The 1868 expedition to excavate the burial site of Prince Namyeon in Korea was a failed venture that resulted in a three-month prison sentence for the lead participant, Ernst Oppert. Born in Hamburg in 1832, this German merchant spent his early career in Hong Kong before pivoting his attention toward the restrictive markets of East Asia.
Trading in East Asia
Oppert entered the commercial sector in 1851, establishing a trading firm in Hong Kong. After the company declared bankruptcy in 1866, he shifted his focus toward Korea, a nation maintaining strict isolationist policies. During 1866, he attempted to negotiate trade access twice, but local emissaries thwarted his efforts. He later documented his linguistic observations, noting that he perceived the difficulty of learning Korean to be superior to that of Chinese or Japanese.
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Seeking to force market entry, Oppert collaborated with the French priest Stanislas Féron and American financier E. F. B. Jenkins. On 30 April 1868, the group departed with 130 crew members aboard the ships China and Greta. They reached the tomb of Prince Namyeon on 10 May. Their attempt to exhume the remains was blocked by a thick layer of quicklime. The party retreated following a skirmish with Korean soldiers near the coast. Despite sending threats to the regent Yi Haeung, the group failed to secure trade concessions and eventually fled due to dwindling fuel supplies.
Legal Repercussions and Literary Work
Upon returning to China, the participants faced legal scrutiny. Jenkins was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, while Féron was expelled. Oppert returned to Germany, where he served three months in prison for his role in the grave-robbing expedition. In 1880, he published Ein verschlossenes Land. Reisen nach Corea through the publisher Brockhaus in Leipzig. The text, which appeared in both German and English, received criticism from contemporaries who labeled his decision to write about the incident as a display of monstrous impertinence.
Fast facts
- Born: 1832, Hamburg
- Died: 1903, Hamburg
- Nationality: German Empire
- Occupations: Merchant, translator, orientalist, explorer, non-fiction writer
- Primary Incident: 1868 Korean tomb raid
- Notable Publication: Ein verschlossenes Land. Reisen nach Corea (1880)
Questions readers ask
What was the purpose of the 1868 tomb expedition?
Oppert and his associates intended to hold the remains of the regent's father hostage to coerce the Korean government into ending its isolationist trade policies.
Did Oppert achieve his business goals in Korea?
No. The expedition failed to access the remains, resulted in a military confrontation, and further hardened Korean resistance to foreign trade.
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