[Joseon Images] Hotel rivalry in Seoul in 1900s

Hotel du Palais in the summer of 1901 / Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

At the dawn of the 20th century, Seoul was one of the most modern cities in Asia. Streetcars conveyed passengers from one end of the city to the other, shops were filled with imported goods, and the luxuries of telephones and electricity were slowly but surely being introduced. In September 1899, a railroad connected the capital with Jemulpo (modern-day Incheon) and, as a result, more tourists began to visit Seoul.

Despite its many Western modernizations, Seoul was not ready for Western tourism; the only accommodations available to tourists were in the homes of the expat community, their respective legations, Japanese or Chinese inns or at Emberley's Boarding House ― a small establishment operated by an English couple.

Realizing the opportunity, Friedrich A. Kalitzky, a Polish merchant, contemplated establishing a small hotel near Deoksu Palace, and an American firm toyed with the idea of building a "summer hotel" along the Han River but ― for unknown reasons ― these schemes were soon abandoned.

The Emberleys expanded their boarding house into a small but very successful hotel near Seodaemun Station, appropriately named Station Hotel. Their hotel monopoly was soon broken in May 1901 when Rondon, a French merchant, established the Hotel du Palais. By the end of the month, both hotels were in fierce competition with one another.

The Americans and English preferred to stay at the Station Hotel which advertised itself as being "far from the blare of military display" with excellent accommodations at moderate prices. In the summer of 1901, Burton Holmes, an American traveloguer, described the hotel as "a series of small Korean houses […] under the motherly care of Mrs. Emberley." The proprietress was "noted throughout the East for setting a first class table."

Station Hotel and jinrikisha in the summer of 1901 / Robert Neff Collection

Continental Europeans preferred to patronize the Hotel du Palais. The two-story-brick building had been built specifically as a hotel and, according to its ads, was "the only first class hotel in Seoul. Situated in the center of the city opposite the palace, cuisine under the supervision of an experienced French chef. Well ventilated and furnished throughout." It was located approximately where a Dunkin Donuts stands today outside the front gate of Deoksu Palace.

The reviews of the French hotel are mixed. Shortly after it opened, Henry James Whigham, a Scotsman, described the hotel as "a diminutive house of two storeys" located "just opposite of the walls of the new palace [Deoksu Palace], in the very lowest part of the city." Despite describing the hotel as being "better than nothing," he was pleased with its central location (close to the foreign legations), access to local gossip and clean new rooms. Two days later, however, his satisfaction soured when he suffered a bad attack of malaria ― caused by the hotel's location "in the very bottom of the city". At least he was not bothered by the infestation of bedbugs that apparently plagued the area. He was rescued from his dire straits by the British legation.

The following year, Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod ― a Hungarian ― stayed at the hotel and seemed fairly pleased with its staff and cleanliness. He described it as being "fairly well maintained" by the proprietor, Lucien Martin (a former employee of Rondon), and his Korean staff "dressed in white, and wearing a pigtail twisted up in a knot." Its location, however, was not conducive for sleeping in late.

Early in the morning he was "aroused by the sound of drums and trumpets." He wondered if they were the instruments of ghosts and if so, what had provoked such an awful uproar. His questions were answered when he looked out his window and found "the long street, the square, every inch of ground, occupied by soldiers" in black and red uniforms and armed with rifles and bayonets. They marched up and down the street. The Hungarian only stayed one night before he moved to the British legation as a guest.

Over the next couple of years, both hotels continued to prosper. Business was so good that the Emberleys purchased a foreign house and converted it into a hotel which they named the Grand Hotel. It was found in front of where the Agriculture Museum stands today, according to historian Suk Ji-hoon. An ad described it as "the best hotel in Korea" with "fine airy rooms" in a "handsome new building."

But fate is fickle. Just after midnight on Feb. 2, 1905, the Hotel du Palais was destroyed by fire. According to the Korea Review, "almost nothing was saved from the building; all the furnishings were burned, and only the blackened brick walls of the building were left standing." The building was destroyed so quickly that some of the guests were "scantily dressed" as they escaped.

Surprisingly, a month later, The Korea Review announced that the Emberleys had sold their hotel and were returning to England. The buyer was Lucien Martin. And, in another twist, the Hotel du Palais was rebuilt within a year by another Frenchman and became Martin's chief rival ― but that is a story for another time.

Robert Neff is a historian and columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at robertneff04@gmail.com.