The Yellow Sea War, also referred to as the First Sino-Japanese War, was a conflict fought between Japan and China, which resulted in a Chinese victory over the Japanese thanks to crucial foreign support. While the victory was the first bulwark against future Japanese attempts at imperialistic goals, it crippled China and the vassal state of Korea, where the bulk of the war was fought and where the majority of casualties were induced. In Japan, it resulted in the growing unpopularity of the Emperor Meiji and the return of the Shogun's influence as a de facto Prime Minister. In Korea, it placed the paranoid King Taebong on the throne, who promptly drove the country into financial ruin and forced it into reliance upon Japan and China and a position of subservience. In China, the devastation