Masanhappo District (), formerly known as Happo, is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Changwon
Changwon (; ) is the capital and largest city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea (with a population of 1,025,702 ), and the 11th largest city of the South Korea, country. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south, and the ...
, South Korea.
History
In the late 19th century, the town was considered "one of the finest harbours in east Asia, though still only a fishing-village."
In October 1898, the Japanese, who were aiming at the control of Korea and were planning to build a railroad with its starting point at nearby
Busan
Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
, began buying up land in the town; Colonel Tamura Iyozo, who was centrally involved, said the following June that "if Russia gets her hands on Masampo, Japan must become useless."
[Nish, ''The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 61.] In May 1899 the town became a
treaty port, and the Russian navy tried to buy land for its use, only to discover that the Japanese had already acquired some of the parcels they needed. The following November, there was an ugly confrontation between Russian and Japanese seamen, and by February 1900 there was a rumor that the Russians were demanding a lease of land for military-naval use: "A large Russian squadron including the battleships ''Rossiya, Donskoi,'' and ''Rurik'' sailed from Port Arthur and weighed anchor at Masampo threateningly."
The Japanese cabinet insisted that Russia not acquire any site that commanded the harbors of
Koje Island, and Japan placed its fleet on a war footing. The tension was lessened by a secret agreement between Russia and Japan later that year, and the war scare was finally ended with the coming of the
Boxer disturbances in June.
[Nish, ''The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 62.]
See also
*
Changwon
Changwon (; ) is the capital and largest city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea (with a population of 1,025,702 ), and the 11th largest city of the South Korea, country. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south, and the ...
*
Masan
Masan () is an administrative region of Changwon, a city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae District, Jinhae. Masan was ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Districts of Changwon