Westerners in Beijing’s First Impressions of Joseon
베이징에 온 서양인, 조선과 마주치다
On June 1, 1871, a U.S. military navy fleet entered the Ganghwa Strait without the Joseon Kingdom’s permission. Joseon attacked, and a battle ensued.
The U.S. protested the surprise attack. Joseon responded, saying their attack was justified due to the U.S.‘s unlawful trespassing. On June 10, the U.S. retaliated with small skirmishes, resulting in causalities on both sides until their retreat on July 3. Joseon considered themselves victorious.
Joseon sent people to Qing China as a follow-up measure. Joseon ordered the Qing Emperor to tighten his hold on the U.S. and to keep the U.S. away from them.
The Qing had signed the Treaty of Nanjing with Great Britain in 1842 after losing the first Opium War. During the Second Opium War, the emperor abandoned Beijing and fled to another city. At this time, the celestial empire’s power had little effect on the West. Joseon’s request was ignorant of the change going on in the world.
Among the Joseon men sent to Beijing was a man named Yi Eung-jun. Funnily enough, there is a photo of this trip. It was taken by John Thomson, a Scottish man staying in Beijing at the time.
A few years earlier in 1863, some photos of Yi Hang-eok and the Joseon delegation to Beijing were left at a Russian inn. These photos would be the first photos taken of the Joseon Kingdom.
When Beijing opened up after the Opium Wars, many Westerners flocked to the city. There is also much evidence of Joseon people meeting Westerners there. What did Westerners think of the Joseon people they met in Beijing?
I was much surprised to find them having European features.They were covered head to toe in white, yet there was not a speck of dirt to be found on their clothes. The Collection of Thomson
Around the same time, Nicholas Belfield Dennys had this critique of Joseon people: “Their curiosity knows no bounds.”
The Joseon people these Westerners met were emissaries or officials who frequented the city. Their duties included gathering information on international affairs, and they were extremely curious about the world beyond Joseon.
Oh Gyeongseok was one of the men who helped open the country’s borders in the late Joseon period. He occasionally traveled to Beijing. There are even photos of him meeting Westerners.
In this photo is the name of one of the Westerners he met. “Mei Hui-rip,“ a British man named William F. Mayers. Mayers was made Chinese secretary of legation in 1873. The following year, Oh Gyeongseok met him while visiting the Qing Empire. Securing this meeting wasn’t easy.
Joseon people meeting Westerners amid rough peace negotiations was dangerous. But Oh Gyeongseok believed in opening up the Joseon Kingdom and secretly met with Mayers.
The Joseon men visiting Qing China during the Western imperialism of Asia in the late 1800s were aware of the current international situation. These men were frustrated by their country’s complacency in the face of growing Western power.
Mayers wrote about these men’s feelings in his notes.
The Joseon people will likely suffer from their misdeeds. If you choose to come stay in Joseon, you must come armed with a military.
Mayers described Oh Gyeongseok’s view as “a peculiar hope.” A Joseon man hoping to mobilize European powers to force his country out of seclusion? What a strange idea.
Over time, at the end of 1881, American representative Robert Wilson Shufeldt received word from Joseon envoy Kim Yun-sik that the country wanted to sign a treaty.
The Qing pressured Joseon to include the statement “Joseon is a subject of the Qing Empire” in the U.S.-Joseon treaty. However, while Shufeldt acknowledged the special relationship between Qing and Joseon, he felt it improper for the U.S. to sign a treaty with a vassal state that is of equal status to a treaty held with that state’s sovereign nation.
As a result, Shufeldt suggested to Kim Hongjip that Joseon raise their country’s flag to show that they are an independent nation. The Joseon Kingdom didn’t have a flag before then. Using a flag symbolized Joseon’s incorporation into the Western order of international laws.
William Gryfus, who had never met a Joseon person before, described the country as one of hermits and seclusion. However, Westerners who had actually encountered a Joseon said something different.
Geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen traveled around Northeast Asia and met many people. He noted that Koreans were more curious than the Japanese or Chinese and were eager to learn about foreign countries despite their country’s closed border. John Thomson and Nicholas Dennys said the same.
Despite being from a hermit country, the Joseon people were willing to open their hearts to the Westerners they met in Beijing.
The U.S. protested the surprise attack. Joseon responded, saying their attack was justified due to the U.S.‘s unlawful trespassing. On June 10, the U.S. retaliated with small skirmishes, resulting in causalities on both sides until their retreat on July 3. Joseon considered themselves victorious.
Joseon sent people to Qing China as a follow-up measure. Joseon ordered the Qing Emperor to tighten his hold on the U.S. and to keep the U.S. away from them.
The Qing had signed the Treaty of Nanjing with Great Britain in 1842 after losing the first Opium War. During the Second Opium War, the emperor abandoned Beijing and fled to another city. At this time, the celestial empire’s power had little effect on the West. Joseon’s request was ignorant of the change going on in the world.
Among the Joseon men sent to Beijing was a man named Yi Eung-jun. Funnily enough, there is a photo of this trip. It was taken by John Thomson, a Scottish man staying in Beijing at the time.
A few years earlier in 1863, some photos of Yi Hang-eok and the Joseon delegation to Beijing were left at a Russian inn. These photos would be the first photos taken of the Joseon Kingdom.
When Beijing opened up after the Opium Wars, many Westerners flocked to the city. There is also much evidence of Joseon people meeting Westerners there. What did Westerners think of the Joseon people they met in Beijing?
I was much surprised to find them having European features.They were covered head to toe in white, yet there was not a speck of dirt to be found on their clothes. The Collection of Thomson
Around the same time, Nicholas Belfield Dennys had this critique of Joseon people: “Their curiosity knows no bounds.”
The Joseon people these Westerners met were emissaries or officials who frequented the city. Their duties included gathering information on international affairs, and they were extremely curious about the world beyond Joseon.
Oh Gyeongseok was one of the men who helped open the country’s borders in the late Joseon period. He occasionally traveled to Beijing. There are even photos of him meeting Westerners.
In this photo is the name of one of the Westerners he met. “Mei Hui-rip,“ a British man named William F. Mayers. Mayers was made Chinese secretary of legation in 1873. The following year, Oh Gyeongseok met him while visiting the Qing Empire. Securing this meeting wasn’t easy.
Joseon people meeting Westerners amid rough peace negotiations was dangerous. But Oh Gyeongseok believed in opening up the Joseon Kingdom and secretly met with Mayers.
The Joseon men visiting Qing China during the Western imperialism of Asia in the late 1800s were aware of the current international situation. These men were frustrated by their country’s complacency in the face of growing Western power.
Mayers wrote about these men’s feelings in his notes.
The Joseon people will likely suffer from their misdeeds. If you choose to come stay in Joseon, you must come armed with a military.
Mayers described Oh Gyeongseok’s view as “a peculiar hope.” A Joseon man hoping to mobilize European powers to force his country out of seclusion? What a strange idea.
Over time, at the end of 1881, American representative Robert Wilson Shufeldt received word from Joseon envoy Kim Yun-sik that the country wanted to sign a treaty.
The Qing pressured Joseon to include the statement “Joseon is a subject of the Qing Empire” in the U.S.-Joseon treaty. However, while Shufeldt acknowledged the special relationship between Qing and Joseon, he felt it improper for the U.S. to sign a treaty with a vassal state that is of equal status to a treaty held with that state’s sovereign nation.
As a result, Shufeldt suggested to Kim Hongjip that Joseon raise their country’s flag to show that they are an independent nation. The Joseon Kingdom didn’t have a flag before then. Using a flag symbolized Joseon’s incorporation into the Western order of international laws.
William Gryfus, who had never met a Joseon person before, described the country as one of hermits and seclusion. However, Westerners who had actually encountered a Joseon said something different.
Geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen traveled around Northeast Asia and met many people. He noted that Koreans were more curious than the Japanese or Chinese and were eager to learn about foreign countries despite their country’s closed border. John Thomson and Nicholas Dennys said the same.
Despite being from a hermit country, the Joseon people were willing to open their hearts to the Westerners they met in Beijing.
