instrumental in confirming my career goals and ambitions. The amount of effort and time invested into this research project has not been insignificant. Yet despite the difficulties, the more time I spent researching this topic, the more I realize the depth of my passion for history and my potential to become a professional historian. Thanks to the generosity of ORCA donors and the expert help and guidance of my mentor Dr. Larsen, I hope to continue to contribute to our society’s knowledge of the past, especially the tumultuous history of early U.S.-Korean relations.