Grain Export Ban

As Japanese merchants bought up grain and prices soared, Governor Jo Byeong-sik of Hamgyeong banned shipments out of the province; Japan protested and Korea revoked the ban and paid damages.

After the ports opened, Japanese merchants bought up rice and soybeans in bulk and shipped them to Japan, driving up grain prices and causing shortages. In the bad harvest of 1889 Governor Jo Byeong-sik of Hamgyeong stopped soybeans from leaving through the port of Wonsan.

The 1883 trade regulations required a month’s notice before such a ban, and Japan demanded its withdrawal and compensation for the alleged breach. Korea withdrew the order and in 1893 paid 110,000 hwan. Hwanghae Province issued a similar ban the following year.