Korea in the Age of Imperialism

The Center for Asia Pacific Studies welcomes Wayne Patterson, Professor Emeritus at St. Norbert College, for a discussion on William Franklin Sands and Korea during the age of imperialism. At the end of the nineteenth century, Sands arrived in Korea to serve as an advisor to the king (later emperor). His arrival coincided with a fascinating time in Korean history when the great powers vied for influence in the country and Korea modernized. Sands’s story will be of great interest for anyone who wishes to gain a more nuanced understanding of America’s involvement in the international rivalry over Korea at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Speaker Bio:
Wayne Patterson is Professor Emeritus of East Asian history at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, where he taught for more than four decades. He served as visiting professor at universities in the United States and abroad, including Harvard University, the University of Chicago, Ewha University, Yonsei University, the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and Hang Seng University, two of which were as a Fulbrighter. Among Patterson’s fifteen books are: The Korean Frontier in America: Immigration to Hawaii, 1896-1910; The Ilse: First-Generation Korean Immigrants in Hawaii, 1903-1973; and, most recently, William Franklin Sands in Late Choson Korea: At the Deathbed of Empire, 1896-1904.