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Outside the door was a new world.
Whether to open the door or remain shut.
In the late 19th century, the small East Asian kingdom of Joseon faced this decision.
The opening of ports.
Referred to opening up specific ports to allow the entry of foreign vessels and initiate trade relations with a foreign country.
Then how did Joseon's port opening come about?
Here's a look into this particular era of the Joseon kingdom over a period of 30 years since the Treaty of Ganghwa was signed in 1876.

In the mid-19th century, Asia was amidst a turmoil of change, resulting from European powers fighting over trade rights in the region.
Korea, China and Japan basically maintained a closed door policy of seclusion.
But as Europe aggressively requested for trade relations in the early 19th century, China opened its ports in 1842 and Japan followed suit in 1854.
Joseon also faced this inevitable trend of opening up to foreign trade.
Amid confrontation between open-door and closed-door policy supporters in Joseon, it was none other than imperialist latecomer Japan, and not the West, that eventually made Korea open its door.
The Joseon-Japan Treaty of 1876, known as the Treaty of Ganghwa, recognized Joseon as a sovereign nation but this was Japan's intent to exclude Qing's interference to make it easier for Japan to invade Joseon.
Joseon thereafter exercised its sovereignty by signing trade treaties with the U.S. and other Western powers but this provided a foothold for foreign invasion.

After opening ports and stabilizing his power base, King Gojong installed a modern administrative agency, Tongni Gimu Amun, and began to unfold open-door policy measures.
However the policies could not be properly implemented due to China's interference in Joseon's internal affairs following the Imo Incident and the Gabsin Coup in Korea.
The opening of ports also had a huge impact on the Joseon people.
Tax burden increased and state officials became extremely corrupt.
Foreign powers also increasingly pillaged the Korean economy.
The farmers then staged an uprising calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops, scrapping the caste system and other social reform.
Chinese and Japanese troops who entered Korea to suppress the uprising ended up in a war over the control of Joseon. Japan eventually gained the upper hand.
The newly launched Gabo Cabinet pushed for fundamental reform including restricted royal power and Cabinet-centered politics. But it collapsed following the incident of Gojong's refuge at the Russian legation.
Gojong and his aides regained power, founded the Korean Empire and continued modernization policies, but this was obstructed by Japan.
Joseon's open-door policies were not very successful due to insufficient budget and foreign pressure.
Joseon's push for modernization was frustrated by Japanese oppression and Korea also faced the crisis of losing its sovereignty.

However since the opening of ports, Joseon's politics, economy and society began to gradually change with the emergence of social players with a modern mindset.
Landowners grew in power and commercial capitalists emerged.
Korean leaders and businessmen established Korean banks against Japanese financial aggression as well as domestic companies.
Trade quickly expanded and new economic players began to emerge and grow in Joseon society.
The spread of newspapers and modern education helped raise awareness on civil rights.
Citizens formed organizations, fostered public opinions and called for reform. They developed the idea that in order to defend civil rights, they needed to first protect national sovereignty.
A patriotic movement also sprung up amid intensifying Japanese imperialism.
Though Korea lost its sovereignty to Japan, these societal changes paved the way for Joseon to usher in a new era.

The opening of ports in Joseon was both a crisis and opportunity.
Joseon lost its sovereignty under foreign pressure and its cultural traditions were ruptured.
Nonetheless, this port opening period of the Joseon era was a critical time when new economic players and modern individuals contemplated ways to defend and advance their nation for themselves.
This era was a turning point for Korea to achieve independence and transform into a modern nation.