Paper short abstract:

The present paper, based on Belgian and Japanese diplomatic archives, examines the role played by Adhémar Delcoigne, a Belgian advisor to the Korean Court, during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

Paper long abstract:

Whereas abundant literature has been devoted to the role played by Japan and the Western powers in Korea during the twilight years of the Chosǒn dynasty (mid-19th c. to beginning of the 20th c.), little attention has been paid to the relations between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Empire of Korea, despite Belgium being one of the few countries that had a permanent diplomatic mission in Seoul at that time.

Soon after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1901, the first Belgian consul general, Léon Vincart, tried to convince the Korean Emperor and his entourage to employ Belgians, supposedly neutral, in order to reform the Korean administration. He managed to obtain a contract for the position of private advisor to the Emperor. Adhémar Delcoigne, a promising junior diplomat, was chosen for this position. The present paper, based on Belgian and Japanese diplomatic archives, examines the role played by this diplomat during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

Delcoigne arrived in Korea in June 1903, but due to the harsh opposition of the Japanese, his appointment to office was delayed, and he was demoted to a less prestigious position in the Ministry of Interior. It appears that Delcoigne in the end never initiated any kind of reforms in the Korean administration. Nevertheless, his personal correspondence reveals that he was secretly commissioned by the Emperor Kojong to provide him with accurate information relating to the ongoing Russo-Japanese War. It is also assumed that he contributed to the writing of Korea's declaration of neutrality, issued in January 1904 just before the outbreak of the war. Accused of fuelling anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea, the Belgian advisor was eventually dismissed and left the country in January 1905.