Collin de Plancy was successful in raising the French visibility and prestige in other realms more successfully than in railroads and mining. As chief French diplomat in Korea, and enjoying a wide range of contacts, Collin de Plancy was the natural hinge for the expansion of French influence. Collin de Plancy helped a certain Mr. Saltarel establish official contacts in Seoul upon his arrival there as representative of several French companies in early 1898. Saltarel eventually gained a mining concession in Korea. In late 1899 a French military attaché in China, Commander Polyeucte Vidal, was also brought in through Collin de Plancy's efforts to assess the state of the Korean arsenal and make recommendations as to its improvement and the establishment of a Korean arms industry. Eventually the French, represented by Vidal, would join with the Russians in a mutual campaign to reorganize the Korean arsenal. Collin de Plancy also brought in an expert from the Sèvres Ceramic Works to recommend ways of modernizing and expanding the Korean porcelain industry. But France's most visible representative, behind Collin de Plancy himself, was undoubtedly E. Clemencet, who had been brought to Korea in 1898, shortly after Korea's entrance into the International Postal Union, to organize a modern Korean postal service. Upon the bureau's opening in January 1900 Clemencet sent the first international letter to Collin de Plancy (then on leave in France), as the "only fitting homage" to the man who had contributed so much to making the service a reality.Kane, 49. The French consul also proved instrumental in paving the way for Korea's participation at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900.
