In this book, Wayne Patterson examines the recently found correspondence, journals, and photographs of William Nelson Lovatt, Korea's first commissioner of customs in Pusan. These materials significantly advance our knowledge of a critical time in the late Chos?n period. The study's main theme is the transformation of China's policy toward Korea from a largely benevolent policy to an increasingly interventionist policy to a kind of imperialism. A key bellweather in this transformation can be found in the customs service in which Lovatt served.