Mandarins, Gunboats, and Power Politics: Owen Nickerson Denny and The International Rivalries in Korea (review)

Book Reviews Mandarins, Gunboats, and Power Politics: Owen Nickerson Denny and The International Rivalries in Korea (Asian Studies at Hawaii, No. 25). By Robert R. Swartout, Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii: The University of Hawaii Press. 1980. xii, 192 pp. Notes, Appendices, Bibliography , Index. $10.75. The presence of large numbers of foreign advisers in late-nineteenth-century East Asia is a fact well known to students of Asian history. AU three East Asian nations employed foreign advisers to cope with diplomatic, legal, and commercial issues created by the "opening" of the region, and to seek guidance in their quest for internal reform and development. These foreign advisers were given positions , salaries, and perquisites that made them, as a group, a uniquely influential channel for cross-cultural borrowing. The role these advisers played was not entirely unprecedented, and others would play the same role in later years; Marco Polo and the Jesuits in preceding centuries, the host of Westerners in twentiethcentury China, and the numerous Americans who helped transform Japan and Korea in the aftermath of World War II were in many ways akin to the latenineteenth -century foreign advisers in East Asia. The complex legacy left by this group is only beginning to be explored, and Robert Swartout's attempt to shed some light on it by focussing on the career of an American adviser in Korea is to be commended. Korea was the last of the three nations to open its doors to modern diplomatic and commercial exchanges with foreign powers. Emulating the example of China and Japan, Korea employed scores of international advisers to aid the nation in its efforts toward "self-strengthening" (chagang) and "enlightenment" (kaehwa), as a Korean scholar has put it.' The Westerners employed by Korea in 142BOOK REVIEWS advisory capacities included no few Americans; there were eleven during the decade 1885-1894 alone.2 A very independent-minded, mince-no-words Oregonian, Owen Nickerson Denny, is the subject of the monograph under review. The author of the monograph is a native of Oregon himself and a former Peace Corps volunteer in Korea, a role that many would consider a cross between a low-ranking foreign adviser and a missionary. Thus, Swartout seems imbued with an affinity for his subject that very possibly stems from a sense of local patriotism. An Oregon upbringing and service in Korea are the twin bonds that link the author and his subject across time; in fact, Swartout speaks of his "ability [and] willingness" to "identify" with Denny's experiences (p. xi). The result is that, though the author generally displays some of the qualities essential to good writing—patient and careful research , the use of multiple sources for verification of facts and opinions, good organization , and an uninvolved, simple and lucid style—he cannot help overestimating the importance of Denny's role in Korea, even when he recognizes that Denny's contribution to the advancement of Korea's interests was not significant or lasting. Thus, while speaking of the "failure of Denny's long-range goals in Korea" (pp. 147-148) and the "marginal" nature of his achievements, Swartout nevertheless proceeds to make the astonishing statement that these achievements "were more than many Western advisers employed by East Asian governments were able to accomplish" (p. 148). This strikes one as a very arbitrary and partisan judgment. Would Swartout consider, say, Sir Robert Hart or Hermann Roesler among those "many" whose achievements were less exalted than those of Denny? What, indeed, was Denny's professional background, and what specific role did he perform in Korea? A lawyer and a judge by education and training and an ardent Republican by political persuasion, Denny had served as the U.S. consul in Tientsin (1877-1880) and as consul-general in Shanghai (1880-1883). During his tenure in China, he had developed a very close friendship with Li Hung-Chang, that political colossus of the late Ch'ing period. Therefore when the Korean government sought Li's help in finding a trustworthy foreign-affairs adviser, Li urged that Denny be selected. Because of his friendship with Li, his legal expertise , and his consular experience, Denny was appointed to the highly responsible executive position (even...