DSpace at VNU: The search for a new understanding of Vietnam: achanging view from Korea in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF
VIETNAM: A CHANGING VIEW FROM KOREA IN
THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND THE EARLY
TWENTIETH CENTURY
Youn Dae-yeong

Introduction
In 1905, Phan B ộ i Châu (18 67-1940), the leading V ietn am ese anticolonial

patriot

o f th e

early twentieth

c e n tu ry ,

wrote

a book

called

V iệ t N a m V o n g Q u ố c S ử

(H istory o f the L o s s o f Vietnam ), w h ile he w as in Japan. It w as published in
Shanghai by L ia n g Q ich ao (1873-1929), a principal C h in e se reform er then in the
country. In the early twentieth century, the V ietnam ese contem porary history not
only allow ed reform ist Vietnam ese and C h in e se scholars to learn ‘ a le sso n ’ from
the ruin o f V ie tn a m , but also enabled K o rean readers to get acquainted w ith colonial
V ietnam and understand its specificity.

Later, at a speech contest of the Daegu Secondary School (currently the
G yeongbuk H ig h S ch o o l) in September 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 of
V ie tn a m , w h ich he had secretly kept at the attic in his house. A lthough 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 ow erful 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 time concerns a graduate o f the Ciyeongseong
Secondary S ch o o l (currently the G yeongbok H ig h School) K irn Y u n g -k u n (1 9 1 0 -?)
w ho had studied F re n ch literature in Shanghai and N anjing , and served the Fre n ch
C onsulate G e n e ral in Seou l. Through the recom m endation o f the consulate genera!,
he then w o rked between 1931 and 1940 as a Japanese collections librarian at the
É c o le íranẹaise d ’Extrem e-O rient 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 fo r E a s t A s i a n S tu d ie 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 ietnam ese history and culture, and he could lead the
various areas o f the V ietn am ese studies. W hat did V ie tn a m mean to these two
young K o re a n m en? W hat made one o f them to protest about the p olitical situation
in the country, and the other devote his life to the field o f V ietn am ese studies?
T h e m ain purpose o f this present paper is to p ro vid e useful insights into the

changing K o re a n perception o f V ietnam w h ich w as brought about by the shifting
circu m stan ces and fortunes o f the N guyễn D yn 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 voys through early exchange o f literature, or on the solidarity o f
two the co u n trie s’ patriots during the modern period so as to better understand the
history o f the K o rean independence m ovem ent. In com p arison to these approaches,
this present study exam ines w h ich factors helped m odern K o re a to gain a new
understanding o f V ie tn a m . Further, it analyzes the p o litica l and social m otives that
induced K o re a n intellectuals to overcom e their prejud ice of, and indifference to, the
T â y Sơn ‘R e b e llio n ’ (1 7 7 1 -1 7 8 8 ). O b servin g the V ie tn a m ese reaction to the Fren ch
colon izatio n o f their country, K o re an intellectuals o f this period, them selves under
increasing Japanese pressure, began to em body a new understanding o f V ietnam
w h ich w a s built upon a perceived p sych o lo g ical so lid a rity, b elieving their two
nations shared a com m on destiny. It is w ith the exam ination o f this p sycho lo g ical
process it s e lf that w e can better understand the m otives, both those expressed

publically as well as those held in private, of the young Korean men who from the
1920s onw ards took see m in g ly unexpected actions regarding V ietn am .

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 esp ite the histo rical and cultural sim ilarity o f K o re a and V ietn am , there
never had existed o fficia l relations between the tw o countries. N evertheless, the
kingdom s on the K o re a n p eninsula 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 Northern V ietn am w h en he reported the borders
o f ‘G ia o C h ỉ ’ and the histo ry o f Protectorate G en eral to P a c ify the South. D uring
the

G o ry e o

(9 1 8 -1 3 9 2 )

and

Joseon

(1 3 92-19 10)

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 (14 B C - 4 9 A D ) ’s expedition to V ie tn a m and the resistant
m ovem ent to the in vasio n b y the Trư ng sisters, as w e ll as general aspects o f the

829


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

S in o -V ietn am ese 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 invasions to V ie tn a m during the M ing period (14 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 fficial and som etim es accidental, for exam ple in the cases when

V ietn am ese reached the K o rean p eninsula after drifting on the sea, or

vice versa.

Other, m ore se m i-o fficia l, encounters happened w hen the envoys o f both countries
met in C h in a. Fro m 973, V ietn am regularly sent envoys to C h in a for m ore than 900
years, except w hen there w ere p o litical disputes and arm ed clash e s w ith in V ietn am
or C h in a . In p articular, the L ê D yn a sty (14 28-17 88) sent tributes to M in s D ynasty
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. Through these tribute v isits, the K orean envoys to C h in a m ade contacts with
their V ietn am ese counterparts and eained opportunities for a better understanding o f
this So uth-East A sia n country.
T h is understanding o f V ie tn a m , by the partial historical facts and the lim ited
contacts, w as further developed by the Joseon D y n a sty ’ s en vo 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 ietnam ese
Phùng K h ắ c K h o a n (15 28 -1 6 1 3 ) has been understood as a typ ical case o f the two
co u n tries’ interchange. Y i , w ho w a s sent to C h in a as a cond olence v ice -e n vo y , met
the L ê D y n a sty ’ s envoy Phùng and gained know ledge o f the V ie tn a m ese custom
and institutions. Y i later m entioned V ietnam ese history and culture in his two
books,

Jibong Yuseol

(Treatise o f Jibong, 1614) and

Jibong-jip

(A n tho lo g y o f

Jibong, 1663). Fro m then on, the expanded K o rean 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 tellectu als’ deeper understanding o f V ietnam .
H o w e v e r, in addition to the friendly exchange between the two countries’
en voys, it is necessary to con sid er the changing attitude o f the Joseon D yn a sty
tow ards V ietn am

after the T â y

Sơ n

‘R e b e llio n ’ . In this regard, a rem arkable

historical source is

Yeonhaeng-gi (Travelo g u e

to B e ijin g ) w ritten by the vice-en 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 ian lo n g 's eightieth birthday. T h e author's d istinctive p h ilo lo g ical research, called
‘ evidential

learning ’ ( khaozhengxue), his interests in ‘ W estern L e a rn 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 him to give a
v iv id account o f the contem porary V ietnam 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 Sug w a n e ’s w ritin g s m entioned above.

830


THE SEARCH FOR A NEW U N D E R S TA N D IN G OF VIETN AM .

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 ) , lik 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 .

831


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 horsehairwoven 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 to
B e iji 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 to B e i j i n g ’ .

832

TH E SEAR C H FOR A NEW U N D E R S TA N D IN G OF VIETN AM .

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 is b o o k Jib o n q Y u seol is c o n s i d e r e d to b e th 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 .

833


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 ro r W u to a tta c k th e k in g d o m o f N a m V iệ t; M a Y u a n w h o h ad s u p p r e s s e d th 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 109 B C , E m p e r o r W u l a u n c h e d a m il 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 led 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 to in v a d e th 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 yeok je o n ’ (B iog raph y o f Jo W a n -b y e o k 1) by Y i Su-gwang.
Y i G yu -g ye o n g also suggested reading his own editorial w o rk

Namgyo Yeokgo

(Ex ch an g e w ith southern countries). A cco rd in g to him , these reference books w ould
pave the w a y for further understanding o f V ietnam .
Fro m
V ietnam

the late nineteenth century the interests o f K o re a n

intellectuals in

m oved on to contem porary political issues. In this process, the key

em erging topic concerned a sense o f crisis o f the Joseon D yn a sty regarding the
French co lo n izatio n o f V ietn am .

The attitude o f the Joseon Dynasty towards the colonization o f Vietnam in
the late nineteenth century
F ra n ce encroached g rad ually on the V ietn am ese teư itory in a series o f m ilitary
conquests between 1858 and 1885, after w h ich V ietn am becam e part o f Fren ch
Indochina. In the T re aty o f T ia n jin o f June

1885, C h in e se recognized French

ju risd ictio n over V ie tn a m . Shortly 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 ovem ent em erged in V ietn am , after the flight by E m p e ro r H àm N ghi
(1 8 8 4 -1 8 8 5 ) and his regent T ô n T h ất T h u yết (18 39 -1 9 1 3 ) from the im perial capital
o f H uế. D esp 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 ese o f various w a lk s o f life throughout the country.
B y the late 1880s a w id espread g uerilla m ovem ent w a s in operation p articularly 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 rean
court. In this context, it is interesting to understand the attitude o f K in g G ojong
(1 8 6 3 -1 9 0 7 )

and

his

courtiers

towards

the

colon ization

o f V ietn am

and

its

independence struggle.
It is from his en vo ys returning from C h in a that K in g

G o jo n g received

fragm entary inform ation on V ietn am , such as its geographical position and nature
(for exam ple the presence o f elephants), as w e ll as m ore p o litically significant

descriptions

o f its N e o -C o n fu cia n ism

and

institutional

protocols. H o w ever,

it

happened that Ju les-M arie D u p ré (1 8 13-18 81), governor o f F re n ch C o ch in ch in a,
sent F ra n cis 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

1. A

K orean

in tellectu al, Jo W a n -b y e o k , w a s c a p tu re d b y the J a p a n e s e a rm y d u rin g th e

J a p a n e s e i n v a s i o n o f K o r e a ( 1 5 9 2 - 1 5 9 8 ) , a n d w a s t a k e n t o J a p a n . D u e t o h is l it e r a c y in
C h in e s e , h e w a s used as a tra d e a g e n t by th e Ja p a n e se . T h u s , he v isited V ie tn a m three tim e s
d u r i n g t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n tu r y .
2. T h e e x i s t e n c e o f N am gyo Yeokgo c a n n o t be v e r if ie d .

835

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

from the region, but w ere granted a loose protectorate status o ver the northern
region o f the V ie tn a m ese E m p ire in a treaty siened in 1874. H a v in g heard o f the
w hole p ro cess o f the in vasio n from the en vo ys to B e ijin g in 1874, K in g G ojong
paid serious attention to the V ietn am ese situation. H is co n cern about the crisis in
V ietn am w as sparked in p articular by Park G y u -su (1 8 0 7 -1 8 7 7 ), a state councilo r,
w ho reported the m atter to the K in g , saying that ‘acco rd in g to recent new s, W estern
barbarians had invaded as far as A nnam and already sw a llo w e d up the co u n try’ .
T h e cases o f high o fficia ls near K in g G o jo n g are also a good indicator o f how
the Korean governm ent understood the situation in V ie tn a m . F irst, K im H ong-jip
(1 8 48-19 05), 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 orld affairs, 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 vasio n o f S o u th -East A s ia . W hen he left
Japan, K im

had obtained from H u ane Z u n x ia n (1 8 4 8 -1 9 0 5 ), co unselo 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 ferrin g to this book and other in form ation, he argued that the
V ietn am ese situation w as becom ing in creasin g ly dangerous due to the estrangement
between V ietn am and C h in a irom the Q in g period onw ard s. K im H ong-jip also
asserted that the K o re a n governm ent should take p recautions against the opening o f
Incheon, the gatew ay to Seo ul, demanded by Japan, citin g in p articu lar the Fren ch
invasion 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 ovem ber 1 8 8 11, seized a ch an ce to com prehend in
more detail the situation and process o f the F re n ch co lo n iza tio n o f V ietn am ,
establishing a con nectio 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 ple, on 9 M ay Ỉ8 8 2 , the K o re a n en vo y then still in
T ia n jin interview ed a C antonese 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 erch an ts’ Steam

N avig atio 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 ho had
been ignorant o f the country, beean to understand that the F re n c h invasio n o f H à
N ộ i Oĩ) 25 A p ril m ade the V ietnam ese governm ent in H u e fall into disorder. H e
jud ged 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 as 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 Fren ch attack on the form er capital and its co lo n iza tio n plan on the w hole o f
V ietn am becam e a turning point for K im Y u n - s ik w h o had paid attention only to the

I. T h e r e t h e y w e r e t a k e n to 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 th e m e t h o d s
o f m o d e rn w e a p o n s m a n u fa c tu r e a n d the m ilita ry a p p lic a tio n s o f b a s ic sc ien c e.

836

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

Russian threat to the K o re an p eninsula. Fro 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 atio n .1
It is also interesting to see how the C oup d ’Etat o f 1884 took place in the
Corean governm ent. A cco rd in g to the p o litician and educator Y u n C h i-h o (1865[945), in 1884 h o stilities betw een C h in a and Fra n ce broke out o ver V ietn am , 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 view ed by a group o f pro-Japanese
Drogressives as an opportune m om ent to d rive out the Q in g presence from K orea.
A ccordin g to h im , w hen there w a s ind ication o f the w ar, the Q in g governm ent
relocated 1,500 o f 3 ,0 0 0 so ld iers 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 ctivist K im O k-g yun
(1 8 51-18 94) seize d the opportunity and executed the C o u p d ’ Etat w ith Japanese
help on 4 D e ce m b e r 18842.
T h e outbreak o f the C o u p w as not the only case that w as influenced by the
V ietn am ese situation. E v e n before the abortive uprising 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 regarding institutional reform . O n 13 Septem ber 1884, the sen io r C o n fu cian
scho lar o G a m from N a m w o n in the Je o lla province petitioned that the ju d ic ia l and
p o lice system should be reform ed, pointing out the cases o f b ackw ard countries like
Ind 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 Eng land ,
F ra n ce , A m e ric a , R u s sia , G e rm a n y , and A u stria, w h ich kept up the tim es, exalted
the national prestige, and b ecam e rich and pow erful. O n the sam e day, a m ilitary
o fficer K im G y o -h w a n em p hasized the necessity o f bu ilding up m ilita ry forces for
the purpose o f being protected from the potential W estern in vasio n o f E a st A sia ,
basing h is argum ent on the fo llo w in g reason:
T h e purpose o f F ra n ce does not lie in the co lonization o f V ie tn a m alone.
F ra n ce is g rad u ally aim in g at C h in a . A cco rd in g to the person w h o absorbed fu lly
the sense o f the tim es, w h en the d ifferen ce between the strong and the w eak is
sig n ifican t, an am ica b le settlem ent is reached by the w eak that desires to defend

itse lf against foreign interference. A n d

on the other hand, w hen there is no

difference b etw een the tw o sides that d on’t like to be defeated, a w a r is certain to
happen.

1. L a t e r in 1 8 9 2 , w h i l e K i m Y u n - s i k w a s e x p l a i n i n g th e b a c k g r o u n d o f h i s v i s i t to T i a n j i n , h e
m a d e it c l e a r t h a t t h e c o l o n i z a t i o n o f V i e t n a m , B u r m a , a n d R y u k y u , t h e t h r e e c o u n t r i e s
w h i c h p a i d t r i b u t e to C h i n a , p l a y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t r o le in t h e m a t t e r .
2. H o w e v e r , C h i n e s e f o r c e s w e r e a b l e to o v e r w h e l m t h e p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i s t s i n c l u d i n g K i m O k g y u n an d th e ir J a p a n e se su p p o rters.

837


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 ietnam from the 1880s and the
con flict between C h in a and France contributed to the sense o f c risis surrounding the
K orean governm ent. Further, it should be also noted that the end o f the Sino -Freneh
W ar and the C â n V ư ơ n g M ovem ent played a significant role in intensifying the
sense o f the national danger.
W hen the m issio n to C hina, composed o f envoy M in Jong-tnuk (1 8 35-19 16),
vice-en vo y Jo B y e o n g -sik (1832-1907), and document o fficer K im Se-gi (18521908), left for B e ijin g on 22 July 1885, K in g G ojong 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
on 8 D ecem ber, K in g Gojong asked the delegates i f the p ro v in cial m ilitary governor
Su Y u an ch u n (1 8 4 4 -1 9 0 8 ), who commanded h a lf o f the G u an g xi A rm y , had stayed
in the Zhennan

P ass'

after the recent w ithdraw al o f troops

from

the

Si no-

V ietnam 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, Su w as continuing to m onitor the
m ovem ents o f the French enemy. W h ile K in g G ojong bee;an to understand that the
Fren ch arm y in N orthern Vietnam put severe pressure on the C h in e se forces after
the S in o -Fren ch W ar, the delegates were asked again i f the F re n ch eovernor-gencral
had done harm to V ietnam . A cco rd ing to K im

Se-gi, a revolt plotted by 'M r.

N guyen o f V ie tn a m ’ (Em p eror Hàm N ghi) had been discovered 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 ho

had

replaced

C h in a

in

Vietnam

after

the

S in o -V ietn am ese

W ar,

w as

suppressing the C an V ư ơ n g M ovem ent organized by the im perial court against the
Fren ch colo n ial authorities.
M ean w h ile as these events w ere taking place in V ietn am , the increasin g
political crisis in the Korean government, described above, had been unfolding
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 ietn am .
A m inor o fficia l, K im Yeong-seop, whom Y u n C h i-h o w as acquainted w ith during
his stay in Shang hai, visited the young man on 19 N ovem ber 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 ietn am 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 .

838

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

after the fall o f the tw o co untries’ . A cco rd in g to theiform er high o fficia l K im Y u n sik , the K o re an

Coup

d ’ Etat o f

1884 advocated outw ard ly

the cause o f ‘ an

independent state’ , but in reality, it w as pursued to m ake the country ‘ a subject state
o f Jap an ’ . In his jud gm ent, the political tactics used in K o re a by the Japanese were
sim ila r to the F re n ch in V ietnam .
T h e patriotic scholar Jeong G y o (1856-19 25) also tried to understand the
process o f the R efo rm o f 1894, w hich w as carried out according 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 Otori K e is u k e (1833-191 1) demanded the
Ko rean governm ent to adopt a new political program and alter governm ental affairs.
O n the follo w ing day, Otori asked the M inistry o f Foreig n A ffa irs whether K o re a was
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 inister w as analyzed as
follow s by Jeong G y o , w hose argument focused on the V ietn am ese case.
W hen V ie tn a m con clud ed a treaty w ith F ra n ce for the first tim e, it made clear
that it w a s a subject state o f the Q ing . In 1884, F ra n ce inquired into a doubtful point
on the basis o f the treaty draft w ith a vie w to arouse a co m p licatio n . Fran ce said,
‘ O rig in a lly , there w a s no such sentence in the treaty: i f w e kn ew earlier that

V ietn am w a s a subject state o f the Q ing , how could w e sign a treaty w ith V ietnam
as an equal partner? F ro m now on, treat very co rd ially F ra n ce like the Q in g .’
S co ld in g the im politeness o f Fra 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 ar broke out. W hen the treaty w a s signed, F re n ch w as adopted as
the o fficia l language and the treaty draft w as draw n up in F re n ch . B ecau se the
sentence concerned w as omitted in the process, it paved the w a y for the later
dispute.
Fro m such a standpoint o f Jeong G y o , Japan w a s e xactly taking recourse to the
sam e stratagem that F ra n ce had used against V ie tn a m in 1 8 8 4 .1
T h e em ergence o f the N guyễn D y n a sty and the later F re n c h invasion o f the
country w ere changing the K o re a n heritage regarding the understanding o f V ietnam .
T h e latest inform ation about V ie tn a m introduced by the en vo ys dispatched to C h in a
and to Japan as w e ll as by distinguished m en out o f o ffice resulted not only in
prom oting the K o re a n

interest in V ietn am

but also raisin g the p sycho lo g ical

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
February

1898, Je o n g G yo alarm ed

its r is 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 ta te 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 to F r a n c e .

839

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QƯÔC TÉ LẦN TH Ứ TƯ

sym pathy for the V ie tn a m ese people and the feeling o f solidarity against the
co lon ialism . In this context, the im pending colonization o f the K o re a n peninsula
facilitated the p ro cess o f a new understanding o f V ietn am in the form o f the
Vietnam

B o om

in

K o re a ,

w h ich

can

be

also

called

a

‘V ietn am ese

w ave’

phenomenon. W e n o w turn to the social role played by the press and academ ic
associations am id the g row ing aw areness o f Vietnam .

The ‘Vietnamese wave’: A motive for a new understanding of Vietnam
Th e sense o f p o litica l crisis in K o re a , deepened by the Fren ch co lo n izatio n o f
V ietnam , made 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 reform m ovem ent organizations, academ ic jo u rn a ls, and new spapers.

Hanseong Sunbo (H anseong
new spaper Shanghai Xinbao (Shanghai

T h e first issue o f

T e n - D a ily ) reproduced from the

C h in e se

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 with V ietn am ese forces in attempting to
halt a French takeover o f the Red 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 victo ry gained by
the B la c k F la g s w a s attributed to the su ccessfu 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 ietn am . 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 French co lo n iza tio n o f the country w h ich w ould cause the S in o -Fre n ch W ar.
F o llo w in g the lead taken by

Hanseong Jubo

(H an se o n g

Hameonv Sunbo,

another K o re an new spaper, the

W e e k ly B u lle tin s) also began to be interested

in

Vietnam ese affairs. F o r exam ple, 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 ove freely
because o f V ie tn a m ese reb els, concluding that it w ould be d ifficu lt for the F re n ch to
stabilize V ietnam for seve ral decades or even hundreds o f years, purporting that the
righteous V ie tn a m ese people w o uld not be com pletely obedient to the F ren ch . A n
article titled ‘ T ro u b le so m e P o litics and H eavy T a x a tio n ’ in the thirty-second issue
(11 October 1886) ex p lain ed that the V ietnam ese could not but becom e resisters to
colonial rule, because it w as hard for them to m ake liv in g on account o f both food
shortages and dep rivation o f the property caused by the F re n ch occupation o f their

country.

Gwanbo,

the governm ent gazette o f K o re a , referred to H ải Phòng, located

about 112 kilom eters southeast o f H à N ội, w h ich had becom e F ra n c e ’ s m ain naval
base, and developed co m m e rcia lly as a port. A cco rd in g to the o fficial 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
Southwestern C h in a , L à o C a i, and H à N ội.

840


TH E SEARCH FOR A NEW U N D E R S TA N D IN G OF VIETNAM .

Th e above-m entioned K orean governm ental effort to provide V ietnam ese
news w as continued by non-governm ental organizations. T h e

Hyeophoe Hoebo
C lu b

(D on g n ip

Dae Joseon Dongnip

(B u lle tin o f the G reat Joseon) p ublished by the Independence
H yeo p ho e)

w as

a

pioneer

in

the

m ovem ent

for

the

new

understanding o f V ie tn a m . In his article titled ‘ D iscu ssio n about the O rien t’ , Seo
Jac-pil (1 8 6 4 -1 9 5 1 ), a noted leader o f the C lu b , m ade kno w n the A sia n situation
threatened by the pow ers such as En g lan d , F ra n ce and Japan, and urged that K o re a
should

adopt

institutional

reform

m easures

to

break

from

traditional

conventionalities and encourage m odem scien ces, so as not to repeat the same
failure as B u rm a and V ie tn a m . A fterw ard , the

Bulletin

said that K o rean and

V ietnam ese belonged to the sam e M ongoloid race, and that the m ain reason for the
Fren ch

attack

on

V ie tn a m

w as

the

N g uyễn

D y n a s ty ’ s

suppression

o f the

C a th o licism , citing the editorials written by the B ritish m issio n a rie s John F ry e r
(18 39-19 28) and T im o th y R ich ard (18 45-19 19), w ho played important roles in
spreading

W estern

scie n ce s

in

C h in a.

In

addition,

Dongnip Sinmun

(T h e

Independent), the m outhpiece o f the Independence C lu b , insisted that the B ritish
colonization o f In d ia aroused the F re n ch desire to subsequently develop a kind o f
fiefdom in A s ia and V ie tn a m w as the first victim .
In particular, as the Japanese threat on K o re a grew after the outbreak o f the

R usso-Jap anese W ar in 1904, K o re an intellectuals raised the alarm to the K o rean
society by referring to the case o f the Fre n ch colon ization o f V ie tn a m in the late
nineteenth century. H a v in g observed the V ietnam ese situation, H w an g H yeon
(1 8 55-19 10), a late Joseon D yn a sty patriotic scholar, spread a rum or that K o re a
w ould be soon co lo n ized by the Japanese in the sam e m anner as O k in a w a . A lso , as
can be seen in the case o f K im Y u n - s ik , K o rean in tellectuals felt a stronger sense o f
urgency by lin k in g the V ietn am ese situation w ith K o r e a ’ s w h en the Protectorate
Treaty between Japan and K o re a w as concluded on 17 N o ve m b e r 1905, w h ich
follow ed the defeat o f the R u ssia n fleet by the Japanese at the end o f A p ril 1905.
O ffic ia ls in the central governm ent w ere no exception to this tendency. A n
Jong-hw a, a senio r third rank o fficial, grieved bitterly as dem onstrated in his
fo llo w in g m em orial presented to K in g G o jo n g : ‘T raito rs o f the governm ent are
acting as puppets. A n d the am bassadors o f the strong neighboring countries are
pullin g the strings from the behind, trying to m ake us like E g y p t, In d ia and
V ie tn a m .’ A cco rd in g to him , this deadlock could be broken by the punishm ent o f
the traitors as w e ll as by the abrogation o f the Jap an -K o rea Tre aty o f 1905.
G w a k Jong-seok (1 8 6 4 -1 9 1 9 ), a senior second ran k o fficia l, w ho served as
secretary-general and reader in the o ffice o f the royal lectures, also appealed to the

841


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

king three tim es on D ecem b er 1905 to term inate the treaty and execute the traitors,
saying that:
I f Y o u r M aje sty is at a loss w h ich to choose, intim idated or to w ait even for a
short tim e, Y o u r M aje sty can o n ly becom e no better than the K in g o f A n nam . E v e n
i f Y o u r M ajesty m aintains the throne, our country w ill face the sam e fate as that o f
the C itad el Q in g cheng or the C ita d e l W u g u o .1

T h e next year, the g overnor o f South H am gyeung pro vin ce S in G i-se o n (18511909) submitted his resignation to the king in his fo llo w in g appeal:
I f Y o u r M aje sty pursues the virtue o f forgetting about personal matters first,
and w o rks hard for the benefit o f the e fficien cy and i f he w ere to put this into
practice for a long tim e, even i f I retire into the countryside, I w ill be able to w itness
the m om ent this country recovers its national sovereignty before I die. H o w e ve r, if
Y o u r M ajesty fails to do so, this country w ill perish lik e Poland and E g y p t and soon
follow the exam ple o f the king do m s o f A nnam and R y u k y u . I am too choked w ith
sorrow to say anything m ore.
T h e F re n ch colonization o f V ie tn a m also had repercussions for the K o rean
independence m ovem ent. Y i Jae-m yeong (1 8 9 0 -1 9 1 0 ), an independence fighter,
ventured to get rid o f the pro-Japanese m inister Y i W an -yo n g (1 8 5 8 -1 9 2 6 ) in front
o f the M yeongdong Cathedral in D ecem b er 22, 1909. H o w e ve r, as soon as his plan
w as found out, Y i Jae-m yeong w a s arrested on the spot. Put on trial, he brought to
light the eight crim es o f Y i W an -yo n g and pointed out in particular that, 'the traitor
schem ed to m ake the abdicated em peror go over to Japan. F ra n ce had put a
Vietn am ese kin g 2 in a position o f v ice ro y in A fric a . T h e sam e goes for our country.
H e deserves to d ie .’ W hen his second trial, held at S eo u l appellate court on 30 June
1910 w as closed, Y i

Jae-m yeong

writhed vio le n tly and shouted continuously

‘V ietn am and E g y p t ’ . T h is striking scene w as echoed around K o re a n society. T h e
assassination attempt by the young independence activist show s that the V ietn am ese
situation had been the touchstone that helped the K o re an people understand the
reality o f their ow n country.

1. ‘Q ing ch e n g ’ w as a citadel w here the em perors o f the N orthern Song Dynasty, H uizong
(1100-1125) and Q inzong ( Ỉ 125-1127), were taken to and had to experience the hum iliation

o f their imperial garm ents being tak en off. The tw o em p ero rs were im prisoned and died in
the Citadel ‘W u g u o \
2. The ‘kin g ’ indicates Hàm Nghi, the eighth em peror o f N g u y ễ n Dynasty. W hen his brother
Em peror Kiến Phúc died after six m o n th s in throne, H àm Nghi b ecam e the em p ero r at the
age o f twelve. W hen V ietnam b ec am e the protectorate o f France in 1885, he fled his palace
and led the c ầ n V ươ ng M o vem ent, and was exiled to A lgeria after getting caugh t by the
French in 1888.

842


THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

W h ile both the o ffic ia ls in the central governm ent and the young activist, who
made efforts to prom ote the K o re an interest in V ie tn a m , raised their vo ice s in favor
o f the national rights, vario u s kin d s o f enlightenm ent m ovem ent organizations and
academ ic asso ciations also endeavored to spread the ‘ V ie tn a m ese w a v e ’ by helping
support the p ublication o f period icals. T h e p e rio d icals concerned w ere:

Jaganghoe Wolbo

Daehan

(D ae h an Jaganghoe M onthly R ep ort) o f D aehan Jaganghoe

Seou (W est F rie n d ) o f Seou H akho e (Seou
A ca d e m ic A sso cia tio n ); Daehan Hyeophoe Hoebo (B u lle tin o f the Korean
A sso ciatio n ) o f D aehan H yeo p ho e (K o rean A sso c ia tio n ); Seobuk Hakhoe Wolbo
(K o re a Self-Strengthening S o cie ty );

(Seo buk H akho e M o n th ly Report) o f Seobuk H akh o e (N orth and W est A cad em ic
A sso cia tio n ); and

Honam Hakbo

(H onam

Journal) o f H onam

H akho e (Jeolla

A cad em ic A sso ciatio n ).
E x ce p t

Seou' s

b rie f explanation o f the origin o f G ia o C h ỉ located in northern

part o f V ie tn a m , the K o re a n interest in V ietn am fo cu sed on the pending questions
o f the day.

Honam Hakbo

explained that, accepting the general trend o f the w orld

toward the sea, F ra n ce had occup ied Sài G ò n located in the southern region o f
V ietn am , and that the w a r betw een the two countries w a s a racial w a r, after w h ich
the F re n ch colonists m ade V ietn am ese em perors little m ore than a nam e. Therefore,

Daehan Hyeophoe Hoebo ju d g ed

that the p o litical position o f V ie tn a m , w h ich w as

established as a territory o f F ra n ce , has degraded to a protectorate both at hom e and
abroad.
In

order to introduce

Hyeophoe Hoebo p ub lished

the

m isery

o f the

‘protectorate A n n a m ’,

Daehan

the fo llo w in g article in Ju ly 1908:

T h ou sand s o f people in the central region o f A n n a m have gathered to appeal to
a F re n ch o fficial for tax reduction. B efo re, an A n n a m e se had to pay 1 hw an and 10
je o n s every year, but the tax rose to 2 hw ans and 20 je o n s from three years ago, and
3 hw ans and 30 je o n s from this year. T h is is w h y the A n nam ese people requested
the F re n ch o fficial to reduce the tax to 1 hw an and 10 je o n s. N everth eless, so far
from feeling pity for the people, he resorted to arm s and happened to k ill som e o f
them. T h e su rvivo rs from the accident staged reg u larly dem onstrations against the

Fre n ch

authorities,

and

confronted

the F re n ch

to

acco m p lish

their purpose,

preparing for death.
T h is article d escribed h o w the tax protest m ovem ent spread m ain ly in the
central part o f V ie tn a m in 1908.
T h is endeavor to spread the realities o f co lo n ia l V ie tn a m w as connected w ith
the attempt to an alyze the cause o f the ruin o f the country. T h e c h ie f editor Jang Jiyeon (1 8 64-19 21) o f

Daehan Jaganghoe Wolbo attributed

the V ietn am ese decay to

843


VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LẰN TH Ứ TƯ

the lack o f ‘ strenuous efforts’ and ‘so lid a rity’ . A n d the freelance w riters N am gung
S ik and W on Y e o n g -eu i diagnosed the national ruin o f V ie tn a m by introducing
som e W estern concepts. A cco rd in g to them, the p o litical su b m issio n o f V ietnam
and their subsequent loss o f freedom were caused by the im b alance o f power. On
the other hand,

Daehan Hyeophoe Hoebo and Seou,

p aying attention to the role o f

people, blam ed the V ietn am ese people for being ignorant, lacking a sense o f
responsibility, and being indifferent to the educational prom otion, w h ich caused
self-destruction.

In

addition,

Seobnk Hakhoe Wolbo

Honam Hakbo

and

pointed out the im m ature adaptability to the modern trading system

each

and the

inadequacy o f the constitutional governm ent as a m ain cause for the fall o f
V ietnam .
Therefore, the social atmosphere, w h ich w as not favorable to the V ietnam ese

Daehan Hyeophoe Hoebo and Seobuk Hakhoe
o f Daehan Jaganghoe Wolbo Y i Jong-jun, who

precedent, w as heightened through

Wolbo.

L ik e w is e , the c h ie f editor

regarded the K o re a n situation o f 1906-1907 in the sam e light as V ie tn a m , urged the
K o rean people to take part in the N ational Debt R ep aym ent M ovem ent so as not to
repeat the sam e

failure

Hyeophoe Hoebo,

o f V ietnam .

B ae k

Seong-hvvan,

Daehah

m em ber o f

insisted on preparing to found a strong countrv by sincerely

exam ining the V ietn am ese situation at the tim e.
T h e m ovem ent o f spreading the new s on the reality o f V ietn am w as not
lim ited w ithin

the country, but w as w id e ly

expanding

m agazines w h ich participated in the m ovem ent w ere:

abroad.

The

overseas

Taeguek Hakbo

(Taeg euk

A ca d e m ic Jo urnal) o f T aeeeu k H akhoe (Suprem e U ltim ate A c a d e m ic A sso ciatio n ),
a K o rean Students A sso ciatio n in T o k y o ;

Daehan Hakhoe Wolbo (D aeh an

H akhoe

M onthly Report) o f D aehan H akhoe (K o re a n A ca d e m ic A sso cia tio n ) organized by
K o rean students studying in T o k y o ; and
the

Prom otion

of

Learn in g )

of

Daehan Heunghakbo

D aehan

H eunghakhoe

(K o re a n G azette for
(K o re a n

A ca d e m ic

A sso ciatio n for the Prom otion o f Learn in g ) w h ich w as an independence m ovem ent
group established by K o re a n students studying in Japan.
F irst o f all, the introduction o f V ietn am w as m ade through com parison o f
various aspects to K o re a . In its editorial on the w o rld ’ s relig io n s,

Daehan Hakhoe

Wolbo explained

that V ietn am had em braced all o f the C o n fu c ia n ism , C h ristian ity,

and B u d d hism .

In

addition,

Taegeuk Hakbo

not only

introduced the

life o f

V ietnam ese m inority people, based on the survey note o f a nineteenth century
B ritish

scholar, but it also mentioned a breed o f V ie tn a m ese

lo cal

ch icken ,

accounting for its shape, size, weight, poultry farm ing method and p rofitability.

844


THE SEAR C H FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

O n the process o f the F re n ch invasion o f V ietn am and its characteristics,

Daehan Hakhoe Wolbo gave

a r a t h e r hard criticism , saying that F ran ce made a firm

foundation in V ietn am all thanks to the efforts o f the F re n ch m issionaries there, and,
according to the law o f ju n e le , this made it possible for F ra n ce to take over the
landed property o f V ietn am ese

local people; also saying that the country o f

‘A n n a m ’ w as sim p ly given to the self-helping F ra n ce like a heavenly present.
Furtherm ore, it w as

Taegeiik Hakbo that

started to use, perhaps for the first time as

a K o rean m agazine, the term o f ‘ In d o ch ina’ , designating ‘ A n n a m ’ as a satellite state
or a subject state o f F ra n ce accord ing to the international law .
B a se d on this a n a ly sis,

Taegeuk Hakbo

started to assert that K o re a should

model itse lf upon V ie tn a m by syste m ica lly exam ining the cause o f its national ruin.
Th e suggestion for the understanding o f colonial V ie tn a m w as coupled w ith the
consideration o f the fall o f V ietn am given by

Daehan Hakhoe Wolbo. A cco rd in g

to

its edito rials p ub lished from Feb ru ary to O ctober in 1908, the w eak solidarity, the
non-unified spirit o f the people, and the lack o f academ ic associations led V ietnam
to ‘ w o rk like oxen and h o rse s’ , even though the country is larger in area and
population than K o re a .

Daehan Heunghakbo

also pointed out that the Fren ch

colonial p o licy o f obliterating the V ietnam ese language and historical consciousness
resulted in the destruction o f unified people’ s spirit and raised an obstacle to the
independent historical p ersp ective to current events.
O n the other hand, this harsh evaluation o f the cau se and effect o f the ruined
V ie tn a m requires another consideration o f the K o rean in tellectu als’ m entality in
Japan. T h e case o f the K o re a n student G o W on-hun (1881 -?) is very rem arkable,
because h is interest in co lo n ia l V ietn am w as m otivated by ‘a desire to express
dissent on the ground that the decay o f K o re a w as m uch m ore serious than that o f
V ie tn a m .’ E v e n though the K o re a n intellectuals in Japan had published relatively
thoughtful w riting s about the p ro cess and ch aracteristics o f V ie tn a m ’ s ruin, they
either d id n ’t realize that the Jap an -K o rea Treaty in 1905 degraded the status o f their

ow n country to a m ere protectorate sim ilar to the counterpart, or they w ere in such a
p sy ch o lo g ica l state that they tried hard to deny the K o re a n reality.
T h e new spapers

Haejo Sinmun

(T h e T id e ) and

Daedong Gongbo

(G reat

K o re a ) in V la d iv o sto k w ere eager to put reports and inform ation on V ietnam not
only for the K o re a n s in R u s sia but also for their com patriots in K o re a . A s show n in
one o f the essays published in

The Tide,

the author aroused his curiosity about

V ie tn a m , saying that ‘there are m any countries I h a ven ’t been yet, but A n nam is one
o f the p laces I ’d m ost lik e to v isit i f I have tim e’ . M oreo ver, taking precautions
against the V ie tn a m ese m odel,

Haejo Sinmun

began to provide the inform ation

845

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LẦN TH Ứ T ư

about the country w h ich w as related to a w id er regional point o f vie w including
C h in a and Japan. In the same manner as som e o f the domestic p eriod icals, the
newspaper introduced the new s o f Sun Y a tse n and other C h in e se revolutionaries
who, between

1907 and

1908, raised four consecutive ‘u p risin g s’ in Northern

V ietnam and advanced to Southern C h in a for the purpose o f sain in g a foothold
there.

Haejo Sinmun also

reported on the whereabouts o f Sun Y a tse n w hen he went

to Singapore to seek asylum , as w e ll as the fact that the Q in e D y n a sty ’ s V ice M inister o f A g ricu ltu re , Industry and C o m m erce, Y a n g Shiqi (1 8 62-19 18), had
presented to the em peror a m em orial urging to set up a consulate in Sài G òn. In an
editorial titled ‘ B o th Peace and Catastrophe in A s ia Depend on Jap an’ ,

The Tide

compared the situation in A s ia to that resem bling ‘dark and frozen w inter nights'
and advocated a discourse o f A sian peace led by Japan w ho had hindered the
R u ssian advance into the region, expressing the hope that V ietnam w ould achieve
independence in cooperation w ith C h in a, Japan and K o rea. In addition, the journal
announced the new s about the tax protest m ovem ent in V ietnam and the Đ ông Du

(Study in the E a s t) M ovem ent, organized from

1905 by Phan B ộ i C h â u who

encouraged V ie tn a m ese youth to com e to Japan to study and prepare for a national
insurrection, sayin g , ‘w ho w ould not praise the efforts o f V ietn am ese to restore
their co u n try?’

Surp risin g ly, this new s

w as reported three months

V lad ivo sto k than in the dom estic m agazine like

earlier in

Daehan Hyeophoe iioebo.

Such a

sym pathy felt by K o rean residents in R u ssia for the V ietnam ese independence
movem ent w as expanded into the aw areness that the reality o f the hom eland w as in
‘a terrible p red icam ent’ .

Daedong Gongbo

became interested in the issue concerning the relations

between C h in a and V ietn am , and reported the request o f the overseas C h in e se in
Indochina to establish the consulate o f the Q in g D ynasty. Furtherm ore, dealing with

the V ietn am ese independence movem ent, the jo u rnal made know n the anti-French
struggle organized by H oàng H oa T h á m (1 8 9 5 -1 9 1 3 ?) w ho had been one o f the
leaders o f the C a n V ư ơ n g M ovem ent, and announced the news o f the Vietnam ese
students w ho had taken part in the D o n e D u M ovem ent and then had been expelled
by the Japanese governm ent. In particular, adding that four V ietn am ese students
concerned could not return to their country for fear o f punishm ent by the Fren ch
colonial governm ent, they thus applied to enter a C h in ese secondary school in
Guangdong p ro vince,

the newspaper em phasized the same fate faced bv the

Vietnam ese and K o re a n people, w h ich had no freedom to m ove around ow ing to the
oppression o f the enem y countries.
It is w orth notine also the efforts o f
the o fficial bulletin

846

Sin Hanguk Bo (N ew

o f Daehanin G u km in h o e

K o re a N ew spaper:

[K o rean N ational A sso cia tio n ]^


THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

H aw aiian headquarters) to arouse K o rean interest in V ietn am . In the sam e manner

as

Daedong Gongbo,

the new spaper reported the p itiful circum stance o f the

V ietn am ese overseas students and the anticolonial m ovem ent o f H oàng H oa Thám
w ho built the m ilitary base in N orthern V ietn am in around 1909. F irst o f all, dated
18 M ay 1909,

Sin Hanguk Bo

pictured in detail the desolate scene o f V ietnam ese

overseas students such as ‘ W an G y e o n g -lim ’ and ‘ W an G e u m -g e u n g ’ w ho had been
expelled from Japan and w ere having a hard tim e in Shantou (also know n as
Sw atow ) o f G uangdong p ro v in c e .1 M oreover, describing H oàng H oa T h ám ‘as i f an
old dragon had lifted up its head from the cloud and then soon hid itse lf ag ain’ , the
new spaper regarded the strategies and tactics used by him as ‘ im pregnable to the
w orthless strategies o f F re n ch o ffice rs.’
O n the other hand, the above-m entioned reports concerning the V ietnam ese
leaders o f national independence m ovem ent w ere clo se ly related to the changing
tone o f the press in fluenced by an acute situation in K o re a . O rig in a lly ,

Bo used

Sin Hanguk

to criticize V ie tn a m ese society o f the tim e, saying w ith a sarcastic tone:

E v e n after so m any decades since their country w as ruined by Fra n ce , the
G reat E m p e ro r o f A n n a m and the Im p erial H ousehold still fluster them selves. Th e
one w ho w on the first place in the higher c iv il service exam ination show ed o ff his
intelligence w h ile w an dering about in the streets for three days. N evertheless, he
d oesn’t realize the g rie f over the national ruin. V ie tn a m is deprived o f its innate
moral co n scio u sn ess.
H o w e v e r, the new sp ap er becam e aw are o f the reality that K o re a w as rapidly
falling d o w n h ill after the Jap an -K o rea Treaties o f 1905 and 1907, confessing that
‘ fo llo w in g in the steps o f V ie tn a m , w e are putting our descendants under the yoke
o f slavery through the two lam entable and sham eful treaties’ , and that ‘w e are
alm ost at the end o f four thousand years o f fate’ .
T h is sense o f crisis w as further exacerbated from 1910, because, according to
the w ritin g sta ff o f

Sin Hanguk Bo,

the tyranny o f the Japanese m ilitary

police w as

jud ged even harsher than the case o f V ie tn a m .2 A s a result, ju st before the JapanK o re a A n nexatio n T re a ty signed on A ugust 22 1910, the new spaper wrote: ‘today
our country has to su ffer such a m iserable fate that is ow ing to the lack o f
education; even i f the nam e o f K o re a is struck o ff the list and is changed to A nnam ,
m uch o f the progress in education w ill enable its re v iv a l in ten y e a rs.’ T h e

1. The Korean nam es o f tw o V ietnam ese students cannot be verified in Vietnam ese.
2. In June 1910, the Japanese colonial authorities deprived the Korean governm ent o f the
judicial pow er as well as the police authority.

847

VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YÉU HỘI THẢO QUÓC TÉ LÀN TH Ứ T ư

proclam ation o f independence through education w as based

m ore on w ishful

thinking than reality.
W h ile the Japanese annexation o f K o re a w as cau sing the fall o f Korean
academ ic

asso ciatio ns

and

the

mouthpieces

o f p ub lic

op inion

at home,

the

m ovem ent to spread the ‘V ietnam ese w a v e ’ w as continuing to be developed for a
w h ile

abroad.

The

new spaper

Gwoneop Sinmun,

p ublished

by

Gw oneophoe

(A sso ciatio n for the Encouragem ent o f Industry), a K o rean independence group in
R u ssia , expressed a deep interest in the V ietnam ese independence and revolutionary
m ovem ents. In an article titled ‘T h e A rm y in the C a u se o f Ju stice in V ie tn a m ’ (13
O ctober 1912), the new spaper reported the an ti-Fren ch up risin g s led by H oàng Hoa
T h ám , w h ich w as a ctive ly continuing since 1909, and his C h in e se supporters in
G u ag n xi p ro v in ce.

In addition, the exiling to Southern C h in a

o f Vietnam ese

activists fo llo w in g the failure o f the Đong Du M ovem ent w as understood from the
point o f v ie w o f a revolutionary movement.
T h is point o f v ie w w as also popular with K o re a n residents in A m e rica . T h e ir
m ain vo ice

Gukmin Bo (Journal

o f People) made know n the an ticolo nial movem ent

led by an an ti-F re n ch revolutionary organization founded in G u an g zh o u by Phan
B ộ i C h âu in 1912, V iệ t N am Q uảng Phục H ội (V ie tn am e se R estoration Society),
w hose program calle d for the establishment o f an independent V ie tn a m e se republic
patterned after the plans o f Sun Y a ts e n ’s N ational P arty. A c c o rd in g to the journal,
the society launched several unsuccessful revolts, and declined into an ineffective
nationalist o rganization in particular after b lo w in g up two F re n c h colonels in the
H otel H an oi in A p r il 1913. M oreover, in M arch 1914,

Gukmin Bo also

reported the

activities o f the C h in e se revolutionary L u o Fu xin ^ (1 8 8 6 -1 9 1 4 ) and his colleagues
w ho had com e to T a iw a n to assem ble a secret party in acco rd an ce with Sun
Y a ts e n ’ s

d irections.

E sp e c ia lly ,

recalling

the

F re n ch

positio n

that

these

revolutionary a ctiv itie s in T a iw a n might agitate V ietn am ese people, the journ al
added that F re n c h authorities appealed to C h in a to ‘ expel all the Vietnam ese
students w h o w ere studying there to organize an insurgence against F ra n c e .’ Th ese
efforts m ade by

Gwoneop Sinmun and Gukmin Bo to

spread the contem porary new s

regarding the regional revolutionary m ovem ent cou ld be exp lained by the fact that
K o rean patriots at that time endeavored to find a rea listic solution w h ich w ould
allo w them to replay in their country the X in h a i R e vo lu tio n , also know n as the
R evolu tio n

o f 1911.

C o n c lu s io n
A s vve have d iscu ssed above, the historical trend o f co n sid erin g ‘A n n a n r as an
object o f cu rio sity or prejudice, w h ich had been continued by K o re a n envoys and

848

THE SEAR CH FOR A NEW U N D E R S TA N D IN G OF VIETN AM .

castaw ays, w as changed from the nineteenth century. S in ce the establishm ent o f the
N guyễn D yn a sty, a re v ie w o f V ietn am

by K o re an intellectuals gave them an

opportunity to gain a new understanding o f the country and provide a good criterion
o f se lf-criticism , u sing a detailed and concrete m ethodology for approaching the
V ietn am ese reconstruction. In particular, from the late nineteenth century, the sense
o f crisis deepened by the F re n ch colonization o f V ie tn a m drew an enorm ous
response from the ro y a l court and other distinguished m en out o f o ffice as w e ll as a
large interest in the plight o f V ietn am ese victim s. In this context, the efforts to
spread the K o re a n interest in V ie tn a m through new spapers and acad em ic jo u rn als
since 1880s took the form o f reporting the F re n ch in vasio n o f V ie tn a m and its antiFre n ch struggles organized by H oàng H oa T h ám , g ivin g rise to the ‘V ietn am ese
w a v e ’ phenom enon.

M oreo ver, after the R usso-Jap an ese

W ar, the attempt to

analyze the cause o f the ruin o f V ie tn a m from various angles helped the country to
be used as the criterion for evaluating the present and the future o f K o re a . In
particular, the o verseas expansion o f the K o re a n

interest in V ie tn a m

can be

considered as aim in g to aw aken the internal independence and revolutionary

m ovem ents that w ere then exp eriencing a dow nw ard trend.
G o in g through this p rocess, the spatial gap that had existed betw een V ietn am
and K o re a could be narrow ed and changed into a p sy ch o lo g ica l and realistic
connectedness that m ade it p o ssib le for K o re an s to confirm their existence by
grasping the facts

o f the V ietn am ese

case. T h u s,

the new

understanding o f

‘V ie tn a m ’ replaced the earlier concept o f a faraw ay ‘A n n a m ’ and resulted in not
only the effective com m u nication between these two countries but also p ractical
action for the future o f K o re a b y the revitalization o f its people w ho had been seized
w ith a sense o f c risis regarding the V ietn am ese situation.
T h is devotion to V ietn am , as an object that w as capable o f strengthening and
restoring the subject o f K o re a , played also an important role in determ ining the
course o f new understanding o f V ietn am searched for later by K o re a n society.
Th erefo re, the efforts m ade by the d a ily new spapers

Donga Ilbo and Joseon Ilbo to

spread the K o re a n interest in V ie tn a m from the 1920s can be understood in the
sam e w a y. E s p e c ia lly , in the 1930s, thanks to other popular m ass m ag azin es, such
as

Byeolgeongon (A n o th e r

W o rld ) and

Samcheolri (T h e

W h o le L a n d o f K o re a ), the

V ietn am ese situation w as b ecom ing a fam iliar part o f life for m any K o re an s. In
addition, based on such results, the independence m ovem ent organizations o f both
countries like ‘B u k g ye o n g H an g yo D o n g jih o e ’ (K o re an C o m rad es A sso cia tio n in
B e ijin g ) and ‘ V ie tn a m ese C o m rad es A ss o c ia tio n ’ in Guangdong p ro vin ce could
strengthen their so lid arity and p ro vide actual support to each other in the third
country.

849


VIỆT NAM HỌC - KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TÉ LẦN TH Ứ TU

Th u s, the events described in the beginning o f this paper can be better
understood. In the article published on 28 M ay 1924,

Donga Ilbo

m entioned the

Korean search for a new understanding o f V ie tn a m , sayin g that ‘ it is only after
reading the book

History of the Loss of Vietnam

a few ye ars ago that K o rean s

started to have a general idea o f what was going on in V ie tn a m .’ A s i f answ ering to
this indication, a few months later, Y u n Hong-gi p ro claim ed his resistance to the
inhumane acts com m itted by pow erful countries, citin g the book. F in a lly , from
1931, K im Y u n g -k u n decided to devote his life to the V ietn am ese studies over the
next ten years. T h e history o f events outlined in this paper dem onstrate that these
two young K o re a n m en, who, respectively, challenged the co lo n ia l era w ith a spirit
o f self-sacrifice and took the step towards the academ ic adventure, can thus be seen
as a kind o f so cial phenom enon w h ich emerged through the com bination o f the new
understanding o f V ietn am and the dynam ic independence m ovem ent that had its
origins h a lf a century earlier.

Reference
Primary sources

Bulryeongdan Gwangye Japgeon - Seonin-ui Du - Jae Sanghae Jihang (6)

(Various

Disturbing Groups - Koreans - Shanghai), provided by the National Institute o f Korean
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(Various

Disturbing Groups - Korea - Manchuria), provided by the National Institute o f Korean
History.

Byeolgeongon (Another World).
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of the Great Joseon), A sia Culture

Publisher, Seoul, 1978.

Daedong Gortgbo (Great Korea).
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Hakhoe Monthly Report), A sia Culture Publisher,

Seoul, 1978.

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Gazette for the Promotion of Learning), A sia Culture

Publisher, Seoul, 1978.

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(Bulletin of the Korean

Association),

A sia

Culture

Publisher, Seoul, 1978.

Daehan Jaganghoe Wolbo
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850

(Daehan Jaganghoe Monthly

Report), A sia Culture


THE SEARCH FOR A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF VIETNAM.

D o n g n ip S in m u n ( T h e I n d e p e n d e n t ) , L G S a n g n a m P r e s s F o u n d a t i o n , S e o u l , 1 9 9 6 .

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W eekly Bulletins), Gwanhun Club Sinyeoung Research

Fund, Seoul, 1983.

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(Hanseong Ten-Daily), Seoul National University Press, 1969, 10

October 1883.

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Saeophoe (ed), Seoul, 1991.

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