The Korea Times

American whalers and the East Sea in the 1840s: Peril and adventure

In the mid-1840s, the peaceful isolation of the East Sea was disrupted by the appearance of large, strange-looking vessels — three-masted and two-decked — flying a red, white and blue flag. These were American whaling ships, mainly from New Bedford, Massachusetts, along with a few from smaller New England ports, crewed by men of many nationalities in search of whales, a bit of adventure and, of course, pockets full of money when they returned home. These whaling vessels often passed Jeju Island and sailed through the Korea Strait — the narrow passage separating Korea from Japan — to enter the East Sea whaling grounds. In early 1846, one American described circling Jeju Island for about a week on a calm summer sea — a strange description considering it was winter. Unfortunately, he didn’t consider the “Isle of Beauty” important enough to describe it in any detail, noting only that the crew “saw many whales and captured some.” As for the East Sea itself, he declared the whaling to be “so easy” as “the fish were so numerous that we had no occasion to chase them w

Nov 23, 2025By Robert Neff

American whalers and the East Sea in the 1840s: Peril and adventure

Opinion

Barbershops in Korea: Cutting through tradition

For many men, hair loss can be devastating to one’s vanity and confidence. But in 19th-century Korea, the loss of one’s hair was nothing short of emasculating. In the early 1900s, Lillias Underwood, an American missionary in Korea, described the deep importance that Korean men placed on their hair. “No matter how old [a Korean male] is, without a top-knot (sangtu) he is never considered a man, addressed with high endings, or treated with respect. After assuming the top-knot, no matter how young, he is invested with the dignities and duties of a man of the family, takes his share in making the offerings and prayers at the ancestral shrines, and is recognized by his ancestors’ spirits as one of the family who is to do them honor, and whom they are to protect and bless.” Thus, the Korean population was horrified when a government edict declared that starting on Jan. 1, 1896, all men would cut off their topknot. Many were in disbelief when they discovered that their monarch, King Gojong, was one of the first to submit — unwillingly — to the new law. Sallie Sill, the wife of t

Nov 4, 2025By Robert Neff

Barbershops in Korea: Cutting through tradition

Opinion

When rumors turn deadly (2): Anti-foreigner fear in Korea’s past

Most people have heard the story of a man who’s drugged at a party and wakes up in a hotel bathtub full of ice. Disoriented and in pain, he finds a note on the toilet telling him his kidney has been stolen — and there is nothing he can do about it. It is a terrifying cautionary tale, but nothing more than an urban legend. Korea has its own share of dark rumors and legends about illegal organ harvests — stories that blend fear, superstition and a deep mistrust of foreigners in unsettling ways. In the late 19th century, Korea was caught in a vortex of unrest stirred up by political intrigue and xenophobia. In 1883, a Chinese newspaper reported on turmoil in Seoul caused by the growing number of Japanese arriving in the city. According to the report, the populace believed that the “terrible Japanese intended to draw blood from [Korean] girls and children for the purpose of concocting medicine. So great was the alarm among the maidens in the Capital that many betook themselves to flight, and others actually got married off post-haste without caring much what sort of husbands they we

Oct 26, 2025By Robert Neff

When rumors turn deadly (2): Anti-foreigner fear in Korea’s past

Opinion

When rumors turn deadly (1): Demons in the wood

For farmers, rain is spiritual. It was believed that precipitation will come at a certain time of the year, and in sufficient quantity to sustain life. Their existence depended on it, and when it failed to fall, famine and death often followed. In the spring of 1924, the rain did not come to the southern part of the peninsula. Nor did it come in the summer. A warm, dry wind blew from the southeast, and the heat became unbearable. The once-luxurious rice paddies became barren stretches of parched, cracked earth. What the drought spared was devoured by swarms of hungry insects. The people suffered. Drinking water was scarce, and the price of rice rose sharply, further exacerbating the misery. Roots, stems and even bark became many people’s daily diet. Beggars roamed the countryside in search of food. But not all of the peninsula suffered from drought. In bitter contrast, the northern Hwanghae Province was ravaged by floods. To the superstitious, the calamity that gripped the peninsula was the result of the gods’ displeasure. Many reasons were given for this anger. Perhaps the offerings

Oct 25, 2025By Robert Neff

When rumors turn deadly (1): Demons in the wood

Opinion

The Korean emperor and the 'American Princess' part 3: Emma Kroebel

Alice Roosevelt, “the American Princess,” wasn’t the only unofficial royal to grace the Korean court in the early 1900s. There was also Antoinette Sontag, known as “the uncrowned empress of Korea.” Unlike Roosevelt, who was merely a visitor, Sontag ruled over the imperial household staff — especially when it came to entertaining palace guests. “She sits in state, concealed from the eyes of the guests behind a traditional Korean screen or an ornate curtain, from which point she controls everything," said Emma Kroebel, the wife of a German merchant in Tsingtao, China. "A nod from her suffices to mobilize the entire retinue of imperial servants whose assistance is usually offered on such occasions.” The uncrowned empress of Korea never met the American princess, as Sontag was in Europe on a year-long leave of absence. In her place, Kroebel, 32 years old at the time, temporarily assumed the position as “Imperial Mistress of Court Ceremonies” in 1905. There is almost nothing written about Kroebel in American correspondence or diplomatic despatches, and her stay in Korea w

Oct 19, 2025By Robert Neff

The Korean emperor and the 'American Princess' part 3: Emma Kroebel

Opinion

The Korean Emperor and the American Princess: Part 2

Throughout the world, dinners have long been popular for discussing business and politics, and Korea was no exception. Having arrived in Seoul on September 20, 1905, Alice Roosevelt, the 21-year-old daughter of American President Theodore Roosevelt, was honored the following day with a banquet at the palace hosted by Emperor Gojong. Willard Straight, a member of the American legation in Seoul, recorded the occasion in vivid and denigrating detail. He noted that Alice was “treated with more consideration than has ever been shown to visiting royalty before.” Straight described how “the Emperor brought [the young American woman] in on his arm and sat at the same table with her.” The Crown Prince was also present, presiding over his own table. Straight himself was seated at a smaller table, “sandwiched in with prominent Korean officials, many of whom had by special order of the Emperor got themselves into European clothes for the first time and who certainly did look, and from their appearance feel, like Hell.” Amused by the discomfort of his Korean counterparts, Straight noneth

Oct 7, 2025By Robert Neff

The Korean Emperor and the American Princess: Part 2

Opinion

Korean emperor and American princess: Part 1

In the summer of 1905, Korea’s political situation was dire. The Russo-Japanese War ended on Sept. 5 with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, but Korea’s continued existence as an independent country was in jeopardy. Its military was weak, and though it had treaties with several foreign governments, it was doubtful that any would come to Korea’s aid in its hour of need. What Korea desperately needed was a popular figure in the West who could champion its cause — especially to the American president. Fortune seemed to be with Korea. A large American delegation made up of congressmen, senators, businessmen and their wives was touring China, Japan, the Philippines and Hawaii. Part of the group planned to visit Korea. Even more remarkable, Alice Roosevelt, the 21-year-old daughter of American President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was among them. She and her party were scheduled to arrive at Jemulpo (modern-day Incheon) on Sept. 19. According to Williard D. Straight, the 25-year-old American vice consul in Seoul, the Koreans were desperate and grasping at anything that might

Sep 21, 2025By Robert Neff

Korean emperor and American princess: Part 1

Opinion

Guardians of past harvests: Korea’s watchtowers

The fields and orchards of Korea in the late summer and fall are a kaleidoscope of colors and bountiful produce — and a great temptation. As a young boy in the United States, I often fell victim to that temptation when my siblings and I went fishing. We would raid nearby orchards for handfuls of cherries, crisp red apples and soft, juicy pears. I am sure we knew we were in the wrong, but I suspect the orchard owners somewhat expected to be raided and tolerated our indiscretions so long as we didn’t cause damage and ate what we plundered. Perhaps they even remembered their own youth, when they too had pilfered an apple or two. Today, it isn’t like that — signs warn trespassers that they will be prosecuted. Many decades ago, when I first arrived in Korea as a young soldier stationed in Gangwon Province, I was surprised to discover that many, if not most, of the fields had small elevated platforms from which farmers carefully guarded their crops day and night. They were everywhere, yet rarely mentioned in early writings by Western visitors to the peninsula. In 1923, Harry A. Franck

Sep 7, 2025By Robert Neff

Guardians of past harvests: Korea’s watchtowers

Opinion

Chickens, dogs and summer heat

Saturday is "malbok," the last of the three traditionally hottest days of summer. In the past, many Koreans believed in fighting the heat with foods associated with heat, such as samgyetang, a Korean dish made from chicken and ginseng. That tradition lives on to this day, and restaurants serving it will be packed. Many years ago, when I first came to Korea, I was a fairly picky eater. My Korean friends — especially my "hyeong" (older brothers) — took it upon themselves to teach me about Korean culture, especially food. Among us, there was a rule that we each had to try everything at least once. In my opinion, it was a pretty one-sided rule since almost everything we ate was Korean. Still, it was an adventure I am glad I undertook. One of these foods was samgyetang. To me, there is nothing appealing about it. Visually and taste-wise, it is bland. I can still remember them laughing with me (or rather, at me) when I promptly declared it to be “chicken bathwater.” Don’t get me wrong — I love Korean chicken. As a young man, I ate platefuls of chicken gizzards and feet in neighborh

Aug 10, 2025By Robert Neff

Opinion

Mt. Bukhan in the 1890s: An escape from Seoul’s heat

Seoul is extremely hot and uncomfortable during the summer. In the 1990s, there weren’t as many high-rise apartments as there are now, and a large part of the population lived in neighborhoods of small, closely packed buildings and townhouses. Many of these homes did not have the luxury of air conditioning and depended upon open windows and electric fans for relief. While open windows allowed cooling breezes to enter, they were also open invitations to one of the most annoying pests of the summer — mosquitoes. It was a no-win situation: close the windows and suffer in the stifling heat, or open them and contend with the blood-sucking, buzzing nightmares that even mosquito coils could not keep at bay. And all of it was made worse by the humidity. A century earlier, summers in Seoul may have been even worse. In a letter home in late July 1893, Sallie Swallen, an American missionary, wrote: “The weather has been very warm now for one week almost every day the thermometer has stood at 88 & 90 [Fahrenheit, or about 31 or 32 degrees Celsius] in our sitting room, and of course much warme

Jul 28, 2025By Robert Neff

Robert Neff

Read more

American whalers and the East Sea in the 1840s: Peril and adventure

Barbershops in Korea: Cutting through tradition

When rumors turn deadly (2): Anti-foreigner fear in Korea’s past

When rumors turn deadly (1): Demons in the wood

The Korean emperor and the 'American Princess' part 3: Emma Kroebel

The Korean Emperor and the American Princess: Part 2

Korean emperor and American princess: Part 1

Guardians of past harvests: Korea’s watchtowers

Chickens, dogs and summer heat

Mt. Bukhan in the 1890s: An escape from Seoul’s heat

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