WI: The Dutch East India Company reaches Korea, and at the same time, the Netherlands, which owns the VOC, immediately colonises the Korean Peninsula

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Netherlands

So, in this pre-1900 what if (WI) history thread, the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) was looking for areas within the so-called Indo-Pacific to conquer just to resist its low-lying homeland - hence the Netherlands' name means low-lying lands.

As while the Dutch Republic have already colonised parts of Africa, e.g. Mauritius, South Africa, and Asia, e.g. Formosa, through the VOC branding - then the Dutch Empire would have possessed the potential to conquer the Korean Peninsula unless if the former already taken control of the Formosa island.

Moreover, the outcome of the Netherlands (aka the Dutch Republic) taking control all of Korea meant this prevented the latter from being interfered by the Americans, the Chinese, the Japanese, and as well as the Russians through competing for power. As given by this case, circa 1810s-1840s or 1850s-1880s, the Dutch Empire would have already committed itself to take control of the whole Korean Peninsula before the other powers do, this profoundly meant the Dutch infused its cultural, political, economic, and educational influences into deeply new-found Korean territory - which meant there were such benefits/priorities Korea gained from Dutch control:

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  • Many Korean dishes would end up being mixed with ingredients used in Dutch dishes over its [Koreans'] own cuisine - this also meant the word kimchi would get bedutched as either kiemtsjie or kimtsjie.
  • That also meant, many Korean citizens would get Dutchified as a result of the Dutch Empire (Netherlands) targeting a takeover of Korea.
  • Most Koreans would play sports that are deeply ingrained into Dutch culture instead of [American] baseball and basketball, such as for example, cricket.
  • As having said earlier that the Netherlands is low-lying, hence which causes floods, therefore its [Dutch Empire's] conquest of the Korean Peninsula would benefit the Dutch from access from Korea's geography, hence they are of highlands - mountainous in translation and comparison to the Dutch Republic.
  • Aside from kimchi being kiemtsjie, there were numbers of words, especially given names and surnames, in the Korean language became Dutchified as a result of the Dutch Empire's control of Korea:
  • If the Dutch Republic's eponymous empire would take control of the whole Korean Peninsula, then the latter would become one of the biggest crown jewels of the Netherlands, especially when the latter would have already taken control of Indonesia, Philippines, and others - particularly due to their sizes in terms of population and land since they're all located in Asia.
    • In addition, hypothesising the Dutch Empire to take control of the Korean Peninsula meant this would generate another case of the Great Trek, which was translated in Dutch as De Grote Trek - which also meant Korea would become a primary retirement home for numerous Dutch citizens as a result.
  • And the aftermath was, the Dutch Empire would attempt such takeovers of numerous territories overseas:
    • Belgium and Luxembourg, already completed
    • Sicily and Sardinia, from Italy
    • All of the Nordics and Baltics, Denmark, Sweden, Finland (since its language is similar to Dutch), Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Estonia (like Finland, its language is also similar to Dutch), Latvia, Lithuania, etc.
    • Wales, Scotland (plus Orkney and Shetland Islands), Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, and Cyprus
    • All of Central Asia, plus Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Manchuria
    • Burma (Boerma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Palau, Guam, Micronesia, Hawaii, Alaska, etc.

===

And this is all for today, as long as this reply of mine is just a prologue... - Genda Nicolai Yturzaeta Iwakawa/awakawI ateazrutY ialociN adneG, I will leave this reply with an image to reflect:

1618547687279.png

English: Close up of artwork representing the Netherlands Empire holding its crown jewel: the colonial Dutch East Indies (Now: Indonesia). Text: "Nederland's kostbaarst sieraad", "Netherlands most precious jewel". Dutch imperial art by Joh.Braakensiek, printed by Ellerman Harms and published dd. 1916-10-14 in newspaper 'De (Groene) Amsterdammer', the Netherlands. - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1916_Dutch_East_Indies_-_Art.jpg
 
The VOC was generaly only concerned in making lots and lots of money. OTL there even had been some very minor presence in Korea (the experiences of the Dutch with Korea were rather unpleasant). What would be the reason for the VOC to go to Korea and actualy invest in it? What can it get from Korea that it won't be able to get from easier places to trade like India, Indonesia, China and even Japan! Personaly I don't see any reason for the VOC to colonise Korea. At best I could see some small trading posts, like they had in China and Japan. In the end, Korea will always be an inferior place to colonise than India and Indonesia. The VOC could get far more valuable goods from those places than it would from Korea and probably easier.

Mind you, if you have a good reason for the VOC to go to Korea, than I am curious.
 
Well japan and qing gonna invade most likely
The Dutch-Japanese and Dutch-Chinese conflicts would happen, so I guess the Dutch Republic would recruit some allies - the English are one of these but they have to reconcile with the Spanish and the French first.

And by the way, as an off-topic, could you PLEASE check these threads and replies I made recently, mate?
 
The VOC was generaly only concerned in making lots and lots of money. OTL there even had been some very minor presence in Korea (the experiences of the Dutch with Korea were rather unpleasant). What would be the reason for the VOC to go to Korea and actualy invest in it? What can it get from Korea that it won't be able to get from easier places to trade like India, Indonesia, China and even Japan! Personaly I don't see any reason for the VOC to colonise Korea. At best I could see some small trading posts, like they had in China and Japan. In the end, Korea will always be an inferior place to colonise than India and Indonesia. The VOC could get far more valuable goods from those places than it would from Korea and probably easier.

Mind you, if you have a good reason for the VOC to go to Korea, than I am curious.
The big one I can think of is ginseng. It also grows in China and North America, but Korean ginseng has historically been considered the finest. If the Dutch try to do more than set up a few trading posts, the Koreans will go to the Qing for help.
 
The big one I can think of is ginseng. It also grows in China and North America, but Korean ginseng has historically been considered the finest. If the Dutch try to do more than set up a few trading posts, the Koreans will go to the Qing for help.
If Korean ginseng was worth it, a couple of trading posts (or even one) would probably enough. Especialy if they can make a deal to keep the other Europeans out.
Creating trading posts was generaly the Modus Operandi for the VOC. Colony creation, like what happened in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and parts of India was, well maybe not an exception, but it was something that sort of organically grew out of the situation on the ground and more often than not it was the result of the VOC conquering established colonies by other European powers (mostly the Portuguese).

The actual colonisation of Indonesia was more of a thing of the post-VOC era and heavily influenced by the prestige colony idea of the 19th and early 20th century.
 
If Korean ginseng was worth it, a couple of trading posts (or even one) would probably enough. Especialy if they can make a deal to keep the other Europeans out.
Creating trading posts was generaly the Modus Operandi for the VOC. Colony creation, like what happened in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and parts of India was, well maybe not an exception, but it was something that sort of organically grew out of the situation on the ground and more often than not it was the result of the VOC conquering established colonies by other European powers (mostly the Portuguese).

The actual colonisation of Indonesia was more of a thing of the post-VOC era and heavily influenced by the prestige colony idea of the 19th and early 20th century.

I guess the only thing to blur the word ginseng was to call/rename it as goat dung instead of the former - because if you chew ginseng and put it out of your mouth means it looks like dung.

For sure, the only thing the Dutch Empire would took control of Korea is to call/rename the latter as New Flanders (Dutch: Nieuw Vlaanderen) and its capital, Seoul (Dutch: Seoel), as either New Antwerp (Dutch: Nieuw Antwerpen) or New Ghent (Dutch: Nieuw Gent) instead.

Anyway, in my honest thinking, both Japan and Korea neither have deeply famous figures compared to the Netherlands and its neighbours - despite this thread is being centred to a pre-1900s scenario.

And speaking of the Netherlands' hypothetical takeover of the Korean Peninsula, I guess I even forgot to say that the former would have also took control of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, the Easter and Falkland Islands, the Guianas, Bermuda, and as well as the Galpagos Islands - unless if the Dutch Empire would have already benefited itself from pan-Asian fortunes...
 
Ngl if this happen probably dutch korea wont last long i mean there is qing and japan and not to mention indonesia IS the crown jewel of the dutch empire so i dunno
 
Kick
Ngl if this happen probably dutch korea wont last long i mean there is qing and japan and not to mention indonesia IS the crown jewel of the dutch empire so i dunno
Maybe that is because you are too bloody YOUNG to know these kind of alternate histories dated back AGES ago, or too foreign to know about European countries, EXCEPT Russia, rolling their dices just to conquer a single part of Asia.

Probably some users here on this page like either @Monk78, @RousseauX, @Geon, or @Alanith might think of this thread even if they are either Westerners or not just to mention the pre-1900s Dutch colonising Korea.

Anyway, I guess the only reason why Korea would end up being swallowed into the Dutch appetite is because they're lacking resources, especially when the VOC benefited from its South African journeys - where gold and other resources are deeply abundant.

Probably, the more the Dutch Empire would target a conquest of the whole Korean Peninsula was the more the former would expand the latter's borders - thus form some kind of truce with the people of Mongolia and Siberia.

And moreover, if the Dutch would conquer Korea that hypothetically, I guess they could make people looking like this - a person with a mixture of Dutch and Korean ancestries. But actually, this person is British but looks more like a cross between a Korean and a Dutch person:

 
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Maybe that is because you are too bloody YOUNG to know these kind
(Not a mod but) Chill please.

How about ITTL the Dutch only hold on to small but vital regions in Indonesia for the spice trade, while their main settlement/manpower/crown jewel colony is centered on the Korean Peninsula instead.

Edit: Oh and to @Rfl23's point. With the Dutch colonizing Korea pre-1900, they'd presumably be modernized and industrialized by the Dutch decades before the Chinese and Japanese rise up to date to the European powers. This could even give the colony/Korea the upper hand needed to annex Manchuria, making it an even more attractive settlement area for the Dutch.
 
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They can't get to Korea without Formosa first. Any serious takeover of Korea requires Dutch Formosa, and a successful war against both Qing Chinese and Koreans. Probably fairly challenging since the Dutch were a bit of a has-been power by the time Qing is weak enough, it would be quite an expensive war, and would probably piss off Japan, but perhaps for the Great Powers its better than letting Russia take Korea.
Anyway, in my honest thinking, both Japan and Korea neither have deeply famous figures compared to the Netherlands and its neighbours - despite this thread is being centred to a pre-1900s scenario.
Highly doubt that, especially when K-Pop music is probably more relevant than any Dutch cultural thing and practically all the Dutch historical figures are best known in their association with England. Korea has the Kim dynasty while Japan has Tojo and Hirohito in terms of recognizable figures. Culturally is the Netherlands known for anything but electronic dance music and legalized drugs? And maybe famous painters and Calvinism too if you're talking historically.
 
How the heck is the VOC supposed to afford conquering Korea, and keep Indonesia?

Not to mention that taking (even attempting to take):

  • Belgium and Luxembourg, already completed
  • Sicily and Sardinia, from Italy
  • All of the Nordics and Baltics, Denmark, Sweden, Finland (since its language is similar to Dutch), Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Estonia (like Finland, its language is also similar to Dutch), Latvia, Lithuania, etc.
  • Wales, Scotland (plus Orkney and Shetland Islands), Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, and Cyprus
  • All of Central Asia, plus Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Manchuria
  • Burma (Boerma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Palau, Guam, Micronesia, Hawaii, Alaska, etc.
Is stupidly ASB.
 
Highly doubt that, especially when K-Pop music is probably more relevant than any Dutch cultural thing and practically all the Dutch historical figures are best known in their association with England. Korea has the Kim dynasty while Japan has Tojo and Hirohito in terms of recognisable figures. Culturally is the Netherlands known for anything but electronic dance music and legalised drugs? And maybe famous painters and Calvinism too if you're talking historically.
Maybe that statement of yours lacked something curious; I guess there are/were a number of profoundly significant/recognisable Dutch figures that I deeply know - despite this thread being centred in a pre-1900s scenario:
  • Rutger Hauer - actor
  • Monique van de Ven - actress
  • Renée Soutendijk - actress
  • Famke Janssen - actress
  • Sylvia Kristel - actress
  • Sylvia Hoeks - actress
  • Lara Stone - fashion model
  • Floor Janssen - born in the Netherlands, lead singer of Nightwish
  • Charlotte Wessels - member of Delain, a metal band
  • Tatjana Šimić - born in the Balkans, but moved to the Netherlands
  • Eddie Van Halen - born in the Netherlands, the lead singer and guitarist of the eponymous band
  • Eva Simons- singer
  • Candy Dulfer - saxophonist
  • 2 Unlimited - a band
  • Vengaboys - a band
  • Paul Verhoven - a film director
  • And more...
Also, when you said this:
K-Pop music is probably more relevant than any Dutch cultural thing and practically
I think Dutch interests might be deeply significant to people who are deeply older while they are either pure Dutch or half-Dutch, especially when these people might be living either at Europe, especially the Netherlands, or the so-called Five Eyes countries plus Ireland and South Africa - which is deeply obvious that Dutch is one of those nationalities that have the highest ancestral/[im]migrant communities in the 5E nations.

And furthermore, returning to the pre-1900s scene: I guess the time when this happened:
They can't get to Korea without Formosa first. Any serious takeover of Korea requires Dutch Formosa, and a successful war against both Qing Chinese and Koreans. Probably fairly challenging since the Dutch were a bit of a has-been power by the time Qing is weak enough, it would be quite an expensive war, and would probably piss off Japan, but perhaps for the Great Powers its better than letting Russia take Korea.
Meant that the Dutch Empire would have also benefited itself from its controls of South Africa New Amsterdam in North America, then what the former did to the last two would be the same idea they [Dutch Empire/VOC] would perform to both Formosa, Korea, and possibly, Manchuria - I meant Dutch Manchuria.
 

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Maybe that is because you are too bloody YOUNG to know these kind of alternate histories dated back AGES ago, or too foreign to know about European countries, EXCEPT Russia, rolling their dices just to conquer a single part of Asia.

Probably some users here on this page like either @Monk78, @RousseauX, @Geon, or @Alanith might think of this thread even if they are either Westerners or not just to mention the pre-1900s Dutch colonising Korea.

Anyway, I guess the only reason why Korea would end up being swallowed into the Dutch appetite is because they're lacking resources, especially when the VOC benefited from its South African journeys - where gold and other resources are deeply abundant.

Probably, the more the Dutch Empire would target a conquest of the whole Korean Peninsula was the more the former would expand the latter's borders - thus form some kind of truce with the people of Mongolia and Siberia.

And moreover, if the Dutch would conquer Korea that hypothetically, I guess they could make people looking like this - a person with a mixture of Dutch and Korean ancestries. But actually, this person is British but looks more like a cross between a Korean and a Dutch person:

You DO NOT get to post utterly impossible fantasy and then get up on your High Horse to insult someone who points out just one of the many invalid concepts you post.

Kicked for a week.

BTW: I've been around the Sun more times that I can actually believe, almost certainly more than you, and these scenarios of yours make my eyes bleed.
 
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Hmm, with theoriginal poster kicked I wonder if it is still useful to continue this threat. That said, if we ignore the more unlikely ideas of the original posters, I think that the concept of a VOC presense in Korea might be interesting. They were basicly everywhere else in Asia after all.

The VOC trying to capture Korea is completely unlikely (and turning it into a settlement colony is completly impossible). As I said, opening some trading posts is the most likely option. That said,the minor presense of Dutch in Korea I mentioned were basicly Dutch sailors who were stranded in Korea,were captured by the locals and were not allowed to leave (although some escaped). The Koreans took their isolationism very seriously. So Korea needs to open up somewhat.But if the Dutch would be able to get access to Japan, they might be able to get access to Korea, if it is worth it (especialy with the experiences the Dutch sailors had in Korea). So I wonder if the Ginseng as as good as said previously. Does Korea has anything else thatmight be of interest to people, either in Europe or in Asia?

If the VOC creates a Deshima like tradepost in Korea, what effect would it have on Korean history or culture?
 
There were attempts by the French and later the United States to open Korea to trade like China and Japan had been previously, in 1866 and 1871 respectively, but the French were repulsed and the US gave up after the Korean government refused to cut a deal, so the opening of Korea wouldn't happen until 1876 when Japan came in. With that in mind, I could see the Dutch attempting to do what the French and Americans tried, and maybe with a little luck they could succeed.

In the event they succeed, I would still imagine occupation of the peninsula would be far too taxing, though, but perhaps in addition to some trading posts, the Dutch could occupy Ganghwa Island. From there, they could control access to the Han River that leads inland towards Seoul, giving them a ton of strategic leverage.
 
If you are gonna list a few "recognized/profound" Dutch people would you please not include the Vengaboys? As a Dutch person, thank you.

Name some inventors, Admirals or philosophers then.
 
OK, so I discovered this thread through the Kick and Ban Notices, but I feel I must highlight this:
All of the Nordics and Baltics, Denmark, Sweden, Finland (since its language is similar to Dutch), Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Estonia (like Finland, its language is also similar to Dutch), Latvia, Lithuania, etc.
I eagerly, but possibly in vain, await an explanation of this lingusitic bombshell.
 
OK, so I discovered this thread through the Kick and Ban Notices, but I feel I must highlight this:

I eagerly, but possibly in vain, await an explanation of this lingusitic bombshell.

strangely enough we can understand a significant number of Scandinavian words, not Finnish specifically, but Norwegian. Estonian is not among them though.

Probably not what the OP meant or actually understands, since he thinks they can just go ahead and take everything. But still.
 
OK, so I discovered this thread through the Kick and Ban Notices, but I feel I must highlight this:
BTW, I would like to say that he was warned previously for posting a South Korean wank.
I eagerly, but possibly in vain, await an explanation of this lingusitic bombshell.
Should we move it to ASB? I mean, Taiwan is OK, but the things you highlighted is amusingly implausible.
 
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