KoreaTimes - Blogs

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

SCMP
Asia

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

SCMP
Asia

The Korea Times

Opinion

Blogs

Sat, February 4, 2023 | 04:55

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 3

Rose Foote: The Iron Woman in the American Legation: Part 3

Rose Foote, the wife of the first American representative to Korea, was certainly painted in a negative light by Ensign George C. Foulk but she also had a soft side - one that he chose not to mention. According to her biographer (Mary V. Tingley Lawrence, whose prose is definitely dated), even though Rose was busily engaged in the renovation of the legation, it wasn't enough ...

2020-12-26 09:56

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

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 inter...

2020-12-20 10:54

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 1

On the evening of May 13, 1883, the American warship U.S.S. Monocacy arrived in Jemulpo harbor. It wasn't its first foray into Korean waters. Almost twelve years earlier - in the same area - it had, as one newspaper declared, “engaged in throwing shot and shell into the Corean forts.”

2020-12-19 10:13

Rose Foote: America's first 'Iron Lady': Part 2

Fatal gamble: Student's addiction leads to the noose

Fatal gamble: Student's addiction leads to the noose

Yi Sung-tak was a young man from Pyongyang - likely a Christian - who arrived in Seoul in 1893 in search of a career. Like many young men, he dreamed of becoming rich and powerful and knew that a good education was key to his success. Somehow, possibly through family connections, he managed to gain the coveted entrance into one of the few foreign schools in Korea at the time,...

2020-12-13 09:13

Frozen in time: Pictures tell colorful story of the past

Frozen in time: Pictures tell colorful story of the past

Every picture has a story to tell, but the same picture doesn't always tell the same story. Based on their experiences, knowledge and prejudices, each viewer interprets the pictures in their own way. Readers of this column are sometimes kind enough to point out the mistakes I make in regards to the images. Occasionally, they even provide anecdotes from their own childhood - I...

2020-12-12 09:26

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 2

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 2

When the call of “fire” was heard, the guests all got up from their seats and went to the window or outside to view the blaze. Prince Min Yeong-ik, whose duty it was to help command the efforts to fight the fire, went out the door with his servant. The assassin's blow was unexpected, the servant gallantly tried to protect his master but had his arm chopped off in a single blo...

2020-12-06 09:32

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 1

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 1

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 1

Silence hung over the city of Seoul, broken only by the rhythmic tapping of women ironing their families' clothing with wooden sticks, the occasional cry of a small child unable to sleep, or the tentative barking of wary dogs as a lanky red-haired foreigner made his way through the darkened, lonely streets, dry snow crunching beneath his feet.

2020-12-05 10:12

The 1884 Post Office Massacre: Part 2

Americans mine for gold in northern Korea: Part 2

Americans mine for gold in northern Korea: Part 2

In the late 1890s, most of the Western employees of the mining concession were grizzled old prospectors and seasoned miners from the “Wild Wild West,” Alaska, the Klondike and Mexico - their willingness to use a gun or their fists was essential in getting the mines in operation. However, once mining operations began to run smoothly the company phased out these ornery old cuss...

2020-11-29 09:03

Americans mine for gold in northern Korea: Part 1

Americans mine for gold in northern Korea: Part 1

They say that every picture is worth a thousand words, and while that may be true, unless we have the background and provenance of the picture, the words are merely that - a jumble of words with no true story.

2020-11-28 11:05

Thanksgiving in Joseon Korea: Baked beans gobbled up, but no turkey

Thanksgiving in Joseon Korea: Baked beans gobbled up, but no turkey

In 1884, the handful of Americans living in Korea celebrated American Thanksgiving in a rather humble manner. According to Horace Allen - an American missionary - it was “a cold, crisp day [minus 3 degrees Celsius] with the ground frozen for four inches below the surface.” His small family and their two guests, Mr. Charles S. Scudder (the Secretary of the American Legation) a...

2020-11-22 17:38

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Top 10 Stories

1	Teens feel peer pressure to buy luxury goods endorsed by K-pop stars

2	Itaewon tragedy's bereaved families harassed by far-right protesters

3	Plan to construct new memorial center for ex-president faces backlash

4	Too many emergency text alerts? Gov't to halt daily COVID-19 notifications

5	Able C&C sale attracts dozens of potential buyers

6	First lady expands presence in domestic politics

7	FSC OKs Apple Pay to be available in Korea

8	K bank decides to delay IPO plan

9	SEMICON Korea defies chip industry downturn

10	Gov't to provide $293 billion in trade financing to revitalize exports

DARKROOM