Korea's relationships with China and Japan were tested in 1882 when a riot broke out in Korea during a drought. It started in Imo but inexplicably spread to the Japanese legation in Korea. Six Japanese were killed, and riots broke out throughout the city.

Japan then deployed four warships to Korea, and China sent in 4,500 troops. The two countries were now competing for control over Korean affairs. China wanted the Korean reforms to move along gradually, while Japan wanted them to make rapid improvements. The Japanese dispatched a fleet into the Korean harbours of Pusan and Chempulpo, assuring Li Hongzhang that they simply wanted to balance off the Chinese forces already in the country. King GoJong of Korea insisted that the Japanese depart but Japan adamantly refused.

Huang Zunxian, the Chinese ambassador to Korea, recommended that Korea maintain friendly relations with Japan. He felt that Japan would counterbalance any undesirable influence by Russia. At that time, Japan wasn't seen as a threat to the power of China.

Japan was also interested in a cordial relationship with the US to further balance any possible threat from Russia. However, when the Americans established relations with Korea, they overlooked the fact that Korea had a history of being a tributary state of China, which started back in 1637. The US felt that Korea should be considered an independent state. The skilled statesman Li Hongzhang was in charge of the Chinese-Korean policy and presented a compromise that would satisfy both the US and China. Thus, the Japan-Korea Treaty, or Treaty of Kanghwa, was amended to state that Korea was "an independent state enjoying the same sovereign rights as does Japan."

Li Hongzhang spoke with Korean representatives and recommended that they emulate the self-strengthening policy that China had started and introduce reforms that would help them relate to other countries from a position of at least equal strength. The Chinese then sent over a military unit to train Korean soldiers in warfare techniques and provided them with upgraded weapons.