COREENNES_KORTRIG STACK005

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On September 25, 1866, the escort vessel Déroulede appeared in
Seoul harbor. Its name implied revenge. That March, the Koreans
had massacred several French missionaries in a quite revolting
manner (for the time), and it was normal that the French fleet
should come to punish the outrage to its countrymen. Only the
Scriptures might have found objection.
Aboard the corvette Primauquet, also part of the expedition, was
a naval officer named H. Zuber, who kept a logbook. The excerpts
he published in the Tour du Monde of 1873 are most illuminating
for anyone interested in Franco-Korean relations.

While the Déroulede lay at anchor. "a mandarin named the Friend
of the People" came aboard, bearing this message: "Now that you
have seen the river and the mountains of this insignificant little
kingdom, please have the goodness to leave. The people will be glad
of it» «We reassured him' Zuber relates.