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In the past, many people were extremely superstitious of natural events they could not explain at the time. Comets and solar and lunar eclipses were often viewed with apprehension and fear by the general Korean public.
On Sept. 24, 1866, a lunar eclipse darkened the skies over Korea. What effect the sudden darkness had upon the less-informed peasantry is unclear but undoubtedly it caused concern and even a sense of dread amongst some of them. Their fears were soon realized when word arrived in the capital that Western barbarians in strange steamships had been sighted at the mouth of the Han River. These vessels were the French warships the Deroulede and the Tardiff, part of a French expedition to Korea that had been ordered to survey the river.
As the warships made their way up the Han they were fired upon several times by Korean soldiers and even attacked by a couple of old Korean warships, which were promptly destroyed.
On Sept. 26, the residents of Seoul and the surrounding countryside were alarmed when they witnessed the warships steaming up the river "with thundering noise, darkening the blue autumn sky with columns of black smoke." They moved to the vicinity of Yanghwajin Bridge where, according to one account, they were forced to stop by Korean junks that had been lined up to block their passage. It was the first time that Western warships had gained a glimpse of the capital.
The arrival of the French caused great unrest not only amongst the common people but the Korean court, as well.
Many people were convinced that the execution of the French priests and persecution of the Christians throughout the country had angered the gods – let alone the French – and that the capital was about to be invaded. Seoul relied upon the Han River to bring in supplies of fuel and food and with the presence of the French the much needed supplies could not be brought in so unrest quickly grew. Residents of Seoul fled the city in great numbers and military units throughout the region were placed on higher alert levels.
A Korean junk with a minor official was sent out to negotiate with the French. The official was allowed to board the Deroulede and he demanded that the French warships leave Korea. The French official in charge of the expedition informed him that they – the French – had come not to punish the Koreans for the deaths of the priests but out of curiosity of the lunar eclipse and to form a friendship with the Korean people. According to the French official, the French were known throughout the world for their generosity and impartiality.
After nearly two days in the vicinity of Seoul, the French warships left – much to the relief of the Korean population. That relief was short lived. The French returned nearly two weeks later with a much larger force and laid siege to Ganghwa Island. They pillaged and plundered the island taking with them with many valuables including books that have only recently been returned to Korea.
Eventually the French were forced to leave but their short stay in Korea had a disastrous impact. The rice harvest had been impeded by the conflict. Fields had been trampled and large numbers of soldiers had to be fed by the region's stores of grain. For the Christians it was even worse. The Daewongun stepped up his pursuit of the Christians and had them killed in large numbers on a bluff overlooking the spot on the Han River near Yanghwajin Bridge where the French had arrived. It was his belief that their blood would cleanse the river of the French's defilement. It also awoke in him the realization that Korea was ill-prepared to defend itself from the West.
Robert Neff is contributing writer for The Korea Times.
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