The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'

  • 3

    Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3

  • 5

    Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan

  • 7

    Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate

  • 9

    Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week

  • 11

    Kakao Entertainment, Colombia Record team up for IVE's North American debut

  • 13

    What's next for Do Kwon?

  • 15

    BTS' Jimin releases solo album

  • 17

    Crypto founder Do Kwon is indicted in US, following Montenegro arrest

  • 19

    Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek

  • 2

    Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape

  • 4

    Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour

  • 6

    N. Korea tests 'underwater nuclear attack drone,' cruise missiles for nuclear warhead: KCNA

  • 8

    North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon

  • 10

    Hybe to sell SM shares to Kakao following failed takeover bid

  • 12

    Kyochon heralds 30,000 won fried chicken era

  • 14

    Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president

  • 16

    More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism

  • 18

    Samsung Electronics chief to attend China Development Forum

  • 20

    Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • About the past
  • Imbricated Chaos
  • Voices from the North
  • Korea: deConstructed
  • Parchment Made of Sheepskins
  • Dialogues with Adoptees
Sun, March 26, 2023 | 05:20
Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2
Posted : 2020-12-20 10:54
Updated : 2020-12-20 15:58
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
The American legation and its staff, circa 1884. Robert Neff Collection
The American legation and its staff, circa 1884. Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

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 interest me.

A ROSE BY ANY NAME

The American legation and its staff, circa 1884. Robert Neff Collection
A beautiful image of Rose Foote. Date unknown - from Mary V. Tingley Lawrence's biography. Robert Neff Collection
The American legation and its staff, circa 1884. Robert Neff Collection
The dashing image of Lucius Foote, the first American representative to Korea. Date unknown - from Mary V. Tingley Lawrence's biography. Robert Neff Collection
Rose was a graceful woman who dressed elegantly and was described as being "accomplished and beautiful with a majestic bearing." She was in her mid-50s when she arrived in Korea, and generated a great deal of interest with Koreans of all social classes, not only because she was the first occidental woman to enter ancient Seoul but also because of her "exceptional beauty and queenly bearing [that] aroused admiration wherever she was seen."

She knew how to dress elegantly and put on a good show. On one of the many occasions when she was summoned to the palace, a naval officer described her as being "dressed in grey plush with a bonnet to match, wore much old lace, all her diamonds ― and she has many beautiful ones ― several bracelets, and a bunch of half-blown roses below the lace which was puffed around her throat and neck. She looked very stylish, and her appearance was calculated to make a sensation."

Others, who made brief visits to the legation, found her more subdued and described her as "a gray haired lady of fifty, or so, bright, good-looking, cheerful, and hospitable.

However, Ensign George C. Foulk, who lived in the legation, provides us with a more accurate (if not biased) account of Rose's true nature.

In a letter home, he described her as "a Southern woman, tall, handsome, with a long upper lip with lots of vertical lines in it." His later descriptions became even more unflattering: "She is kind, but rough, says thing ladies don't often say, is at times very careless in exposing herself in night dress or petticoats, etc. Yet she wears lots of diamonds when in swell dress, wears powder and a little paint."

Later, after a thief broke into the American legation and made off with the furniture but had carelessly dropped and forgot nearly $8,000 worth of Mrs. Foote's jewelry, Foulk caustically noted "unfortunately, for at fifty-three, she's ablaze all the time." Apparently she was vain about her age as well as her looks and lied; born in 1827 she would have been about 57 when Foulk described her to his parents.

Rose knew how to put on a show in public but behind closed doors her facade as an elegant Southern woman fell and her true image as a domineering woman appeared.

A STORMY RELATIONSHIP

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1
Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1
2020-12-19 10:13  |  About the past

Rose and Lucius (most people affectionately called him "General") had been married for over 21 years when they arrived in Korea. According to Rose's biographer and trusted friend, Mary V. Tingley Lawrence, the relationship between Rose and Lucius was almost idyllic with "an unusual bond of inter-dependence and delightful comradeship."

Foulk described their relationship as troubled and her as domineering. In one letter to his parents he wrote, "Mrs. Foote is a handsome woman with an awful temper, and she and the General lead a wretched life, which affects the whole life of the legation." And in another, "Mrs. Foote wears the breeches, and I have seen ample to tell me the General has made a bad match and knows it."

Despite Foulk's negative observations there was a great degree of love between Lucius and Rose. When the minister returned to Seoul, following the Gapsin Coup in December 1884, Foulk noted his superior was "out of his head, half sick for his wife, who had gone to Japan."

The American legation and its staff, circa 1884. Robert Neff Collection
The palace in 1884. Robert Neff Collection

HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD

Rose took it upon herself to run the household with an iron-fist. She had a large staff of Korean servants, in addition to her Japanese amah and Chinese steward, Eu Don (who later became a rich and prosperous shop and hotel keeper in Seoul and Chemulpo under his nickname "Steward"). She was fastidious and insisted on doing a lot of the cooking herself, especially the treats that she sent to the Royal Palace. On one occasion "she sent to the Queen a large loaf of fruit-cake, and a larger one of pound-cake, both elaborately frosted and decorated with the national motto, also a boiled ham, jellied and fixed up in a fanciful way, some home-made bread and preserves, some California bonbons, and a large quantity of Pacific canned fruits."

When Foulk first arrived at the legation he was apparently quite satisfied with his living arrangements: "The minister's table arrangements are pretty well fixed. Food is costly ― that is, the kind foreigners use, but we get it and cost doesn't count." Soon, however, he grew disenchanted. "[Mrs. Foote] has given orders that the kitchen servants may do nothing on any other than her own orders. We get two meals a day here now, and I want tea at noon, if that is to be the arrangement; but I will not look up Mrs. Foote to get it. Today, for example, I ate breakfast and dinner, the last at 6:30 p.m., so had a headache all afternoon."

Her control of the household did not end there. He bitterly griped, or as he described it ― "growled," often about how Rose treated him and even referred to him "as her attache." Her control knew no end and she even took it upon herself to inspect his room:

"Mrs. Foote also inspects my room daily and in a soft but nevertheless disagreeable way, attempts to tell me where I ought to keep my socks, money, etc." The inspection of his room was "kind; but I do not think she ought to go through my trunk and wardrobe which she did, and but once.

It began to weigh heavily upon Foulk who chaffed at living "under petticoat rule," and complained that "A coolness hangs over me, and everywhere else which makes it horrible to have to live here." Unable to endure it any longer he lashed out:

"The result has been my tongue got loose, and I told her I did not understand the position of a lady in the diplomatic service. She made it very hot for me in return. It has come to the point that I must go from the legation."

Eventually he moved to a small house away from the legation where he found some respite from her nagging but not from her meddling.

Some of Rose's meddling was done with good intentions as we shall see next weekend.



Emailrobertneff103@gmail.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape
2Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan Genesis launches 2023 G90 sedan
3Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate
4North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
5Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week
6Kyochon heralds 30,000 won fried chicken era Kyochon heralds 30,000 won fried chicken era
7What's next for Do Kwon? What's next for Do Kwon?
8Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president
9More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism
10Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol' Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'
2Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him
3Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3 Han Suk-kyu on return of 'Dr. Romantic' with Season 3
4Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour
5Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group