[Joseon Images] Korea during World War I

German sailors from the SMS Jaguar visit the palace circa 1907. / Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

Just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 1914, the ground began to shake in Jemulpo (modern Incheon). At first it began as a low rumble but "became more violent [and then] gradually became feeble and died after one hour and thirty-three minutes." The earthquake was not the most shocking news that morning.

Europeans, in the Far East, awoke to discover their countries were at war. Embassies and consulates immediately began organizing reservists. Germans throughout Japan gathered at Shimonoseki and boarded a steamer for Tsingtao (modern Qingdao, China) via Busan, Korea. From the same port, British volunteers sailed for Hong Kong aboard another ship. Sometimes the opposing forces were on the same ship ― as was the case with the Japanese steamship Omi-Maru. It was bound for Shanghai (with a contingent of Austrian and German volunteers) and Hong Kong (with seven British reservists).

In Korea, 21 French residents answered the call for mobilization. Among them were J. Boher (proprietor of Sontag's Hotel in Seoul) and Emile Martel, a businessman associated with the French mining concession in northern Korea. Martel's wife was the daughter of German composer Franz Eckert and provides an example of how not only the community but families as well were torn apart by the war in Europe.

Eckert came to Korea in the early 1900s to organize the palace's orchestra and was very successful ― especially for his role in the creation of the Patriotic Hymn of the Great Korean Empire." He was extremely popular in the Korean community as were his daughters ― one married Emile Martel and another married Adhemar Decoigne, a Belgian working as an adviser to the Korean government. When war was announced, Martel answered the call and left his wife and their five children and returned to France. Decoigne also returned to Europe and joined the Belgian forces. They may have faced two of their brothers-in-law (Eckert's two youngest sons) who were serving in the German army. They all survived the war except Franz who, upset with the family discord and already in poor health, died on Aug. 6, 1916 and is buried at the foreigners' cemetery in Yanghwajin, western Seoul.

The German residents of Korea were also summoned to duty. Three members of Carl Wolter & Co., in Jemulpo reported to the German consulate in Seoul where they met briefly with Dr. Friedrich Krueger (consul-general) before departing for Tsingtao. Korea remained a neutral zone until Aug. 23 when Japan declared war on Germany and Krueger and his staff "left Seoul with every courtesy from the Japanese [and even] given an escort of soldiers as far as Shimonoseki" where they later departed for the United States and Europe.

A street in Seoul circa 1910 / Robert Neff Collection

Not all Germans left. In 1918, there were about 40 Germans, mainly in Seoul and Jemulpo, who were "leading a quiet life, behaving circumspectly in all matters." Wolter donated a sum of money to local government authorities "as a mark of his gratitude toward the Japanese government for the generous treatment he was afforded." The Benedictine Mission in Seoul operated a carpentry shop and supported itself with the proceeds of its wares. Other Germans were engaged in farming and apparently eked out a living. Those who lived outside the West Gate, however, struggled and eventually were forced to sell their property.

The foreign community as a whole struggled during the war; many of the Western religious organizations and businesses in Korea had to curtail or suspend operations due to manpower shortages. At Unsan, the U.S. gold mining concession in northern Korea, the American miners were exempt from the draft ― the mines were considered essential to the war effort ― but lack of supplies hampered operations.

Although Korea did not actively participate, it did contribute to the war efforts. In 1915, Korean Leather Company in Seoul agreed to provide the Russian government with 150,000 pairs of boots, 520,000 cartridge cases and 280,000 leather belts ― the contract was worth over $1 million.

Korean industry may have supported the Allied Powers but the Korean population was divided. According to one American Methodist missionary in Pyongyang, many Koreans he encountered were pro-German and wanted to know why the United States was not supporting Germany "whom they believed represented the side of freedom." A German victory would mean a Japanese defeat and Korea would subsequently be liberated.

These beliefs in Germany's chances of success may have been inspired by articles published in Chinese newspapers. In the fall of 1917, a large German fleet was reportedly steaming through the Arctic Ocean to attack Japan from the north. A few months later, a German airplane ― possibly on a reconnaissance mission ― was alleged to have been spotted flying over Korea. One newspaper went so far as to declare the peninsula had revolted and "a Korean army [was] swarming across the straits of Tsushima" to invade Japan. Of course, none of these were true.

When news of the Armistice and the end of the war was received in Seoul, the foreign population took to the streets to celebrate. One resident (exaggeratedly) claimed that all of the cars in the country were decorated with the flags of the allied nations and paraded through the streets of Seoul. A huge celebration was held at the Choson Hotel. Everyone wore their finest clothing and music was provided by the Korean imperial band.

The war had ended but not all the young men, including Maurice Daugy (a former assistant at the French consulate in Seoul), returned to Korea ― they were battle casualties in Europe. As evidenced by the sale of 23 houses and land in Jemulpo ― worth 1 million yen and held by the Japanese government since the start of the war ― many Germans also failed to return to Korea. The auction was held in August 1921 and was proclaimed to be the largest ever in Korea.

Robert Neff is a historian and columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at robertneff04@gmail.com.