Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 3: Gaeseong, the old capital

A traveler and his pack team near Seoul in the late 19th century. Bernadou traveled on foot, but many of the early Westerners went by palanquin, ponies or bicycles. Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

John Baptiste Bernadou, a 24-year-old ensign in the United States Navy temporarily assigned to the legation in Seoul, may have been one of the earliest Western pathfinders between Seoul and two former Korean capitals (Gaeseong and Pyongyang) but his narrative was often lacking. This is extremely frustrating as he was so meticulous with his annotations of material collected while on his travels.

Perhaps after a hard day of trekking in the mud and his constant upset stomach, he just did not have the energy to devote to writing in detail about the seemingly mundane villages he passed ― especially so early in his journey.

He briefly noted that in the immediate vicinity of Seoul, the soil was poor and provided only light crops, but after some 20 kilometers, "the character of the country changes, and from here on it is wonderfully fertile."

He explained, "Great stretches of wheat and rice fields are to be seen, and beans and peas are grown in quantity. The country is cut up into a series of small valleys by low ranges of hills; these are cultivated nearly to their summits, and there is little waste ground. In the vicinity of tombs, however, the land remains untouched; these are of frequent occurrence, and are built in groups on the hillsides."

As we have earlier seen, Bernadou had a great interest in grave sites.

The stone images of Yongmi-ri in Paju in the late 19th or early 20th century Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

Near Paju, there was something else that caught his attention:

"[On] the side of a steep hill, in a dense grove of pines, have been erected two huge stone figures. They stand side by side, the heads tower above the trees and may be seen at a distance of at least five miles. The bodies are carved in relief out of the rock face; the heads, huge stones, skillfully put in place, are of five layers, the two lower in each forming the face; the three upper the hat. In one figure the hat rim is round, in the other square; these are said to be symbolical of heaven and earth. The [Koreans] say, however, that the figures are of Buddhist origin, and that there are many throughout the country.

It is a shame that he did not have a camera because it would be interesting to see how much the region has changed.

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 6: Pyongyang

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Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 part 5: Gaeseong's bridges and tombs

2023-06-12 12:27 | About the past

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 4 - Gaeseong's passive defiance

2023-05-27 15:52 | About the past

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 1: Collecting

2023-05-13 10:15 | About the past

Bernadou's travels in Korea in 1884 Part 2: Goyang and Beyond

2023-05-20 12:21 | About the past

According to his Korean guide, there was an even larger statue in the south ― said to be the largest on the peninsula ― that stood more than 21 meters tall. Bernadou never managed to visit it but his rival, Ensign George C. Foote, did.

Although Bernadou passed through Paju, he did not write about it. So once again, we are forced to rely upon the narratives of his peers.

A Korean market at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries Robert Neff Collection

Ensign George C. Foulk, an American naval officer, wrote:

"[Paju] county town is 14 miles from [Goyang] and is a first class county in the province, presided over by an officer called moksa, two grades higher than that of [Goyang] (hunsu). The town contains about 300 houses of the same wretched description as those in [Goyang], with some population of shops ― the whole contents of which might be purchased for four or five dollars; at one or two places some Chinese trinkets in colored silks were sold and the smallest amount of cotton piece goods. [Paju] is above the average Corean large town in importance and size yet there no evidences of trade or town government as we understand them, worth noting. It is but the official residence of the officer who collects the revenue of the valley, surrounded by the bulk of the peasants who cultivate it. The Yong-mun or official residence, seems very imposing as compared with the flat brown, paintless area of huts about it."

A cloth merchant carries his goods on his back. Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

A guide post, photographed by Pierre Louis Jouy in the mid-1880s. Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institute (1891)

William G. Aston, the British consul general in Seoul, traveled to Paju in August (a month after Bernadou and a month prior to Foulk) and echoed Foulk's observations. However, unlike the American naval officers, Aston was provided lodging:

"As usual, the residence of the Mayor and the public officers were buildings of considerable pretension, though in a very neglected condition. We were lodged in what was evidently the Chancery, from the official memoranda of all kinds, and dates pasted on the walls, and from the chests of archives standing rows and secured by padlocks. Some of these were tastefully inlaid with silver. Dozens of well-dressed officials were to be seen, and everything was done with a degree of state and ceremony well calculated to impress the tenants of the cabins without. The chief magistrate's commands were repeated by a crier, whose prolonged notes in a high key, with 'a dying fall,' could be heard at a considerable distance, while the soldiers or servants who received the orders responded in chorus in a lower note, rising at the end into a scream. The ceremony of shutting the gates of the Governor's office for the night occupied half-an-hour, and an instrument which produced an interrupted snoring noise, like that made by the wind in the chink of a door or window."

In his writing, Bernadou proudly proclaimed that he made it to Songdo (modern Gaeseong) in just three days' march. Judging from how much he wrote about the city, he was obviously impressed.

According to him, the city was one of the four great fortresses that guarded the great roads to Seoul and had once served as the capital of the former dynasty. In 1392, the seat of government was removed to [Seoul], since which [Gaeseong] has greatly diminished in importance and decreased in population."

He speculated that the city's walls were probably as great and extensive as those in Seoul but because the city's population had dwindled away, much of the land within its walls had been cultivated. It was here that one of Korea's most precious trading goods ― ginseng ― was cultivated and protected by strong fences. In addition to ginseng, large tracts of land were used to cultivate "a plant from which the Koreans make a blue dye. The use of this is common as it furnishes the light blue of the clothing of the common people and the dark blue of that of the soldiers."

Despite its fall from political prominence, Bernadou asserted that the city was still a great trading center as all goods sent from the capital to Pyongyang and vice versa had to pass through this city. It was also a rendezvous for merchants from both of the cities and the markets were full of cotton goods from the north and paper from the south. Gaeseong was also famous for its "heavy oiled paper used everywhere on the floors of the house, and articles of oiled paper, such as raincoats." The Smithsonian Institute has a small collection of raingear Bernadou purchased while in Gaeseong.

Considering the city's role in trade, Bernadou noted that it was not surprising that the people of this city "have the reputation for commercial shrewdness." Their business shrewdness was not all they had a reputation for ― as we shall see in the next article.

I would like to thank Diane Nars for allowing me to use two of her images.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.