Book Review: Letters from Joseon

Title: Letters from Joseon: 19th Century Korea through the Eyes of an American Ambassador's Wife
Author: Robert Neff
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Seoul Selection (December 2012)
ISBN-13: 9788997639090

This is the kind of history book that you hope gets written but almost never does. Freelance writer and late 19th/early 20th century Korean historian Robert Neff follows up 2009's Korea Through Western Eyes with an intimate look into the life of an American diplomat and his family living at the legation in Seoul during the 1890s. Neff is the perfect choice to compile and edit this entertaining and frank look into the turbulent events that occurred during the four years of Joseph Sill's residency. Between the Sino-Japanese War, the Gabo Reforms, the brutal murder of Queen Min and King Gojong's subsequent escape to the Russian legation, they lived in Korea at a very exciting but tragic time.

The full title "Letters from Joseon: 19th century Korea through the eyes of an American ambassador's wife" is somewhat misleading. The book covers so much more than just an ambassador’s wife and her mail. The ambassador himself, his wife, sister-in-law, and several others have their personal correspondence featured here as well. Also, these letters are not simply transcribed and reprinted. Backstories and explanations are beautifully fleshed out for the reader’s consideration. 

The narrative is cohesively arranged chronologically and further divided into twenty four chapters covering topics like “Trouble With Soldiers”, “Cholera: The Rat God” and “The Murder of the Queen”. This is in addition to the painstaking number of footnotes, photographs, and quotations for quick reference. Virtually every single major and obscurely minor player in the events leading up to the 20th century is mentioned; dozens earn their own miniature biography.

This is also an aesthetically pleasing book; a luxury many history texts choose to do without. The layout is clean and the color scheme is charmingly rustic. What steal the show almost more than the story itself are the photographs, most of which are from the author’s personal collection. It seems that hardly a page passes without an affixed biographical portrait, naval ship profile, sketchbook rendering or outdoor snapshot. For a time when photography was a new kind of novelty to Korea, the collection amassed here is impressive.

Aside from some typos, fault can only be found in the book’s abrupt conclusion. Up until the ending, the reader is gingerly lead along a path that relives the unique lives of these people in great detail. The literary handholding anticlimactically ends as the Sills unceremoniously enter into a quite retirement. Such is life, I suppose. A few questions do remain about those who took over, though. Perhaps it’s outside the scope of the book to divulge the goings on in Korea after the protagonist and her family left. 

The overall result is an academically relevant history book that reads like a juicy gossip column. This is the author at what he does best; research, compilation and exposition. He tells a story that was always there for those who knew where to look but few cared to venture. What makes it worth reading is how Neff makes you actually give a damn about people who history nearly forgot. For such a niche corner of history, it’s really a wonderful book that is well worth your time.

RASKB lecture - Superstitions and Perceptions of Early Korean-Western Relations

It was good to see that I wasn't the only one looking forward to the lecture. A highly anticipated night, as per the RASKB website:

May 25, 2010 RAS Lecture Meeting

Tuesday / 화요일 Mr. Robert Neff

7:30 p.m. 2nd floor, Residents’ Lounge

Somerset Palace, Seoul

Superstitions and Perceptions of Early Korean-Western Relations

Following the opening of Korea to the West in 1882, Westerners entered Korea for various reasons. Some came as diplomats, representing and protecting their countries’ interests, while others came as advisors to the Korean government. There were merchants seeking business opportunities and many missionaries who provided altruistic services such as education and medicine all in the name of their religion. Some came to Korea seeking a new beginning; hoping to hide their unsavory past. To all of these groups, Korea was a newly-found frontier and an undiscovered market for what they had to offer.

In this lecture we will talk about the interaction between these early Westerners and their Korean hosts by examining Korean superstitions and the perceptions and misperceptions of the Westerners and Koreans.

The introduction of various Western technologies such as the railroad, streetcars and electricity were all, in the beginning, viewed with suspicion and fear by some of the more superstitious Korean people. Often these first encounters with these new technologies provided us with humorous anecdotes but occasionally ended in violence. The Westerners tended to either look upon these Korean superstitions as quaint or with disdain but were not above using them for their own gain as will be shown in the lecture.

Perception, or perhaps misperception, was also a factor in early Korean-Western relations. Sometimes misperceptions led to awkward and embarrassing encounters such as young Korean boys mistaken for bold girls or a young American male missionary mistaken for a young pretty lady. Other times these misperceptions led to violence as during the Baby Riots which will be discussed in detail during the lecture.

Robert Neff is a freelance writer and historical researcher specializing in Korean history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He first came to Korea with the military over two decades ago and has a deep appreciation for Korean culture and its history. He is the co-author of Korea Through Western Eyes as well as Westerner’s Life in Korea and his writings have appeared in various newspapers, magazines and books including Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times, Morning Calm, Korea Witness, Royal Asiatic Society – Transactions, Korea Times, Korea Herald and Jeju Weekly.

Despite an unfortunate technical difficulty that resulted in Neff's powerpoint not being available to view, the topic was juicy and plenty interesting. Essentially an off-shoot of his most recent book Neff touched on some rather sensitive sentiments from a hundred years ago.

Of dutiful mention was foreign men's constant confusion over handsome young men and the gentler sex. Time after time, rugged travelers happened upon delicate flowers of the Orient who were indeed not graceful members of the opposite sex but in fact fabulously well groomed young men with excellent bone structures. We all had a laugh; especially at the perception on the opposite side of the spectrum. Neff tells of a half balding, mustachioed George Heber Jones, his trek across the Taedong River and subsequent encounter with a uncomfortably beckoning 아저씨 that had either had to much to drink too early in the day or was seriously misinformed of the standards of foreign women. It seems Jones was quite possibly mistaken for a young foreign female...for some reason.

To sum up the rest of the lecture, there was a lot of talk of exposed breasts, baby eating and naked children. In the author's defense, however, these were simple observations made a hundred years ago. The rather unflattering comments were from a time past and are clearly not meant in a pejorative way in modern times. As one commenter brought up, many of these misconceptions were not exclusive to Korea and no insinuation should be made of disrespect.

The lecture was full of other interesting and head scratching observations of times past. Early on in the questioning, Neff referred to himself as simply a "gossip columnist from a hundred years ago", which I will now affectionately affix to his work from now on. In addition to meeting Jennifer of Bomb English fame and Matt from Gusts of Popular Feeling, rubbing elbows with some of Korea's most well respected journalists, writers and historians is not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night in Seoul. If you missed it, shame on you.

Some other quick notes (kind reader feel free to leave corrections):

• The first Westerners to set foot in Korea were likely some Portuguese that accompanied the Japanese during the Imjin War.
• The Imo Revolt of 1882 was placated by the end of an especially long dry-spell throughout the country. It was believed that the death of the Japanese solved the drought.
• Prior to 1910s, there were only three well-documented international relationships consisting of Western men and Korean women. They include Percival Lowell, Dr. Charles Power, and an unnamed (rather, disputed) French diplomat whose lover tragically came back to Korea only to commit suicide years later. Was there not a mention of a snake oil peddler? Dr. Irwin? Can't remember...
• For a lower class woman to expose her breasts in the countryside was a sign of pride; a badge of honor for bearing a son.
• It is suspected that the Taewangon masterminded the Baby Riots. You know, the one where foreigners were supposedly eating slash using human baby limbs, sexual organs and eyes for making photographs and whatnot.
• Despite the average height of the Korean male being 5' 4½" back in the day, Koreans were frequently compared to Chinese and Japanese as being the most tall and good looking.
• According to common mention in old journals, letters, articles and such, references to Korean's cleanliness standards, namely their lack of any discernible standards, was notorious. One quote that stuck with me which I will now butcher with a cloudy short-term memory, was "...if filthiness is a virtue, then Koreans are by far the most virtuous people in all of the world."
• Apparently there was a seven foot tall Korean female servant in the royal court named 고태수 (spelling?) who, apparently after growing tired of teasing remarks of her height, participated in the 1884 Kapshin Coup.
• It is speculated that prior to Japanese occupation, and sebsequent education reform, Koreans were especially talented at learning English quickly. Prince 이진호 (spelling?) was said to have been sent to Japan to study English in 1881 and was trilingual as a result.

Book Review: Korea Witness

Title: Korea Witness
Editors: Don Kirk, Sang-Hun Choe
Softcover: 472 pages
Publisher: EunHaeng NaMu; 1st edition (June 2, 2006)
ISBN-10: 8956601550
ISBN-13: 978-8956601557

The archetypal image I have for foreign correspondents isn't exactly flattering nor is it accurate. For that matter, it's not even of flesh and blood. It's a stock news reporting character from The Simpsons. No, not everyone's beloved Kent Brockman or even that guy with the poofy black hair who reported that pork prices began to rise in early trading. No, I'm referring to the skinny guy who dishevely dons a drab 1940s style suit and brown fedora. You might remember that he was with Bart when Blinky, the three-eyed fish, was discovered in the polluted waters downstream of the nuclear power plant. Although he has only appeared in the long-running TV series less a handful of times, you might have an image of him. Then again, you might not. His name, while completely forgettable, was actually Dave Shutton and he writes for the Springfield Shopper. I make this reference because like real foreign correspondents in Korea, their names may not be familiar to you at all but their presence and stories surely have captivated you. Korea Witness is a collection of dozens of stories of how these pioneers of their field got their scoops as well as the trails and tribulations associated with reporting the news in Korea.

Chronologically arranged, this book spans the careers of several generations of journalists and their careers involving Korea and its foreign press. Stories from parachute journalists based in Tokyo and English speaking Koreans working for foreign presses share their fascinating and surprisingly shocking stories from their time. From meeting other hacks, dodging Korean war bullets and bombs, interviewing CEOs in Japanese, rubbing elbows with Korean presidents, dangerously sneaking into the Gwangju student-led powder keg, pre-email era dictating horrors, enduring death threats and surviving tear gas assaults, these men (and one Pulitzer prize winning woman) have earned their right to call themselves journalists. Their stories are just as dynamic as any Hollywood movie.

The book design is non-distractingly pleasing and thoughtfully laid out. The plentiful amount of photos embedded are often breathtaking in their own right and certainly compliment the attached article. Cleanly laid out at the end of each entry is a short summary of the author which is footnoted to help fill in certain biographical details that might help the reader better understand the author's relationship with Korea. The editors have accepted works from a wide range of writers and the book is all the better for it.

However, one early chapter about Japanese correspondents in particular feels like a rough draft of what could have been a memorable story. There's not else much to criticize other than the comparatively small amount of non-Caucasian American male voices to be heard but that's likely indicative of both the language of the book and the likely small ratio of European, Chinese and Japanese correspondents of the time.

Korea Witness is an smooth and entertaining read. If not limited in scope, it tells of a war-torn, post-Liberation, economic miracle, Olympic hosting, economic collapsing, technology exporting powerhouse that, through the eyes of the foreign press, have plenty of stories to tell. This book sums up those stories quite nicely.

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Respectfully disagreeing with Ask A Korean's ambivalence towards English language resources on Korea, these trailblazers did their job admirably and in my opinion contributed immensely to the world's understanding of Korea. Not only did it raise my awareness of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club (SFCC), but it really put some human perspective on certain events. The first hand accounts of surviving a Korean war bomb, investigating No Gun Ri, and the tragic death of 육영수 are worth the price of the book alone. Plus its got the Neff. You can't really go wrong with this one.

Book Review: Korea through Western Eyes

Title: Korea through Western Eyes
Author: Robert D. Neff, Sunghwa Cheong 
Paperback: 434 pages
Publisher: Seoul National University Press (2009)
ISBN-13: 9788952110039

This polished collection of over thirty short stories about Korea around the late 1800s and early 1900s is a treasure. In a field where academics rule and accessibility is limited to skewed ancient historical journals, Korean War veteran memoirs and horror stories from North Korea, this book is a much needed breath of fresh air about foreigners in Korea.

Neff takes a very honest approach to his book. His research skills are quite evident as he cites scores of newspaper articles, personal correspondence and travel journals. When he makes a claim, it's backed up and sometimes even runs counter to what has been previously published. Although I'm sure the author is not actively looking to debunk popular myths, the book does come off as brutally honest though decidedly neutral in terms of historical interpretation. Inadvertently, some myths get debunked in the process.

If you are looking for some juicy history that has nothing to do with Korea's distinct four seasons, kimchi or dokdo than you've found your book. It's filled with many firsts introduced to Korea such as electricity, streetcars, foreign-owned gold mines and western military advisors; not to mention some of the most scandalous foreigners Korea has ever seen. Historians and casual readers alike will appreciate the readability of this one-of-a-kind text.

As I try to be critical of all books by presenting both positive and negative points, I must say that the only thing I would have preferred is more Korean language when mentioned in the script. As an avid discriminator to English romanization, I would have preferred if romanized words are used that the corresponding Korean words in parenthesis would also be used. As this doesn't come up often, it's not a huge gripe and small potatoes considering that it is the only complaint I have. Furthermore, it's quite a personal one that may not be shared by all.

Finally, I must also note that the photos included are quite impressive and very relevant to stories told. The overall design of the book is practically flawless. It's just an overall impressive presentation full of humor, sadness, debauchery and curiously relevant parallels to modern times. Don't let this one pass you by.

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Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Robert Neff and his works. I eat up his writings wherever they may be published. I think he is one of the most talented researchers out there and although he writes for such a niche market, one would be hard-pressed to rival his works.

Anyways, this was a book that I was anxiously awaiting and it did not disappoint. I burned through it within a week and look forward to his next efforts. I'm a Neffie.

Also, here's a short review from the Korea Times although I'm not sure that she actually read it. Does anyone else get that feeling from her writeup?

NOTE: This book finally laid to rest my morbid curiosity of George Lake; a poor excuse of a human being that Neff first wrote about back in 2008. His story is enough to buy the book.

Robert Neff

This guy. Give me the chance to meet him. I have never been so enthralled with one writer's work as much as Robert Neff. He isn't the absolute best writer on the planet; that's not what is charming about his work. What I find interesting are his topics. No one else covers such a fascinating stories in such a way that seems effortless. There's no way his research is carefree. I wrote about him back in March but that post was in need of an update so here goes. Original post:

I can't get anything done this weekend because of a writer over at OhMyNews. He has written some fascinating articles covering all things Korean history-related including several pieces on the old Joseon period, a story of the sole survivor of an Italian trading ship that eventually made its way from Nagasaki to Jeju, and a thoroughly interesting article titled "An early case of foreign depravity in Asia" which has had me begging for the third and final part for months (!) come on already Neff - don't leave me hanging. Anyways, nicely done, sir.

Wouldn't you know it? I have found even more pieces of awesomeness by this guy. He cowrote a book that I'd love to get my hands on...once I can read Korean a bit better. Look don't get me wrong. I'm not one to butter up anyone. But it just so happens that a particular writer is writing subjects that I find incredibly engaging.

So with that, I give you what I can find.

• A large collection of his works @ OhMyNews
• A few samples from his lectures @ RASKB
• A list of his guest posts @ Marmot's Hole
• A few Jeju-related posts @ The Jeju Weekly
  
• His first 추석 experience and thoughts on 판소리 @ HiSeoul
• A single lone article @ 10Magazine

I will surely write more later. Curious though as to a comment made @ Brian in Jeollanamdo - are there really two East Asian correspondents named Robert Neff? Regardless, I'd love to read a bio about the man but I can't seem to find one...

UPDATE 12/4/09: Met the man and he's a stand-up guy in every sense of the word. An inspiration for me and hopefully others. I also got a lot of my personal questions answered. A few I can share with you. For one, there are indeed two Robert Neffs as it turns out. Robert C. Neff is the Japan economist and sauna enthusiast and Robert D. Neff is the Korean historian and North Korean gold mine specialist.

Also, Neff has written a great deal more with the Korea Times and Elegance with Steven Revere but alas, I still can't find archived articles. I'm terribly disappointed because now having met the man, I sincerely hope that we can meet in a professional setting one day. Despite his understandably busy schedule he had a lot of great advice to bestow on a young aspiring runt like me.

Needless to say, his book that comes out hopefully by the end of the month will be a must-read.