When the Americans first came to Korea, they just wanted to find out what happened to the General Sherman and to build relationships with Korea. Also, at first, when the Americans were trying to find out about the General Sherman, the Koreans were reluctant to respond. Also when the Americans were asking about surveying the coast, the Koreans didn't exactly tell the Americans that they couldn't go in the river that weren't suppose to go into. So, in the American's view, the Korean were the aggressors because Merlin sees that “There is only one fairly good reason for fighting -- and that is, if the other man starts it" (232).
Korea had a good reason to counter the force, because the American were going into lands that the Koreans didn’t want them to go into. It doesn’t matter if they knew or not. They went into land where the Americans weren’t supposed to go. So the Koreans took that as an invasion by the Americans so they fought back. As Merlin said anyone “can see which side began to make the threat of force or was the first to arm itself” (234), so using Merlin’s saying, it proves that the Koreans saw the Americans as a threat and attacked them.
All in all, America was not justified in fighting this war. This conflict was done because of trespassing and misinformation. If America communicated better with the Koreans about where they could go, it would not