1884 Inauguration of the Korean Postal System

A Korean postman with his umbrella, pipe and mailbag, circa 1900.

19th century stamps

By Robert Neff

On Thursday, Dec. 4, 1884, Horace N. Allen, an American missionary doctor, noted in his diary that the streets of Seoul were quiet and deserted when he returned home at 9 p.m. after visiting a nearby friend's house. It was such a bright, picturesque moonlit night that he had contemplated going out with his young wife to see the city "before the moon ceased shining." It was fortunate for them that they remained inside, for Seoul that night would be anything but quiet.

As Allen was returning home, others were celebrating. A banquet was being held at the newly-established post office to celebrate the inauguration of Korea's modern postal service. It began at about 7 p.m. and was catered by Rokugyoshia, a Japanese restaurant that specialized in Western cuisine.

Most of the handful of Westerners residing in Seoul (mainly diplomats), Chen Shu-t'ang (Chinese minister to Korea), and a number of Korean officials, including Hong Yong-sik (postmaster general), Pak Yong-hyo, Kim Ok-kuin and Prince Min Yong-ik, were present at the event. The Japanese Minister to Korea Takezoe Shinichiro did not attend as he was "indisposed," so in his stead he sent the secretary of the legation, Shimamura Hisashi, a man with a "reputation of savoring intrigue."

The American Minister to Korea Lucius H. Foote tried to liven up the "stiff, formal atmosphere" of the party by entertaining the group with humorous anecdotes, but despite his efforts the atmosphere remained heavy and forced. Only a month earlier, at a party hosted at the Japanese legation, the Japanese interpreter, feigning drunkenness, had loudly insulted and made veiled threats against Chen Shu-t'ang and the Chinese.

Kim Ok-kuin, who was sitting next to Takezoe, further provoked the uneasiness of the gathering with his nervousness and frequent jaunts outside. While most of the guests were unaware of the events getting ready to unfold, it appears that at least a few of the postal employees were aware that something was going to happen.

When Sugi, the proprietor of Rokugyosha restaurant, had brought the food earlier that evening, he warned the Japanese employees at the post office to be careful. Later, when they went to bathe, they noticed that there was increased activity at the Japanese legation, which they thought was rather strange.

Korea's first post office was the site of the 1884 Gapsin Coup, failed 3-day coup d'etat in the late Joseon Kingdom.
/ Courtesy of Robert Neff collection

It was around 10 o'clock, just as the last course was being served, that the shout of "fire" was heard from outside. The guests rushed to the window and saw flames engulfing a nearby building. Prince Min Yong-ik (whose duty it was to help organize firefighting efforts) and his servant raced to the door but as they stepped outside they were beset upon by a sword-wielding assassin. Min's servant desperately tried to defend his master but was hacked down – his arm chopped cleanly off with a single blow. Min was severely wounded and staggered back into the post office.

Pandemonium ensued. At Changdeok Palace, a giant of a woman – said to be 7 feet tall – began setting off dynamite to keep the palace guards occupied. At the post office, the Koreans involved in the plot disappeared in the confusion to carry out their missions while those who were not part of the plot stripped away their official garments in an attempt to make themselves less obvious targets, and fled home to safety. Many of them would not survive the night. Only the Western diplomats and Min were left in the post office. Thus began the Gapsin Coup.

While Dec. 4 was the official inauguration, the Korean Postal Bureau was actually established earlier that year on April 22 when Hong Yong-sik was appointed the postmaster general. He hired Obi Sukeaki as an advisor and three other Japanese men to help train and assist the Korean postal employees.

In late 1883, Joseph Haas, Austro-Hungarian consul in Shanghai, took a year's leave-of-absence from his duties so that he could come to Korea as the commissioner of Korean customs in Seoul. As part of his work for the Korean government, he arranged for 2,800,000 postage stamps – in five denominations: 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 mun – to be printed in Japan and shipped to Korea.

Postal operations began on Nov. 18 when the post offices in Seoul and Jemulpo (what is today Incheon) were opened. Only two denominations were available at the time – the 5 and 10 mun stamps (a total of 15,000 stamps) – the rest would not arrive in Korea until early 1885 – after the postal service ceased to exist.

Mail was gathered in Seoul in the morning by 10 and then transported 26 miles to Jemulpo – probably on foot as there were no steamships or railways operating between the two cities at that time. We don't know how many mailmen were employed or the amount of mail they carried as the records were all destroyed during the Gapsin Coup.

It is clear, however, that mail was not a luxury the average Korean could have easily afforded. Letters and packages weighing less than an eighth of an ounce mailed within the cities cost 5 mun (about 1/2 US cent) and intercity mail 10 mun, or about one American cent. Another 10 mun was added for each additional eighth of an ounce. The average Korean worker only made about 12-15 cents a day.

Even though the Gapsin Coup began in the post office on Dec. 4, mail service continued for another day or so until the Japanese employees, fearing for their lives, fled with the rest of the Japanese population to Jemulpo and then onto Japan. Once they left the post office was ransacked and, except for the main hall, burned by an angry Korean mob.

Only about 500 stamps were issued and used, the rest appear to have been stolen during the ransacking of the post office and later sold to George Foulk, a naval officer in charge of the American legation. According to Foulk, he paid three dollars for some 15,000 stamps, "from a wretch who could give no account on how he got them."

Foulk went on to say: "I meant to return them to the Korean government if it opened a new post office, but since then I have learned it will have an entire issue of new stamps if an office is opened, and ignores the old and first issue as the handiwork of the conspirators. Under the circumstances, I am going to pocket the pool."

This first postal experience for Korea was quite expensive. When the rest of the 2.8 million stamps arrived in early 1885, the Korean government was forced to pay for the unwanted stamps and promptly sold them to a German trading company operating out of Jemulpo. This company then sold the stamps to collectors around the world. Korea's first attempt at a postal system failed at its inauguration, and mail operations were turned over to the Japanese.

In July 1895, Korea once again established a postal service between Jemulpo and Seoul. The stamp plates were made in the United States and within the first month, 616 pieces of mail were delivered.

According to the Korean Repository: "The [Jeongdong] rounds are made at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. The mail to [Jemulpo] closes at 9 a.m. and arrives from Jemulpo at 5 p.m. Letters in the city require 10 poon or 2 sen stamps."

The postal service was soon a success and extended to other cities and, in 1900, began an international service as well. About 192,000 pieces of mail were handled in 1895; by 1901, more than 1.7 million pieces of mail. Of course there were some who felt that the post office had too many employees. In 1895, there were 29 postal employees and the Korean Repository opined that, "The aim we fear is not to make the service effective as to give rank and an easy berth to a large number of men."

While postal employees were paid fairly well, their job was not without its risks. A number of postmen were attacked and robbed, post offices were ransacked during political unrest and employees were severely punished for infractions. They could be fined 2-40 dollars, receive 10-100 lashes and prison terms of one month to three years.

Despite the risks, it was seen as a profitable career and, in 1903, the number of people employed by the Korean postal service was more than 1,400. Working for the postal service continues to be a desirable occupation. Currently there are about 43,000 people employed in Korea's modern postal service.