The Korea Times

Sinmiyangyo: The bloody US-Korea battle born of cultural misunderstanding

The officers and crew of the U.S.S. Monocacy in 1871 / Courtesy of Thomas DuvernayBy Robert NeffUnsurprisingly, you have probably never heard of Bowline Tom, Bassilio, Fore Brace, Jib Sheet and Main Tack; they were the names given to five young shipwrecked Korean fishermen who were rescued by the American warship Colorado as it sailed to Nagasaki in May 1871. These fishermen ― the youngest was only 19 and the oldest was 22 ― were among the earliest Korean witnesses of the preparations leading up to Sinmiyangyo ― the brief conflict between the United States and Korea in June 1871.The American fleet arrived off the coast of Jemulpo (modern-day Incheon) on May 23 and began conducting surveys. On May 31, a Korean delegation was entertained aboard the American flagship in which the Americans tried to reassure their imposed-upon hosts that they came in peace and only wanted to survey the surrounding coastal areas. The Korean delegation gave no response which the Americans mistook as approval. According to professor Thomas Duvernay, “This was probably the first cultural misunderstandi

Jul 24, 2021By Robert Neff

Sinmiyangyo: The bloody US-Korea battle born of cultural misunderstanding

Opinion

English invasion of Gangwha Island in 1890s

When Mark Napier Trollope visited Gangwha Island in the spring of 1894, he described the island's chief city as “a miniature of Seoul, with its embattled walls climbing up and down the hills which surround it, its pavilioned gateways with their iron-plated gates, the old city bell hanging in its kiosk in the centre of the city, and rung night and morning for the shutting and opening of the city gates, and the official residences of the Governor, &c., representing the palace at the capital (sic).”

Jul 19, 2021By Robert Neff

English invasion of Gangwha Island in 1890s

Opinion

Walking in the footsteps of the past: Jeondeung Temple in 1893

Samnangseong Fortress in May 2020 / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffOne fine morning in the spring of 1893, John Wyers, the constable of the British Legation, left Seoul and walked the 40 kilometers to Jemulpo (modern Incheon). He described it as “the most charming walk imaginable” ― not many of his fellow expats had the same generous opinion of that walk ― and arrived in the port by afternoon.A corpse wrapped in straw is left outside the city gate in the late 19th century. / Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionIt was here that he met his traveling companion, Joseph H. Pownall, an Anglican missionary, and they finished preparing for their trip to Ganghwa Island. Wyers was in good spirits and, judging from his writing, was excited at the prospect of seeing the island that so few knew much about. The next day, at 4 p.m., the two men, along with their Chinese cook and a Korean porter, boarded a Korean junk and sailed out of the harbor. They not been sailing for long when they made a ghastly discovery.On one of the river's banks were several dead bodies covered with straw an

Jul 18, 2021By Robert Neff

Walking in the footsteps of the past: Jeondeung Temple in 1893

Opinion

Rafting adventures on the Geum River in the 1970s

The Geumgang (Silk River) from the walls of the mountain fortress in Gongju in 2017. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffWhen John K. Jackson, an American Peace Corps Volunteer, arrived in Gongju in February 1971, the first thing he noticed was Geumgang (Silk River) and its “lovely sandy shores.” The river would become an important part of his life while he lived in that city and is still one of his most cherished memories.Jackson lived in a “thatch roof farmer's house” in a large pine thicket near the river, which he had to cross to get to the university where he taught. One day, in the summer, rather than walking the twenty minutes to the bus stop to take the ten minute bus trip to his school, he decided to wade across the seemingly shallow river as a shortcut. Holding his book bag, pants and shoes over his head, he started across, only to realize that it was far deeper than he initially thought.“I taught my classes in a shirt wet up to my chest. It was one way to beat the heat when there was no air conditioning.” Another way to cross the river w

Jul 11, 2021By Robert Neff

Rafting adventures on the Geum River in the 1970s

Opinion

Travelling down the Han River in 1903: 'Glad to be alive'

The river port of Yongsan, circa the 1900s. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn May 1903, Charles Allen Clark, an American missionary, made his first trip outside of the comforts of Seoul. Clark was still relatively new to Korea and his language ability and familiarity with Korean culture were still somewhat lacking. He did, however, provide an interesting view of what it was like to travel down the Han River to the Yellow Sea at the beginning of the twentieth century.Clark and another missionary departed Seoul through the South Gate on May 4, Buddha's Birthday. They were not alone. Accompanying them were Clark's teacher, the party's cook and the cook's mother-in-law.Clark declared that “heathendom was in gala attire” and that every house was decorated with flags and streamers. “Huge fish-shaped balloons [floated] from poles over houses where male children had come during the year.”The streets were crowded with people from the countryside who had come to the capital to sightsee and were entertained by “a dozen cheap Japanese theatres [that] had sprung

Jul 10, 2021By Robert Neff

Travelling down the Han River in 1903: 'Glad to be alive'

Opinion

Naval chow in Korean waters in 1900s

Modern budae jjigae, a popular dish ― especially when drinking soju ― in Korea / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert Neff“An army marches on its stomach,” is an old saying that has been attributed to Napoleon ― or, depending on your source, Frederick the Great ― emphasizing how important food is to the military. Anyone who has served in the military is more than aware of the impact the quality of food has on morale and discipline. For the American sailors and marines serving in the Far East in the early 20th century, military chow tended to be less than desirable.On Oct. 23, 1901, Paul Weston, a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Helena gunboat, as it cruised along the Korean Peninsula, described the joy of having his first “sea pie” (a layered meat pie popular with British and American sailors) after several months at sea:“Everybody was hungry as a sealer, and we couldn't wait for that sea pie to come. The bottom sides and top were hard tack. The inside or part of it, was as follows: salt horse, salt pork, canned woolie, cheese, onions, spuds, cabbage, a jack knife o

Jul 4, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Fans, detractors of legation guards

Russian military instructors with Korean soldiers in the late 1890s / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffAt the beginning of 1904, Seoul was a city filled with soldiers. Lillias Underwood, an American missionary, described the capital as having “many long rows of barracks all over the city, for the Emperor had nearly ten thousand troops” and the streets nearby Deoksu Palace were constantly filled with Korean soldiers and their officers guarding the Korean monarch. War between Russia and Japan was expected to begin at any moment.However, the Koreans were not the only soldiers in the city. She recalled that “soldiers arrived in goodly numbers at the Russian, Japanese, French, Italian, German, English, and American legations. Arms bristled everywhere, uniforms of many nations varied the almost universal white of the Korean people; there was marching and countermarching, sentinels as thick as flies…” Her home was surrounded by legations (the Russian compound on one side, the American compound on the other and the French in front) and was located near the p

Jul 3, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Han River bridges, then and now

Fishing and riding boats under the pedestrian bridge Indogyo / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffUp until the early part of the 20th century, the only way to cross the unfrozen Han River was by one of the many small ferries that operated on both banks. They carried everything ― people, goods, chickens, pigs and even oxen and horses. When Horace N. Allen, an American missionary doctor, arrived in Seoul in 1884, rather than dismount and lead his pony onto the ferry, he elected to remain in the saddle ― he felt it was safer to stay mounted than to get off and risk the pony's snapping teeth or its accurate kicking hooves.An angry Korean pony was not the only thing to fear while crossing the river. It wasn't uncommon for these ferries to sink ― either due to faulty maintenance, the actions of the passengers or cargo or the ferryman's poor judgment ― and many lives were lost. There needed to be a safer way across the river.When the Korean government agreed to allow the Seoul-Chemulpo Railroad to build a bridge across the river, it was stipulated that a pedestrian walkway also had to be c

Jun 27, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Blind faith

A busy narrow street in Seoul circa 1910-1920s. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the latter part of the 1890s, the authorities in Seoul began a campaign to curtail or even eliminate the activities of mudangs (shamans) within the city and its vicinity. Shamanism was viewed by many Korean progressives (and, of course, Christians) as a relic from the past and a means for some to exploit the superstitious beliefs of the common people to fill their own pockets. A mudang, according to one contemporary writer, was considered to be of the lowest social status for “besides an entire lack of character she is supposed to have commerce with the evil spirits” that haunt places and people. It is “through friendly intercession” that the mudang convinces the evil spirits to cease their possession. The writer concluded, that “few women in Korea are more depraved than the mudang.”The campaign was fairly successful.In June 1896, The Independent (an English-language newspaper in Seoul with a strong bias favoring Christianity) “congratulated the authorities

Jun 20, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Curfew allows nighttime to belong to the blind

Even for visually unimpaired people, negotiating the streets and alleys of Seoul in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not easy. Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionBy Robert NeffAt night, in the 1880s, the streets of Seoul belonged to women. Men, with very few exceptions, were confined indoors by a curfew which allowed women to roam the streets relatively safe from the view of their male counterparts. (Relatively safe, because, if we are to believe the accounts, the true monarchs of the night ― tigers and leopards ― sometimes prowled the streets.)Percival Lowell, an American residing in Seoul during the winter of 1883/84 was one of the exceptions and vividly described his jaunts through Seoul's darkened streets. He also described some of the other exceptions:“There is another class in the community who are permitted freely to roam at nights, ― blind men. A thoughtful kindness has given them an immunity they could never abuse. Unable to travel fast they can easily be watched; and so blind men's holiday in Korea is prolonged from the twilight on till dawn.”

Jun 19, 2021By Robert Neff

Robert Neff

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Sinmiyangyo: The bloody US-Korea battle born of cultural misunderstanding

English invasion of Gangwha Island in 1890s

Walking in the footsteps of the past: Jeondeung Temple in 1893

Rafting adventures on the Geum River in the 1970s

Travelling down the Han River in 1903: 'Glad to be alive'

Naval chow in Korean waters in 1900s

Fans, detractors of legation guards

Han River bridges, then and now

Blind faith

Curfew allows nighttime to belong to the blind

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