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Tue, January 26, 2021 | 18:01

'Hair today, gone tomorrow!' Inventive Russian thrives in Jemulpo

'Hair today, gone tomorrow!' Inventive Russian thrives in Jemulpo

In the 1880s, Lillias Underwood, an early American missionary in Korea, wrote: “No matter how old one is, without a top-knot [a Korean] is never considered a man, addressed with high endings, or treated with respect. After assuming the top-knot, no matter how young, he is invested with the dignities and duties of a man of the family, takes his share in making the offerings an...

2021-01-24 09:06

New Year brings despair

New Year brings despair

On January 22, 1904, a palanquin stopped in front of the gates of Deoksu Palace and a young woman got out and approached the guards. She declared that she was “the daughter of Heaven” and had come to advise Emperor Gojong as to what steps to take in the coming year. She was promptly arrested and taken away. What became of her is unclear but there were some - including Homer H...

2021-01-23 09:15

Traditional New Year gifts in Joseon

Traditional New Year gifts in Joseon

In the past, it was customary to present small gifts for the New Year - usually merchants presented their valued customers with calendars as they were useful gifts that also served as a form of advertisement. Foreign merchants in Joseon Korea were no exception.

2021-01-10 10:58

Exploring a Seoul winter in the 1880s

Exploring a Seoul winter in the 1880s

One of the first Americans to live in Korea was Percival Lowell who spent the winter of 1883/84 in Seoul as a guest of the Korean government. Probably best known for his work in astronomy, Lowell was also an excellent writer and his book - “Chosen, the Land of the Morning Calm” - provides a wonderful insight of his experience of Seoul during his stay.

2021-01-09 09:38

Bulls, butchers and death: Plenty to beef about in Joseon Korea

Bulls, butchers and death: Plenty to beef about in Joseon Korea

Cattle were a very important part of Joseon society and were often a subject for Westerners in their correspondences home or in the books and articles they published about Korea in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

2021-01-05 09:36

Noisy, staggering start to 1891 New Year in Jemulpo

Noisy, staggering start to 1891 New Year in Jemulpo

At the end of December 1890, 25-year-old Arnold Henry Savage Landor - an English painter and writer - arrived in Jemulpo (modern Incheon) with the intention of getting a feel for the Land of the Morning Calm. He would soon discover the kingdom - especially at this time - was anything but calm and quiet.

2021-01-02 09:50

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 4

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 4

According to her biography, when Rose and Lucius Foote left the American Legation for the last time on January 12, 1885, “the servants followed them for five miles moaning and crying at the loss of their beloved mistress.” Ensign George C. Foulk had mixed feelings. He viewed Minister Foote's departure as “a hasty scamper” to get out of Korea because he was afraid to live ther...

2020-12-27 09:05

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 3

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 3

Rose Foote, the wife of the first American representative to Korea, was certainly painted in a negative light by Ensign George C. Foulk but she also had a soft side - one that he chose not to mention. According to her biographer (Mary V. Tingley Lawrence, whose prose is definitely dated), even though Rose was busily engaged in the renovation of the legation, it wasn't enough ...

2020-12-26 09:56

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

The first American representative to Korea was Minister Lucius Foote in 1883. We know a good deal about his official life - and even some of his private life - from his reports to the State Department and gossip from his subordinates and peers. I don't find him very interesting and feel he had a very minor role in early American-Korean relations. His wife, however, does inter...

2020-12-20 10:54

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

On the evening of May 13, 1883, the American warship U.S.S. Monocacy arrived in Jemulpo harbor. It wasn't its first foray into Korean waters. Almost twelve years earlier - in the same area - it had, as one newspaper declared, “engaged in throwing shot and shell into the Corean forts.”

2020-12-19 10:13

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

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