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By Choe Chong-dae
A celebratory party in honor of the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, coming in the year of the 140th anniversary of Korean-U.K. relations, was held on May 3.
The event was hosted by British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks LVO, at his residence in central Seoul. I had the honor of attending the reception joined by many distinguished dignitaries including Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin. The invited guests were impressed by Ambassador Crooks' remarkable congratulatory speech, which he delivered fluently in both Korean and English.
The history of the United Kingdom and its early interactions with Korea is a fascinating subject. In 1797, British Navy Captain William Broughton made unofficial contact with Korea during his voyage to Asian countries aboard the survey ship HMS Providence, which anchored at the port of Busan. In addition, Sir Edmund Belcher surveyed the Geomundo archipelago off the south coast of Korea in 1845 and named it Port Hamilton after Captain W.A.B. Hamilton. The strategic importance of this location was significant.
Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Korea were established in 1883 when British diplomat Sir Harry Parkes signed a treaty with the Korean representative, Min Young-mok. Accordingly, William George Aston, the first British consul-general in Korea, served from 1884 to 1885. He was a distinguished scholar of Japanese and Korean language and culture. Retiring from diplomacy, he published several books on Japanese literature and religion, as well as numerous articles on Korean subjects. He also lectured to the Royal Asiatic Society of Japan on several occasions, and many of his papers were published in their Journal of Transactions.
On a personal note, I have had the opportunity to establish close contacts with the U.K. through my longstanding membership in Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea. As the world's oldest Korean studies group founded in 1900, RAS Korea often celebrates its anniversary with an annual garden party at the residence of the British ambassador, who is given the title of honorary president of the society. I am proud to have been a member of RAS Korea for several decades.
I am thrilled to share the news that my paper, "Humanistic Egalitarianism in Donghak," will be published next month in Transactions, RAS Korea's journal. Transactions has been published almost every year since 1900, and I am honored to contribute to this longstanding tradition. My enthusiastic interest in the U.K. has led me to write some U.K.-related columns in this paper. "Liverpool ― Home of the Beatles," Oct. 5, 2003, "British Museum collections in Seoul," Jan. 24, 2016, "Promoting Korea-UK ties," April 3, 2018, and "Fond memory of Royal Asia Society Korea," Jan. 24, 2022.
The British Embassy's ambassadorial residence, built in 1892, holds the distinction of being the oldest legation building in Korea. Its exotic Victorian-style architecture and two-story design captured the attention of King Gojong, the last monarch of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, who was enamored by its distinctive beauty upon its completion.
Millions of people across the U.K. and around the world celebrated the coronation of King Charles III on May 6. The king was crowned along with Camilla, the queen consort. This marked the 40th time a reigning monarch has been crowned at the Abbey since 1066.
On the occasion of the coronation of King Charles III, the longstanding ties between Korea and U.K. will be strengthened.
Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association.
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