Kim In-sik: The Pyongyang Incident of 1898

Pyongyang in the late 19th century / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

By Robert Neff

A Korean gentleman in the early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

Joseon officials in the late 19th century were often described by Westerners (and probably a lot of Koreans) as corrupt, ill-mannered and cruel. There was a great deal of tension between these officials ― often due to politics, but money was also a cause for contention ― and it wasn't uncommon for them to use Machiavellian-maneuvers to advance their own positions and do away with their competitors.

One such incident took place in Pyongyang in the spring of 1898 and was featured prominently (for at least one day) in The Independent ― an English-language newspaper published in Seoul in the latter part of the 1890s.

Kim In-sik was born in 1862 and despite not being a yangban (nobleman), was able to rise to a fairly high position in the Joseon government. As a young man he traveled to Japan where studied for about five years before returning to Korea and becoming a government official. He seems to have been quite capable. In 1895 ― during the great cholera epidemic ― he was made chief of the Sanitary Bureau and "performed his duties diligently during that scourge."

However, the winds of politics soon changed and after the pro-Japanese government under Kim Hong-jip fell in 1896 and the pro-Russian party ascended. Kim In-sik was sent off to far away South Pyongan Province where he was made a magistrate in a small backwater district. He, however, saw it not as being removed from the political arena but as an opportunity to start a grassroots movement for change.

"He threw aside the old customs of pomp and assumed the dignity of a magistrate and conducted himself towards the people like a school master to his pupils. He visited every humble home in the district on foot to inquire into the needs of the poor. He divided his salary with the sick and distressed in his district and he strictly enforced the new revenue laws."

The area surrounding Pyongyang in the early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

The Independent declared that during his reign as magistrate none of his people paid any illegal taxes. He also instructed the people on the importance of a good infrastructure ― especially bridges and roads. The people, enlightened with his wisdom, volunteered their labor and began to improve the transportation system. Of course, Kim was not one to idly sit and watch; as soon as he finished his administrative duties he went out and joined them. Soon his district was famed for its fine roads.

His roads may have been appreciated by the people but by his fellow government officials they were a great source of irritation for he obtained the stone needed by erasing their past.

"The magistrate unwisely utilized the memorial stone tablets of former magistrates and governors of the province (which were erected by the people at the instigation of the officials themselves) in building bridges throughout the district."

He was promptly dismissed ― much to the delight of the magistrates in the neighboring districts. Kim began the long journey back to Seoul and as he was passing through one of the neighboring districts, was besieged by the residents to give them his opinion of a new tax their magistrate had imposed upon them. Kim assured the people that he would go and speak with their magistrate and see if something might be done ― it was a promise that would cost him.

Kim went to the local magistrate and asked about the new tax. The magistrate claimed that he had received authorization from one of his superiors ― even though, he admitted, the tax was illegal. Kim warned him that the people might rise up in revolt if they knew the tax was illegal and then he began to scold the magistrate for not having enough courage to defy illegal orders. It was too much. The magistrate had his men seize Kim and they began to beat him for his audacious impudence in insulting a yangban.

Sailing on the river near Pyongyang in the early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

Fortunately, Kim was rescued by the common people who rushed him to the missionary compound in Pyongyang where he was treated for severe injuries to his head and arms. The magistrate, however, was not to be thwarted. He sent a missive to the governor claiming that Kim had attempted to attack him with an army of 1,000 rebels.

Kim was promptly arrested and sent to Seoul ― still on a litter. It was reported that as he was leaving Pyongyang, some 5,000 people gathered to protest the unfair treatment he had received at the hands of the magistrate and governor. The Independent ― perhaps somewhat exaggeratedly ― declared Kim was carried away in Roman triumph.

"[The people] surged about the litter and laid upon it tokens of their esteem for the man who had befriended them so signally. Women took from their shoulders their silken cloaks, and tore coins from the ends of chains and cast them at the hero of the hour."

Kim begged the people to remain calm and trust the legal system for he was innocent and the court would likely agree. Accompanied by ten volunteers who acted as his nurses, Kim eventually arrived in Seoul and the man "who had faced an unscrupulous representative of the wickedness which reigns in high places" was immediately placed in the city jail to await his trial.

The Independent declared: "We are of the opinion that this [Pyongyang] incident will not be forgotten" and heralded it as a sign of the times ― an indication that the people would no longer put up with their "indisputable rights" being trampled upon.

Yet, despite its initial outcry for the injustice of Kim's arrest, the newspaper quickly lost interest in this "honest, kind and upright friend" and failed to publish the results of his trial. Kim and the Pyongyang incident were forgotten.

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

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