The Korea Times

Ghostly encounters in Korea's schools of the 1990s

Music soothes the savage beast, but what does it do to ghosts?   Courtesy of Ryan BerkebileBy Robert NeffIn the early 1990s, ghost stories involving schools were very popular in Korea. It isn't clear how these stories spread so quickly and so widely ― the internet was still relatively new ― but undoubtedly they were gleaned from newspapers, magazines, radio programs and even TV (although there weren't many channels to choose from back then).Looking at them now, they seem almost innocent ― especially as the ones provided below center on elementary through high school encounters. Perhaps next Halloween we will examine haunted universities.In 1991, a young woman recalled a story she heard about a haunted high school in central Seoul. Perhaps she attended the school and it was a tale passed on from one class to the next ― kind of a rite of passage into high school where senior classmates scared their younger classmates with ghostly tales. According to her: Late one night, the high school's elderly security guard slowly walked down a dark hallway checking the doors and classroom

Oct 31, 2021By Robert Neff

Ghostly encounters in Korea's schools of the 1990s

Opinion

Haunted Jongno

Tapgol Park: during the day, a respite for the living, but at night, a haunt for the restless / Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionBy Robert NeffJongno is a very popular and vibrant area in downtown Seoul. In fact, Timeout magazine recently named one part of it the third “coolest neighbourhood” in the world and described it as “historic, eccentric and very unpretentious.” However, up until the mid-1990s, it had a much seedier atmosphere ― especially at night ― and was reputed to be haunted.The dark alleyways ― once used by commoners to avoid encountering gentry on the main street ― seemed likely haunts for the restless spirits of executed prisoners, victims of accidental deaths and those who chose to end their own lives. “Han,” which has been described as a feeling of deep sorrow, regret and hatred, seemingly permeates the darkness, especially on rainy nights.Prior to the pandemic, Tapgol Park (also known as Pagoda Park) was a popular spot for the senior citizens (especially elderly men) of Seoul to gather during the day and regale one another with t

Oct 30, 2021By Robert Neff

Global Community

Joseon Images The haunting of Gyeonghui Palace

A palace gate at night, circa 2018 / Courtesy of Shawn MorrisseyBy Robert NeffVisiting a Korean palace in the early morning or late afternoon ― when there are few, if any, visitors ― is a haunting experience. With an active imagination, whispers from the past ― carried by subtle breezes ― can almost be heard and shadows seemingly move as you pass by open doorways and gates. It isn't surprising that many of the palaces are haunted not only by violent histories but also, allegedly, by ghosts.Perhaps the most haunted (at least in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) is Gyeonghui Palace ― the name of which, ironically, means the Palace of Serene Harmony. The palace was completed in 1623 and at one time contained more than 100 structures. Despite its name, almost from the beginning, the palace enjoyed a malevolent reputation. Many thought its location was wrong and altered the geomantic state, resulting in an evil influence upon the city and causing citizens to suffer from pestilence and droughts. Adding to its ill repute was its dark past. The notoriety surrounding this palace was a v

Oct 26, 2021By Robert Neff

[Joseon Images] The haunting of Gyeonghui Palace

Opinion

Joseon in mourning: Where the dead receive more consideration than the living

A funeral purportedly in Seoul in the late 1890s or early 1900s. Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionBy Robert NeffKorea was once described as “a land where the dead seem to receive more careful consideration than the living and where they occupy the most pleasing of all sites and surroundings.” This description may have been true, for the most part, especially when the deceased were affluent men, but for the poor and those without family, it was a land of ignoble endings.In the late 19th century, Westerners visiting or residing in Korea often described the funerals they encountered ― generally for wealthy and affluent individuals ― which were quite elaborate and usually held at night. Funerals for the higher classes were usually not held immediately. Sometimes it took months of delay to determine a propitious date for the funeral and a site for the grave.In the mid-1890s, Isabella Bird Bishop, an English travel writer, described a funeral (held during the daytime) she encountered in the streets of Seoul:“First came four drums and a sort of fife perpetrating a lively t

Oct 24, 2021By Robert Neff

Joseon in mourning: Where the dead receive more consideration than the living

Opinion

Korea's ancient trees

The wilderness of Gangwon Province circa 1920s / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffTrees, especially large ones, are one of the most iconic symbols of nature. They dominate their surroundings and garner the attention and admiration of young lovers, elderly couples and the viewfinder of photographers' cameras with their beauty. However, these giants are also the guardians of the past and harbingers of the future. In the latter part of the 14th century, “a prophecy passed from mouth to mouth” of the impending collapse of the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom. According to legend, the Silla monk Doseon (827-898) foretold that a man of the plum would found the next dynasty and would establish his capital in a place where plum trees flourished. The Goryeo king, hearing that plum trees grew in great abundance near Hanyang (Seoul) ordered the trees to be destroyed. Yet, despite the efforts to eradicate them, the trees survived and flourished. In 1392, the prophecy was realized when General Yi Seong-gye (Yi, meaning plum) became the first king of Joseon.Trees also played a role in the pr

Oct 24, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

A Romanian visitor's street views of Korea

A busy little side street circa 1908-10. If only this picture could provide us with 1,000 words about the lives of each of these pedestrians. / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffPalaces, gates, temples and old monuments are often the subject in old photographs of Korea. The value of these images is undisputed as they provide us with a glimpse of these important sites from a century ago, but the sheer number of them and their lack of different perspective of view make them repetitive and boring. Often, some of the most interesting pictures are those of mundane street encounters. A group of pictures from Romania ― circa 1908-1910 ― provoke more questions than answers. Obviously some of the images were purchased from the photography shops in Seoul but one or two may have been from the visitor's own camera. One is left to wonder why a group of dignified men ― wearing their finest clothes and sporting their tinted glasses (a popular status symbol) ― would stop long enough for their pictures to be taken. Women ― their faces hidden ― flit from the front of one shop to another. Are they cu

Oct 17, 2021By Robert Neff

A Romanian visitor's street views of Korea

Opinion

A dirty misperception

By Robert NeffA Korean gentleman in a smoky alley circa 1912 / Robert Neff CollectionIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a popular subject in letters home or to local newspapers was Western visitors' perceptions of cleanliness in Korea. While there may have been some truth to their observations, most appear to have been exaggerations ― if not fabrications ― to amuse their audience.In the 1860s, a sailor (an occupation at the time that was not exactly associated with cleanliness) asserted that Koreans “appear to regard filthiness as a virtue” and that “their appearance would testify that water was unknown to them.” An Englishman malignantly declared to his American companion, Richard A. Little, that “the dirtiest man he ever met was a clean Korean.” Later, in 1904, when Little visited Korea he wrote: “I do not indorse his remark, or even encourage anybody to smile at it. Still I found the Koreans, sampan [boat] men at least, were pleasantest to study when one stood well to windward of them.”His amusing but caustic pen was not rese

Oct 16, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Pak Seon - A scapegoat for regicide

Gwanghwamun in the early 1900s / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffKorea in the mid-1890s was rapidly changing. The 1894-95 First Sino-Japanese War had ended Chinese dominance in the kingdom's politics and replaced it with Japanese reforms and interference. Nowhere were the changes more evident than in Seoul, as people from all over the country sought opportunities. People with initiative, courage and ability were able to find lucrative positions with the various new businesses, government organizations and industries being developed.However, not all opportunities were legal. Seoul was awash in crime, and walking the streets at night could not only deprive a person of their hard-earned money but also their life. Many of the perpetrators were from the eastern provinces ― the northerners tended to sympathize with the Russians, while the southerners tended to align themselves more with the Japanese. One of these southerners was Pak Seon.Pak Seon was a young street thug from the Fusan (modern Busan) area who specialized in assuring debts were paid. According to one source, he “wa

Oct 10, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Queen Min's death and Joseon's failed future

Gyeongbok Palace in 2016. Hyangwonjeong is in the foreground and Geoncheonggung is in the background. / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffPurported to be the only authentic image of Queen Min (with her servant) in the mid-1890s. / Harrisburg Daily IndependentIn the late 19th century, Korea, like most of the world, was a man's country. Everything centered on and revolved around men. Women were usually invisible in men's writing, but when they were described in newspapers and magazines, they were portrayed as belonging to their husbands or assisting male counterparts. Fortunately, not all Western journalist who visited Korea were men.There were several women who wrote about Korea and provide us with an interesting perspective of the country during the late 19th century. One of these women was Canadian-born Margherita Arlina Hamm who traveled to Korea and did something few men could ― she wrote rather personally and in depth about the Korean queen.According to Hamm, Queen Min was “the most interesting of all the Asiatic royal heads, having more intelligence, diplomacy, beauty an

Oct 9, 2021By Robert Neff

Queen Min's death and Joseon's failed future

Opinion

Adventurous eating in Joseon

A young man eating his dinner in the early 1900s / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffWhen Sumner Vinton and his wife traveled to Japan and Korea in 1918, they found themselves under strict surveillance. The world was still at war and visitors were few. It was only natural that they were suspected of being German agents and were questioned unmercifully. Vinton wrote:“The Japanese secret service is indefatigable and unescapable. I do not remember having to tell the color of my grandfather's eyes or the age of my mother's stepsister, but every other detail of personal and family history was mercilessly uncovered in the exhaustive inquiries to which we were subjected at each stop.”Although the Japanese secret police were polite, Vinton was convinced that they held “a constant suspicion” of him and his wife ― especially when they discovered that the Americans' purpose for traveling was to take pictures for their religious publications.It is a shame that Vinton did not describe the train ride from Fusan (Busan) to Seoul and then on to Pyongyang. Two years earlier,

Oct 3, 2021By Robert Neff

Robert Neff

Read more

Ghostly encounters in Korea's schools of the 1990s

Haunted Jongno

Joseon Images The haunting of Gyeonghui Palace

Joseon in mourning: Where the dead receive more consideration than the living

Korea's ancient trees

A Romanian visitor's street views of Korea

A dirty misperception

Pak Seon - A scapegoat for regicide

Queen Min's death and Joseon's failed future

Adventurous eating in Joseon

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