The source base and Western historiography of U.S. policy toward the Joseon Korean State in the 1860s–1890s

The article examines a body of published sources on the history of the establishment and development of early relations between the United States and Korea in the second half of the 19th century, as well as selected key works on the subject in Western historiography. The study characterizes and assesses the source value of official documents published in the multi-volume collection Foreign Relations of the United States, period press materials, travel notes, and scholarly works by contemporaries of the events. It also provides a historiographical overview of major historical studies by D. Bision, B. Cumings, T. Dennett, W. Griffis, and others. As a result of the research, the author draws the following conclusions. The source-based and historiographical analysis of U.S. policy toward the Korean state of Joseon in the second half of the 19th century demonstrates that the volume of published sources and academic works by foreign historians involved in the study is sufficient for achieving the stated research goal and addressing the primary objectives. At the same time, the analysis of the initial stage of American foreign policy toward Korea reveals a lack of comprehensive and systematic studies that would thoroughly cover the key phases of its development, the motivations behind foreign policy decisions, as well as internal contradictions and debates within the American political establishment regarding the course toward Joseon. Most academic works addressing specific aspects of U.S.–Korean relations take the form of articles focused on particular issues: the opening of Korea to American trade, the establishment of diplomatic contacts, and the activities of individual diplomats, ambassadors, or military-political representatives. However, despite the depth of analysis of these topics, their connection to the broader context of U.S. East Asian policy remains insufficiently defined. It is noted that this gap will be addressed in future scholarly publications by the author.