Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Storied past of iconic bridge
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The river suburb of Mapo in Seoul in 1884 / Courtesy of Robert Neff collection
By Do Je-hae
Mapo played important role in trade with Japan, China in mid-19th century
By Robert Neff
Mapo Bridge has a checkered reputation. It is famous for its role in the recent filming of Avengers but it is infamous as a suicide bridge. But did you know that prior to the construction of the bridge Mapo was a ferry port?
Ferries were used to provide transportation to and from the south and north banks of the Han River. These were generally small boats and carried not only passengers but goods and livestock as well.
One early Western visitor to Seoul was amused to discover that one of his fellow passengers was carrying a pig strapped to his back.
In the mid-1880s, Mapo was an important port for Japanese and Chinese junks that would sail up the river and unload their goods. This was eventually stopped by the Korean Customs Service at Jemulpo (modern Incheon).
In early September 1888, Cho Hui-yeon, established the Samho (Mapo) River Boat Company and purchased two small wooden steam launches from Osaka, Japan, and began operating a riverboat service between Jemulpo and Yongsan, stopping at various river ports along the way.
The two boats were named Yongsan and Samho. Almost immediately there were problems, one Western observer reported:
“One of the new river steamers stranded the other day half way between this port and Chemulpo, thereby putting her passengers to great inconvenience. She is reported to be still on shore, but I have not heard what damage, if any, she has received.”
Mapo Bridge recently gained media attention when it was chosen as the site of Avengers filming. / Korea Times file
The company seems to have enjoyed some success and soon others were plying the Han River. An American naval officer reported:
“On November 27, 1889, Captain Dyer of the U.S.S. Marion was approached by Mr. Walters, an agent for the Korean government, and asked Dyer for his help in obtaining some things.
“The Korean government needed chains and cables to help in their raising of the River Steamer S.S. Chai Rong, but Dyer turned them down, insisting that he had none to loan out to the Korean government.”
It has been said that permanent bridges were not built on the Han River as an added defense to the capital; the only bridges were temporary bridges made of pontoon boats.
In 1910, Ueda, a Japanese man, built a pontoon bridge at Mapo which caused a huge demonstration. More than 10,000 people were reported to have taken part in the protest as it threatened the livelihood of the ferrymen and their families.
The government, which tried to mollify the angry mob, claimed that the bridge would be washed away when the rainy season came.
Not only was Mapo an important river port, it was also the home of a Korean Nostradamus, Lee Ji-ham (1517-1578).
Lee was born in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, and studied medicine, mathematics and astronomy. It isn’t unclear when, but at some point he moved to the Mapo area (a historical marker states he lived his entire life in Mapo) where he gathered clay and built a tojeong ― or clay house ― along the Han River.
He lived a humble life and probably associated, at least in a minor way, with some of the early merchants and boat operators which might have influenced his thinking. He recognized the importance of trade and the development of natural resources.
But he is best known for his book of predictions, the Toejong Bigyeol (Secrets of Toejong). Many of his predictions became reality including the Japanese invasion of 1592.
This book is still quite popular and, according to the historical marker, many Koreans like to consult it at the beginning of a new year to see what the future has in store for them.
Robert Neff is a columnist for The Korea Times.