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 (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 -?) 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 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 -1 ) 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 -1 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 -?) 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 ) and Joseon (1 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 - 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 -1 ) 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 -1 ) and the V ietnam ese Phùng K h ắ c K h o a n (15 28 -1 ) 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 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 -1 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 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 T h e t h e n e n v o y Y i M a n - s u ( - ) , 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 China on 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 Thơng 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 ‘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 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; 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 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 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 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 -1 8 ) and his regent T ô n T h ất T h u yết (18 39 -1 ) 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 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 -1 ) 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 13-18 81), governor o f F re n ch C o ch in ch in a, sent F n cis G a m ie r to H 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 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 ( - ) , 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 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 -1 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 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 -1 ), 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 - 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 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 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 M ay Ỉ8 , 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 -1 ) 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 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 -1 ), 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 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 8 -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 ,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 51-18 94) seize d the opportunity and executed the C o u p d ’ Etat w ith Japanese help on 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 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 n ce does not lie in the co lonization o f V ie tn a m alone F 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 L a t e r in , 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 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 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 N ội, w h ich had becom e F 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 ilw a y co in in g through K u n m in g in Southwestern C h in a , L o C a i, and H 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 -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 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 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 -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 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 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 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 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 -1 ), an independence fighter, ventured to get rid o f the pro-Japanese m inister Y i W an -yo n g (1 8 -1 ) 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 n ce had put a Vietn am ese kin g 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 ‘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 \ 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 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 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 hw an and 10 je o n s every year, but the tax rose to hw ans and 20 je o n s from three years ago, and 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 m (1 -1 ?) w ho had been one o f the leaders o f the C a n V 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 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 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 The Korean nam es o f tw o V ietnam ese students cannot be verified in Vietnam ese 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 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 -1 ) 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 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 History Bulryeongdan Gwangye Japgeon - Joseonin-ui Bu - Jae Manju-ui Bu (40) (Various Disturbing 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Tributary System), Yoksa Hakbo, no 114, 1987 Zhongyang Yanjiuyuan Jindaishi Yanjiusuo (Academia Sinica) (ed), Oingji Ziqiang Yundonz Yantaohui Luymenji (Conference on the Self-Strenthening Movement), Academia Sinica, Taibei, 1988, vol 854 ... 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. .. 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... 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