Until the end of the Edo period, when Japan established diplomatic relations with the west countries, the Joseon dynasty is the only country with which Tokugawa shogunate had formal diplomatic relations. The diplomatic negotiations were not conducted by the Shogunate itself, but by the Tsushima clan, which was geographically closest to the Korean Peninsula. The diplomatic relations between Joseon and Japan had set aside by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions to Korea and were restored in the early 17th century. The Joseon dynasty dispatched diplomatic missions to Japan, first as ‘Reply and Prisoner Repatriation’ envoys and then as ‘Tongsinsa’. The ‘peaceful’ and stable relationship between Joseon and Japan was sustained until the end of the Edo period. The last diplomatic delegation from Joseon to Shogunate were dispatched in 1811, when the 11th shogun Ienari succeeded shogunate. The 1763-1764 mission was the last chance that the Joseon delegation could travel to Edo, the capital of the shogunate. The previous researches explain the reasons of the shift in terms of the financial difficulties of the shogunate, the changes in the shogunate's policy toward Joseon, or contempt for Korea. On the Korean side as well, it was because of the heavy financial burden or the decline in the significance of the dispatch. Therefore, it seems that the relationship between Joseon and shogunate gradually lost important to the two countries each other, and then, after the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the establishment of Meiji Restoration brought the relationship of ‘the rulers and the ruled’. In this paper, I will focus on the ‘thirteenth delegation’ that was planned between the two countries, although it was not ultimately realized. The delegations were not abolished for both countries until the end of Edo period, and were scheduled to be dispatched to Japan when the twelfth shogun, Ieyoshi, succeeded the shogunate. I would like to look at the relationship between Joseon and shogunate at a time when the two countries were said to ‘have lost their interest in each other’. Although the process of the plan of dispatch has been clarified, there still remain many unanswered questions about how the two countries discussed the diplomatic issue of changing the system of the Joseon delegations. In this paper, I have examined how the next delegation was planned among Joseon, Tsushima, and the shogunate by unraveling the actual negotiations at the Waegwan and the interactions between the Tsushima clan and the shogunate. Then I painted a picture of Joseon-Japan relations in the first half of the 19th century. From 1811 onward, the dispatch of Joseon delegations was repeatedly postponed due to the fires of Edo Castle, lean years, or financial burden, and never came to fruition. However, negotiations between the two countries were still ongoing. The Joseon government made arrangements for ginseng to dispatch the delegations, and the shogunate and the Tsushima clan also made preparations for welcome the delegations by examining precedents. Despite repeated negotiations, the delegations were never dispatched again after 1811. However, neither Joseon nor the shogunate had any intention of abolishing diplomatic missions, and this did not be changed even as the western countries approached the two countries.
