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Ernst Jakob Oppert (5 December 1832 – 19 September 1903) was a Jewish businessman from Germany best known for his unsuccessful attempt in 1867 to remove the remains of the father of regent Yi Ha-eung from their grave in order to use them to blackmail the regent into removing Korean trade barriers.
Ernst Jakob Oppert: "Ein verschlossenes Land" - Die erste Reisebeschreibung eines Deutschen über Korea
'', project description, University of
A Grave enterprise
', The Korea Times, January 20, 2005. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. Although Oppert himself had no experience in learning the Korean language he judged the Korean language to be much harder to learn than either Chinese or Japanese. Oppert based this judgment on a scarcity of sources and in his opinion,
Oppert's Kingdom of Corea
', book review of Oppert's book ''A Forbidden Land: Voyages to the Korea'' (G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York 1880), in ''New Englander and Yale review 39(157)'', September 1880, pp. 509 – 521. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. That stone was thought to be steel, but it was in fact quicklime. On their way back, they were engaged by Korean soldiers in a battle and their party had to flee the country.Neff, R.:
', ''The Korea Times'', October 29, 2004. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. The incident enraged the Koreans, who were now even less inclined to trade with the foreigners.
According to A. H. S. Landor, the tale of Oppert's unsuccessful tomb raiding was still well known in Korea around the end of the 19th century and was being told to foreigners on arriving, with one member of the raid party allegedly still living in
Chapter 1: The Hermit Kingdom
', "Oppert's Act of Piracy" (p. 10). URL last accessed April 26, 2006. In 1880 he published a book about Korea titled ''Ein verschlossenes Land. Reisen nach Corea.''https://archive.org/details/gb0WYBAAAAQAAJ It was originally published by Brockhaus in
Digital
', 2003. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. * Jewish Encyclopedia:
Oppert, Ernst Jacob
'. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. * Neff, Robert: "German merchant's Bodysnatching Expedition in 1868," ''The Korea Times'' July 22, 2010, p. 15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oppert, Ernst 1832 births 1903 deaths 19th-century German businesspeople Businesspeople from Hamburg German expatriates in Korea 19th-century German Jews
Ernst Jakob Oppert (5 December 1832 – 19 September 1903) was a Jewish businessman from Germany best known for his unsuccessful attempt in 1867 to remove the remains of the father of regent Yi Ha-eung from their grave in order to use them to blackmail the regent into removing Korean trade barriers.
Life
Oppert was born into a wealthy banker family inHamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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. Two of his brothers, Julius
The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...
and Gustav
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
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, became leading German orientalists,Bräsel, S.: Ernst Jakob Oppert: "Ein verschlossenes Land" - Die erste Reisebeschreibung eines Deutschen über Korea
'', project description, University of
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, 2002. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. while Ernst opened a trading business in 1851 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
. When that company went bankrupt in 1867, he became interested in trading with Korea, which at that time followed a strict isolationist policy and was a hermit kingdom, and a closed market to westerners. Oppert visited the country clandestinely several times.Lankov, A. A Grave enterprise
', The Korea Times, January 20, 2005. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. Although Oppert himself had no experience in learning the Korean language he judged the Korean language to be much harder to learn than either Chinese or Japanese. Oppert based this judgment on a scarcity of sources and in his opinion,
Prince Namyeon body snatching incident
Whilst in Shanghai, Oppert met a French priest named Féron, who had devised a plan to excavate and hold hostage the remains of the father of regent Yi Haeung, who ruled the country for his son, King Gojong, to use them to blackmail him into opening the country for trade. Supplied by an American, E. F. B. Jenkins, with money and arms, they set out on 30 April 1867. When they reached the tomb, they tried to steal the body, but were stopped by the massive stone slab that covered Prince Namyeon's remains and had to leave without having achieved their objective.Williams, S. W.:Oppert's Kingdom of Corea
', book review of Oppert's book ''A Forbidden Land: Voyages to the Korea'' (G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York 1880), in ''New Englander and Yale review 39(157)'', September 1880, pp. 509 – 521. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. That stone was thought to be steel, but it was in fact quicklime. On their way back, they were engaged by Korean soldiers in a battle and their party had to flee the country.Neff, R.:
', ''The Korea Times'', October 29, 2004. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. The incident enraged the Koreans, who were now even less inclined to trade with the foreigners.
According to A. H. S. Landor, the tale of Oppert's unsuccessful tomb raiding was still well known in Korea around the end of the 19th century and was being told to foreigners on arriving, with one member of the raid party allegedly still living in Chemulpo
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
.
Later life
Oppert returned to Germany, where he thereafter had an unremarkable businessman's life. Some sources claim that he spent a few months in jail for this grave robbing episode.Kleiner, J.: ''Korea – A Century of Change'', World Scientific Publishing Company 2001, ; in particularChapter 1: The Hermit Kingdom
', "Oppert's Act of Piracy" (p. 10). URL last accessed April 26, 2006. In 1880 he published a book about Korea titled ''Ein verschlossenes Land. Reisen nach Corea.''https://archive.org/details/gb0WYBAAAAQAAJ It was originally published by Brockhaus in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
and was also translated into English.
See also
* Germans in KoreaReferences
Works
* ''Ein verschlossenes Land''. - Brockhaus, Leipzig 1880Digital
External links
* Kneider, H.-A.:', 2003. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. * Jewish Encyclopedia:
Oppert, Ernst Jacob
'. URL last accessed April 26, 2006. * Neff, Robert: "German merchant's Bodysnatching Expedition in 1868," ''The Korea Times'' July 22, 2010, p. 15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oppert, Ernst 1832 births 1903 deaths 19th-century German businesspeople Businesspeople from Hamburg German expatriates in Korea 19th-century German Jews