The Korea Times

3 Life at the American gold mines in northern Korea: When tigers reigned

Situated in the mountainous region of northern Korea, the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company (OCMC) was surrounded by rough, unforgiving terrain that was both isolated and beautiful. Many of the immediate rugged peaks were bare, their forests stripped by the concession’s incessant need for timber. Further away, other hills and mountains were still covered with trees and thick brush — a precarious sanctuary for deer and other small mammals. Pheasants, pigeons, ducks and geese, as well as various other species of bird, graced both the sky and, like the deer, the miners’ tables. Aside from the miners, there were other predators. Large birds of prey ruled the sky, while predators lurked in the forest, drawn by the plentiful game — and occasionally, humans were among their prey. Born in Busan in 1904, Charles John Pedersen, who later received a Nobel Prize, described his brief stay at the mining concession where his father worked: “I spent my first and last winter at the mines when I was 4 years old. The region was known for severe weather due to the confluence of the Siberian st

Sep 13, 2026By Robert Neff

Life at the American gold mines in northern Korea[3]: When tigers reigned

Opinion

2 Life at American gold mines in northern Korea: Pulling teeth

“It is the night of the Fourth [of July] and I am working the same as usual,” complained Rush McCargar, a 25-year-old American employed by the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company (OCMC) in northern Korea in 1900. “The engineers, machinists, carpenters, miners, and office force had the day off, but we who are unfortunate enough to be mill men have to work just the same.” But it wasn’t work that irritated him the most; it was a toothache that kept him awake throughout the night. The tooth had been bothering him since December, and though he tried all the home remedies available to him at the mine, none had brought relief. He had even contemplated pulling it out himself, but the nearest forceps were more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away. There was nothing he could do but try to “grin and bear it.” Fortunately for McCargar, at the end of July, an American dentist from Nagasaki paid a temporary visit to the mines and offered his services to the miners, for a price. It was readily accepted, and when he left he was much richer for the experience. In a letter to his family, McC

Aug 16, 2026By Robert Neff

Life at American gold mines in northern Korea[2]: Pulling teeth

Opinion

1 Life at American gold mines in northern Korea : Independence Day a century ago

On May 31, 1926, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge called upon the American people to “renew their fidelity to the fundamental principles of the Declaration of Independence,” and suggested that the period between June 28 and July 5 be known as “American Independence Week.” Patriotic celebrations were to be held throughout the U.S., including the ringing of bells at 11 a.m. on June 28, when millions of children would recite the official Patriot’s Pledge of Faith. The American community in Korea was no exception. The Oriental Consolidated Mining Company (OCMC), an American gold mining concession in northern Korea, faithfully celebrated the Fourth of July every year. The company was known for its patriotism, and even its non-American employees looked forward to the Fourth of July — even if their reasons were more about not having to work. According to Kenneth Moyer, then 23, every day at the mine seemed the same, even Sundays, except the Fourth of July. “That is the only day the mine and mills shut down out here,” he explained in a letter home to his mother. He went on to add

Jul 4, 2026By Robert Neff

Life at American gold mines in northern Korea [1]: Independence Day a century ago

Opinion

Early misadventures in Korean food: Part 1

Several decades ago, when I first came to Korea as a young soldier, I knew almost nothing about the country save what I had seen on the popular American television program “M*A*S*H.” I was stationed in the mountainous region of Gangwon Province, a relatively quiet and rural part of the country, and our camp was small and primitive. Very few of my fellow soldiers ventured far from the “ville” — the small camp town located just outside the gate — and they devoted little of their free time to learning Korean, the culture or even experiencing the local cuisine. Many considered eating in the KATUSA snack bar a culinary adventure. My first adventure with Korean food occurred during an annual military exercise (Team Spirit), when my unit was deployed near a small mountain village. Our timing was perfect. The village was celebrating a wedding, and some of the kind, elderly villagers invited us to come and partake in the feast. As I recall, there were only three or four of us who went — and only after being warned by our commander that we were absolutely forbidden to consume any

May 3, 2026By Robert Neff

Early misadventures in Korean food: Part 1

Opinion

Voices of the past: Seoul in spring

April is arguably one of the best months to visit Seoul — not only because of the mild temperatures, but because the city and surrounding mountains become breathtaking mosaics of fragrant pink, white and lavender blossoms from cherry and lilac trees. Unsurprisingly, these displays of natural beauty have become popular backdrops for social media posts by families, young lovers and tourists. Foreigners have long been enchanted by April’s splendor in Seoul. In April 1884, a group of U.S. naval officers traveled overland from Jemulpo (part of modern Incheon) to Seoul and visited the American Legation. In his journal, George W. Woods, a naval surgeon, noted upon entering the city, “almost everyone [they encountered in the streets was] carrying little twigs of plum and cherry, thick with pale pink blossoms — many of them large and double.” When they arrived at the legation, they were struck by the recent renovations, including the new garden. “The whole place looks very pretty,” observed Woods. “The quaint little buildings are all touched up ‘brightly,’ the paths and stone

Apr 19, 2026By Robert Neff

Opinion

Letters from Gaeseong Part 1: The market

Up until a couple of decades ago, the arrival of the mailman was one of the highlights of the day. Although opening the mailbox almost always revealed an assortment of junk mail and bills, every so often there were letters from friends and relatives. It was especially exciting to find international envelopes adorned with curious and beautiful stamps, promising adventure in faraway lands — albeit experienced vicariously through the pen of a loved one. One such correspondent was Ethel Higgins. She was just 27 years old and a newlywed when she moved to Korea in 1910. She came from Claremont, a small farming town in rural Illinois with a population of about 200. It is through her letters home that we can peek at snippets of her daily life in Songdo (modern Gaeseong in North Korea) in the early 20th century. In her first letter home, Ethel explained that to the Japanese and the “natives,” the peninsula was known as “Chosun” — meaning “Morning Freshness.” Yet, in all of her letters home, she never used “Chosun,” but instead referred to the country as Korea, perhaps becaus

Mar 7, 2026By Robert Neff

Letters from Gaeseong
Part 1: The market

Opinion

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 3)

According to Walter Hillier, the British consul to Korea from 1889 to 1896, Korean's scholar gentry, called yangban, “are invested with certain rights and immunities, and it is an offence against the law for a plebeian even to use rude language towards them, much less assault them. Their pride is proverbial, and they are most jealous of their dignity and rights.” On June 6, 1889, while out on an errand, Kim Chang-yo, the head servant at the French Legation, committed the heinous crime of voyeurism. According to the secretary of the American Legation, as Kim passed the residence of a yangban, Soh Piang-so, he looked over the wall and “beheld with profane eyes the ladies of the noble household, a crime than which there is none greater in the Corean calendar.” Kim, “having been discovered in the act of his offending,” was scolded by one of Soh’s house servants. Rather than apologize for his brazen act, Kim cursed at the servant. The nobleman was beyond words and patience; he immediately ordered the voyeur seized and soundly beaten. When Kim spoke in a rude manner, the noblema

Feb 21, 2026By Robert Neff

Peeping in Joseon Korea:
Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals
(Part 3)

Opinion

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 2)

On June 6, 1889, while out on an errand, Kim Chang-yo, the head Korean servant at the French Legation, committed the heinous crime of voyeurism. According to the secretary of the American Legation, as Kim passed the residence of Soh Piang-so, a member of the Korean gentry, he looked over the wall and “beheld with profane eyes the ladies of the noble household, a crime than which there is none greater in the Corean calendar.” Kim, “having been discovered in the act of his offending,” was scolded by one of Soh’s house servants. Rather than apologize for his brazen act, Kim cursed at the servant. The nobleman was beyond words and patience; he immediately ordered the voyeur seized and soundly beaten. When Victor Collin de Plancy, the French commissaire, learned of the incident, he was furious. The cause of his ire was not his servant’s illicit peeping, but rather Soh’s audacity in punishing a member of the legation’s staff without his permission. Plancy immediately dispatched his Korean guards to the nobleman’s residence — not only to free Kim, but also to arrest Soh fo

Feb 8, 2026By Robert Neff

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 2)

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 1)

Opinion

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 1)

Recently, an article appeared in The Korea Times discussing the increasing popularity of television programs that showcase the homes of others. As a partial explanation, the article noted: “In Korea, people have long been fascinated by homes — not only as places of rest, but also as symbols of lifestyle, taste and financial success.” In the late 19th century, however, not everyone was willing to display their homes or courtyards to strangers. Many early Western visitors to the peninsula commented on the high walls surrounding Korean houses and the exteriors which seemed dilapidated and uninviting. Even the residences of the upper class looked rundown, as if they had long been neglected or were badly in need of paint. When the Rev. John Wolfe, an Englishman, visited Korea in the summer of 1885, he described Korean homes as being “very mean and poor on the outside” but “extremely neat and tidy” on the inside. Only later did it occur to these Western observers that this was less a matter of neglect and indifference than of prudence. An open display of wealth invited unwanted

Feb 7, 2026By Robert Neff

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 1)

Opinion

Seoul’s streetcars: Between tradition and progress

The claim that streetcars, introduced in Seoul in the spring of 1899, represented “the first step toward civilization in the Hermit Kingdom,” as declared by Harper’s Weekly, provoked both excitement and unease, with many fearing the slow-moving modern vehicles would erode Korea’s long-held traditions as they rolled through the city’s ancient streets. Horace N. Allen, the American representative to Korea, found the effect amusing. The Korean gentry, long-accustomed to the deference of commoners, now found themselves enslaved by the constraints of time. Allen described the harsh lessons of punctuality: “So with the electric cars, which also would not tarry at the demand of the attendants of one of the gentry, and even when the great man himself would simply stop at the car steps and give some orders to his menials, the impudent contrivance was likely to go off and leave him standing there in the road.” Even worse was being run down by a streetcar. George Trumbull Ladd described Korean men — presumably members of the gentry — walking with a dignified strut along the track

Dec 19, 2025By Robert Neff

Robert Neff

Read more

3 Life at the American gold mines in northern Korea: When tigers reigned

2 Life at American gold mines in northern Korea: Pulling teeth

1 Life at American gold mines in northern Korea : Independence Day a century ago

Early misadventures in Korean food: Part 1

Voices of the past: Seoul in spring

Letters from Gaeseong Part 1: The market

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 3)

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 2)

Peeping in Joseon Korea: Voyeurism, diplomats and scandals (Part 1)

Seoul’s streetcars: Between tradition and progress

Top 5 stories