Joseon-era foreign cemeteries whisper still

Friedrich Kaliztky was an early Polish merchant in Korea known for his passion for drinking and biking and made infamous by his wife’s fiery temper. Robert Neff Collection 2012

Cemeteries are windows into the past. The two primary foreign cemeteries of the 1392-1910 Joseon era are Jemulpo’s Foreign Cemetery located within Incheon Family Park Cemetery and Yanghwajin Foreigners’ Cemetery in Hapjeong-dong in Seoul. Each of these cemeteries provides a different view of Korea’s past.

Yanghwajin is much larger and is the final resting place for nearly 10 times as many people as there are at the smaller cemetery in Jemulpo. The two are different not just physically but in a much deeper sense. Yanghwajin whispers the histories of the powerful ― political and spiritual leaders whose lives influenced modern Korean society. Found within its manicured grounds are those who defied the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea, inspired nationalism, built hospitals and schools and published books in an effort to not only introduce their Korean hosts to the outside world but to introduce the world to Korea.

The entrance to the old Jemulpo Foreign Cemetery in 2012. Robert Neff Collection

Jemulpo, however, is about the individual. The whispers heard among its stones are a kaleidoscope of colorful stories starting with the summer of 1883. Here are the stones of those who dreamt of better and more prosperous lives ― occasionally their dreams were fulfilled, but more often than not they were unrealized and ended in costly failures.

Other stones bear witness to the lives of those who craved adventure but unfortunately died from misadventure. Mixed in among them are the markers of those who came to protect the innocent and missing. Seemingly lost or deliberately misplaced is the stone of a man accused of taking the innocence of his own daughter.

The old Jemulpo Foreign Cemetery in 2012 was difficult to visit but it was serene and a haven for memories. Robert Neff Collection

Here, too, are sailors and marines who died not from war but from diseases, accidents and foolishness. Murder and incest darken some of the stones while others are brightened with devotion ― examples of what lengths people will go to for their loved ones. This cemetery is also the final resting place of a man who ― depending upon your perception ― was either a mass murderer or a vigilante exacting vengeance for an act of mass murder. Will he and the others with blood on their hands truly find rest?

Sadly, some whispers are too faint to hear; their stories are lost to us for the present but, as time passes, maybe their voices will again be heard through the discovery of lost letters and documents that will breathe strength back into their memories. At least one such history has been resurrected. I have been fortunate enough to identify the occupant of one badly damaged stone (marked unknown) by its birth and death dates.

Andrei Philippe was a tobacco merchant whose name suggests he was French but anecdotal sources suggest he was Greek. Robert Neff Collection

During the first half-century of the cemetery’s existence, there were 59 persons buried within: 21 English, 14 American, seven Russian, six German, three Italian, two French, three Dutch and one each Austrian, Indian, Greek and Chinese. Since the mid-1930s, several more have been added including a Spanish lady and two Korean brothers. Modern politics have changed the nationalities of many of those buried within so through our modern perception we must add Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia and Canada to the list of countries represented in the cemetery.

Andrei Gorras, a Russian sailor who died in 1895, is not the only Russian sailor buried here, as of 2012. Robert Neff Collection

Modernization and urban expansion have also been responsible for changes to the cemetery. The original cemetery was moved in 1965 to a quiet little hill where it stood for just over a half-century but in October 2016 the local government began moving the graves to their present site within the Incheon Family Park Cemetery. Within seven months the disinterment was completed.

The stones have been cleaned and repaired, and the Foreigners Cemetery is far more accessible now than it was in the past but unfortunately, it feels sterile and artificial with its carefully manicured lawns and lined up stones. The historic atmosphere of the previous site is gone, the whispers have been silenced and the cemetery no longer breathes the past.

It is my hope to complete a series of books over the next couple of years that breathes life once more into the histories of the inhabitants of the small foreign cemeteries scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula. The first book, “Whispers of the Past ― Chemulpo,” is almost finished and hopefully will be published by the end of the year or the beginning of 2024.

Herman Henkel, a German businessman, has one of the most unusual gravestones in the cemetery as of 2012. Robert Neff Collection

Its obscurity both protected and endangered the old cemetery in 2012. Robert Neff Collection

Foreign graves are seen at Incheon Family Park Cemetery in 2018. The stones and graves are well cared for but lack the atmosphere of the past. Robert Neff Collection

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.