Persecution on Catholics

Korea experienced a difficult time in the mid-19th century when the Regent, King Gojong's father, pursued the policy of isolation in order to prevent Korea from becoming entangled with unfamiliar foreign relations. From 1832, western nations developed an increasing interest in opening Korea for trade. After a British merchant ship visited Korea seeking trade in 1845, a British warship surveyed Korean waters near Jeju Island. Then, in 1846, a French warship making overtures for trade visited Korea, followed by two Russian warships which did likewise in 1854, causing death and injuries among the Koreans. The Persecution began, oddly enough, with the Russians, who were in the midst of the Great Game.

Following the conclusion of the Treaties of Tianjin the Russians had made it a habit to cross the Tumen River to demand trade relations with Korea. The royal regent was feeling the heat, but did not quite know what to do about it. Following another Russian demand in 1864, several Catholic advisers suggested to him it might be prudent to enter into an alliance with France to ward off the Russian menace. They proposed that the regent meet with French Jesuit missionaries who were operating in the country to see if a deal could be made. Bishop Simon Francois Berneux made his way up to Seoul. Unfortunately, the alliance proposal left the regent open to attack from his political enemies. The regent changed course and ordered that Catholicism be suppressed. His Catholic advisers, 9 French priests and 40 Korean converts were arrested and executed, thus starting the largest anti-Catholic persecution ever carried out was in progress, producing over 8,000 Korean martyrs.

In its wake, the regent declared that foreigners' blood should purify Yanghwajin defiled by "western barbarians" and Catholics, and moved the execution site from Seosomun to Yanghwajin. That's how the once beautiful riverside turned into "Beheading Mountain." In March 1866, Priest Ridel and 11 other Korean Catholics who managed to flee from Korea reported the bloody persecution to the French Commander Pierre Gustave Roze. French minister in China had the commander of the French naval force invade Korea.

The French Asian Squadron of seven warships invaded Korea in September in 1866 in retaliation for the persecution of French Catholic missionaries and exact a treaty from Korea, attacking Ganghwa Island and defense installations for an attack on Seoul itself. But, unable to sail up to the Han River, and retreated in November, looting 297 Uigwe of 186 kinds featuring protocols of royal ceremonies and rites from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) from Ganghwado branch of Gyujanggak royal library.

The first batch of seventy-five of the 75 volumes of the royal protocols returned home 145 years. The final batch of the 297-volume "Oegyujanggak" books arrived on May 27, 2011. The return has been made on a five-year renewable lease basis after French President Nicolas Sarkozy accepted Seoul's request during the G20 Summit held in Seoul in 2010. Listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2007, Joseon "uigwe" are a model of rites and rituals unique to Korea, which were recorded during the kingdom. The historical documents record and prescribe through prose and illustration the major ceremonies and rites of the royal family. The books had been stored at the National Library of France and remained unnoticed until Park Byeong-seon, a Paris-based Korean professor, discovered they were incorrectly classified as Chinese documents in 1975. One of the books was returned to Korea on a permanent lease basis in 1993 by then French President Francois Mitterrand.