On June 18, 1861, the Austria Ocean-going Fleet visited Korea. Both sides reached a consensus on friendly exchanges, and the diplomatic relations were upgraded to envoy level.
During this period, Korea, under the feudal system, rejected foreign trade. Previously, Austria had little interest in Korea and had no embassy there, only an office.
After this friendly visit, Hummel signed a friendly trade agreement with the Korean government, granting each other most-favored-nation treatment.
This had become the norm, as Austria had already signed commercial most-favored-nation treaties with more than a dozen countries, including England and France.
In passing, several military procurement orders were made as well, and apart from army equipment, Hummel also managed to sell five ironclad ships.
