Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
Korean mail carriers of the 19th century
By Robert Neff
.jpg)
A Korean postman in the late 19th century.
In July 1895, after a hiatus of more than a decade, Korea began a domestic postal service between Seoul and Chemulpo (modern Incheon). It quickly became a success and soon mail routes were opened throughout the country.
Mailmen in Seoul had a relatively easy life and were paid about seven yen ($3.50) a month, but the mailmen whose routes were from the capital to Suwon and Kaesong received almost twice as much.
They traveled on foot over rough roads (made worse during adverse weather) and were forced to cross streams and rivers using government ferries. Of course, not all ferry operators understood the mailmen's need for punctuality as demonstrated in this article from The Independent, an English-language newspaper published in Seoul:
“The Department of Agriculture Commerce and Industry sent an order to the Governor of Seoul stating that the city authority must warn the ferry men at the river towns not to delay the progress of the mail carriers who are going south every day. These boatmen will not take over the carriers immediately when they arrive at the ferry, because they do not pay a handsome toll like other passengers. This causes great delay in delivering mail, and the Governor must order the boatmen to take the carriers over as soon as they get to the ferry.”
Ferrymen and delays were not the only adversaries these postmen faced. Tigers and wolves still roamed the lonely isolated stretches of wilderness between the cities and at night, at least in the minds of the superstitious, demons and ghosts waited to steal the souls and spirits from hapless carriers.
But even more feared than these threats of nature and the supernatural were the human predators. Bands of highwaymen sometimes ambushed the mail carriers and stole their mail and occasionally their lives. Even in the perceived safety of villages and towns, the post office and its employees found themselves the targets of angry mobs displeased with their local government.
A postcard from the early 20th century depicting a Korean postman.
International mail was also plagued by theft. According to another article in The Independent, the Japanese Postal Service, which was responsible for delivering mail to Korea in the 1880s and mid-90s, reportedly had 1,588 pieces stolen, 304 packages dropped (and presumed damaged), 45 pieces lost, 692 pieces thrown away and 5,728 items concealed (I am assuming they were later found). The article concluded with:
“We in Seoul must be surprised at the loss of many articles through the mail; still through mails are very much safer than local mails.”
But were they? The Korean government took a dim view of its employees tampering with the mail. A guilty conviction following an investigation (aided with torture or the stroke of a lash) would result in a huge fine, debilitating beating (10 to 100 strokes) and a jail sentence from one month to three years (Korean prisons were notoriously bad).
Thus, unsurprisingly, despite their low wages and hazardous duties, very few Korean mail carriers were tempted to augment their income with goods stolen from the mail. Korea continues to enjoy an excellent and dependable postal service ― a luxury that many countries around the world lack.
Robert Neff