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Experiences as Colonial State in Joseon and Latvia

First Russian Minister in Korea 'Karl Ivanovich Weber'(Карл Иванович Вебер, 1841–1910) worked as a diplomat for 12years(1885–97) in Seoul. This history is unprecedented compared to other diplomatic representatives of the other powers in Seoul during the Gojong era. Why would he do that? Was he incompetent? Why did he stay in Joseon for so long? Why did he leave the diplomatic stage? This is why we should pay attention not only to Korean modern history but also to modern history.

His long-term work in Joseon was probably due to his affection and compassion for Joseon. He would have felt a same disease knowing that the reality of Joseon was similar to his native Latvia. Latvia, which has a population of less than 2 million today, was incorporated into the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th century. Liepāja, where Weber was born, was a trade port and a non-frozen port. This is why it became the base of the Russian Baltic fleet. The starting point for the Russian Baltic fleet in the Russo-Japanese War was Liepāja(Russian name: Либава). Weber received his Ph.D. from the Chinese-Mongolian department of the University of St. Petersburg, which was a cultural influence by Germans in the Baltic region who served as a channel for European and Russian academia. The reason is the same as the young people of Latvia gathered in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, to acquire opportunities, and the young people of colonial Joseon left for Tokyo for studying.

Like the Korea-Japan relationship, Latvia is not free from Soviet colonial heritage. Located in the capital Riga, The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia contains the painful history of Latvia, which was dominated by the surrounding powers Soviet Union(1940–41; 1944–91) and Germany(1941–44). During the occupation of the two major powers, 550,000 people, or one-third of Latvian population, were slaughtered or missing. In particular, the Soviet Union moved Russians to Latvia in the name of national convergence. This made it 27% of the population of Russian Latvians, even though they were independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Therefore, the Russians left in Latvia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union are continuing conflicts between the two countries in a new form.

‘Gojong’ in mourning, Crown Prince ‘Soonjong’, and Russian Minister in Joseon ‘Weber’. 

Three people took pictures at the entrance of the Russian Embassy.(1896)

Russia's Safety Connected to the Independence of Joseon

Weber recognized that Korea’s independence was essential to protect the Maritime Province and Far East Russia, which are less populous and far away. If foreign troops were stationed in Korea, Korea would surely be a stepping stone to enable the invasion of the Maritime Province. So he strongly responded to Japan's Protection of Korea shortly after the Sino-Japanese War.

The logic of Weber's pressure on Japan, the winner of the Sino-Japanese War, was clear. If the Qing Dynasty dispatched troops to Korea and the Japanese landed on the Korean peninsula as a countermeasure against it, the end of the war meant the withdrawal of the Japanese army. Despite the establishment of the Treaty of Shimonoseki(1895. 4. 17), the Japanese troops stationed again in major cities in Korea. Russia led the Triple Intervention(1895. 4. 23) to prevent Japan from entering the continent and supported Gojong, who wanted to withdraw Japanese troops from Korea.

Gojong pointed out that it is a contradiction for the Japanese troops to station in Korea because Japan confirmed Korea as an independent country in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Gojong was aware that the source of Japanese power, which interferes with the Korean government under the pretext of reforming internal affairs, was the Japanese troops stationed in Korea. The Japanese troops stationed in Seoul again were likely to reenact the atrocities that occupied Gyeongbok-Palace a year ago(1894. 7.23). It was no coincidence that the Japanese troops in Seoul were involved in the incident that killed Empress Myeongseong.

Weber played a decisive role in revealing that Japan had murdered Empress Myeongseong. Without his efforts, the queen would have been deposed to the ordinary people and became misfortune of woman who did not know where she was. Weber decided that in order to thoroughly investigate the truth of the Empress Myeongseong incident, Gojong should defeat the pro-Japanese cabinet and support him to form his own cabinet.

The Japanese denied that they were not involved in the murder of Empress Myeongseong. The Hiroshima Tribunal has acquitted the Japanese who participated in the murder due to lack of evidence(1896. 1. 20). The Koreans involved in this incident remained in high-ranking positions without any punishment. If Gojong failed to move his residence to the Russian Embassy, the incident in which Japan killed Empress Myeongseong may have been absent in history.

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (a photograph taken by a writer)

The Faith of Weber, a Scholar and Diplomat

Weber became a channel connecting the Tsar government and the Seoul government when there was no Korean ministry residing in Russia. In this situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry used to get the impression that Weber was a spokesman for the Korean government. The Russian Foreign Ministry tried to compromise with Japan by using a card called Joseon to acquire a vested interest in Manchuria. But he did not agree with this policy. His scholarly belief that Korea’s independence is directly linked to the safety of the Russian Empire proved by history.

He was summoned to Russia and then retired from the Russian Foreign Ministry(1900). And he started a new career as a scholar. However, he visited Seoul(1902-03) as a special envoy of Nikolai II at an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Emperor Gojong's ascend. He then participated in a project to unify geographical names at the Special Committee on Geographical Nomenclature of the Russian Geographical Society, founded by the Russian Imperial Court in 1904. He also studied how to read Korean and Chinese characters in Korean. He died in 1910, spending his later years in Radebeul near Dresden, Germany, and the villa he stayed in was named ‘Корея’.

I asked myself as I headed for Riga on a twin-engine flight from Helsinki to attend a seminar commemorating the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Latvia in 2011. “Why did Russia not avoid the Russo-Japanese War even though summoned Weber? Was it because Russia summoned him with affection for Korea and scholarly insights, and put people who pretended to be loyal without souls in Weber's position?” The Baltic Sea at dusk was still blue and beautiful.