Book Review: A Diplomat's Helpmate

Title: A Diplomat's Helpmate: How Rose F. Foote, wife of the first U.S. Minister and envoy extraordinary to Korea, served her country in the Far East 
Author: Mary Viola Tingley Lawrence
Paperback: 50 pages
Publisher: H.S. Crocker Company (1918)
Archive.org location

A pretentious title to complement outlandish laudatory writing, A Diplomat's Helpmate: How Rose F. Foote, wife of the first U.S. Minister and envoy extraordinary to Korea, served her country in the Far East is a short but valuable piece of history transparently disguised in absurdly extravagant acclaim. Embellishments notwithstanding, this is a brief recount of events involving the wife of the first American Minister to Korea, Rose F. Foote.

Her biographer, Mary Viola Tingley Lawrence, was a personal friend and dutifully exaggerated Foote's accomplishments posthumously. Consequently, notable events are glossed over with patriotic zeal and otherwise useful personal accounts are unfortunately missing. For instance, nothing is mentioned of Foote's supposed domineering personality or her obstinate rivalry with the only other Western woman in Seoul. An example of Lawrence's flourishes:

The American lady at once commanded a prominent place in oriental diplomatic life. Her exceptional beauty and queenly bearing aroused admiration wherever she was seen.

For the reader's sake, included authentic photos of Foote betray this likelihood. Another example of Lawrence playing up Foote's prominence is in her retelling of the supposed feud between Foote and the Korean Queen. The grudge supposedly came about because of Foote's magnanimously arrival in Seoul where she was instantly loved and appreciated by all citizens. The Queen's alleged reaction:

The baffled Queen in a fury of rage beat upon her imprisoning walls, as she smarted under the taunting realization that the uncrowned occidental woman commanded a limitless freedom in her interference with the traditions that had been dearest to the Korean heart.

The book isn't all fluff, though. Rose Foote did indeed live a pioneering life abroad; after all, she was the first Western woman to enter Seoul. She accompanied her husband on this rather risky political assignment while in her fifties. Dutifully, she made the legation grounds social and accommodating of the status her husband garnered. It wasn't all tea parties, though; her perspective of her husband's witness of the abortive 1884 coup d'etat was graphically worth mentioning. It also seems that her time abroad proved to be too taxing on her health; she passed away six months after returning to San Francisco. 

For a fifty page adulatory account, it's short and far too sweet. It's not exactly fiction, though, so a discerning eye can detect some of the genuine work that the Foote's accomplished. For those interested in the time period, it's worth a quick read-through. 

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Robert Neff penned a broader picture of the woman for OhMyNews a few years back: Parts One and Two.

2010 RAS Garden Party

The Royal Asiatic Society - Korea Branch annually holds a garden party alternatingly at the American and British Ambassador's residence. This year's meet-and-greet at the American residence featured an entertaining yet surprisingly short traditional Korean musical performance from a group whose name I didn't catch as well as the annual RAS book sale. A historical site of its own, Ambassador Stephens' residence, known as the Habib House, is located just behind 덕수궁's back gate.

The original house long demolished, the property that housed that housed the original American legation was purchased in 1884 by Lucius Foote for approximately $2,200 at a time when his annual salary was but only $5,000. The American legation whose famous low ceilings caused understandable discomfort to six foot plus tall Horace Allen. Decades later during the Korean War, the grounds were occupied by North Korean forces in 1950. Despite enemy presence, surprisingly not a single item was reported to have been stolen. Years after the war, due to its age, countless add-ons and general poor upkeep, there was only so much dried mud that could hold up the building. Then current Ambassador Philip Habib insisted that a new building be built in the traditional Korean style. Completed in 1976, the house that stands today was never inhabited by the man who oversaw its inception. The house was dedicated in Habib's honor upon his death in 1992. The plot of land that houses the Habib House has many more stories to tell; some of which that I am butchering now. I encourage those who have access to either visit it one day or research it.

Finding the way-too-nice-to-be-an-ambassador's-residence was painless and after being greeted by the friendly security guards, a serene locale is discovered amongst downtown Seoul's depressingly numerous concrete block buildings. A true oasis in the desert, the Habib House is one of many spectacular views on the premises.

Shaking hands with people that are way out of my league and certainly more distinguished than I felt both surreal and pleasant. Some in atterndence were young ones like myself and others are complete rockstars in my world in terms of books written, lectures taught and decades spent studying and teaching Korea and her history. Makgeolli flowed lightly but steadily as the early evening fortunately moved on rain-free. I regret that I didn't take enough pictures but it was a predictably entertaining get-together. Other than buying way too many books from the book sale as I did, the event was free of charge to members; nice considering the locale, catering and spirits. If you didn't go, you missed out.