Ferdinand Krien was the German consul in Joseon Dynasty Korea from 1887 to 1898.
[1] Krien was appointed to his position on 22 May 1887, after having served as an interpreter at the German Legation in Tokyo.
[2] In 1888, he became the victim of a malicious rumour, believed to have been spread by the wife of Russian consul Karl Ivanovich Weber, that he held orgies in the German legation; this contributed to his disfavour among foreign missionaries operating in Korea.
[3] He set up the Imperial German Language School in Seoul in 1898; it continued operation until 1911.
[5] He was succeeded in his consular post by F. Reindorf, and later became the German consul at Kobe.