ABSTRACT
The Russo-Korean Bank, a branch of the Russo-Chinese Bank was established in Korea. It was to be the financial arm of the Russian Government in Korea. The French Government was nevertheless fully informed of every move of the Belgian representative. French and Russian diplomats had thus obtained a notable success. These railways might easily be linked up with the Trans-Siberian Railways and thereby bring Korea under the domination of Russia and into the Russo-French financial-political system. The latter had acquired from the Korean Government the right to construct two railways—one from Seoul to the boundary of the Yalu River, and one from Seoul to Mokpo in the south. The French Government insisted upon the assurance in the latter form, and as the matter went so far as almost to cause a rupture, China finally capitulated. The German Government, anxious for a place in the Chinese sun, had taken its first step in Weltpolitik.
