The attitude of the Korean people toward Japan has undergone many changes during that past quarter of a century. The thing that we must always reckon with is the ancient feeling of enmity aroused, in the first place, by the devastating raids of Japanese freebooters during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. At that time the Koreans suffered so severely that the very name of Japanese became the synonym of all that was dreadful and to be hated. This was further intensified by the great invasion of 1592 when the Koreans suffered untold things at the hands of the temporary conquerors. The result of these things are clearly seen in Korean character today. It would be very hard to find a Korean child who does not drink in, almost with his mother’s milk, a feeling of dislike against the Japanese. On the other hand the Japanese seem to have imbibed as strong a feeling toward the Korean. This feeling is one of contempt, born of the less warlike character of the Korean and his strong conservatism. These sentiments we firmly believe to be the real underlying ones and if so the only genuine _rapprochement_ between the two people must be along the line of mutual self-interest. If it _pays_ sufficiently to forget the old feud then forgotten it will be, but it is plain that the interest must be a mutual one. From the days of the Great Invasion up to the year 1868 the difficulties between Korea and Japan were quiescent, though by no means dead. After the Manchu invasion of Korea the Japanese even offered Korea help in throwing off the Manchu yoke. As we look at conditions today we can almost say that it was a pity Korea did not accept the offer. The late Regent, during the first decade of the present reign, conceived a fanatical hatred against all outsiders and, through a few unfortunate victories over them, conceived the idea of hermetically sealing the country against foreign intercourse. He adopted the one course which was sure to effect the opening of the country, namely by banning the Japanese commercial settlement at Fusan. This was just at the time of Japan’s great awakening and it is probable that she sincerely hoped and believed that Korea was capable of taking the same forward step which she herself was taking. When, therefore, Korea not only took no forward step even but attempted to retire more deeply into her political solitude she aroused a good deal of feeling in Japan, a feeling that was so intense that it resulted in a sanguinary civil war called the Satsuma Rebellion. The leaders of the people in the Southern island of Kiusiu, which lies nearest to Korea, earnestly desired that Japan should force upon Korea at the point of the sword what time has at last effected. If the leaders of that rebellion could have looked forward to the year 1905 they would have left their swords in their scabbards.