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Tue, December 5, 2023 | 08:09

Warships on the Han River: Part 1

Warships on the Han River: Part 1

Throughout the 19th century, Western-style ships were occasionally sighted around the Korean Peninsula. Sometimes they passed peacefully, a mere curiosity to their bewildered witnesses, while at other times these strange vessels fell afoul of the weather or upon treacherous unmapped reefs and were cast upon the shore. It was these latter encounters that were extremely annoyin...

2023-06-24 12:18

Behind every man is…

Behind every man is…

There is an old saying - perhaps frowned upon in these enlightened times - that behind every great man is a great woman. A person's success is often due to the assistance of their partner - and this seems to be true, even in crime.

2023-06-19 10:35

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

After leaving Songdo (Gaeseong), John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy and temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul, traveled to Hwangju - a town “surrounded by a heavy wall which extends to the summit of the hills in the rear.” Hwangju was important for a number of reasons, both the military commander and the governor of the province res...

2023-06-18 14:25

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 1: Collecting

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 2: Goyang and Beyond

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy and temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul, visited Gaeseong for a very short time in early July 1884 while on his way to Pyongyang. Bernadou's descriptions of Gaeseong are anemic - especially in regard to the ruins of the city.

2023-06-12 12:27

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

In the late 19th century, the people of Gaeseong were somewhat unlike the residents of other parts of the peninsula. When John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul, visited the city in early July 1884, he noted that the people of Gaeseong dressed somewhat differently from the people in Seoul.

2023-05-27 15:52

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul, may have been one of the earliest Western pathfinders between Seoul and two former Korean capitals (Gaeseong and Pyongyang) but his narrative was often lacking. This is extremely frustrating as he was so meticulous with his annotations of material collected wh...

2023-05-21 09:15

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 2: Goyang and Beyond

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 2: Goyang and Beyond

Seoul, in the summer of 1884, was filled with rivalries among the small handful of young Western men. Each of these men (naval officers, diplomats and anthropological collectors) sought to be the “first” to visit or witness various locations and events on the Korean Peninsula. John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy temporarily assigned to the l...

2023-05-20 12:21

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 1: Collecting

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 1: Collecting

In the summer of 1884, there were a handful of Westerners exploring the Korean peninsula - one of them was John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul.

2023-05-13 10:15

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 2: Goyang and Beyond

Powdered milk and ladies' shoes

Powdered milk and ladies' shoes

Seoul is a vibrant, never-sleeping, energetic city of museums, palaces, shopping centers, restaurants and contemporary culture hubs that beckons tourists (of all ages) from around the world. Traffic jams of buses, taxis and cars try even the most patient while subways - packed during the rush hour - rush commuters to and fro. The Seoul of the present is not the Seoul of seven...

2023-05-07 13:05

A child's tale of lost treasure

A child's tale of lost treasure

Several years ago, a popular spot for bicyclists to stop on the south side of the Han River was just under Haengju Bridge. Here the large number of riders could replenish their energy with food and drink from the nearby convenience store; air up their tires; and chat and smoke (for some reason a lot of cyclists seem to smoke) while looking out at the beauty of the river. Many...

2023-05-06 13:35

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