2026-06-25 –, Room 201 (Seats 42)
In the late nineteenth century, liberal internationalism emerged as a dominant current in international political thought in Britain and the United States. This idea eventually spread globally, and this current reached Korea, which had been largely unfamiliar with the liberal tradition. Korean Gaehwa (Enlightenment) intellectuals encountered liberal internationalism through Western books translated into Chinese and through schools founded by American missionaries. Advocating an international order grounded in law and justice rather than military force, liberal internationalism offered Koreans a new vision at a time when the country faced imperialist aggression and the threat of national extinction.
Korean Gaehwa intellectuals adopted liberal internationalism as a key framework for understanding international politics in their modern newspapers, The Independent (Tongnip Sinmun) and Cheguk Sinmun (Imperial Post). They further adapted liberal internationalism to Korean circumstances and used it to propose alternatives for overcoming the international crisis surrounding Korea. Koreans sought to receive this global idea—liberal internationalism—interpret it, and respond in an independent manner. Among them was a young Syngman Rhee, who would later become the first president of Korea. However, their trust in liberal internationalism began to collapse in 1905, when the international community offered no support as Japan turned Korea into a protectorate.
This presentation illustrates, through the case of Korea’s initial reception of liberal internationalism, how global ideas are received, adapted, and eventually lead to disillusionment in a non-Western context. It also offers a historical metaphor for understanding the emergence of today’s age of post-globalisation.
Liberal Internationalism, International Political Thought
Jung Jong-won specializes in modern Korean intellectual history and conceptual history. He received his PhD in history from Hanyang University in 2022 and is currently a research assistant professor in the History Education Research Team at Hanyang University. In his doctoral dissertation, he examined how the Korean press understood and responded to international politics. In his subsequent research, he has explored the routes through which liberal internationalism entered East Asia, including Korea, and has analyzed cases of Korean thinkers who applied liberal internationalism to interpret international politics (e.g., Syngman Rhee).