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| Foreign Public Park (now known as Jayu Park) in Jemulpo circa 1905-20. Johnston's villa can be seen in the background. Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection |
By Robert Neff
One of the first foreign sports to be introduced into Korea was tennis. In the spring of 1884, the American minister, Lucius Foote, and his wife Rose had a tennis court constructed at the American Legation in Seoul. About a month later, a tennis court was set up in Fusan (modern Busan) by the Western employees of the Korean Customs Service.
Within a couple of years, tennis was very popular among the Western community. In Seoul, afternoons were whiled away on the tennis courts at the various legations and missionaries' residences. These matches appear to have been quite competitive. In September 1885, Mrs. Harriet Heron, the wife of an American missionary in Seoul, had to seek medical treatment in Shanghai after being struck in the eye with a tennis ball.
It isn't clear when tennis began in Jemulpo but it doesn't challenge the imagination to assume it began in the mid-1880s on crude courts and later on the permanent courts constructed at Foreign Public Park (now known as Jayu Park) which was established in late 1888. Unfortunately, this is purely speculation as there are no references to tennis in Jemulpo until the mid-1890s.
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| The tennis courts at the park circa 1905-20 Robert Neff Collection |
However, by June 1897, the port enjoyed a large number of tennis players who were confident enough to begin issuing challenges to their counterparts in Seoul.
One Jemulpo resident declared: "What a blessing tennis is to us here in Korea any way! We have two very fine courts in the Public Park, and every afternoon they are the Mecca of local and naval athletes. We not only have good courts but also several strong players."
He called upon "the enterprising leaders of lawn tennis in the capital" to help set up a tournament between the two communities and was convinced "wherever the event took place [that it] would draw a large and interested audience."
Although the challenge was issued, it appears to have been unaccepted until 1902 when Jemulpo hosted the Challenge Cup Tennis Tournament. According to The Korea Review, a monthly magazine published in Seoul, "a purse has been made up and a challenge cup is being procured from Shanghai."
Each community chose four pairs of their best players to compete in doubles and also chose four of their best players to compete as singles. It was clear from the beginning that Jemulpo had the advantage as "the Seoul players suffer[ed] from [the] lack of preparation."
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| A view of Johnston's villa from the Foreign Public Park (Jayu Park) circa 1905-20 Robert Neff Collection |
The tournament took place in early September and, as anticipated, the Jemulpo team won easily. The Korea Review declared:
"Out of the eight contests … [Jemulpo] won six and secured the Challenge Cup. According to agreement [Jemulpo] must hold the cup three consecutive years before it will be her property. The Seoul players should pull themselves together and make a hard fight next year to reverse the verdict of 1902 by bringing the cup to Seoul."
Most of the competitors were men but there were also a couple of women. The Korea Review briefly noted that Miss Remedios (a young Portuguese woman residing in Jemulpo) won the Ladies' Singles and Miss Townsend and Mr. McConnell (of Jemulpo) won the mixed doubles.
The tournament was a great success and brought the two foreign communities closer together ― or did it? The ever-gossipy and very opinionated American minister to Korea, Horace N. Allen, gleefully declared in a letter to his acquaintance:
"[Jemulpo] has gone mad over tennis. Mrs. Townsend won a tournament against Mrs. Woo Li-tang. The white ladies seem not to like being mixed up so much with the brown but it is a queer berg."
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| Enjoying the beauty of the park circa 1914 Robert Neff Collection |
It isn't clear where Allen came by this information but it is definitely misleading. Woo Li-tang's wife was Amalia C. Amador ― a Spanish woman ― who arrived in Jemulpo in 1883 and was one of the earliest Western residents in Korea. American businessman Walter Townsend's wife was Hashimoto Ume (a Japanese woman). Both women enjoyed hosting parties ― their guests were of all nationalities.
As for the Challenge Cup, Seoul redeemed itself the following year, capturing the cup by a score of five matches to three.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
