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The Institute for Korean Studies

The Institute for Korean Studies

The Institute for Korean Studies

Kang Shijue: Refugee and State on Chosŏn Korea’s Northern Frontier
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March 18, 4:00 p.m.

Chosŏn Korea is often described simultaneously as closed to the outside world and Sinocentric. However, as I discuss in my monograph there are numerous cases of foreigners settling in Chosŏn until the 1644, and no evidence that being of Chinese origin helped or hurt one’s social status. In this presentation, I will discuss a key figure, Kang Shijue, a Ming soldier who fought against Nurhaci in Liaodong, who took refuge in Chosŏn in the 1630s. His interaction with the Choson state is informative for understanding the Chosŏn state’s approach to its frontiers, frontier peoples, and foreigners.