Alice in Asia: The 1905 Taft Mission to Asia, Korea 대한제국

Korea 대한제국

September 19: Battleship Ohio to Chemulpo; train to Seoul; palanquin to legation

“We sailed the next morning on the battle ship Ohio for Chemulpo where Edward Morgan, our Minister, his secretary, Willard Straight, and a number of Korean officials met us and took us on a special train up to Seoul.”

“The streets of Seoul were crowded with white-robed Koreans and lined with the Imperial Body Guard. An imperial yellow chair was provided to take me from the station to the Legation escorted by men carrying lanterns on long poles. Our passage was heralded by the bugles of the troops. Mrs. Newkands and I stayed at the Legation, the others at a sort of guest house of the palace, on the other side of the compound wall.”

“Korea, reluctant and helpless, was sliding into the grasp of Japan. The whole people looked sad and dejected, all strength seemed to have been drained from them. Everywhere there were Japanese officers and troops, militant and workmanlike; a contrast to the poor abject Koreans.”

September 20: Lunch with Emperor at Palace

“The Emperor and his son, who became the last Emporer, led a furtive existence in their palace alongside our Legation. A few days after we arrived, we lunched with them there in the European part of the building. We were received in an upstairs room, and then the squat Emperor did not give me his arm, but took mine, and together we went in a hurried wobble down a very narrow staircase to an unnoteworthy, smallish dining room.”

“We had Korean food, served in Korean dishes and bowls ornamented with the imperial crest. Those I used were afterwards presented to me, and at a farewell audience, the Emperor and Crown Prince each gave me his photograph. They were two rather pathetic, stolid figures with very little imperial existence ahead of them.”

September 22: Garden Party by Prince Yii at old East Palace.

September 23: Luncheon by Hayashi, the Japanese minister; dinner by German Minister

September 24: Attend athletic school boy activities by Japanese education committee

“The Korean and Japanese officials entertained us industriously, but as Seoul was a small place and we were all of ten days there, official parties finally ceased, and we began to feel like old residents. We rode nearly every afternoon getting home at dusk; the mountains sharp black against the western sky. I don’t think the native ponies liked foreigners; they frequently tried to bite us as we mounted. I recollect one that seemed to have a particular aversion to me. First making sure that it was securely held by its groom, I would stand about ten feet off and make a face at it. The pony would respond by laying back its ears, baring its yellow teeth, and struggling to shake off the groom in its effort to get me at me. By the time I left Korea, I was more than fed up with official entertaining, with being treated, one might say, as a “temporary royalty.” Of course, it meant opportunities to see and do things that others didn’t have, and I managed to have an extremely good time between official moments and even at them. It was an interesting and fascinating experience, but how real royalty can stand it, in season and out, is hard to imagine.”

Train to Daegu

“We went by train down the Korean peninsula, Edward Morgan taking a number of his Chinese boys to look after us and to cook delicious meals in the baggage car. The road had been damaged by recent rains, so instead of going through in a day, we spent the night at Taiku at the Presbyterian Mission. Someone had spilled a whiskey and soda on me, and as I got off the train with my small black dog under my arm, my cigarette case as usual dropped spilling its contents at the missionaries’ feet. So I arrived in an atmosphere of alcohol and tobacco which was though deplorable, considering who our hosts were to be. But I do not think they minded in the least. They were exceptionally nice, interested in everything that was going on.”