Daylight comet of 1910 portends end of Korean dynasty

Pyongyang, circa 1900 / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

On the evening of Jan. 13, 1910, a Japanese woman living in northern Korea happened to look up at the sky and notice a brilliant light with an enormous tail. She was not alone.

It was also witnessed by Lovern Chapman Faulk, an American at the gold mines, on Jan. 21, and the following day by a missionary in Pyongyang who speculated that it was Halley's Comet ― which wasn't due until April.

A meteorological observatory on Wolmi Island (part of modern Incheon) also reported the strange comet and later dismissed the theory of it being Halley's Comet. This previously unknown comet was dubbed the Daylight Comet because it could be seen by the naked eye even in daylight.

On April 29, Halley's Comet made its appearance and, although it was well-known to Korean astronomers (the previous appearance was in 1835), the Korean population ― including officials ― were unnerved.

Korea's former vice-minister of home affairs, Lee Pongnai, was convinced that the comet's appearance was "a sign foretelling the downfall of the present imperial dynasty of Korea." Unwilling to witness his country's demise, he made preparations to leave Seoul and move to China where he felt more secure. Others did not have the means to leave.

As the comet grew larger and brighter in the sky, people began to plan for the end of the world which would take place on May 19 when the Earth passed through the comet's tail. In Pyongyang, a Korean Christian terrified the children with her declaration that the world was going to end and that they should flee. Many citizens "went on excursions up the river thinking never to return." The missionaries viewed the panic with a degree of amusement until they had no water. The water carriers were panic-stricken after hearing rumors that the comet would "collide with fatal effects with the globe that very day and so concluded that it was useless for them to work any longer." The no-longer-laughing missionaries were forced to get their own water.

Water carriers, circa 1900 / Robert Neff Collection

In Masan, a great number of Koreans went to a hill outside the city and held a great feast ― convinced it would be their last. Throughout the day they ate and drank but the end never came. The following morning, most were very sick from their excesses and probably wished the world had ended.

Koreans were not the only ones to fear the comet. In England, some people held the comet responsible for King Edward VII's death. The French blamed it for the flooding of the Seine. Even some astronomers believed the comet would wreak havoc upon the Earth. One such astronomer was Camille Flammarion who theorized the comet's tail contained deadly cyanogen gas which would "impregnate the atmosphere" as it passed and "possibly snuff out all life on the planet."

On the morning of May 20, people around the world breathed a sigh of relief. The world had survived. Those who had believed, like Lee Pongnai, were mocked for their superstitious fears.

But Lee shouldn't have been mocked; his superstitious fear became a reality. In August, Japan annexed the peninsula thus ending "the imperial dynasty of Korea."

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