Jan Janse de Weltevree was one of those sailors from the East Asia Company. Joseon Dynasty asked Japan to repatriate him, but Japan rejected that request because Weltevree and his group members were Christians. Japan actively repatriated survivors of shipwrecks with Netherlands at that time, but it was not easy to accept other religions for them. So, Weltevree remained in Joseon and King Injo made the best use of him; Weltevree was sent to the military organization of the Joseon Dynasty called Hunlyeondogam.

“Park Yeon (Weltevree) was good at understanding the books about battle and delivered weaponry technology. A kind of cannon called Hongipo, which was very remarkable.” from a book titled

“Southern barbarians are skillful and well versed in the calendar and medicine.” from a book titled

“We can’t understand his language. It was not accurate and had different notes, so we couldn’t even distinguish his first name and last name. We named him according to our country’s slang.” from a book titled

Weltevree became a general of the troops which consisted of surrendered soldiers from Japan and China. Weltevree was in charge of improving cannons, instructing the usage of weapons and so on. After the passing of some time, the Manchu War of 1638 broke out. He and the other Dutch participated in the war but only Weltevree survived. Weltevree got a Korean name, Park Yeon and married a Korean woman. He continuously worked at the Hunlyeondogam and became a military officer. He even passed the state examination. After 20 years, another Dutch ship wrecked on Jeju Island. King Hyojong regarded the wreck as a gift like Park Yeon.

“In 1652 (the 3^rd year of King Hyojong’s reign), Park Yeon showed his talent for the country and had his name up for recognition, as he delivered the Hongipo system. It is a strange thing.

“There is a man named Park Yeon among the southern barbarians who came to Joseon before. When Park Yeon saw Westerners, who were washed ashore on Jeju Island, he confirmed that they were southern barbarians. Westerners were usually good at handling cannons, so they were incorporated into Hunlyeondogam. Among the westerners were those who blew an instrument called tungso with their noses, and others who waved their feet and danced.”

Park Yeon eventually met another Dutchman named Hamel. Park Yeon translated Hamel’s words into Korean and talked with him a lot. Park Yeon was sent to question Hamel for the Joseon Government.

Jan Janse de Weltevree was one of those sailors from the East Asia Company. Joseon Dynasty asked Japan to repatriate him, but Japan rejected that request because Weltevree and his group members were Christians. Japan actively repatriated survivors of shipwrecks with Netherlands at that time, but it was not easy to accept other religions for them. So, Weltevree remained in Joseon and King Injo made the best use of him; Weltevree was sent to the military organization of the Joseon Dynasty called Hunlyeondogam.

“Park Yeon (Weltevree) was good at understanding the books about battle and delivered weaponry technology. A kind of cannon called Hongipo, which was very remarkable.” from a book titled

“Southern barbarians are skillful and well versed in the calendar and medicine.” from a book titled

“We can’t understand his language. It was not accurate and had different notes, so we couldn’t even distinguish his first name and last name. We named him according to our country’s slang.” from a book titled

Weltevree became a general of the troops which consisted of surrendered soldiers from Japan and China. Weltevree was in charge of improving cannons, instructing the usage of weapons and so on. After the passing of some time, the Manchu War of 1638 broke out. He and the other Dutch participated in the war but only Weltevree survived. Weltevree got a Korean name, Park Yeon and married a Korean woman. He continuously worked at the Hunlyeondogam and became a military officer. He even passed the state examination. After 20 years, another Dutch ship wrecked on Jeju Island. King Hyojong regarded the wreck as a gift like Park Yeon.

“In 1652 (the 3^rd year of King Hyojong’s reign), Park Yeon showed his talent for the country and had his name up for recognition, as he delivered the Hongipo system. It is a strange thing.

“There is a man named Park Yeon among the southern barbarians who came to Joseon before. When Park Yeon saw Westerners, who were washed ashore on Jeju Island, he confirmed that they were southern barbarians. Westerners were usually good at handling cannons, so they were incorporated into Hunlyeondogam. Among the westerners were those who blew an instrument called tungso with their noses, and others who waved their feet and danced.”

Park Yeon eventually met another Dutchman named Hamel. Park Yeon translated Hamel’s words into Korean and talked with him a lot. Park Yeon was sent to question Hamel for the Joseon Government.

“On October 29, 1653, a person with a red beard sat next to the administrator of Jeju Island. When the administrator asked, ‘Who do you think this person is?’ we replied, ‘I think he is from Holland.’ But the administrator said, ‘This person is a Joseon man, so you mistake a Joseon man for a Dutchman.’

“Park cried until his collar was all wet. It was the first time the Joseon government heard that Park Yeon, who had been known as a southern barbarian until then, was an Aranta (Dutch).

At first there were many difficulties in communicating because Park Yeon forgot a lot of his mother tongue, since it had been three years since he had arrived in the Joseon Dynasty. I was very surprised at that.

Park Yeon didn’t want to settle down in Joseon. He complained to Hamel that his appeal to be repatriated was rejected when he tried to go back to Japan. The king of the Joseon Dynasty had told Park Yeon, “Don’t expect to go back to your country if you don’t have wings to fly. Joseon’s national law is that foreigners who are washed ashore can’t be sent back to their countries.” He added that the Joseon Dynasty gave Park Yeon all the things needed to live and treated him well. Regarding this aspect, Park Yeon became an obvious Joseon person.

Park Yeon lived at Joseon for the rest of his life, but Hamel and his fellow Dutchmen escaped from Joseon due to their homesickness. Although Park Yeon didn’t voluntarily remain in Joseon, it is worthy to know that he was the first naturalized citizen in Korea.

What did Westerners think of Joseon people?

“The one interesting fact is that Park Yeon knew that Joseon was a country practicing cannibalism.

When he was in his country, Park Yeon was told that Koreans grilled human flesh. When he drifted to Jeju Island, Joseon soldiers prepared torches as it became dark. All the Dutch in the ship wailed at the sight of this fire, because they thought they were going to be grilled with that torch.” from a book titled

What did Joseon people think of the Dutch?

“The Aranta man has deep blue eyes and a long nose. Both his beard and hair are red. They also have large feet. They look like a dog as they always pee with one leg up. They have their own western religion. They usually have cannons named Hongipo, which can break down the fortress with a single shot. They come to Japan every June or July, carrying unusual goods and cargo from another country, and sell and buy goods from various countries after docking.” from a book titled

For both groups of people, each other seemed like strange beings.

Throughout history, there were more foreigners who contributed to our country like Park Yeon.

In the Silla Dynasty, several Arab people lived in Gyeongju. In Gaya, King Suro’s wife Heo Hwangok was from India. During the Japanese War, Japan’s General Sayaka defected to Joseon. He is known as Kim Chungseon nowdays and contributed in several wars, such as the Japanese war, the Manchu War and so on. People might not know that many foreigners lived in Korea and several of them even became Koreans. When we studied history, we learned our ancestors interacted with the Japanese and the Chinese mainly. Moreover, we learned that the Joseon Dynasty was well known for being closed to outsiders. However, our ancestors were not afraid of encountering new cultures and people and actively took advantage of them when they could. It is interesting to know that there are more to our Korean history than what we have been taught.

“On October 29, 1653, a person with a red beard sat next to the administrator of Jeju Island. When the administrator asked, ‘Who do you think this person is?’ we replied, ‘I think he is from Holland.’ But the administrator said, ‘This person is a Joseon man, so you mistake a Joseon man for a Dutchman.’

“Park cried until his collar was all wet. It was the first time the Joseon government heard that Park Yeon, who had been known as a southern barbarian until then, was an Aranta (Dutch).

At first there were many difficulties in communicating because Park Yeon forgot a lot of his mother tongue, since it had been three years since he had arrived in the Joseon Dynasty. I was very surprised at that.

Park Yeon didn’t want to settle down in Joseon. He complained to Hamel that his appeal to be repatriated was rejected when he tried to go back to Japan. The king of the Joseon Dynasty had told Park Yeon, “Don’t expect to go back to your country if you don’t have wings to fly. Joseon’s national law is that foreigners who are washed ashore can’t be sent back to their countries.” He added that the Joseon Dynasty gave Park Yeon all the things needed to live and treated him well. Regarding this aspect, Park Yeon became an obvious Joseon person.

Park Yeon lived at Joseon for the rest of his life, but Hamel and his fellow Dutchmen escaped from Joseon due to their homesickness. Although Park Yeon didn’t voluntarily remain in Joseon, it is worthy to know that he was the first naturalized citizen in Korea.

What did Westerners think of Joseon people?

“The one interesting fact is that Park Yeon knew that Joseon was a country practicing cannibalism.

When he was in his country, Park Yeon was told that Koreans grilled human flesh. When he drifted to Jeju Island, Joseon soldiers prepared torches as it became dark. All the Dutch in the ship wailed at the sight of this fire, because they thought they were going to be grilled with that torch.” from a book titled

What did Joseon people think of the Dutch?

“The Aranta man has deep blue eyes and a long nose. Both his beard and hair are red. They also have large feet. They look like a dog as they always pee with one leg up. They have their own western religion. They usually have cannons named Hongipo, which can break down the fortress with a single shot. They come to Japan every June or July, carrying unusual goods and cargo from another country, and sell and buy goods from various countries after docking.” from a book titled

For both groups of people, each other seemed like strange beings.

Throughout history, there were more foreigners who contributed to our country like Park Yeon.

In the Silla Dynasty, several Arab people lived in Gyeongju. In Gaya, King Suro’s wife Heo Hwangok was from India. During the Japanese War, Japan’s General Sayaka defected to Joseon. He is known as Kim Chungseon nowdays and contributed in several wars, such as the Japanese war, the Manchu War and so on. People might not know that many foreigners lived in Korea and several of them even became Koreans. When we studied history, we learned our ancestors interacted with the Japanese and the Chinese mainly. Moreover, we learned that the Joseon Dynasty was well known for being closed to outsiders. However, our ancestors were not afraid of encountering new cultures and people and actively took advantage of them when they could. It is interesting to know that there are more to our Korean history than what we have been taught.