Ernst Oppert

Ernst Jakob Oppert (5 December 1832 – 19 September 1903) was a Jewish businessman from Germany best known for his unsuccessful attempt in 1867 to remove the remains of the father of regent Yi Ha-eung from his grave in order to use it to blackmail the regent into removing Korean trade barriers.

Two of his brothers, Julius and Gustav, became leading German orientalists,[1] while Ernst opened a trading business in 1851 in Hong Kong.

When that company went bankrupt in 1867, he became interested in trading with Korea, which at that time followed a strict isolationist policy and was a hermit kingdom, with a closed market to westerners.

Oppert based this judgment on a scarcity of sources as stated below: The difficulties in acquiring and properly speaking the Corean language are by no means inferior to those which beset the study of the Chinese; they are even considered by many to be infinitely greater, and they cannot be likened to the comparatively easy manner with which even foreigners are able to acquire a knowledge of Japanese in a proportionately short time.Whilst in Shanghai, Oppert met a French priest Stanislas Féron(MEP), who had devised a plan to excavate and hold hostage the remains of the father of regent Yi Haeung, who ruled the country for his son, King Gojong, to use them to blackmail him into opening the country for trade.

When they reached the tomb, they tried to steal the body, but were stopped by the massive stone slab that covered Prince Namyeon's remains and had to leave without having achieved their objective.