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| A sports day in the early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
In her diary, on June 16, 1897, Elizabeth Greathouse duly noted that it was a cloudy day but it promised to be a good day for the Royal English School's annual athletic sports day. She wasn't quite sure what the students were going to do ― some type of gymnastics, she guessed ― but she looked forward to attending the event with two Korean ladies. They were due to arrive at 3 and they would walk or take their chairs (palanquins) to the old drill ground ― plenty of time to get there before the sporting events began at 4.
She had another reason for wanting to go ― one of her young male friends, a Mr. Yuk, was competing and she hoped he would win a prize.
The Independent ― the local newspaper published in Korean and English ― described the event:
"The arrangements of the campus and decoration of the grand stand deserve favorable comments. The old drill ground of Hunyunan was fenced off in circular form to prevent the spectators from interfering with the exercises, and a temporary entrance to the grand stand was erected on the West side of the campus. The entrance and the grand stand were tastefully draped with Korean, British and American flags, presenting altogether a very pleasing and festive appearance. The invited guests were comfortably seated on the stand and they were composed of the members of the diplomatic corps and their wives, the Ministers of state and other high officials of the Korean Government, and the prominent foreign residents of this city. There were a large number of ladies present in their pretty summer dresses making the assembly appear very picturesque. The thoughtful principal of the School, Professor Hutchison, did not overlook the comforts of his guests. Chairs and benches were amply provided for them and dainty refreshments were generously offered to all."
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| A tug-of-war between a group of children in the early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
There were a variety of events including foot races, throwing cricket balls, shot puts, three-legged races, tug-of-war, the high jump and, perhaps the most interesting of all, the donkey race.
The contestants (generally young Korean men but some of their foreign teachers also participated) were praised for the attitude they displayed. According to The Independent:
"Every contestant showed on his face the determination that he went into the game to win. The most pleasing feature of the whole exercises was that the boys showed their manly spirit and gentlemanly demeanor."
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| A man and his donkey in the early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
"There were over twenty donkeys which participated in the race. Some of them were not any bigger than a good sized dog, but their vocal powers were simply terrific. When they were brought out to the middle of the campus before the commencement of the race, they began to sing in chorus, thus opening the race with a grand concert."
The British consul-general's wife presented the prizes ― which were described as "very handsome and costly" to the winners. Amongst the prizes were silver watches, chains, pencil cases, pipes, flasks, penknives, pocket books, etc." All of these items had been purchased in Shanghai with money contributed from the general community.
According to The Independent:
"It was nearly dark when the assembly dispersed. There were nearly a thousand spectators outside the temporary fence who seemed to watch the sports with equal interest as those on the stand. Everybody left the ground, carrying away pleasant remembrances of the day's event…"
Well, not everybody. Greathouse was unable to attend; her two companions never showed up and she was left sitting at home alone. As for her young male friend ― his name was not on the list of winners.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
