Reading Korean history, culture in early magazines
A cover of The Korea Magazine/ Courtesy of Steven Shields
By Steven L. Shields
(slshields@gmail.com}
As we in Korea are hunkering down during the current health crisis, the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch (RASKB) has made available an electronic version of The Korea Magazine (1917-19) for your reading enjoyment.
James Scarth Gale, the publisher, was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary educator who arrived in Korea in 1888. Unlike the more general nature of the earlier periodicals, The Korea Magazine was billed as a missionary monthly. Reading some of Gale's comments in the final edition of the magazine, it seems clear that freedom of the press was severely restricted by the Japanese imperialist authorities. It is well known the Japanese wanted to suppress and erase the Korean language and culture.
Among some of the first Westerners who lived in Korea were many prolific writers and scholars. They had few outlets for their writing, so some of the more enterprising among them started English-language magazines. The names of the editors, publishers and writers in these early periodicals are a who's who of the missionary and diplomatic community in Korea during the late Joseon era, through the Korean Empire and into the Japanese occupation. Most of them, including Gale, were founding members of the RASKB.
Gale was an unusually prolific writer and translator. He worked with the Bible translation committee in Korea, and eventually published his personal Korean-language translation of the Bible. He translated “Pilgrim's Progress” into Korean, and produced volumes of material including literature, poetry, history, Korean-English dictionaries and grammar books. It is said the collection of his papers at the University of Toronto includes more unpublished material than what has ever seen the printed page.
In the pages of The Korea Magazine, one may read some of the best of Korean literature that has been translated into English. Gale's poetic sensitivity made him an ideal translator. His translation of the traditional Korean love story “Chunhyang,” here titled “
,” was serialized over several months. Gale also published English-language translations of ancient texts from the Goryeo and early Joseon kingdoms. One of the more interesting translations, presumably by Gale, includes
excerpts from a 1712-13 journal
of a young Korean who accompanied his brother to Beijing. The younger man wrote of his exploration of the city and countryside while his brother was engaged in government business. It is a fascinating first-hand account of what Beijing was like 300 years ago!
The Korea Magazine is quite scarce, but the RASKB's president, Brother Anthony of Taize, was given access to a complete set of The Korea Magazine. He was encouraged to upload
the full contents of all three volumes
of the magazine, type-scripted from the originals for easy reading.
Amid the flurry of writing and publishing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Korea, the RASKB was established in 1900 and began publication of its own journal, Transactions.
, from 1900 to volume 92 published in 2018, is available online. While it leaned toward academic writing, various other periodicals of the time were produced for a broader audience.
The Korean Repository was issued monthly beginning in 1892, and ran for five volumes until 1898. Appenzeller, Hulbert, Jones, Gale, Allen and other well-known missionaries, educators and diplomats are among the most prolific of the writers and translators whose work appeared in the Repository's pages. After its first volume, there was a hiatus for three years, and then four more volumes were published. Most of these writers were the founders of the RASKB. A full run of The Korean Repository
.
“The Korea Review” was published and edited by Homer B. Hulbert from 1901 to 1906. Hulbert was a linguist and strong proponent of the Korean Empire against the “protectorate” and eventual take-over of the nation by imperial Japan. Hulbert was a close friend of Emperor Gojong and was twice appointed as a secret emissary by the emperor. Hulbert's 1906 book, “The Passing of Korea,” so angered the Japanese that Hulbert was expelled from the country. Thus, it ended the publication of The Korea Review, as well. The RASKB has reprinted the full series, but Brother Anthony provides
PDF versions and painstakingly created full-text versions
for much easier reading.
The RASKB offers an extensive virus-free e-book library on its website. You may access all past publications of the RASKB, including its annual journal Transactions, with hundreds of books from the RASKB's extensive library that are available in electronic format. The current restrictions on movement and gathering give residents of Korea plenty of time to catch up on their reading.
Keep calm and read on!
Steven L. Shields, a retired cleric, serves as a vice president of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (www.raskb.com) and is a columnist for The Korea Times.