A gold miner's life in Korea in the 1960s (part one)

Fred Dustin, Horace Underwood and his son, William Underwood, at the Tongsan Mine in the early 1960s.

• Published Aug 4, 2018 9:11 AM KST
• Updated Aug 5, 2018 3:58 PM KST

By Robert Neff

Many people might be surprised to know that Korea was once well known for its gold. Gold mines were scattered throughout the country _ especially in the northern part of the peninsula. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of these mines were owned and operated by Westerners: large concessions granted to French, German, American and British businessmen. With the imminent approach of war, the last of these concessions were sold to Japanese companies and, for the most part, the Western miners left.

It was not until after the Korean War that Westerners again took an interest in Korea's gold mines. Richard Whitcomb, a former American army general, started the Korean Consolidated Mining Company in the late 1950s and began seeking Americans willing to work as supervisors at these remote mining sites. These supervisors were tempted with dreams of wealth _ the general's every-ready promise to “reward them amply” when the mines began making money _ but few, if any, even received a steady salary.

One man tempted was Fred Dustin. In an article I published several years ago, I wrote:

“Dustin had first come to Korea during the Korean War with the United States military and then returned to teach English at Yonsei University and later Joongang University. Although he enjoyed teaching, he grew bored with academia and desired to get to know Korea better _ the Korea that was outside of Seoul.

“He also craved the romance of adventure. As a boy, Dustin grew up listening to his father's tales of gold mines in eastern Oregon, so when Whitcomb offered him a position as supervisor/adviser at the undeveloped Tongsan Mine, Dustin promptly accepted it.”

But that was not quite true. Dustin gave several accounts _ depending on his mood and who was present _ for becoming a miner. The first account was that he was trying to escape the interest of a young American woman who had taken a fancy to him and had followed him to Korea from the U.S. Another account was that he was tired of all the politics surrounding the Joongang University president. In likelihood, it was probably a combination of all these reasons.

In the summer of 2010 I traveled to Sanbuk-ri, Wanju-gun in North Jeolla Province in search of the Tongsan Mine. Obviously, most things were gone or changed after 50 years, but I did find some traces. Some of the village's elderly residents even remembered Dustin.

Over the next couple of weeks we will look at a miner's life at Tongsan Mine.