Heungseon Daewongun's change
This story about the change of Heungseon Daewongun is different from the actual history, and it is a fictional story created by imagining how history would have changed if Heungseon Daewongun was open to Western culture and Christianity.
The real story of Heungseon Daewongun
After the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 18th century, Western ships frequently appeared in the coastal waters of Joseon.
In 1860, when Beijing fell due to an attack by the British and French allied forces, and the fact that Emperor Hampung of the Qing Dynasty fled was known, a sense of crisis spread in Joseon. Heungseon Daewongun, who came to power around this time, tried to attract French forces to block the Russian threat. However, the negotiations did not come to pass, and it was revealed that Russia's border invasion and trade request were unfounded, and news that the Qing Dynasty suppressed Catholicism was also transmitted. As ministers and Confucian scholars argued that Catholicism should be banned, Daewongun suppressed Catholicism extensively, as if to show off his disinterest with Catholicism.
Daewongun defeated Byeongin Yangyo, which resulted from the Byeongin Persecution. After that, he declared his will to “firmly guard the sea gates and to prevent foreign ships from passing through.”
The robbery of Namyeon's tomb by Opert in 1868 further fueled antipathy against Westerners, and in 1871, the General Sherman ship incident in 1866 led to war with the United States.
After Shinmiyangyo, Daewongun further strengthened the policy of excluding the West by erecting stele in various parts of the country, saying, "To insist on peace is to sell the country."
Now, let's imagine an alternative story of Heungseon Daewongun's changed life.
What if.....
In 1831, there was a very clever, curious, and inquisitive kid named Haeung Lee. He was interested in studies from a young age so he read many books from different fields. His parents did not stop him because they wanted him to become a learned, wise, and wide-eyed person. He was rich in knowledge from a young age, and at the age of 15, he became a Dongmong Gyougwan. Dongmong Gyogwan, as a teacher of young children, he wanted to teach children a lot of knowledge not only about traditional education but the study from different countries.
While thinking about it, he met a man who had a very secretive and unique book. It talked about God and Jesus Christ. It is the bible written in Korean by K. F. A. Guetzlaff. He began to study the Bible with the mysterious and exotic-looking man, Gutzlaff. At that time, Joseon was conservative, so Haeung Lee, who thought that studying the Bible could cause people to feel repulsive, secretly started studying the Bible with Gutzlaff. He gave Gutzlaff a false identity as a foreign envoy and let him into the palace. Haeung Lee studied the Bible deeply while being friendly with Gutzlaff, finally met God, and became a Christian. With great intention in his heart that he would deliver God’s word, he became a high official. He started to deliver God word’s but there was so much resistance from others. Meanwhile, King Cheoljong died and Haeung Lee’s son became king. King Gojog, Haeung Lee’s son, was so young that he became Heungseon Daewongun to support his son.
During when Heungseon Daewongun period, Joseon was very conservative and it was difficult to deliver God’s word. At that time, Confucianism was dominant in Joseon, and Western culture, especially Catholicism, was difficult to accept. Furthermore, the yangban felt that they would be harmed if they accepted Catholicism and tried to acknowledge its ideology. The reason was that if people embraced Catholicism, they thought that they would lose their authority, positions, privileges, and entitlement to enslave because the ideology of equality will make it happen. Therefore, Yangban tried to block Heungseon Daewongun’s trying to deliver God’s word, and many sangsomun from Yangban wanted to make delivering God’s word stop. Moreover, Yangban thought that the influx of Westerners and their passage would give them disadvantages, they took a hardline attitude, demanding that foreign countries establish steles to protect the borders in the sense of opposing the border. However, despite such a backlash, Heungseon Daewongun worked hard to open the door to the border with ministers like him and also tried to accept Catholicism.
Then, in 1866, the US merchant ship General Sherman began approaching the land of Joseon. There was an American missionary Robert Thomas who was on board as an translator. Heungseon Daewongun opens the port, greets the crew of General Sherman, the admiral, and Robert Thomas, and invites them to the palace. Through meeting with them, he had many conversations and learned about Western culture and religion. In particular, the story of Protestantism told by Robert Thomas touched his heart. Robert Thomas was also moved by Heungseon Daewongun's passion, and the two began to think about evangelization in Korea. In the meantime, they come up with an idea to convince the yangban, which is to introduce Western culture and make them immerse themselves in it. Western shipbuilding techniques, steam engines, cannons, and various strange objects were enough to win the hearts of noblemen. Yangban, who were constantly exposed to Western culture, gradually lost their resentment toward the West, and eventually, they also began to acknowledge Western culture. At first, the nobles preferred only Western culture, not Christianity, but as they gradually learned about Christianity, Christians began to appear.
Joseon gained a lot of technology, resources, and economic benefits by opening its borders, so it gradually became stronger and eventually emerged as a powerful country among Asian countries. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was on the path of decline, and it did not have the ability to check the fast-rising of the Joseon Dynasty. In the midst of the Meiji Restoration, Japan had no time to care about anything else. As a result, Joseon established power among Asian countries without much hindrance.
Moreover, Joseon became a strong Christian nation. In the process of many cultural exchanges and technology transfers, many missionaries visited Korea and were able to easily continue their evangelism. Joseon people who showed a favorable attitude toward foreign countries gradually abandoned their native Korean beliefs and chose Christianity. However, because Catholicism started first, Catholics took up more than half. Joseon united as one based on strong strength, was reborn as one nation called the Republic of Korea. They have become mainstream in Asian countries based on rapid growth and technological prowess.
This page is curated by Jong Min Ahn, an M.Div. Student at Drew Theological School.