The Korea Times

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

Curfew allows nighttime to belong to the blind

Opinion

Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad: The First Railroad of Korea

Korea's “first” passenger train at Jemulpo on Sept. 18, 1899 / Courtesy of Patrick R. O'DonnellBy Robert NeffIn the 19th century, railroads and their steam locomotives were viewed as a sign of modernization ― vehicles of the industrial revolution. Japan built its first railroad in 1872 and by 1893 was manufacturing its own steam engines. In China, the first railroad was built in 1876, but was promptly dismantled the following year due to the company's failure to secure government approval. Four years later, another railroad was built ― with approval ― and was fairly successful. Unlike its neighbors, railroads did not appear in Korea until the threshold of the 20th century.Surprisingly, not much has been published in English about Korea's first railroad ― the Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad ― even though it started out as an American enterprise. Articles in contemporary newspapers and railway journals were all illustrated with the same handful of tired photographs ― often blurry due to the limits of printing technology.Korea's “first” passenger train at Yeongdeung

Jun 13, 2021By Robert Neff

Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad: The First Railroad of Korea

Opinion

Smith F. Philips, the topknot shooter

Korean passengers board a train at Jemulpo, circa 1900. / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffWorking on the railroad can be extremely hard and dangerous work; accidents are frequent and often fatal. While the railroad from Seoul to Jemulpo (modern-day Incheon) was being built in the late 1890s, there were several accidents ― including explosions ― that cost the unwary and clumsy their lives. However, not all dangers the Korean railway construction workers faced were inherent of the occupation.In early August 1897, Smith F. Philips, a railroad engineer from Chattanooga, Tennessee, stepped off the steamship at Jemulpo. He was there to work and by the time he left Korea, he would enjoy a degree of anonymous infamy.Philips caught everyone's attention. He had bluish-gray eyes and, although he was only 38 years old, his hair was already gray, along with his neat beard and moustache. He was an impeccably dressed man whose appearance and demeanor suggested he was a gunfighter. Perhaps even more imposing was his height. In a letter to The Independent (the English-language edition of the Dong

Jun 12, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

Muggings in the Land of Morning Calm

A crowded street in Seoul in the early part of the 20th century. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, foreigners traveling about Korean streets, even in darkness, were fairly safe from crime. There were occasional scuffles and murders, but these were generally incidents in which both the perpetrators and victims were foreigners. However, there were some exceptions ― especially when it came to lesser crimes like muggings.In late October 1897, a Western woman traveling through the Korean section of Jemulpo (part of modern Incheon) in a palanquin noticed a rather large young Korean man keeping pace with her chair. At first she thought his interest in her was “actuated by that curiosity [of foreigners ― particularly of women] which had not died out altogether even in the [open] ports.”However, it wasn't curiosity that compelled the youth to follow her but rather greed. According to a letter from a resident of Jemulpo and published in the English-language newspaper in Seoul, The Independent: “Suddenly the [young man] reached over

Jun 7, 2021By Robert Neff

Opinion

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 3

Geomundo (Port Hamilton) circa 1920. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffOn the evening of April 25, 1860, the steamship Remi ― aided by fog and inaccurate charts ― was wrecked upon some submerged rocks near a small island off the coast of Jeolla Province. Captain Paul A. Laen and all but one of his 25 crew members and all of his 25 Chinese passengers managed to make their way safely ashore where they were well treated by their Korean rescuers. The Koreans provided their uninvited guests with warm provisions but refused to allow them to explore the island or visit their village. Laen was worried that the friendly nature of the Koreans might quickly change and the shipwrecked men would find themselves prisoners or worse.A village headman in the 1880s. Public Domain imageIslanders and their boat in the 1880s. Public Domain imageMuch to his dismay, on May 5, a group of Korean officers arrived from the mainland and, writing in Chinese, began interrogating the crew ― especially the Chinese crewmembers. The Korean officials wanted to know why the Chinese would work aboard a foreign ship an

Jun 6, 2021By Robert Neff

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 3

Opinion

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 2: Mischief with Harry Underwood

Seoul in the early 20th century / Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionBy Robert NeffAfter several weeks of anxiousness, young Imperial Prince Yeong managed to recover ― without serious disfigurement or blindness ― from the visit of The Guest. On June 4, the palace gates were opened once again.However, the malevolence still lurked about the palace and soon the young prince was stricken with another bout of sickness ― this time it was measles.Once again, planned celebrations and audiences with foreign diplomats and guests were canceled. Court physicians were summoned and prayers were offered at various temples for the prince's speedy recovery. It was not cheap. According to an article appearing in the 1903 edition of The Korea Review, an English-language magazine published in Seoul:“When the young prince was ill with a complaint that frequently follows after small-pox prayers were offered up at all the monasteries of the land, and twenty palace women sought out the houses of mudang and p'ansu and had prayers said for the prince. The total cost was about 30,000 Korean dollars.”

May 30, 2021By Robert Neff

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 2: Mischief with Harry Underwood

Opinion

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 1: Small pox sorcery

The Korean throne in the early 20th century / Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffMany people are fascinated with royal families. They are surrounded with pomp, elegance, wealth, travel and, more often than not, scandal. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the American community in Seoul also dabbled in a bit of royalty-watching. Emperor Gojong was often the subject of letters home. Some described him as a handsome man filled with kindness and intelligence; others, however, described him as weak. Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min), his wife, was described as intelligent, witty and with a sense of humor, but it was her horrible assassination in 1896 that gained the most attention. Following his wife's murder, Emperor Gojong's alleged secret romance and subsequent marriage to an American woman was widely reported in newspapers in the United States and Europe. Of course, none of this was true; he never married or expressed interest in an American woman.Deoksu Palace in the early 20th century / Robert Neff CollectionThe emperor's sons were also popular subjects in letters home, diplo

May 29, 2021By Robert Neff

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 1: Small pox sorcery

Opinion

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 2

A sketch of a steamship sailing through a storm in the East Sea in the late 1880s.  Courtesy of Brother Anthony's collectionBy Robert NeffThroughout the day of April 10, 1860, the two steamships, Remi and Japanese, sailed along the Japanese coast but as darkness began to fall, the ships went their separate ways. Over the next two weeks, the voyage was relatively uneventful. On April 24, the steamship (Remi) passed Tsushima and entered into the strait dividing the Korean peninsula from Japan.Captain Laen was fairly unfamiliar with this area ― most of his sailing was done along the coast of China ― and was relying heavily upon his charts, but the charts were incomplete and often inaccurate. Earlier that year, an editorial in the North China Herald (an English-language newspaper published in Shanghai) criticized the British government's inefficient use of the navy to survey the coast of northeastern Russian instead of “having proper surveys made” of other areas essential for new trade and noted the most “pressing importance” was the strait between the Korean

May 24, 2021By Robert Neff

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 2

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 3

Robert Neff

Read more

Han River bridges, then and now

Blind faith

Curfew allows nighttime to belong to the blind

Seoul & Jemulpo Railroad: The First Railroad of Korea

Smith F. Philips, the topknot shooter

Muggings in the Land of Morning Calm

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 3

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 2: Mischief with Harry Underwood

Imperial Prince Yeong's childhood, part 1: Small pox sorcery

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 2

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