Lithuania Encounters Korea: The First References and Contacts during the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
Lithuania Encounters Korea: The First References and Contacts during the Late 19th and Early 20th Century

Summary/Abstract: By using archive materials, the article explores the earliest available references to Korea in Lithuanian language publications and also looks at the first known visit to Korea by a Lithuanian person. The time frame analysed in the research spans 1880 to 1921. On the one hand, the results are not surprising, because the information about Korea in Lithuanian language fits the general pattern of key events that attracted the most attention from the media of that time: Korea’s position during the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, as well as the struggle of the Korean nationalist movement. On the other hand, some unique characteristics can also be identified, such as some elements of unity between Koreans and Lithuanians due to mutual sentiment of being nations under oppression. The first visit to Korea by a Lithuanian person proves to be a rather random event, which was neither planned nor resulted in further connections. Overall, the findings provide a realization that Lithuania and Korea of the time were trapped in myriad of their own urgent problems which prevented them from establishing closer mutual contacts.

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