The search for a new understanding of vietnam achanging view from korea in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century

Furthermore, by questioning the authenticity of the Tây Sơn Dynasty, Seo brought to the fore a fundamental change in Korean-Vietnamese relations which had since the late sixteenth centur

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF

VIETNAM: A CHANGING VIEW FROM KOREA IN

THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND THE EARLY

o nly allo w ed refo rm ist Vietnam ese and C h in e se scho lars to learn ‘ a le sso n ’ from the ruin o f V ie tn a m , but also enabled K o re a n readers to get acquainted w ith co lo n ia l

V ietn a m and understand its specificity.

Later, at a speech contest of the Daegu Secondary School (currently the

G yeo n g b u k H ig h S c h o o l) in Septem ber 1924, the third year student Y u n H ong-gi shouted out what he had memorized from the banned book, History o f the Loss o f

V ie tn a m, w h ich he had secretly kept at the attic in his house A lthoug h the school authorities rang the bell several times to make him stop, Yun didn't come down the platform until fin ish in g what he had intended to say, and concluded his speech w ith the w ords that ‘ dear fe llo w students, p o w erfu l countries are doing inhum ane things under the m ask o f hum anitarianism W e should m o b ilize to protest about the situation.’ A n o th e r story from the tim e concerns a graduate o f the Ciyeongseong Secondary S ch o o l (cu rren tly the G yeongbok H ig h Sch o o l) K irn Y u n g -k u n (1 9 1 0 -?)

w ho had studied F re n c h literature in Shanghai and N an jin g , and served the Fre n ch

C o nsulate G e n e ra l in Seo u l Through the recom m endation o f the consulate genera!,

he then w o rked betw een 1931 and 1940 as a Japanese co llectio n s librarian at the

É c o le íran ẹaise d ’E x trem e-O rien t located in H à N ộ i T h e 10 years site experience

* A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r , I n s t i t u t e f o r E a s t A s i a n S t u d i e s , S o g a n g U n iv

828

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

gave him the fam iliarity w ith V ietn am ese history and cu ltu re, and he could lead the vario u s areas o f the V ie tn a m ese studies W hat did V ie tn a m m ean to these two young K o re a n m en? W hat m ade one o f them to protest about the p o litical situation

in the co u n try, and the other devote his life to the field o f V ie tn a m ese studies?

T h e m ain purpose o f this present paper is to p ro v id e useful insights into the changing K o re a n perception o f V ietn a m w h ic h w as brought about by the shifting circu m stan ce s and fortunes o f the N guyễn D y n a sty (1 8 0 2 -1 9 4 5 ) from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century E a r lie r studies o f the relationships between these tw o countries have largely focused either on the com panionship o f their resp ective en vo ys through early exchange o f literature, or on the solidarity o f two the c o u n trie s’ patriots during the m odern period so as to better understand the history o f the K o re an independence m ovem ent In co m p ariso n to these approaches, this present study exam in es w h ich factors helped m odern K o re a to gain a new understanding o f V ie tn a m Fu rth er, it an alyzes the p o litic a l and so cial m otives that induced K o re a n in tellectu als to overcom e their p reju d ice of, and in d ifference to, the

T â y Sơn ‘R e b e llio n ’ (1 7 7 1 -1 7 8 8 ) O b se rv in g the V ie tn a m e se reaction to the Fren ch

co lo n iza tio n o f their co u n try, K o re a n intellectuals o f this period, them selves under increasing Japanese pressu re, began to em body a n e w understanding o f V ietn am

w h ich w a s built upon a p erceived p sy ch o lo g ica l so lid a rity , b e lievin g their two nations shared a com m o n destiny It is w ith the exam in atio n o f this p sych o lo g ica l process it s e lf that w e can better understand the m o tives, both those expressed

publically as well as those held in private, of the young Korean men who from the

1920s on w ard s took see m in g ly unexpected actions regarding V ie tn a m

The rise and fall of the Nguyễn Dynasty and Korea’s new understanding

of Vietnam

The Korean heritage regarding the understanding o f Vietnam

D e sp ite the h isto rica l and cultural sim ila rity o f K o re a and V ie tn a m , there never had existed o ffic ia l relations between the tw o countries N everth eless, the kingdom s on the K o re a n p en in su la and their elites began to have interests in

‘ A n n a m ’ from as early as the ninth century C h o e C h i- W o n (8 5 7 -?) introduced the history, geography and culture o f N orthern V ie tn a m w h en he reported the borders

o f ‘G ia o C h ỉ ’ and the h isto ry o f Protectorate G e n e ral to P a c ify the South D u rin g the G o ry e o (9 1 8 -1 3 9 2 ) and Joseon (1 3 9 2 -1 9 1 0 ) D yn a stie s, K o re a increased understanding o f m any aspects o f the history and culture o f the kingdom o f N am

V iệ t, the M a Y u a n (1 4 B C - 4 9 A D ) ’s expedition to V ie tn a m and the resistant

m ovem ent to the in v a sio n b y the Trư n g sisters, as w e ll as general aspects o f the

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LÀN THÚ TU

S in o -V ie tn a m e se relations and the ruling patterns o f C h in a o ver ‘ A n n a m ’, and the

C h in e se in vasio n s to V ie tn a m during the M in g period (1 4 0 7 -1 4 2 7 ).

I f there w ere any encounters between K o re a and V ie tn a m during this tim e, they w ere all u n o fficia l and som etim es accidental, for exam p le in the cases when

V ietn am ese reached the K o re a n p en in su la after drifting on the sea, or vice versa

O ther, m ore se m i-o ffic ia l, encounters happened w hen the en vo ys o f both countries met in C h in a F ro m 9 7 3 , V ie tn a m reg u larly sent en vo ys to C h in a for m ore than 900 years, except w hen there w ere p o litical disputes and arm ed cla sh e s w ith in V ie tn a m

or C h in a In p articular, the L ê D y n a sty (1 4 2 8 -1 7 8 8 ) sent tributes to M in s D yn asty every three years, and after the fall o f M in e and the rise o f Q in g D y n a sty every six years Throug h these tribute v isits, the K o rean en vo ys to C h in a m ade contacts with their V ie tn a m ese counterparts and eained opportunities for a better understanding o f this S o u th-East A sia n country.

T h is understanding o f V ie tn a m , by the partial h isto rical facts and the lim ited contacts, w as further developed by the Joseon D y n a sty ’ s en v o ys w h o show ed more active interests in the m utual exchange w ith the country A m o n g others, the contact

in 1597 between the K o re a n envoy Y i Su-gw ang (1 5 6 3 -1 6 2 8 ) and the V ietn am ese Phùng K h ắ c K h o a n (1 5 2 8 -1 6 1 3 ) has been understood as a typ ical case o f the two

co u n trie s’ interchange Y i , w h o w a s sent to C h in a as a co n d o len ce v ice -e n v o y , met the L ê D y n a sty ’ s e n vo y Phùng and gained kno w ledg e o f the V ie tn a m e se custom and institutions Y i later m entioned V ietn a m ese histo ry and culture in his two books, Jibong Yuseol (T reatise o f Jibong, 1614) and Jibong-jip (A n th o lo g y o f Jibong, 1663) F ro m then on, the expanded K o re a n interests in the country beyond the sea, as V ie tn a m becam e kn o w n , gave rise to the L a te Joseon D y n a sty ’ s

in te llectu a ls’ deeper understanding o f V ietn am

H o w e v e r, in addition to the frien d ly exchange betw een the tw o co u n tries’

e n vo ys, it is n e ce ssary to co n sid er the changing attitude o f the Joseon D y n a sty tow ards V ie tn a m after the T â y S ơ n ‘R e b e llio n ’ In this regard, a rem arkable histo rical source is Yeonhaeng-gi (T ra v e lo g u e to B e ijin g ) w ritten by the v ice -e n vo y Seo H o -su (1 7 3 6 -1 7 9 9 ), w h o w as sent to C h in a in 1790 to celebrate the Em p ero r

Q ia n lo n g 's eightieth birthday T h e author's d istin ctive p h ilo lo g ica l research, called

‘ evidential learn in g ’ (khaozhengxue), his interests in ‘ W estern L e a r n in g ’ , and know ledge o f the p o litics and culture o f the Q in g D y n a sty helped h im to give a

v iv id account o f the contem porary V ietn a m ese situation through the travelogue

w h ich contains abundant inform ation about the country, in a s im ila r w a y to Y i Su-

g w a n e ’s w ritin g s m entioned above.

830

TH E SEARCH FOR A NEW U N D E R S T A N D IN G OF V IE TN A M

On 16 July 1790, Seo Ho-su arrived at Rehe1 where he made contact with Vietnamese envoys from the newly established Tây Sơn Dynasty Over a period of about ten days, personal contacts were possible through various official meetings Seo had gotten some knowledge of the Tây Sơn ‘Rebellion’ even before he left Korea for Rehe, and now his preconception of their illegitimacy was confirmed His Vietnamese counterparts were wearing fantastical official-like costumes designed to resemble those of the Qing Dynasty, to win the favor of Emperor Qianlong The Vietnamese vice-envoy Phan Huy Ich (1750-1822), who ‘appeared to be ashamed

of the clumsy clothes and hat adopting the style of the Manchus’, tried to seek the Korean vice-envoy’s comprehension by passing him a poem that went, ‘our attires are the same type for everlasting, vve talk to each other every morning by the mysterious destiny' However, Seo Ho-su paid but little attention to this poem which represented, by implication, the traditional friendly relations between the two countries Furthermore, by questioning the authenticity of the Tây Sơn Dynasty, Seo brought to the fore a fundamental change in Korean-Vietnamese relations which had since the late sixteenth century been friendly.

The account of the Tây Sơn Dynasty’s envoys given by Yeonhaeng-gi

significantly influenced subsequent Korean envoys’ understanding of Vietnam As

Yi Gyu-gyeong, a renowned nineteenth century’s scholar (1788-1856), pointed out,

no record of the Tây Sơn government was found in Korean historical sources The negative image of ‘Annam’ exemplified by the Tây Sơn ‘Rebellion’ continued into the early nineteenth century It was towards the end of 1803, one year after the establishment of the Nguyễn Dynasty, that ‘the Country of Vietnam’ reemerged, providing a legitimate image to Korean historiographers.

The establishment o f the Nguyen Dynasty and its repercussion on Korea

The negative perception of ‘Annam’ formed by Seo Ho-su in the late eighteenth century faced a turning point with the emergence of the Nguyễn Dynasty

in 1802 In this regard, it is necessary to take a look at the role of Korean envoys Hong Seok-ju (1774-1842), a document officer, who left Seoul for Beijing on 27 August 1803 and returned on 28 December, wrote in his report that Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (1762-1820: Emperor Gia Long) came to power after having overthrown the Tây Sơn government, and that the Qing Dynasty conferred the title of king on him, with the name of the country being decided as ‘Yuenan’ (Việt Nam in Vietnamese).2 A certain Yi Hae-eung (1775-1825) departed Seoul for the capital of

1 R e h e w a s l o c a t e d n o r t h o f t h e G r e a t W a l l , w e s t o f M a n c h u r i a , a n d e a s t o f M o n g o l i a

2 T h e t h e n e n v o y Y i M a n - s u ( 1 7 5 2 - 1 8 2 0 ) , l ik e H o n g S e o k - j u , a l s o i n t r o d u c e d t h e r e c e n t

s i t u a t i o n o f V i e t n a m l e a r n e d f r o m t h e C h i n e s e i m p e r i a l b u l l e t i n , D ib a o

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LÀN THÚ T ư

China on 4 December 1803, accompanying his friend Seo Jang-bo (1767-1830) a document officer of the annual winter solstice mission Returning in the following year, he described in his travel account to Beijing, Gvesan Gijeong\ the foundation

of Vietnam by Nguyễn Phúc Ánh and added a remark on its relations with the neighbors such as Thailand and Cambodia in order to explain in more detail the background of the establishment of the Nguyễn Dynatsy.

Further information on Vietnam made known by Korean members of envoy missions can be also found in 1828 Kim No-sang stayed in China between May and September of that year and served on the medical staff for the envoy Yi Gu It is through the conversation, carried out in writing, with a Chinese scholar Zhang Hengfu (Zhang Jiliang, 1799-1843) that the medical officer became aware that the Qing Dynasty was still receiving tribute regularly from Vietnam at that time Park Sa-ho, who was a member of an envoy mission to China between October 1828 to April 1829, and led by Hong Gi-seop (1776-1831), outlined in his travel book

Simjeon-go the complex situation of Nguyễn Văn Huệ coming into power as Tây Sơn government's leader and the formation of the Nguyễn Dynasty, adding also an account of the Thai products, Cambodian customs and Vietnamese peacocks and combat elephants.

The information regarding Vietnam which had thus been introduced to Korea

in the early nineteenth century began to diversify due to the exchange between the two countries' envoys Having been sent to Beijing in 1845 as an envoy, Yi Yu-won formed a friendship with Vietnamese representatives and not only made known the exchange of poems by the two countries delegations, but also publicized aspects of Sino-Vietnamese relations and Vietnamese culture, for example the deep-rooted anti-Chinese sentiments held by the Vietnamese people, descriptions of the currency and the different styles of official court dress According to Yi Yu-won, the Vietnamese currency, called ‘Yeojun-jeon’ (Lê tuấn tiền in Vietnamese), was inscribed with the characters ‘Dae Hwa Tong Bo’ (Đại Hòa Thông Bảo in Vietnamese, Great Harmony Coin) Further, after checking the appearance and the calligraphy of the Vietnamese envoys, he described:

The Vietnamese official court dress is just like ours Items such as official uniforms, embroidered patches on the breast and on the back, belts, and horsehair- woven headband are almost identical The official’ s cone-shaped hat is similar to our musician’s hat; it is decorated with golden flowers on the front and the back.

1 ‘G y e s a r f ( J i s h a n in C h i n e s e ) is a n o t h e r n a m e o f ' G y e g i f ( J i q i u in C h i n e s e ) w h i c h r e f e r s t o

B e i j i n g T h e r e f o r e , ‘G y e s a n G i j e o n a ' m e a n s t h e ‘t r a v e l o g u e t o B e i j i n g ’

832

TH E SE A R C H FOR A NEW U N D E R S T A N D IN G OF V IE TN A M

The Vietnamese envoys are small, of dark-complexion, have a deep knowledge of the classics and have good handwriting: they seek the essence of Wane Xizhi’s calligraphic style Official titles such as Academician ( xueshi ), Chief Minister (, siqing ) were borrowed from the Chinese government organization.

Then, in his concluding remarks, Yi Yu-won commented:

After Chinese civilization and institutions were changed into barbarians’ customs, the Manchurian pigtail and red hat became prevalent across China, and the solemn manner of the officials of the Han race cannot be found anywhere Now, instead, the full dress worn by the Vietnamese and their civilization reminds me of the old institutions of the Mine Dvnasty.

With such a positive opinion of the Vietnamese envoys, Yi Yu-won became interested in the history of the Đinh, Lê, Lý, and Tran Dynasties who had ruled after independence from China in the tenth century Furthermore he continued to pursue

of his interest in South-East Asia, introducing Korean readers to descriptions of Thai, Lao, Burmese, Cambodian and Philippine culture.

In addition, it is necessary to take account of the various interests paid to Vietnam at this time by the so-called ‘ Silhak ’ (Practical Learning) scholars, who were continuing the work left unfinished by Yi Su-gwang According to the famous ‘ Silhak ’ scholar Yi Geung-ik (1736-1806), the countries neighboring China also participated in its imperial examination system However, these circumstances seemed to have little influence on Korea, and, drawing a comparison between these countries and his own, he commented:

Our people are narrow-minded and have no clever-mind; they don’t dare to study abroad; so far, suffering the stigma of timidity, we cannot apply for the civil service examination for foreigners called Guest and Tributary Examination What a deplorable situation!

The Vietnamese Trần Nho succeeded in the state examination during the Zhengde period (1488-1521) and became Second Royal Secret Inspector; Nguyễn Ngạc who passed the state examination during the Jiajing period (1522-1566) became Second Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Works; Tôn ứng Ngao came to Guangxi province as a refugee, and he also succeeded in the state examination to become Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Rites Even now, there are as many as five Vietnamese who have passed the Guest and Tributary Examination and entered government service in prefectures and counties.

1 H i s b o o k Jib o n q Y u seo l is c o n s i d e r e d to b e t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e 'S ilh a k ' s c h o o l

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI TIiẢO QUỐC TÉ LÀN THÚ TƯ

With this comment and using information from J i b o n g YuseoL he set a his,h value on Vietnamese scholars’ progressive spirit in contrast with the passive attitude

of Korean scholars.

Jeong Yak-yong (1762-1836), the influential ‘Practical Learning’ scholar, had more diverse interests in Vietnam First, he introduced the story of Mun Sun-deuk, a merchant from Heuksan Island in Naju (Jeolla province), who after becoming lost and adrift in the southwest sea during the winter of 1801 ended up making a round trip to the Ryukyu Islands, Ningbo (seaport in the northeast of Zhejiang p r o v i n c e ) ,

the Philippines, and Vietnam Second, Jeons; Yak-yeona save an account of historically important Chinese military commanders and imperial officials sent to Vietnam, including Yang Pu1 who had been dispatched in 111 BC by the Han

E m p e r o r W u t o a t t a c k t h e k i n g d o m o f N a m V i ệ t ; M a Y u a n w h o h a d s u p p r e s s e d t h e

Trưng Sisters ‘rebellion' in 39-43 and had restored Vietnam to Chinese occupation; and Ren Yan who had been appointed District Magistrate of Jiuzhen (Cửu Chân in Vietnamese) during the reign of Emperor Guangwu (25-56) and introduced to the Vietnamese a new method of planting rice as well as an agricultural technique for using plough Jeong Yak-yong also provided information about local products, including: silk produced and traded in the prefecture of Ái Châu; the l ice-plant in the northern part of the country where f a r m e r s grew two crops a year; and silkworms which could be raised eight times a year.

Yi Gyu-gyeong, much interested in the history of foreign countries, introduced briefly Vietnamese history from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century with the words:

The foreign countries of the same script and culture also have history Even if they are descendants of barbarians, we cannot ignore their history; 1 often write down well-founded historical facts and make them usable as a reference while reading official histories.

To this purpose, he recommended historical materials such as An Nam Chi Lược (Abbreviated Records of Annam, 1335) by the Vietnamese historian Lê Tắc exiled in China in the early fourteenth century; A nnan Zoji (Miscellaneous Notes of Annam) by Li Xianeen (1621-1690), who was a successful candidate in national examinations of the Qing Dynasty; Annan Jiyou (Travelling Annam) by Pan

Dinggui (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) from Fujian province; as well as

‘Annam Sasin Mundap-rok’ (Records of Questions and Answers with Annamese

1 In 10 9 B C , E m p e r o r W u l a u n c h e d a m i l i t a r y c a m p a i g n in to t h e K o r e a n k i n g d o m G o j o s e o n

T w o f o r c e s le d b y Y a n g P u a n d X u n Z h i s e t o u t f r o m C h i n a t o i n v a d e t h e k i n g d o m

834

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

E n v o y s ) and ‘Jo W an -b yeo k je o n ’ (B io g ra p h y o f Jo W a n -b y e o k 1) by Y i Su-gw ang

Y i G y u -g y e o n g also suggested reading his own editorial w o rk Namgyo Yeokgo

(E x ch a n g e w ith southern co untries) A c co rd in g to him , these reference books w ould pave the w a y for further understanding o f V ietn a m

Fro m the late nineteenth century the interests o f K o re a n intellectuals in

V ietn am m oved on to contem porary p olitical issues In this pro cess, the key

em erging topic concerned a sense o f crisis o f the Joseon D y n a sty regarding the French co lo n iza tio n o f V ie tn a m

The attitude o f the Joseon Dynasty towards the colonization o f Vietnam in the late nineteenth century

F ra n c e encroached g rad u ally on the V ie tn a m ese teư ito ry in a series o f m ilitary conquests between 1858 and 1885, after w h ich V ie tn a m b ecam e part o f Fren ch

In d o ch ina In the T re a ty o f T ia n jin o f June 1885, C h in e se recognized Fren ch

ju risd ictio n over V ie tn a m Sho rtly after, in Ju ly 1885, the C a n V ư ơ n g (L o y a lty to the K in g ) M o vem en t em erged in V ie tn a m , after the flight by E m p e ro r H àm N g hi (1 8 8 4 -1 8 8 5 ) and his regent T ô n T h ấ t T h u y ế t (1 8 3 9 -1 9 1 3 ) from the im p erial capital

o f H uế D e sp ite the subsequent capture o f the em peror, the C a n V ư ơ n g M ovem ent received support from V ie tn a m e se o f vario u s w a lk s o f life throughout the country

B y the late 1880s a w id esp read g u erilla m ovem ent w a s in operation p articu larly in the central p ro vin ces H o w e v e r, the Fre n ch cam paign against K o re a o f 1866 and

U nited States m ilitary expedition to K o re a in 1871, put pressure on the K o re an court In this context, it is interesting to understand the attitude o f K in g G o jo n g (1 8 6 3 -1 9 0 7 ) and his courtiers towards the co lo n iza tio n o f V ie tn a m and its independence struggle.

It is from his e n v o y s returning from C h in a that K in g G o jo n g received fragm entary inform ation on V ie tn a m , such as its geographical position and nature (for exam ple the presence o f elephants), as w e ll as m ore p o litica lly sign ifican t descrip tions o f its N e o -C o n fu c ia n ism and institutional p ro tocols H o w e v e r, it happened that Ju le s-M a rie D u p ré (1 8 1 3 -1 8 8 1 ), governor o f F re n c h C o ch in ch in a , sent F ra n c is G a m ie r to H à N ộ i in 1873 to rescue the F re n ch m erchant-adventurer Jean D u p u is and extend F re n ch influence into N orth V ie tn a m T h e F re n ch w ithdrew

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QUÓC TÉ LẦN THÚ T Ư

from the region, but w ere granted a loose protectorate status o ver the northern region o f the V ie tn a m e se E m p ire in a treaty sien ed in 1874 H a v in g heard o f the

w h o le p ro cess o f the in vasio n from the en v o ys to B e ijin g in 1874, K in g G o jo n g paid serious attention to the V ie tn a m ese situation H is co n ce rn about the crisis in

V ie tn a m w as sparked in p articu lar by P ark G y u -s u (1 8 0 7 -1 8 7 7 ), a state co u n cilo r,

w h o reported the m atter to the K in g , sayin g that ‘acco rd in g to recent n ew s, W estern barbarians had invaded as far as A n n am and alread y sw a llo w e d up the co u n try ’

T h e cases o f high o ffic ia ls near K in g G o jo n g are also a good in d icato r o f how the K o rean g overnm ent understood the situation in V ie tn a m F irs t, K im H ong-jip (1 8 4 8 -1 9 0 5 ), w h o had participated on a m issio n to Japan in M a y 1880 and observed the changing w in d s o f w o rld affa irs, becam e aw are o f the c r is is o f V ie tn a m and paid clo se attention to the w id e r W estern in v asio n o f S o u th -E a st A s ia W hen he left Japan, K im had obtained from H u an e Z u n x ia n (1 8 4 8 -1 9 0 5 ), co u n selo r o f the

C h in e se legation in T o k y o , the Chooxian Celtie ( A P o lic y for K o re a ) written by

H uang h im se lf R e fe rrin g to this book and other in fo rm atio n , he argued that the

V ietn a m ese situation w a s b ecom ing in creasin g ly dangerous due to the estrangem ent between V ie tn a m and C h in a iro m the Q in g period o n w ard s K im H o n g -jip also asserted that the K o re a n governm ent should take p recautions against the opening o f Inch eo n , the g atew ay to Seo u l, dem anded by Japan, citin g in p a rticu lar the Fren ch

in vasio n o f V ie tn a m as a precedent.

K im Y u n - s ik ( Ỉ8 3 5 - 1 9 2 2 ), w ho led a large group o f students and artisans on a

m issio n to T ia n jin in C h in a , N o vem b er 1 8 8 11, seize d a ch a n ce to com prehend in

m ore detail the situation and pro cess o f the F re n c h co lo n iza tio n o f V ietn a m , establishing a co n n ectio n between the fall o f the country and the international situation o f E a s t A s ia F o r exam p le, on 9 M ay Ỉ8 8 2 , the K o re a n e n v o y then still in

T ia n jin in terview ed a C an to n ese m erchant T a n g Jin g x in g (1 8 3 2 -1 8 9 2 ) w ho served

as the general m anager o f C h in a M e rch a n ts’ Steam N a v ig a tio n C o m p an y in Shanghai D u e to the explanation o f the C h in e se m anager, K im Y u n - s ik , w h o had been ignorant o f the country, beean to understand that the F re n c h in vasio n o f H à

N ộ i Oĩ) 25 A p r il m ade the V ietn a m ese governm ent in H u e fall into disorder H e

ju d g ed that V ie tn a m , once ‘ a self-strengthening co u n try ', had reached an im passe in

w h ich there w a s no supporter to rely on except the arm y ( B la c k F la g s) o f L iu

Y o n g fu (1 8 3 7 -1 9 1 7 ), a C h in e se leader o f the rem nants o f the T a ip in g R eb ellio n

T h e Fre n ch attack on the form er capital and its co lo n iza tio n plan on the w h o le o f

V ietn a m becam e a turning point for K im Y u n - s ik w h o had p aid attention on ly to the

I T h e r e t h e y w e r e t a k e n t o t h e C h i n e s e g o v e r n m e n t a r s e n a l , w h e r e t h e y s t u d i e d t h e m e t h o d s

o f m o d e r n w e a p o n s m a n u f a c t u r e a n d t h e m i l i t a r y a p p l i c a t i o n s o f b a s i c s c i e n c e

836

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

Russian threat to the K o re a n p en in su la F ro m then on, faced w ith the harsh reality )f V ie tn a m , he began to w o rry about the future o f his n a tio n 1

It is also interesting to see ho w the C o u p d ’Etat o f 1884 took place in the Corean governm ent A c c o rd in g to the p o liticia n and educator Y u n C h i-h o (1865- [9 4 5 ), in 1884 h o stilities betw een C h in a and F ra n ce broke out o v e r V ie tn a m , the iin o -F re n c h W a r (A u g u st 1 8 8 4 -A p ril 1885) w as v ie w e d by a group o f pro-Japanese Drogressives as an opportune m om ent to d rive out the Q in g p resence from K o rea

A cco rd in g to h im , w h en there w a s in d icatio n o f the w ar, the Q in g governm ent relocated 1,500 o f 3 ,0 0 0 so ld ie rs stationed in K o re a to V ie tn a m in M a y 1884 W hen the C h in e se arm y w a s repeatedly defeated there, reform ist a ctiv ist K im O k-g yu n (1 8 5 1 -1 8 9 4 ) se ize d the opportunity and executed the C o u p d ’ E ta t w ith Japanese help on 4 D e c e m b e r 18 8 42.

T h e outbreak o f the C o u p w a s not the only case that w as in flu enced by the

V ie tn a m ese situatio n E v e n before the abortive u p risin g against C h in e se rule, the lessons learned from V ie tn a m w ere reflected in the m em o rials presented to K in g

G o jo n g reg ard ing institutional reform O n 13 Septem ber 1884, the sen io r C o n fu cian sch o lar o G a m from N a m w o n in the J e o lla p ro vince petitioned that the ju d ic ia l and

p o lice system sho u ld be refo rm ed, p o in tin g out the cases o f b ack w ard countries like

In d ia, V ie tn a m and R y u k y u in contrast w ith W estern countries, in clu d in g En g lan d ,

F ra n ce , A m e r ic a , R u s s ia , G e rm a n y , and A u stria , w h ic h kept up the tim es, exalted the national p restig e, and b ecam e rich and pow erful O n the sam e d ay, a m ilitary

o ffice r K im G y o -h w a n em p h asized the n e ce ssity o f b u ild in g up m ilita ry forces for the purpose o f being protected from the potential W estern in v a sio n o f E a s t A sia , basing h is argum ent on the fo llo w in g reason:

T h e p u rpose o f F ra n ce does not lie in the co lo n izatio n o f V ie tn a m alone

F ra n ce is g ra d u a lly aim in g at C h in a A c c o rd in g to the person w h o absorbed fu lly the sense o f the tim es, w h e n the d ifferen ce between the strong and the w eak is sig n ifican t, an a m ica b le settlem ent is reached by the w eak that d esires to defend its e lf against fo reig n interference A n d on the other hand, w h en there is no

d ifferen ce b etw een the tw o sid es that d o n ’t lik e to be defeated, a w a r is certain to happen.

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUÓC TÉ LÀN THỨ T ư

Th u s, the F re n ch overall colonization o f V ietn am from the 1880s and the

co n flict between C h in a and Fran ce contributed to the sense o f c risis surrounding the

K o rean governm ent Further, it should be also noted that the end o f the Sin o -Fren eh

W ar and the C â n V ư ơ n g M ovem ent played a sign ifican t role in in ten sifyin g the sense o f the national danger.

W hen the m issio n to C hin a, composed o f envoy M in Jong-tnuk (1 8 3 5 -1 9 1 6 ),

v ice-en vo y Jo B y e o n g -sik (1832-1907), and document o ffice r K im Se-gi 1908), left for B e ijin g on 22 July 1885, K in g G o jo n g met the three delegates and gave orders that they should be sure to contact diplom atic representatives o f other countries, exam in e the stipulations o f the treaties concluded by C h in a w ith related countries, and investigate the existing state o f international affairs O n their return

(1852-on 8 D ecem ber, K in g G oj(1852-ong asked the delegates i f the p ro v in cia l m ilita ry governor

Su Y u a n c h u n (1 8 4 4 -1 9 0 8 ), who com m anded h a lf o f the G u an g x i A rm y , had stayed

in the Z h enn an P a ss' after the recent w ithdraw al o f troops from the Si no-

V ietn a m ese border K im Se-gi answered that, having w ithdraw n his troops from the pass and relocated them to a nearby fortified zone, S u w as continuing to m onitor the

m ovem ents o f the Fren ch enemy W h ile K in g G o jo n g bee;an to understand that the

F ren ch arm y in N orthern Vietnam put severe pressure on the C h in e se forces after the S in o -Fre n ch W a r, the delegates w ere asked again i f the F re n ch eovernor-gencral had done harm to V ietnam A cco rd in g to K im Se-g i, a revo lt plotted by 'M r

N guyen o f V ie tn a m ’ (Em p ero r H àm N ghi) had been disco vered by a F re n ch secret agent O n this account, the French governor-general had taken severe m easures to crush the revolt Judging from K im ’ s report, Kine G o jo n a could infer that F ra n ce ,

w h o had rep laced C h in a in V ietnam after the S in o -V ie tn am e se W ar, w a s suppressing the C a n V ư ơ n g M ovem ent organized by the im p erial court against the Fren ch co lo n ia l authorities.

M e a n w h ile as these events w ere taking place in V ie tn a m , the in creasin g political c risis in the Korean government, described above, had been u n fo ld in g since the late nineteenth century In this context, the situation o f K o re a began to be exam ined by governm ent officials and scholars, in com parison to that o f V ie tn a m

A m inor o ffic ia l, K im Yeong-seop, whom Y u n C h i-h o w a s acquainted w ith during his stay in S han g hai, visited the young man on 19 N o vem b er 1886 and told him that

‘the p itiful situation o f our country cannot be com pared w ith that o f any other countries in the w o rld In the past, there were V ie tn a m and B u rm a H o w e v e r, now adays, there is no country in the world that can be com pared to our country

I It is a p a s s n e a r t h e b o r d e r b e t w e e n C h i n a ' s G u a n g x i a n d V i e t n a m ' s L ạ n g S ơ n

8 38

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

after the fall o f the tw o co u n tries’ A c co rd in g to theifo rm er high o fficia l K im Y u n - sik , the K o re a n C o u p d ’ Etat o f 1884 advocated ou tw ard ly the cause o f ‘ an independent state’ , but in rea lity, it w as pursued to m ake the country ‘ a subject state

o f Jap an ’ In his ju d g m en t, the p olitical tactics used in K o re a by the Japanese were sim ila r to the F re n ch in V ietn am

T h e patriotic scho lar Jeong G y o (18 5 6 -1 9 2 5 ) also tried to understand the process o f the R e fo rm o f 1894, w h ich w as carried out accord ing to the involvem ent

o f Japan, from a perspective sim ilar to K im Y u n - s ik ’s H e explained that, on 27 June

1894, the Japanese diplom atic m inister O tori K e is u k e (1833-191 1) demanded the

K o rean governm ent to adopt a new p o litical program and alter governm ental affairs

O n the fo llo w in g day, O tori asked the M in istry o f Fo reig n A ffa irs w hether K o re a w as

an independent country or whether it w as subordinate to C h in a , and he ordered a reply w ithin 24 hours T h e real intention o f the Japanese m in ister w as analyzed as follow s by Jeong G y o , w hose argument focused on the V ie tn a m ese case.

W h en V ie tn a m co n clu d ed a treaty w ith F ra n c e for the first tim e, it m ade clear that it w a s a subject state o f the Q in g In 1884, F ra n ce inq uired into a doubtful point

on the b asis o f the treaty draft w ith a v ie w to arouse a co m p lica tio n Fra n ce said,

‘ O rig in a lly , there w a s no such sentence in the treaty: i f w e k n e w earlier that

V ie tn a m w a s a subject state o f the Q in g , how co u ld w e sign a treaty w ith V ietn am

as an equal partner? F ro m n o w on, treat v e ry c o rd ia lly F ra n c e lik e the Q in g ’

S co ld in g the im p o liten ess o f F ra n ce , V ie tn a m did not accept the F re n ch request

E v e n tu a lly the w a r broke out W hen the treaty w a s signed, F re n c h w a s adopted as the o fficia l language and the treaty draft w a s draw n up in F re n c h B e ca u se the sentence concerned w a s omitted in the pro cess, it p aved the w a y for the later dispute.

F ro m su ch a standpoint o f Jeong G y o , Japan w a s e x a ctly takin g recourse to the sam e stratagem that F ra n c e had used against V ie tn a m in 1 8 8 4 1

T h e em ergence o f the N g u yễn D y n a sty and the later F re n c h in vasio n o f the country w ere changing the K o re a n heritage regarding the understanding o f V ietn a m

T h e latest inform ation about V ie tn a m introduced by the e n v o ys dispatched to C h in a and to Japan as w e ll as by d isting uished m en out o f o ffice resulted not only in prom oting the K o re a n interest in V ie tn a m but also ra isin g the p sych o lo g ica l

1 W h e n R u s s i a c a l l e d u p o n t h e K o r e a n g o v e r n m e n t t o l e a s e J e o l y e o n g I s l a n d n e a r B u s a n in

F e b r u a r y 1 8 9 8 , J e o n g G y o a l a r m e d its r i s k b y r e m i n d i n g t h e p a s t l e s s o n t h a t V i e t n a m

e v e n t u a l l y h a d b e c o m e a s u b j e c t s t a t e a f t e r it h a d p a s s e d i s l a n d s a n d b a y s a t t h e m o u t h o f t h e

S à i G ò n R i v e r t o F r a n c e

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QƯÔC TÉ LẦN T H Ứ T Ư

sym pathy for the V ie tn a m e se people and the feeling o f solidarity against the

co lo n ialism In th is context, the im pending co lo n izatio n o f the K o re a n peninsula facilitated the p ro cess o f a new understanding o f V ie tn a m in the form o f the

V ietn am B o o m in K o re a , w h ich can be also calle d a ‘V ie tn a m ese w a v e ’ phenom enon W e n o w turn to the so cial role p layed by the press and academ ic asso ciations am id the g ro w in g aw areness o f V ietn am

The ‘Vietnamese wave’: A motive for a new understanding of Vietnam

Th e sense o f p o litic a l c risis in K o re a , deepened by the Fre n ch co lo n iza tio n o f

V ietn am , m ade K o re a n intellectuals endeavor to introduce to their com patriots the contem porary situation in that country Fro m 1883, this phenom enon took concrete shape through refo rm m ovem ent organizations, academ ic jo u rn a ls, and new spapers

T h e first issue o f Hanseong Sunbo (H anseong T e n - D a ily ) reproduced from the

C h in e se new spaper Shanghai Xinbao (Shang hai T im e s ) the full text o f the treaty under w h ich V ie tn a m degenerated into a protectorate In the second issue, it reported that the B la c k F la g s cooperated w ith V ie tn a m ese forces in attem pting to halt a Fren ch takeo ver o f the R ed R iv e r D elta, and w ere instrum ental in the death o f the naval captain H e n ri R iv ie re A cco rd in g to the third issu e , the v icto ry gained by the B la c k F la g s w a s attributed to the su cce ssfu l am bush against the F re n ch arm y that w as not fa m ilia r w ith the geographical conditions o f V ie tn a m U n til it ceased publication in A p r il 1884, Hanseong Sunbo continued to m ake know n the process

o f the Fren ch co lo n iza tio n o f the country w h ich w o uld cau se the S in o -F re n ch W ar.

F o llo w in g the lead taken by Hameonv Sunbo, another K o re a n new spaper, the

Hanseong Jubo (H a n se o n g W e e k ly B u lle tin s) also began to be interested in

V ietn am ese affairs F o r exam p le, an article published in the tw enty-fifth issue (23

A ugust 1886) reported that F re n ch and C h in e se m erchants could not m o ve freely because o f V ie tn a m e se reb els, co n clu d in g that it w o uld be d ifficu lt for the F re n ch to stabilize V ietn a m for se v e ra l decades or even hundreds o f ye ars, purporting that the righteous V ie tn a m e se people w o u ld not be com p letely obedient to the F re n ch A n article titled ‘ T ro u b le so m e P o litic s and H eavy T a x a tio n ’ in the thirty-second issue (11 O ctober 1886) e x p la in e d that the V ietn am ese could not but becom e resisters to

co lo n ial rule, becau se it w as hard for them to m ake liv in g on account o f both food shortages and d ep rivatio n o f the property caused by the F re n c h occupatio n o f their country Gwanbo, the governm ent gazette o f K o re a , referred to H ải Phòng, located about 112 kilo m eters southeast o f H à N ộ i, w h ich had becom e F ra n c e ’ s m ain n aval base, and developed co m m e rc ia lly as a port A c co rd in g to the o fficia l gazette, the port acted as the southeastern term inus o f the ra ilw a y co in in g through K u n m in g in Southw estern C h in a , L à o C a i, and H à N ộ i.

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