Evans' visit to Seoul: part 2

Deoksu Palace in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

When Admiral Robley D. Evans of the United States Navy visited Seoul on Aug. 8, 1902, he was very impressed with the American Legation. He described Horace Allen's residence as being "a charming, refined house full of exquisite old things." He was undoubtedly correct. Allen was known for his various Korean collections (mainly pottery) and for his tendency to gossip. I can easily imagine Allen regaling the American naval officer with all sorts of tidbits he had gleaned from his friends, staff, servants and his own imagination.

In his memoirs, the admiral described Korea as being backward and conservative but the Korean monarch as being somewhat progressive. In a somewhat amusing manner, he explained that Gojong, "finding himself only a king, while his ruling neighbor on the one side was an emperor (from Japan) and on the other an empress (from China), he proceeded to declare that he also would be an emperor."

According to the admiral, Gojong appropriated a very large sum of money ($4 million) from the impoverished treasury and had a new palace built and then held "grand ceremonies and festivities to mark his change of title. All foreign representatives in the East were invited to be present; some of them went, some stayed away. Every detail was properly carried out by the use of quite a large body of troops so that on the occasion of my visit I found an emperor instead of a king."

Emperor Gojong not only surrounded himself with "the pomp and etiquette of other courts; he even had some things not known to other emperors …" Unfortunately, the admiral did not elaborate on what these other things were.

Deoksu Palace in November 2019 Robert Neff Collection

The audience with Emperor Gojong was to begin at noon but as the hour approached, the officers were informed that the emperor was still sleeping and they would have to wait for him to wake up. In his memoirs, the admiral seems somewhat miffed by the delay ― completely forgetting (perhaps, omitting would be more accurate) that he was responsible for the postponement of the original audience.

Prior to entering the palace, the admiral carefully instructed each of his men not to initiate a handshake with the Korean monarch. If the emperor wanted to shake hands, he would be the one to initiate it. It was sound advice but not everyone listened.

After a delay of nearly an hour, the naval officers, accompanied by Allen, proceeded to Deoksu Palace and, after passing long lines of soldiers and thousands of scowling faces, were presented to the emperor one by one.

The admiral was presented first. Gojong graciously received and shook hands with Evans while assuring him that he regarded the United States as a friendly country. Evans expressed his own admiration for the Korean emperor and then backed out of the throne room.

Banquets of the past. / Display at Deoksu Palace in November 2019. Robert Neff Collection

The warship captains were the next to be presented. The emperor shook hands with each man, smiled and awaited the next officer. Unfortunately for all involved, this is where things began to unravel.

One of the admiral's staff officers, a tall, fine-looking young man, noticing that the previous officers had all been favored with a handshake by the emperor, immediately extended his hand for a handshake when he was presented to the emperor.

"In return he received a cold stare from his Majesty, who stood calmly with his hand by his side. For two seconds the officer stood perfectly still with his hand extended, the flush on his face fading quickly until he was perfectly white; then his hand came to his side, his eyes flashed and with a profound bow he backed out."

The young officer ― whom Evans described as an "innocent offender against royal etiquette" ― had his feelings seriously wounded and once away from the palace profanely denounced the "copper-colored monarch."

A display of the dining hall at Deoksu Palace in November 2019 Robert Neff Collection

This officer's undiplomatic behavior doesn't seem all that surprising when we compare him with the admiral. Evans' descriptions of the royal family are very condescending when read today and, even in the past, would not have been viewed favorably ― at least publicly:

"On the throne with the Emperor sat his son, the Crown Prince and heir-apparent to the throne, a half-witted young man who grinned and giggled incessantly. Emperor and Crown Prince had all the marks of hard drinking and high living for which they were celebrated. Neither of them seemed to me capable of conducting any ordinary business requiring common sense, much less conducting a country in the perilous position of Korea. Why our government should support and aid such rulers is a question the State Department may be able to answer, but certainly I am not."

Following the audience, the officers were the guests of honor at a luncheon. Unsurprisingly, Evans was not impressed:

"It was an ordinary meal, European dishes cooked and served in European fashion. French wines were served and consumed in very large quantities. A number of Korean officials sat with us ministers, secretaries and army officers all of whom astonished us by the amount they could eat and drink."

The person responsible for the food was undoubtedly Marie Antoinette Sontag.

A display of a place setting at Deoksu Palace in November 2019 Robert Neff Collection

For those residing in Korea, it was no secret that a lot of money was spent on these banquets and that a lot of the funds ended up in different people's pockets. According to Evans, the lunch he and his officers enjoyed had resulted in $10,000 being drawn from the treasury. "It cost, at most, five to six hundred dollars; the rest, I was told, found its way to the bank account of his Majesty."

The only part of the luncheon Evans had any compliments for was the music provided by a fine military band of 38 pieces and conducted by a Japanese bandmaster who had studied at the Academy of Music in Tokyo. The bandmaster informed the admiral "that all the musicians had been trained in the period of one year; previous to that time none of them could play a musical instrument."

Their ability to play so well was the only thing that convinced the admiral that "there was any good in the Koreans."

While he may have liked the music, he did not like the performance of the emperor's dancing girls which he facetiously noted were not girls but women as they "all looked forty years old or more." There were about 80 dancers and Evans had been told (perhaps by Allen) that they each received "about ten dollars a week and a new silk dress."

At first, the Americans were interested in the dance, mainly because they did not understand it, but once it was explained to the men, "all interest vanished; it would have been amusing to children (but) not to grown men."

Royal entertainers in the early 20th century Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

Evans and his officers were more than pleased when they were finally able to return to the American Legation where they were able to change their clothing and rest before boarding the train back to Jemulpo (modern Incheon) and their ships.

The following day, the "usual presents of fans, pieces of silk or satin, native silver work, etc. were sent by the Emperor, one piece to each officer who had been (present at the audience)." A proper letter of acknowledgment was soon sent through Allen.

I find it a little amusing that the admiral failed to mention that he was also presented with a tiger skin ― we only know about this through a letter Allen sent to another naval officer. It is also through Allen that it becomes apparent that the standard price for these little banquets for naval officers was $10,000.

From this point on, Evans' memoirs have very little about Korea. We do know (by the logbook from the U.S.S. Vicksburg) that he and his officers attended King Edward VII's coronation parties at the British Consulate in Jemulpo on the following day (Aug. 9). For the garden party, they wore white service dress uniforms, and for the coronation ball in the evening, they wore their formal evening dress. They were not the only naval officers present ― the Japanese were there as well ― but the American naval band appears to have been the only one that played.

Entertaining the upper class in the late 19th or early 20th century Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection

In Seoul, the British Legation also held coronation parties. According to Homer Hulbert and printed in the Korea Review:

"The coronation of King Edward VII of England took place on August 9th. The event was celebrated in Seoul by a reception at the British Legation. In spite of the fact that at this season many foreigners are absent from Seoul a large and representative company assembled at the legation to congratulate the British Minister, and through him the government and people whom he represents, upon this glad event. The threatening rain kindly held off and gave the company an opportunity to witness some very pretty fireworks, which we understand were made for the occasion by Dr. E. H. Baldock. They did both him and the event great credit. The climax of the evening came when Minister J. N. Jordan, Esq., proposed the health of THE KING which was responded to in a silence that was impressive. The company dispersed at midnight."

It is a shame that Evans did not deem the parties at Jemulpo worthy enough to write about; we do not know how the food and music compared to that at the Korean palace. The only other reliable source we could normally depend upon was Allen, but he and his wife stayed home because of the rain ― and, as he noted, they were preparing for their own lunch the following day at which many people would attend.

Allen and Evans seem to have been cut from the same cloth ― neither had time nor patience for foreign monarchs unless it suited their own causes.

I would like to express my appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance and for kindly allowing me to use some of her images.

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