The UK was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Korea.  Our relationship was cemented during the Korean War and continues to develop as trade, investment, political, educational and cultural links grow.

Introduction

British interest in Korea can be traced to the beginning of the seventeenth century. News of Korea, and its reputed wealth, reached Europe through the Portuguese, and probably first became known to the English from Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation, published between 1598-1600.

Only at the end of the 18th Century was British interest again awakened. The growth of the China trade led to an increase in Western shipping in East Asian waters, which in turn led to the need for survey work. It was this need which lay behind Captain William Broughton's voyage around the North Pacific and the Asian region in HMS 'Providence' and its sloop, from 1794 to 1798, and which brought him to Korea's coast in October and November 1797. Broughton and his men went ashore at Pusan.

In 1832 the British East India Company sent a ship, the 'Lord Amherst', along the northern shores of China in search of new markets. Not only did this ship visit Korea, but it also had on board the Rev. Charles (or Karl) Gutzlaff, who distributed some bibles. In the 1870s Rev John Ross, a missionary in North China was the first to translate the Gospel into Korean.

The first British diplomat to visit Korea was Joseph Longford, the Consul at Nagasaki, in 1875. Longford met hostility from the Koreans, as had earlier visitors. 

1882-1883 Treaty making

In 1882, Britain sent Vice-Admiral Willis, Commander-in-Chief of the China station, to Korea; he was given discretion to negotiate a treaty, if he thought it necessary. In May 1882 Willis concluded a treaty in Incheon. However, Willis's treaty aroused a storm of opposition in Britain. At first they sought to modify Willis's treaty, but it was soon clear that a completely new treaty would be necessary to meet British objectives and to take account of the objections. Joint British and German negotiations were conducted in November 1883. Parkes, Minister to China, arrived in Seoul and was joined by Herr Zappe, German Consul-General at Yokohama, an old friend of Parkes. The negotiations were tough, but led to the signing of new Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in the Kyongbok Palace on 26 November 1883. Parkes' treaty formed the basis on which all foreigners lived in Korea until 1910. 

1884-1890 Implementing the treaty

Parkes proposed that he should be accredited as British Minister to Korea while continuing to reside in Peking, and that temporary appointment should be made for consular posts in Korea. W G Aston was sent to find a site for the post. In May 1884, he concluded an agreement to buy a tract of land in Chung-dong, in the area of a decayed former royal palace. The land is the land on which the British Embassy still stands today. So, offices and living quarters were set up in the Korean style houses on the site, and the British Legation began to function.

1885-1887 Port Hamilton/Komundo

In 1885, Britain had decided to occupy Port Hamilton (Komundo), in a move which, it was claimed, would prevent the Russians taking a port on Korea's northeastern coast. The British Navy, on the instructions of the Cabinet, sent three ships to Port Hamilton in April 1885, although at first the British flag was not hoisted over the islands. This took place without any consultation with Korea. Neither were the Chinese or Japanese governments informed, though both considered that this was a matter which directly concerned their interests. However, when there was a reduction in Anglo-Russian tension over Afghanistan in 1886, it was decided to end the occupation.

1887-1890 Consolidation

In 1888, the Minister in Peking, still also Minister to Seoul, proposed that Seoul and Chemulpo should become substantive posts. In 1890-91, therefore, most of the old buildings on the Seoul site were torn down, and work began on a set of standard China coast-style British official buildings, to provide residential and office accommodation.

Two important visitors during the 1890s were the celebrated lady traveller Mrs. Bishop and the future Lord Curzon. Both wrote valuable books about Korea, both now translated into Korean and still quoted today.

The 1890s also saw a marked increase in the number of Britons employed by the Korean government. Amongst the earliest was W Du Flon Hutchinson, who acted as Secretary to the German adviser to the Korean Foreign Office, P G von Mollendorff from 1883-85. For a short time in the late 1880s, a British engineer was in charge of the electric lighting in the Kyongbok Palace. In 1896, Mr Stripling, formerly of the Shanghai police force, became adviser to the Korean government's newly formed police department. Lt. Callwell of the Royal Marines taught drill to Korean soldiers, and he and one of the Anglican lay brothers are credited with training the first Korean footballers.

1900-1910 The Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the Japanese takeover

In 1898, the link between British representation in Peking and that in Seoul was broken. The Consul-General, John Jordan, was at first appointed Charge d'Affaires, and then in 1901, Minister Resident. Yet this post was to last only until 1905. In 1902, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was formed. Although the British position was no different from that of other countries, the implicit sanction given to the Japanese takeover by the two Anglo-Japanese Alliances has caused much bitterness to Koreans.

Most foreigners accepted the change after 1905. However, a few did not, most prominent of these was a British journalist, Ernest Bethell. Bethell started his own local newspaper, which first appeared as a bilingual publication. Bethell soon took an anti-Japanese stance. The Japanese authorities sought redress through the British consular courts still operating in Korea. Bethell was convicted, and eventually imprisoned in Shanghai. On release, he returned to Korea, where he died in 1909.

1910-1941 Japanese colonial period

There were changes after 1910. The Japanese, having made Korea a colony, were not keen to share it with others. Britain's official presence may have been reduced after 1910, but official interest was not. The British government, having accepted the Japanese rule in Korea after 1905, had not in public taken a very serious view of allegations of Japanese atrocities during the period when the Japanese were consolidating their position, seeing them as an inevitable part of the consolidation of Japan's rule. But at the time of the March First Movement in 1919, the British authorities were far more critical of Japan's behaviour. The British government drew up a damning indictment of Japan's colonial administration. For all foreign companies, it became steadily more difficult to operate as time passed. Mainstream missionary activity, however, showed no decline during the colonial period.

1945-1950 The British return

Britain's role vis-a-vis Korea was limited to opposition to the idea of a long period of trusteeship before independence. It was thus at British insistence that the reference to Korea becoming free and independent 'in due course', became part of the allies' stand.

The years 1946-50 saw a gradual re-establishment of the British in Korea. Following the establishment of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 1948, it again became a Legation, with the then Consul General, Captain Vyvyan Holt, appointed the first Minister in March 1949. A Korean Legation was also opened in London.

1950-1953 The Korean War

When war came to Korea in June 1950, the British government at once condemned the North Korean action. Britain was second only to the United States in the contribution it made to the UN effort in Korea. 87,000 British troops took part in the Korean conflict, and over 1,000 British servicemen lost their lives. Of the many engagements involving British forces, the best known was the "Battle of Imjin River" fought by 29 British Infantry Brigade in April 1951.

The British minister Vyvyan Holt did not leave the city at the outbreak of war believing that it was his duty to remain and that his diplomatic status would protect him. In July 1950, Holt and other foreigners were detained by the North Koreans and taken on the notorious death march to the far north of the peninsula. It was not until early 1953 that it was confirmed that Holt had survived and he was released in April 1953.

1953-2008 Growing links

The raising of the two countries' diplomatic missions to Embassies in 1957 can be seen as the symbolic opening of new relations - an event which was celebrated by the British Embassy in 2007. In the British case, new dimension was added in 1973 with the opening of a British Council office in Seoul. Since the 1950s, the two main houses built in 1890 remain at the core of the British Embassy compound and the Ambassador continues to reside in the old residence. However, there have been three major rebuilds on the site culminating in the construction of an attractive modern Embassy building in 1992.

Other cultural links between the two countries also became closer in these years. The number of Koreans studying in the UK increased steadily after the Korean War. In the 1990s the number exploded, reaching over 18,000 last year. Many Korean students each year benefit from the British Government's Chevening Scholarship programme. This covers tuition fees for post-graduate studies, in a wide range of fields. Click here for further information about the Chevening scheme –www.britishcouncil.org/korea-scholarships-chevening.htm

Increasingly the main focus of the bilateral relationship is on economic and business links. A British Chamber of Commerce was established in Seoul in 1982. In 1964, two-way trade totalled less than US$10 million. By 2006 bilateral trade between the two countries was worth US$ 8.6 billion. Many Korean firms invested in the UK during the 1990s. And British firms responded to Korea's market opening, with their investment in Korea now standing at over $10 billion.

A major landmark in the bilateral relationship was the State Visit to Korea in April 1999, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The royal couple were formally received by President Kim Dae-Jung in a welcoming ceremony at Chong Wah Dae, and undertook a wide ranging programme. A colourful highlight was the Queen's visit to Hahoi village in Andong province, where she was introduced to many aspects of traditional Korean culture. In Seoul, the Queen and the Duke also met many British and Korean business leaders.

In December 2004, President Roh Moo-hyun visited the UK at the invitation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This was the historic First State Visit to the UK by a Korean President and reflected the growing maturity of relations between the two countries. Only two invitations to State Visits are issued each year.

President Roh and the First Lady’s programme included a splendid ceremonial welcome by HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh on Horseguards Parade, followed by a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace.  On the second day the President made the keynote speech at the Fifth UK-Korea High Technology Industry Forum, before talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the evening the President and First Lady were guests of the Lord Mayor of London at a splendid banquet for 750 at London’s 15th century Guildhall in the City of London.

The visit neatly balanced the historic and ceremonial on the one hand, including the pageantry of a State Visit, the meticulous display on Horseguards, and contact with Korean War Veterans, and, on the other, the President’s involvement in the High Tech Forum including 500 participants from both countries and some 400 business to business meetings, as well as the round-table meeting with top representatives from many of the UK and Korea’s most innovative companies.

These special visits neatly reflect the two sides of the UK-Korean relationship; a friendship which has steadily grown and strengthened over the last 125 years, and a modern, dynamic partnership that has greatly benefited both countries.