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Sun, January 29, 2023 | 22:54

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 1

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 1

In the spring of 1860, Hakodate - one of Japan's far northern ports - was bustling with change. It the past it was nothing more than “a poor insignificant fishing village,” but in 1855 (after the Perry expedition) it was designated as a port in which whalers could put in for provisions (potatoes - which were grown in great abundance - as well as onions, tomatoes, salmon, chic...

2021-05-22 07:37

19th century Hakodate and the doomed voyage of the Remi: Part 3

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part Two

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part Two

After Horace and Lillias Underwood left Pyongyang, they spent several weeks exploring the lesser-traveled places. Tigers were a constant threat as they prowled the lonely wilderness seeking prey. They would have readily welcomed the Underwoods as a change to their normal diet. To remind them of the danger, many tiger traps - huge pens made out of logs, weighted with great sto...

2021-05-16 09:43

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part One

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part One

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part One

For many people, one of the most important days of their life is their wedding. The romantic idea of a luxurious wedding ceremony, witnessed by large numbers of friends and family, and celebrated with fine food, drink and music, may have been the dream of many young American couples in the 1880s. But that was an impossibility for Horace G. Underwood (a missionary) and Lillias...

2021-05-15 09:10

A honeymoon in Joseon: Part Two

Gardens galore at the US legation to Seoul

Gardens galore at the US legation to Seoul

In the 1890s, the American legation was rather dismal when compared to its peers. The British and Russian representatives were housed in large new buildings, modern and imposing, while the American representative was forced to make do in the original Korean buildings that were already on the land when it was purchased the previous decade. The American compound's buildings wer...

2021-05-09 09:23

Odors give way to fragrance in 19th century

Odors give way to fragrance in 19th century

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the descriptions of Seoul were filled with complaints of streets packed with oxen, ponies and people all trying to avoid falling into the open sewers or stepping in the excrement of man and beast, and the fetid stench that seemed to hang in the smoke-filled air. While there may have been some truth to these descriptions, there were a...

2021-05-08 11:31

Answering the call of Heaven

Answering the call of Heaven

In the spring of 1899, the Korean population was growing increasingly restless. Rain had not fallen for some time and the potential for a devastating drought followed by a famine was on everyone's mind.

2021-05-02 09:13

Rebels at the Gate

Rebels at the Gate

In the summer of 1894, the community of Westerners residing in Seoul were greatly alarmed - not of the on-going Sino-Japanese War but because of the growing insurrection and unrest spreading throughout the southern part of the peninsula which threatened to spread to Seoul and endanger their lives.

2021-05-01 11:19

Grave Crimes: Shaking the bones

Grave Crimes: Shaking the bones

In the summer of 1883, the American legation in Seoul was haunted, according to Rose Foote, the ambassador's wife, by “a most fascinating history and was invested with the flavor of romance. There were proud, surviving interests in the gruesome tales of its valiant decapitated Mins, who even now in unquestionable shape, periodically stalked about the premises.” These tales we...

2021-04-25 09:03

Walking in the Footsteps of the Past: Miryang in 1884

Walking in the Footsteps of the Past: Miryang in 1884

In the fall of 1884, George C. Foulk, an American naval ensign assigned to the American legation in Seoul, undertook an extensive tour through the southern part of the Korean peninsula. His observations - carefully recorded in minute detail in his travel journals and letters home - provide some of the best and earliest English descriptions of the regions outside of Seoul.

2021-04-24 09:14

History of oranges in Korea may be bit too tangy for locals

History of oranges in Korea may be bit too tangy for locals

In 1877, a Japanese merchant in Fusan (now part of Busan) reported Koreans greatly valued oranges and used them in their medicine as well as for special treats. With Koreans, he declared, “orange peel and ginseng take the place of tea with us [Japanese] and coffee amongst foreigners.”

2021-04-18 09:15

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