This is the last of a three-part contribution on diplomatic relations between Korea and France, which marked the 130th anniversary of its establishment this year. — Ed.
Lending Korea a helping hand in times of crisis
They say that “there are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in the international politics”. The cold-blooded nature of the international politics is well expressed by the word “alliance”. Alliances were actively and exclusively pursued by the world powers during the so-called imperialistic period, i.e. prior to World War II. During that period it would be completely unimaginable for a world power to form an alliance with a small and weak counterpart. Even the formation of an alliance between France and Czechoslovakia, known as ‘Petite Entente’, in the aftermath of World War I proved to be a futile undertaking in the wake of the Nazi intervention.
During those times Gojong’s attempts at promoting the already signed Franco-Korean treaty to the status of an alliance amounted to little more than wishful thinking, effectively being totally illogical. To reiterate the main point, France’s role in the Korean Peninsula has always been that of a quiet observer.
Despite that, France can be credited for the declaration of neutrality by Gojong right before the eruption of the Russo-Japanese war, for the establishment of Korea’s Provisional Government in Shanghai in the French Concession as well as for the French participation to the Korean war, it is worthwhile reexamining the apparently bold steps undertaken by France in her dealing with Korea in the cold-blooded light of the international politics reality.
Struggle for Neutrality
The support for Korea’s neutralization attracted the world powers’ attention in 1904, right before the eruption of the Russo-Japanese war.
Gojong with the help of the French Legation Korea proclaimed to the countries with which it had concluded treaties that “In case of the Russo-Japanese war, Korea will strictly observe neutrality.” Gojong hoped that this proclamation by being the ultimate arrangement will serve as a foundation stone for establishing Korea’s neutrality.
The text of this proclamation was prepared by the French Legation and, after having received approval by Gojong, was dispatched from the city of Zhifu, Shandong region, at 11 o’clock on the Jan. 21, 1904. Residing in Zhifu, the French Consul was at the same time performing the duties of Consul General in Korea, which made Gojong’s proclamation dispatch possible.
Gojong’s proclamation of Korea’s neutrality greatly rattled the diplomatic corps in Seoul. Japan was irritated because prior to the Russo-Japanese war it intended to coerce Korea into concluding certain treaties. Russia was jumping for joy, the reason being that the Japanese actions in Seoul were squarely aiming at thwarting Korean government’s attempts to act in a neutral fashion. As a result, even if temporarily, Gojong’s proclamation of neutrality blocked the Japanese from putting in practice their scheme of turning Korea into a protectorate state.
The world powers that had their stakes in a relationship with Japan reacted to the Korean government’s proclamation of neutrality. Encouraged by these developments, Gojong harbored hopes of declaring permanent neutrality for Korea. Unfortunately, as a result of Japan winning the Russo-Japanese war that started a few days after the proclamation of neutrality, Korea ended up becoming Japan’s protectorate state on Nov. 17, 1905.
Gojong must have been counting on France to intervene in order to uphold Korea’s independence. By concluding a protectorate treaty with Japan, Korea lost her diplomatic sovereignty and disappeared from the international state, ceding all of the foreign affairs to Japan. France withdrew her diplomatic representatives from Seoul, and changed the status of French Legation to that of the French Consulate.
Struggle for IndependenceHaving become a Japanese colony, Koreans started to actively develop and anti-Japanese movement both in Korea and abroad with the ultimate purpose of winning back Korea’s independence. France, though, has never stepped in even once to lend direct support to this movement.
The reason for such an attitude is the mutual decision by France to accept the outcome of the Russo-Japanese war, while Japan agreed to acknowledge France’s special rights and interests in Indochina. In addition, France and Japan agreed to strengthen mutual friendship in order to avoid any potential misunderstanding by signing a treaty on June 10th, 1907, that stipulated the provision of mutual support. Ever since then, France’s stance on her foreign policy in East Asia was to support the status quo.
In this context, the relationship between Korean provisional government and France looks quite special.
Owing to Wilson’s proclamation of national self-determination, the establishment of Korean provisional government can be seen as a result of the liberation movement of March 1st . Since these events are the consequence of Koreans’ sense of sovereignty and the independence spirit they kept during the period of Japanese colonization, they are taking an important part in Korean history. These developments carry a special meaning also in the context of world history.
From the point of view of the international law, Korean provisional government was not a successor to the previous government, and as such could not be considered a government in exile. In addition, in the context of international relations Korea did not satisfy the conditions that would classify her as a sovereign state. The self-proclaimed Korean provisional government was little more than a political group providing support for the anti-Japanese independence movement.
As such, it owed its diplomatic success to the establishment of the Paris Committee that in the framework of supporting Korean efforts at re-gaining independence. Later in Cairo on Nov. 29, 1943 Korea was designated as a country that would gain her sovereign status in the future, which was a positive result that became a founding stone for its establishment.
It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the fact that Korean provisional government was established at the French Concession in Shanghai and lasted for twenty-seven years after that.
Participation in Korean WarOn Feb. 15, 1949 France officially acknowledged the Korean government that had been established on the 15th of August, 1948 as the only legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula.
In the aftermath of the legitimate recognition of the Korean government, France and Korea proceeded with the development of their diplomatic ties. France started by upgrading the status of her Consulate that had been present in Korea for forty-three years at the moment to that of Legation, dispatching a resident representative to Seoul.
As the Cold War between U.S. and the USSR intensified, Korean War broke out on June 25th 1950. From today’s point of view, Korean War that was fought by the Western Bloc headed by the U.S. by means of the U.N. armed forces, by North Korea and China by means of the People’s Liberation Army, and by the USSR that entered the war in completely disguised a fashion, looks like a weird masquerade.
France dispatched a squadron of 1017 that fought fierce battles with the Communist military forces. Being one of the sixteen countries participating in the Korean War, France has sacrificed 250 of her young soldiers for the sake of freedom and peace.
The French squadron under the leadership of General Monclar held several victories in the Korean War. A monument was erected to commemorate the victory in a three-day close combat with the thirty thousand Chinese soldiers that took place on Feb. 13, 1951 in Jipyeong ri, Yangpyeong gun, Gyeonggi Province.
In any event, the solidarity between Korea and France going together through so much suffering laid a solid foundation for greatly strengthening the relationship between the two countries.
By Lee Chang-hoon
Lee Chang-hoon, a former president of Halla University and Veolia Water Korea, is now the president of the Seoul ASEM Institute for International Relations and the representative for Korea of the French ports of Le Havre-Rouen-Paris called HAROPA. Lee holds a doctorate from the University of Paris X. He can be reached at
leech771@seoulasem.com. — Ed.