Karl Ivanovich Weber

Karl Ivanovich Weber
Korean name
Hangul	위패
Hanja	韋貝
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Wipae McCune–Reischauer Wip'ae
Russian name
Russian	Карл Иванович Вебер

Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Wipae
McCune–Reischauer	Wip'ae

Karl Ivanovich Weber (also Carl von Waeber; Russian: Карл Иванович Вебер, 17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1841 – 8 January 1910) was a diplomat of the Russian Empire and a personal friend to King Gojong of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. He is best known for his 1885–1897 service as Russia's first consul general to Korea.

Weber was born to a middle-class family, and expressed an interest in the history of Asia from an early age. He graduated from the University of Saint Petersburg in 1865, and joined the diplomatic service the following year. His first overseas posting was in Beijing; he was named Russian Consul in Tianjin in 1882.

Weber signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Russia and Korea on 25 June 1884, and moved to Seoul in April of the following year as Russia's first official representative to Korea. He was accompanied by his wife as well as a housekeeper from Alsace, Antoinette Sontag. His wife had personality conflicts with several other members of the Russian and German expatriate communities of Seoul; in particular, she was believed to be responsible for a malicious rumour in the late 1880s that the German consul, Ferdinand Krien, held orgies in the German legation. During his early service in Korea, Weber developed his friendship with King Gojong; when the Russian government made known their intention to transfer him onward to another posting, King Gojong wrote a letter of protest to Nicholas II of Russia, dated 2 July 1895, in which he praised Weber's wisdom and asked that he be allowed to remain in Korea longer. His request was fulfilled when Alexei Speyer, Weber's intended replacement, was instead posted to Tokyo, Japan.

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