 |
| A print of the main street of Fusan in the early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
In mid-August 1902, a French warship sailed into Fusan (modern Busan) and granted shore leave for a large number of marines.
The foreign settlement at Fusan was predominantly Japanese ― in fact, there was only a handful of non-Japanese foreign-owned establishments. The arrival of so many marines ― who had been cooped up aboard their ship for some time ― was a recipe for trouble.
In the early afternoon of August 13 or 14, a group of eight or nine marines "undertook the operation of painting the town red." The intoxicated marines, now in a "reckless mood," needed to get back to their ship before their shore leave ended. Spotting a cargo boat owned by one of the Japanese companies, they attempted to take it and sail to their warship.
 |
| French military officers visiting Fusan in December 1918. Robert Neff Collection |
Spotting the drunk marines, three or four of the Japanese company's employees tried to stop them and a brawl began. According to a Japanese newspaper, "the Frenchmen received recruits which brought their strength to about 60 men, and they cut and wounded some 13 Japanese, including bystanders and old folks who tried to quell the disturbance."
Sailors aboard a Japanese warship in the harbor, seeing the riot, got into their own small boat to join the fray but were persuaded by the Japanese police not to take part. It isn't clear how the Japanese police managed to restore order ― probably through the aid of the French officers. Two or three of Japanese were severely wounded and one man was stabbed in the stomach and it was feared he would die.
The Japan Weekly Mail sarcastically noted Japan and other nations in the Far East had not yet learned the Occidental Civilization's "fine manly conception of amusement [involving] wrecking houses and battering their inhabitants."
It isn't clear what eventually happened to the French marines ― undoubtedly apologies were given and punishments meted out. However, if the French marines were like their peers in the other navies (including Japanese) of the period, this contriteness lasted only until the next shore leave.
![[INTERVIEW] Leandro Erlich's questioning of our perception of reality carries new meaning in pandemic](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/4e0bfee487254348a54493b1502067fa.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
