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| The crew of a Korean fishing junk in the East Sea in 1935 Sten Bergman, "In Korea Wilds and Villages," published by Travel Book Club in 1938. |
By Robert Neff
While the women divers (haenyeo) may be the iconic symbols of Jeju Island's past, they were not the only ones to go to sea ― the men went at night.
In 1888, Charles Chaille-Long, the secretary of the American legation in Seoul, reported "the islanders are, of course, fishermen, and use for their trade a sort of double decked raft, a curious arrangement, great numbers of which may be seen" near the island's port.
In 1899, two Western missionaries who visited the island also described these rafts. According to them, they were "made of some ten short logs with a platform built a foot above them to which an oar is fastened. Instead of the tiny little frames not more than eight inches long, used by the fishermen on the mainland for fastening the string, the [Jeju] fisherman uses regular rods made of bamboo some twelve feet long…"
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| Sardines are brought aboard a Korean fishing boat in the East Sea in 1935. Sten Bergman, "In Korea Wilds and Villages," published by Travel Book Club in 1938. |
Evidently the fishing was not as bad as the missionaries believed because throughout the late 1880s and early 1890s there were frequent incidents of violence involving Chinese, Japanese and Korean fishermen ― all vying for fishing spots along the coast of Jeju.
One such incident took place in the summer of 1887. A group of Chinese fishermen went ashore to gather some supplies and were confronted by Japanese fishermen who denounced the Chinese as poachers. The Chinese pointed out that the Japanese were also poachers and that they (the Chinese) "had a far superior right to fish" than their accusers. Words were exchanged, then blows, and a crowd of Koreans who had gathered to watch the spectacle were forced to wade in to break up the melee. The Chinese fishermen, not wanting to end their fun, turned upon their Korean hosts. The Koreans fought back. Soon the beach was littered with the bodies of the dead and wounded ― Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. The Chinese and Japanese were forced to retreat to their boats and the islanders were proclaimed the victors ― at least for that day.
Eventually treaties and agreements were signed and the violence abated ― for the most part. Of course, pitched battles on the high seas with rival fishermen were not the only dangers fishermen had to contend with. Typhoons and storms were constant threats as well as the fishermen's prey as we can see from Walter Stotzner's account from 1930.
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| A Japanese fishing boat circa 1900-20 / Robert Neff Collection |
Stotzner was enthralled by the island's male fishermen who would venture out into the sea at night on "crude log rafts." It was from these perceived-to-be unsteady platforms that they fished for sharks ― many of them were, according to him, "the man-eating variety" but there was another kind which he described as being "ugly, thick-headed and covered with dark spots." The fishermen caught these sharks in great numbers, and when they returned to the beach in the morning, the women would skin the sharks on "clean stones along the shore." These skins were used to make sheaths and cover chests.
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| Stotzner's picture of the "ugly, thick-headed and covered with dark spots" sharks of Jeju Island in 1930 Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection. |
An examination of the Korean Customs' reports show that in 1882, just over 9,300 yen worth of shark fins were exported from Busan. By 1894, the amount had gone up to nearly 11,650 yen and peaked at 16,140 yen in 1897. In 1904, probably due to the Russo-Japanese War, exports had dropped to 10,531 yen.
As mentioned in the Scottish article, shark flesh seems to have been a mainland delicacy and, judging from Stotzner's account, it was also a large part of the Jeju islanders' diet. At least Stotzner came to that conclusion after it was served to him as the main dish for each meal for three days.
"I did not like it," Stotzner declared, and not because he had prejudices against Japanese and Korea food ― which had been his exclusive diet for the previous two months, but because it "was sweetish and soft."
This was not the only meat on the island he was impartial to.
When the two Western missionaries traveled to the island in 1899, they noted that not only did the islanders eat dogs, but also wore their pelts as clothing:
"Dog skins are extensively used for making clothes. Hats, the shape of a tea cup, overcoats, leggings, like those worn by the Chinese and stocking are all made of dog skin with the hair outside, which for greater warmth are used untanned. A suit of such clothes is handed down from generation to generation, and the smell of it is far from being sweet."
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| Stotzner's picture of a fisherman on Mout Halla wearing a dog pelt in 1930 Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection |
Stotzner had his own experiences with canine cuisine and fashion. He was so concerned that he carefully watched his host prepare his food as he was aware dog meat was "considered a delicacy" and wanted to ensure that it wasn't made part of his meals.
While trekking along the slopes of Mount Halla (where "people go about clothed in greased dogskins and live not in villages but in the crevasses and caves of the mighty extinct volcano") he managed to take a photograph of a fisherman reposing in a cave ― apparently the islander was foraging for mushrooms (perhaps fishing had been bad that day) or was seeking relief from the heat.
Stotzner was startled by the encounter and declared:
"He who has met the strange, savage folk in the wilderness on slopes of Halla San will not forget them as long as he lives."
My appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance and kindness in allowing me to use her images.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
