The problem with this approach is that France sent troops in order to "punish" the "barbarians" in order to obtain reparations for the execution of French missionaries. The situation both IOTL and ITTL does not require the French to open up the peninsula for trade before the PoD, which will only lead negotiations to have a temporary effect. The monarch/regent and the court as a whole would also be wary of foreign interference, so they would probably be firmly opposed to the idea of sending officials far away when they haven't begun trading with the Europeans yet. The Eastern Faction could probably pressure the Andong Kim clan on a minor scale regarding its approach toward Europeans, but they probably will not have definitive information that the Westerners would be "superior" to the Chinese, leading them to abstain from becoming traitors.
You've mentioned two reasons why the "French method" won't work. First was because the French have no economic reasons to be in Korea; second was that the Eastern Faction did not have sufficient information to believe the Europeans were superior to the Chinese. For the first reason, I can only say the possibility of the Russians quickly signing a treaty with Korea after the french and actively working out a treaty port from them; another, although less possible, is in which the French priests keep going to Korea after the treaty was signed and spread the Catholic faith. France, the most colonially developed amongst the Catholic countries (Spain is almost dead at this point), has interests to gain prestige as an active Catholic country. Remember- the July Monarchy would want more of the conservative support. (Or that's what I think.)
The explanation for the second reason is this- the Southern Faction were politically isolated from Korea. (Lemme fix the fact of stating Southern Faction as Eastern- there was a partition within the Eastern Faction into North and South Faction in 1589. Between the two, the only faction that survived up to the 19th century was the Southern Faction.) As you said, the Andong Kims were a de facto ruler of Korea- and they weren't allied with the Southern Faction. However, the Southern Faction was also famed for producing numerous scholars who called for modernization, such as 정약용. These individuals were often too radical and liberal in the eyes of the Andong Kims, and were the victims of earlier Catholic persecutions. Because they were very close to the French, the priests would probably tell them of the First Opium War and its effects- showing how weak China had become (This information also proved to be crucial in the preludes of Meiji Ishin). These individuals weren't officials in any way- they were scholars, very liberal scholars at that.
Yes, but both the French and Americans deployed cannons and warships to a significant extent IOTL, given the forces involved during the conflicts. This show of power barely fazed the Koreans, who also attempted to innovate by creating items like the 면제배갑 (Myeonje baegap), the cotton bullet-proof vest, as you stated earlier, which suggests that the government as a whole would have attempted to reform internally instead of actively looking for inspiration from outside sources. If the invaders had successfully taken a major city, Joseon would have probably attempted to recruit more soldiers, while others in the countryside would have attempted to conduct guerrilla operations through the Righteous Armies. Ultimately, if the French or the Americans had managed to somehow hold a handful of major cities, including Seoul, they would eventually be overstretched and run low on resources, while Joseon would view the general incident as a smaller analogy of the Imjin War, which did not lead to any military reforms within the peninsula.
The important difference between the French and American acts IOTL and the Franco-Korean War in my altered timeline is that while it was mainly soldiers and people not close to the capital city who witnessed the event IOTL, in my timeline the French forces actually go deep into the Han River, killing many Koreans with their artillery and even managing to kidnap a Korean who is from the Andong Kim clan. Yes, the government would become more isolationist and xenophobic. However, this sentiment will not be reflected with the common Koreans. The Koreans would know this mistake was made because they refused to fully understand their opponent and only utilized parts of it. The Korean people would know they were annihilated by foreigners (first Japanese, then Chinese, now French) because, like many centuries ago, they refused to develop militarily even when the chance was given; 지피지기 백전백승 (知彼知己百戰百勝
) would be a prevalent idea in Korea from this POD. Also, the French militarily lose in the Franco-Korean War; however, while they make retreat, they take hostage some of the family members of the Andong Kim clan (not killed!)- which is the main reason the Koreans come to the conference table.
I still don't see how this would occur, given that the French would only seek the justice of the executed missionaries, while any political faction within Joseon would be unwilling to send their intellectuals to a unknown place far away when the invasions would have probably convinced the government as a whole to turn further inward. You would first need to find a way for the Europeans to become interested in trade routes leading to Korea, which would be extremely difficult to do given the geopolitical situation at the time.
forgive my expression of the Southern Faction as a political group- they are rather like exiles, a political party that only exists in the form of scholars and bureaucrats, not members of political representation in any kind. Yes, the government would become more isolationist. However, this has nothing to do with the Southern Faction, as they are not supportive of the present government. The corrupt methods local officials use to extract money from citizens and bribe the Andong Kim clan would lead to a major uprising; members of the Southern Faction would lead this revolution; when the tides are turned, Lee Ha-eung joins the bandwagon as it seems a easier method of gaining leadership in Korea.
As previously stated, I certainly do not know how to make the French more interested in Korea other than Catholicism; Russia would prove more important in this commercial and cultural exchange between Korea and a foreign nation.
As I stated earlier, the Europeans visiting or invading Korea would have to be actively interested in opening the peninsula up for trade before doing so with Japan. IOTL, and I'm also assuming ITTL, this never occurred because the missionaries, whose main interests were to convert foreigners in order to "enlighten" them, were the first to enter the peninsula, and never attempted to significantly impart Western culture as they had been within the country for only a few decades. The expedition in question is also far from the first time that Korea has been invaded, as it resisted attempts from around 14 states, so with such a token invading force, Joseon would most likely attempt to tighten its isolationism efforts in order to prevent the peninsula from falling under foreign control. IOTL, Korea initially attempted to innovate internally in response to foreign pressures, as there was no impetus to head overseas in order to learn more about Western ideology and education, so I don't see why the situation would be radically different ITTL.
It seemed to me, after some time, I have accidently left an ambiguity- the Korean government does not send scholars to Europe after the Franco-Korean War. The scholars of the Southern Faction did, and this was even before the war itself. A coincidence has led the French priests at the mouth of Nakdong River (Busan); while spreading the faith through the river trade, the French Catholics have met the Southern Faction some 50 years before than they actually did (this is the alternate timeline). Because of the deep relations between the Southern Faction and France, they conspire to develop a plan to "renew Korea"; one of them was to overthrow the Korean government, and another was sending several Korean students to France to study the Western world. While the first part of the revolution was found and thwarted, the second part was not found because the students remained in France to finish their university education while escaping from watchful eyes of the government.
If I remember correctly, various influential members of the aristocracy had been maintaining personal armies for centuries in order to ensure their safety, although they were generally never used against the monarch because the circumstances did not require them to do so. For comparison, the Imjin War also devastated the peninsula due to ineffective policies mostly targeting the military, but the court continued to maintain its previous policies. As a result, it would be difficult for the government to reform significantly during the 19th century when the state has experienced more than two centuries of relative peace, not to mention several significant population increases.
Exactly. The government does not feel the need to make reforms; rather, it utilizes bureaucracy to the fullest extent and make it into a system of bribery to the Andong Kim clan- which, in turn, makes matter worse for the peasants and poor scholars. While the rich merchants also try for some time to gain political influence with the Andong Kims, they view the merchant class as subhuman and do not treat them as equals. The angered merchants, therefore, join the revolution along with the Southern Faction, the peasants and poor scholars. Would the 'private army' of the Andong Kim clan be able to stand up against the mass of angry citizens? I should, therefore, also add that this revolution is helped by the French; the revolution was too quick for the British to do anything about it.
So the basic scheme is this:
1790s~1840s. French cooperation with Southern Faction
1844: Persecution of French priests, along with members of Southern Faction
1846: Franco-Korean War. France loses, but manages to bring Korea to sign the Ganghwa Island Treaty of 1847. French citizens are given extraterritoriality, a French legation operates in Seoul, Korea is forced to open Busan, Gunsan and Wonsan
1847: Russia quickly signs the Russia-Korea Treaty of Amity in Wonsan. Britain, United States, the Netherlands and Sweden-Norway immediately follow suit.
1848~1854: period of peasant protests and civil unrest. Numerous protests erupt nationwide, protesting against the corrupt, Kim-oriented Korean bureaucracy.
1854~1855: Korean Righteous Revolution. Spurred by suspicious death of Hun-jong, led by Southern Faction members who survived (and educated in France), supported by angry mob of peasants, merchants and scholars, financially supported by France, headed by Lee Ha-eung.
1855: Lee Ha-eung established as Hye-jong, 25th monarch of Chosun dynasty. Supported by Southern Faction, he purges the bureaucracy from corruption and replaces the position with revolutionaries and subdued aristocracy. He ratifies numerous laws that enforces land reforms, termination of class structure system and public education. Another major action the government chose to undertake was the First Korean envoy to Europe. The envoy visits the Exposition Universelle opened in Paris.
1856: Chosun's Hye-jong reinforces its subordination with Qing China; first foreign advisers arrive at Korea, mostly from United States, Great Britain and Prussia; numerous shipyards, iron smelters, cotton mills and coal mines are started construction.
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This timeline pretty much sums the alternate history up to the point in which we were discussing. I hope this answers some questions and helps me go on to the next part of the Korean TL...
