Rolling through time: A history of bowling in Korea

A 19th century bowling alley in the United States / Spalding Athletic Library December 1892

By Robert Neff

• Published Nov 17, 2024 3:39 PM KST
• Updated Nov 18, 2024 1:08 PM KST

“From time immemorial the sport of bowling has held a place in the pastimes of mankind, not as prominently in past centuries as in the present, but sufficiently to warrant notice in the chronicles of the ancients,” declared the Spalding Athletic Library in an 1892 issue dedicated to bowling. To support this claim, the magazine somewhat irrelevantly noted that Romans hurled stones “upon the heads or breasts of their foes.”

The exact origins of bowling are unclear. However, according to the magazine, “In England the game was played with spherical stones with flat surfaces, and about one foot in diameter, weighing five pounds. They were balanced on the fore arm and hurled at a set of nine pins placed so as to form a diamond, the aim being taken at the head or king pin.”

In the early 19th century, bowling — played with only nine pins at the time — became widely popular in the United States, mainly due to the improvements made in the construction of indoor alleys. However, these bowling saloons soon gained a negative reputation as dens for gambling and other vices. In response, New York and New Jersey passed laws in the early 1860s banning “nine-pin bowling.” To circumvent this ban, saloon owners added an extra pin, creating the ten-pin game that remains the standard for modern bowling.

In the early 1860s, some bowling saloons made efforts to clean up their unsavory image, as evidenced by an ad appearing in a newspaper in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, April 1861. This saloon announced it had “two alleys of the most approved construction. Persons fond of this healthful amusement, will find every opportunity for enjoying the game, free from the intrusion of boys or improper persons.”

Considering these bowling saloons served alcohol, one might assume there were few women patrons, but the Spalding Athletic Library suggested otherwise. “Bowling is not a pastime dedicated to masculine monopoly exclusively, for women seem to take as much interest and derive as much enjoyment mentally and physically as the sterner sex.” However, it added, “women cannot be expected to make as high scores as men do,” and recommended a 100-point handicap for women. By this standard, a score of 200 would be considered a perfect game for a woman.

Somewhat surprisingly, bowling became very popular in the open ports of Japan starting in the early 1860s. According to Brian Burke-Gaffney, the author of “Nagasaki: The British Experience, 1854-1945”:

“In 1861, an enterprising British resident named Henry Gibson opened the ‘International Bowling Saloon’ in the Hirobaba neighbourhood. This is recognized today as Japan’s first bowling lane…”

A quick perusal of contemporary English-language newspapers in Nagasaki reveals that, over the next couple of decades, several bowling saloons, clubs and even a couple hotels boasted bowling alleys. The proprietors were mainly British, Germans, Russians and a couple of Americans — both men and women. Undoubtedly, many patrons at the bowling saloons were visiting sailors, while the bowling clubs were primarily frequented by the men of the local expat community. The bowling alleys at the hotels provided entertainment for visitors of both sexes.

What is particularly interesting about Japan’s bowling history is how quickly it was introduced into Nagasaki, only two years after the port was officially opened to foreign trade. Similarly, Korea’s introduction to bowling came soon after it was opened to the West.

The origin of bowling in Korea is often attributed to the U.S. military, especially following the 1950-53 Korean War. However, this belief is incorrect. The first “known” bowling alley was introduced by an Austrian in Jemulpo (modern day Incheon) in the winter of 1888.

Joseph (or Isaac — the records are unclear on his first name) Steinbeck established Hotel de Coree in Jemulpo in early 1884, making it the first Western-owned hotel in Korea. He was assisted by his wife and his young sister-in-law Hannah.

One early visitor described the hotel as “a favorite resort for sailors of men-of-war when they called at the port, partly because a drinking saloon, well provided with intoxicants of all descriptions, was the chief feature of the establishment, and partly because glasses were handed over the counter by a very fascinating young lady, [Hannah], a most accomplished damsel, who could speak fluently every language under the sun — from Turkish and Arabic to Corean and Japanese.”

Hannah and the extensive variety of alcohol weren’t the only attractions. The hotel featured at least one pool table, and on Christmas Eve 1888, it opened up a double-lane bowling alley, quickly becoming popular and doing “a roaring and rolling business.”

Throughout the 1880s, Steinbeck enjoyed great success in the Land of the Morning Calm. However, the political calm (resulting in fewer warships visiting the port) and growing competition from two other hotels (one Japanese-owned and the other Chinese-owned) led him to close his hotel in 1891. The hotel was demolished and a dozen Japanese-style houses were built. Steinbeck soon departed Korea — with a large sum of money in his pockets — and never returned. What became of the bowling alleys is unknown.

A couple of decades later, another bowling alley was established at the American-owned gold mining concession in northern Korea. The Oriental Consolidated Mining Company’s club house at Unsan was well-known for keeping up with the latest trends in the United States. It had a well-stocked library, a bar, some of the earliest gramophones and record-players, a movie theater with current films, tennis courts, pool and card tables and apparently a bowling alley.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any direct anecdotes about the bowling alley at the gold mines, but I do have an indirect one from Donald Clark. In our correspondence, he wrote:

“My earliest bowling days at the Seoul Union Club were 1954-56. The Club building and grounds dated from before WW2. There were two lanes on the ground floor. I was told that the wood floors (lanes), the ball return channel, the supply of balls, and the pins were all from ‘the gold mines’ in North Korea. It had been dismantled at the gold mines (I assume Unsan) and reinstalled at the Seoul Union Club in the late 1930s. There was no automation. A member of the resident caretaker’s family had to be found to set up the pins. The on-setter would sit up above the pit so as not to be hit by the flying pins. He would jump down and set up the pins and shoot the ball back up the return channel. The Seoul Union Club didn’t have much money so only minimum maintenance. No new equipment. No bowling shoes, for example. Only a chalkboard for scoring. I do remember thinking that the hard wood in the lanes was really good quality [and] there was a particular ball that I used.”

As for bowling in the 1970s, The Korea Times published some interesting images of the Hangang Bowling Center in Hannam-dong, Seoul. The center had 32 lanes, all made of maple, and the cost per game ranged from 200-300 won, depending on the time. The bowling center also featured ping-pong tables, billiards, snack bar and a restaurant.

While the bowling facilities in Seoul were large and comfortable, the one at the small army camp where I served in the 1980s was more Spartan, but no less entertaining. I think the popularity of bowling on our camp was due to our curfew — only a small percentage of soldiers were allowed outside the gates.

Fred Priest Jr., who was stationed there in the mid-1980s, recalled that the bowling center had only two lanes with three employees: two “ball boys” who took care of the lanes, and one man at the counter who rented the shoes and sold snacks and beers. James Carter, who served there as well, recalled that the center had four lanes, and the best game he bowled was 175.

As for the lanes, Priest remembered “that if the ball was thrown a little too hard a pin or two would fly up and hit [the ball boy] and he would cuss. We always left tips for them when we were done bowling. Super nice guys!”

Most of my fellow soldiers had similar comments about the ball boys and their hazardous duty. Joe Gadberry Sr. recalled that whenever his ball boy was hit by a pin, he would cuss in Korean — the Cokes given to him as a tip undoubtedly helped soothe his throat after so much cussing.

I can’t help but wonder if the large amount of cheap beer sold at the center wasn’t partially to blame for the ball boys’ many bruises.

The ball boys were also responsible for resetting the pins. Chilito Valenzuela, who served with our unit when it was located in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, in the 1960s or 70s, simply stated, “I wouldn’t want that poor guy’s job setting pins.”

Perhaps the most entertaining description was by Charles Ralph Scott, who said the center was “almost like [something out of] the Flintstones.”

Today, bowling alleys are filled with bright lights, fluorescent pins and balls, automated pin-setters, ball-returners and score-keepers. The cacophony of lights, buzzers and bells, and music is vibrant and full of energy, yet, for many old-timers, they lack the charm of the raw, Flintstones-like bowling alleys of the past.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.