The Korea Times

Horace N. Allen: Treating the masses

A pharmacy in Seoul in 1884   Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the summer of 1884, Korea was not a place for casual tourists or globetrotters seeking to impress their peers. It was especially not for missionaries lacking conviction and courage. Commonly referred to as “The Hermit Kingdom,” the peninsula was in the vortex of change. Christianity was still barely tolerated; there was animosity and mistrust towards foreigners fueled by the brief and violent encounters with foreign nations ― France in 1866, the USA in 1871 and Japan in 1875. The peninsula was also gripped with a degree of political instability as evidenced by a bloody coup in 1882.Horace N. Allen, a missionary physician, was more than aware of the dangers he and his family faced but he felt compelled to answer his calling. He came to Korea not so much as a missionary to save immortal souls but as a physician to save mortal lives ― and perhaps make a buck or two.His arrival in Korea was well-timed. American Minister to Korea Lucius Foote (a “handsome old politician … in his declini

Mar 20, 2023By Robert Neff

Opinion

Moving back to Gyeongbok Palace

A photograph of Geunjeongjeon in Gyeongbok Palace taken by Percival Lowell in early 1884   Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the final days of February 1885, Seoul was awash with activity. The main city streets (especially the street running between Gyeongbok and Changdeok palaces), notorious for being cluttered with squatters' shacks, unauthorized booths and extensions to the shops of merchants, were cleared out and all the debris was removed. The gutters ― infamous for the amount and type of nefarious waste they contained ― were also cleared. These were the preparations being made for March 3, when the king and the whole royal household would leave Changdeok Palace and move to the new palace (Gyeongbok) which they would henceforth occupy.The handful of Americans residing in Seoul were also busy preparing for the move. Horace N. Allen and his wife, Fannie, were provided access to the newly reconstructed palace a week or so earlier so that they could take some pictures.A photograph of King Gojong by Percival Lowell in early 1884   Robert Neff CollectionAllen'

Mar 5, 2023By Robert Neff

Opinion

19th-century Seoul's all-too-familiar history with fires

Gwanghwamun and its protectors ― mortal and immortal ― in the early 1900s  Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffOn the night of February 23, 1885, Seoul was visited by one of its most dangerous adversaries ― a fire! George C. Foulk, the American representative in Seoul, reported that a large “conflagration broke out” in a Korean government-owned lumberyard and warehouses just to the north of the American Legation. The buildings and a “quantity of valuable timber” were destroyed.The fire caused great unease amongst the Korean population, as well as the small foreign community. Fires, especially those at night and aided by a breeze, had a tendency to spread quickly from house to house and could easily destroy a large part of the city. It was expected that everyone capable of rendering aid would participate in fighting the fire ― not only was it a neighborly act, but also one of self-preservation. This fire, however, did not appear to be accidental and was believed to be the work of an arsonist. Foulk explained that “fires are not infrequently started a

Mar 4, 2023By Robert Neff

19th-century Seoul's all-too-familiar history with fires

Opinion

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 2

Not everyone was buried in royal splendor. Royal tombs near Goyang in 2017.   Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the 19th century, Korea was often referred to as the “Land of the Morning Calm” but it was far from accurate ― especially at night when it became a realm of loud mourning.Cemeteries are sacred ― the final resting place of those who have gone before us. They are filled with the spirits of the past ― some had an impact on society, politics, or history while others were simple affairs of people, parents, siblings, friends and lovers. But all were important and deserve remembrance ― even those of whom, through modern eyes, have sinned.Graves and cemeteries often captured the attention of early visitors to Korea. When John Carey Hall, an English diplomat traveled to Korea in the autumn of 1882 he was drawn to the subject of death and its role in Korean society. He declared that geomancy was “universal and deeply rooted in the Corean mind, and the object round which it centers is the tomb.”Considering he was only in Korea for a very short pe

Feb 28, 2023By Robert Neff

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 1

Opinion

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 1

A funeral procession in the late 19th or early 20th century.  Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the 19th century, Korea was often referred to as the “Land of the Morning Calm” but it was far from accurate ― especially at night when it became a realm of loud mourning.In the early 1890s, George G. Gilmore, one of the first American teachers in Korea, wrote:“When a death occurs in any [Korean] family, the neighbors have no excuse for being ignorant of the fact. The women and girls and boys mourn in shrill and penetrating tones that reverberate through the night air with frightful distinctness.”He was not the only one to write about the mournful wailing. At the end of the cholera epidemic in 1895, Sally Sill (the wife of the American Minister to Korea) described in her journal the nights in Seoul: “[Cholera] seems to be abating, and the wailing of the mourners grows less. It is a weird kind of sound and we are glad enough not to hear so much of it.” Death was not always sudden and unexpected. When a person was at death's doorstep, they were o

Feb 26, 2023By Robert Neff

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 2

Opinion

Life in 1880s Russian Legation

People gather around a city well in Seoul, in this Russian postcard from the early 1900s. / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffThe Korean version of Dr. Sylvia Braesel's book, “Photos of a diplomatic life between Europe and East Asia: Carl von Waeber (1841-1910)” / Courtesy of Puringil Publishing Co.History often confines itself to narrating only the events surrounding key protagonists and antagonists, their exploits and faults and their eventual fates. But in my opinion, it is often the people surrounding these key figures who are the most interesting ― the ways in which they interact with our heroes and villains, the subtle (and, sometimes, not so subtle) influence they exert and their own deeds that are sometimes misappropriated by or misattributed to the powerful political player. Often these peripheral actors are family members and they are rarely mentioned in diplomatic documents or even in personal correspondence. It is as if they never existed.Nevertheless, they did exist. Sometimes all we have is a title such as the wife of so-and-so, or the son or daughter of s

Feb 18, 2023By Robert Neff

Opinion

Spies amongst us

Japanese troops near Namdaemun in 1904 / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffThe traveler, dressed in Korean clothing, tried desperately to hide his nervousness, but with each passing minute, it became more and more obvious that the Russian patrol and their Korean interpreters were suspicious of him. First, they questioned him rapidly in Korean as to his identity and his business in this part of the country. Then they began to examine his baggage noting the amount of Japanese silver he had with him. When he was asked to take off his hat and the Russian officer began to examine his hair, he began to sweat profusely. Excitement and suspicions were in the air. The Korean traveler was visibly shaken when the officer commanded him to take off his footwear so that his feet could be examined. The examination lasted only a few minutes before the Russian officer declared the traveler a Japanese spy and summarily executed him with a bullet. The above could have taken place anywhere in northeastern Korea in 1904-05. Spies were an important part in the Russo-Japanese War: they reported the stren

Feb 12, 2023By Robert Neff

Opinion

William Franklin Sands' diplomatic and undiplomatic views of late Joseon

Sands and a friend smoke together in Seoul.   Courtesy of “Undiplomatic Memories” by William Franklin SandsBy Robert NeffCover of “William Franklin Sands in Late Choson Korea” by Wayne Patterson (Lexington Books, 2021)In 1896, at the tender age of 22, William Franklin Sands was appointed second secretary at the American Legation in Tokyo. The baby-faced Sands was a privileged youth; his father was an admiral who knew everyone ― including the president ― and was not above using his influence to open doors for his son. But even the privileged sometimes became victims of the vortex of politics in Washington D.C., and with a new president came changes ― Sands was replaced a little over a year after his arrival. Undaunted, he returned to the United States in August 1897. Once again, through his father's influence, as well as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge's assistance, he was able to secure another diplomatic post. One of his mentors advised him to accept a position in Korea:“Korea is the place. Nobody wants it; it is too insignificant ― but it is there

Feb 4, 2023By Robert Neff

William Franklin Sands' diplomatic and undiplomatic views of late Joseon

Opinion

Plum trees, pheasants and promises of old Korea

Hyehwamun (Northeast Gate) in the late 19th or early 20th centuries / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn Korea, 1898 began with change and trepidation. December the last year had been brutally cold but the first week of January was pleasantly mild. There was the promise of prosperity. The rice prices, which had been extremely high due to the failure of the crops in the capital region the previous year, continued to fall as more shipments of rice arrived. There were probably some who believed that supernatural forces were responsible for this change of fate.In the vicinity of Beol-ri, a village that's now known as northeastern Seoul's Beon-dong, a hunter killed a white pheasant. He was convinced that it was an "omen of great prosperity for the nation” and so he took it to the palace so that it could be served to the royal family. The gift was accepted but it is not clear if the Korean monarch partook in any of the “omen(s).” Clearly, for those who believe in portents and omens, this was no coincidence. Beol-ri was so named because of the large number of plum tree

Jan 29, 2023By Robert Neff

Plum trees, pheasants and promises of old Korea

Opinion

1885: Year of the Monkey

An upper-class family in the late 19th or early 20th century    Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffKorea, in the early months of 1885, was in turmoil. A failed coup attempt in December 1884 resulted in large numbers of Japanese and Chinese soldiers being encamped in Seoul and the surrounding region ― a conflict between these two countries on Korean soil was a real possibility. Blood was being spilled in the streets by the Korean authorities. Rebels were executed and their bodies left as graphic warnings to the public. It doesn't challenge the imagination to assume that many Koreans hoped the Lunar New Year (Feb. 15 that year) would bring desperately needed change and peace. In his diary, Horace N. Allen, an American missionary and doctor, described the events surrounding the Lunar New Year holiday in 1885. Some of his observations were rather benign: “Just now the people are busy flying kites. Men and boys devote their time to this amusement and seem happy.” Some of his other remarks were more caustic: “[The] city has put on a holiday attire ― If a collec

Jan 22, 2023By Robert Neff

Robert Neff

Read more

Horace N. Allen: Treating the masses

Moving back to Gyeongbok Palace

19th-century Seoul's all-too-familiar history with fires

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 2

Land of Morning Calm mourns: Part 1

Life in 1880s Russian Legation

Spies amongst us

William Franklin Sands' diplomatic and undiplomatic views of late Joseon

Plum trees, pheasants and promises of old Korea

1885: Year of the Monkey

Top 5 stories