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| A Korean blacksmith shop, circa early 1900s / Courtesy of Diane Nars |
By Robert Neff
According to an old Korean saying, there are no good knives in a blacksmith's house, meaning the blacksmith sells all the knives he makes and keeps only the old worn-out ones for his own family's use. It is a matter of interpretation as to whether this implied the blacksmith was too poor to afford his own wares or that he was negligent to his own family's needs.
Considering the blacksmith occupation seems to have been fairly profitable, perhaps it was the latter.
In 1901, Korean blacksmiths at the American gold mining concession in northern Korea were some of the most-prized employees. Their training and skill allowed them to command a monthly wage of $9 while Korean miners ― whose work was especially difficult and dangerous ― received only $7.50. The next tier of Korean employees were the shovelers, ore car operators and mill employees who received $6, and then the common laborers who received $4.50.
In Seoul, blacksmiths commanded even higher wages. In 1907, Korean blacksmiths working for the Seoul Electric Railway were paid 30 yen (about $15) a month. Of course, it should be noted that Korean blacksmiths earned only about a third of their Japanese counterparts.
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| A Korean tinkerer at the American gold mining concession in northern Korea in the early 1900s / Courtesy of the Blain family |
Why the disparity in wages? Many considered the work of Korean blacksmiths to be inferior to their Western and Japanese counterparts. Korean American Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jai-pil), the editor of English-language newspaper The Independent, was especially critical of Korean blacksmiths and their art.
"The Korean blacksmith exists in name only. No skill is required of the workman and he could not, with the tools at his command, display skill if he had it; and so, centuries have rolled away, and the same crude work is done in the thatched smithies and on the open streets that has been done from time immemorial."
Jaisohn, however, did not heap all the blame upon the blacksmiths' skill; he reserved some for the tools and instruments available to them.
"The wheezy bellows used here is a box about 6 in. square and two or more feet long. In this box is a plunger, which when worked gives a most fitful blast. Charcoal is used for fuel, and while this fuel is capable of producing intense heat, the action of the bellows is such that very inferior results are produced, and the iron when taken from the fire and laid on the anvil is at only a moderate red heat. With hard iron and low heat, the metal can be formed into the desired shape only after much beating, and then the work is crudely done."
Jaisohn was convinced that if a Western-style bellow was introduced it would be "a veritable god-send to the poor dumb brutes [oxen and horses]" that had to be shod by the village smithy. Some foreigners ― including Jaisohn ― felt the techniques used by the smiths were barbaric and cruel but not everyone shared those sentiments.
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| A Korean blacksmith and a Korean pony, circa early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection |
Missionary James Scarth Gale, who had a number of bad experiences with ponies, wrote about taking pleasure in their discomfort:
"I love to see the pony shod, see him pinioned teeth and nail, in one hard knot, lying on his back under the spreading chestnut tree, with the village smithy putting tacks into him that brings tears to his eyes."
Jaisohn feared ― or hoped ― Western blacksmiths would eventually appear and find a ready market among the Korean people forcing the native blacksmiths to adapt or fade away. Many probably did adapt but the era of the blacksmith was coming to a rapid close. Machines in factories manufactured tools and instruments much more cheaply and quickly than the blacksmiths could and even their mainstay ― iron shoes for horses and oxen ― disappeared with the introduction of bicycles, automobiles and tractors. The art of shaping metal was replaced by modernization.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
