Charles Claude Aleveque teaches French in Seoul in the late 1890s. Robert Neff Collection
Korean is said to be one of the fastest-growing languages in the world. Undoubtedly, Korean movies, dramas and K-pop have influenced the popularity of the language. Not many years ago, speaking a few words of Korean garnished undeserved praise from elderly Korean shop keepers, but those days are gone. Korean-speaking foreigners are often encountered in the streets, seen on TV or on YouTube. The number of Korean language schools are constantly increasing, and for those who cannot physically attend a language school, there are many programs online.
But what was it like to learn Korean in the 1880s? Most of the early American missionaries hired Koreans to teach them the language — many of these early students did fairly well, while others, like Horace Allen, gave up quickly.
In the summer of 1885, Henry Appenzeller, an American missionary, studied every day for five hours with his Korean tutor and used a French-Korean dictionary as his textbook. In a letter to his father, Appenzeller noted that he was acquiring “quite a knowledge of French” in his pursuit of learning Korean.
The French Legation in Seoul, circa 1901 / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection
Appenzeller probably learned some Korean as he taught English to his students. In a letter to his friend, he wrote:
“Educational work is acceptable, especially instruction in the English language. It is truly wonderful how the East takes to the English language. Everybody is anxious to learn it and proud when he knows but a few words. Even my houseboy who has picked up a few words prefers to receive his orders in it. I never saw the superiority of the glorious English over other languages as I do now and I believe she is destined to be the language of the world.”
This desire to learn and practice English was often described in letters home or in contemporary books and newspaper articles. Sometimes these anecdotes were rather amusing such as the young Korean boys who pestered British sailors for cigarettes and tobacco. When they were refused, the young English scholars expressed their dissatisfaction with “volleys of British oaths.”
As Appenzeller predicted, English became the “language of the world” — at least in Korea — but not without some challenges.
An Aleveque postcard of Seoul, circa 1900 / Robert Neff Collection
In a report to the State Department in December 1897, Horace Allen, who was at this time the American minister to Korea, wrote:
“The French are making a persistent effort to have their language supersede English in Korea and they are succeeding with the help of the Russians, who use French mostly. There are several teachers of French now in Seoul, and Mr. de Plancy, the French Charge d’Affaires, has declined to sign documents in English, having a French translation made, to which he attaches his signature.”
Allen stated there were several teachers of French in Seoul, but he failed to identify them. It is likely some of these teachers were members of the Catholic missions — French and Korean. There was also Charles Claude Aleveque, a 32-year-old Frenchman who arrived in Korea in the middle of October 1897.
Shortly after he arrived, he placed the following ad in a local newspaper — The Independent:
“A Parisian gentleman staying in this city will give private lessons in French to those who desire to acquire the diplomatic language of the world. He has sufficient knowledge of English so that beginners will find it easy to get along.”
Judging from the newspaper accounts, Aleveque was quite popular. He taught French to not only Koreans but also a number of foreigners. It is interesting to note that when Aleveque took a short trip to Shanghai in 1898, the newspaper insinuated that his departure was rather mysterious. It isn’t clear why he suddenly took a short trip — perhaps he was representing one of the French firms in Korea or was involved in some political intrigue.
An Aleveque postcard of Gyeongbok Palace, circa 1900 / Robert Neff Collection
According to Dr. Joel Lee of the Korea Stamp Society, Aleveque helped import French rifles for the Korean government. He also played a role in securing rice from Southeast Asia during the famines in the early 1900s and helped arrange a loan from France.
Perhaps even more relevant to this article:
“In 1901 [Aleveque] published a French-Korean dictionary entitled ‘Petit Dictionnaire Français-Coréen’ which was dedicated to French Ambassador Collin de Plancy, writing ‘À Monsieur Collin de Plancy Ministre de France à Séoul.’ For Korean philatelists, Aleveque is most notable for the photographic postcards known as the ‘Aleveque postcards.’”
Considering Allen’s general displeasure with the French and Catholics, I find his personal correspondences somewhat amusing. His sons studied French at school in the United States, and his wife, Fannie, studied French in Korea so that she could inspire them to do better. Allen encouraged them to study hard: “Do the best you can on your music and French. How I do regret that I had not these two things. Profit by my mistakes and you will thank me some day.”
An Aleveque postcard of prisoners being transported for execution, circa 1900 / Robert Neff Collection
The boys actually did fairly well — 93 percent and 80 percent on their tests. As for Fannie, she became quite fluent and spent a lot of time reading French books on the porch and writing letters to her sons in French. In a letter to his sons, Allen wrote:
“She [Fannie] jabbers away in French at these Diplomatic functions in such a manner that Mr. Gubbins, the British Representative, said to her the other night at the Palace, that he didn’t like this supremacy of the French language.”
In a later letter he added:
“You see I have reason for wanting you [his sons] to do well in your French. German is of no particular international use, and Latin of none whatever, but French is absolutely necessary if one does much outside of America and for the American, Spanish comes next. If I knew French so as to speak it fluently I could now exchange [my position in Korea] for a nice little mission to one of the second rate foreign powers which would be a great relief, but to know a language that way, one must begin when a boy.”
Allen may have been a very good physician, an adept schmoozer and a prolific gossiper, but he was not a linguist and often expressed regret at not being able to learn Korean and, apparently, French. Despite his warm feelings for Korea, the popularity of Korean must have him turning in his grave.
My sincere appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance and allowing me to use one of her images. And, to my high school French teacher who told me that I would never learn French and would be lucky to learn English — you were only partially correct.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
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