TRANSACTIONS ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY Korea Branch Volume 92 – 2017 1 COVER: The seal-shaped emblem of the RAS-KB consists of the following Chinese characters: 槿 (top right), 域 (bottom right), 菁 (top left), 莪 (bottom left), pronounced Kŭn yŏk Ch’ŏng A in Korean. The first two characters mean “the hibiscus region,” referring to Korea, while the other two (“luxuriant mugwort”) are a metaphor inspired by Confucian commentaries on the Chinese Book of Odes, and could be translated as “enjoy encouraging erudition.” SUBMISSIONS: Transactions invites the submission of manuscripts of both scholarly and more general interest pertaining to the anthropology, archeology, art, history, language, literature, philosophy, and religion of Korea. Manuscripts should be prepared in MS Word format and should be submitted in digital form. The style should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style (most recent edition). The covering letter should give full details of the author’s name, address and biography. Romanization of Korean words and names must follow either the McCune-Reischauer or the current Korean government system. Submissions will be peer- reviewed by two readers specializing in the field. Manuscripts will not be returned and no correspondence will be entered into concerning rejections. Transactions (ISSN 1229-0009) Copyright © 2018 Royal Asiatic Society – Korea Branch Room 611, Christian Building, Daehangno 19 (Yeonji-dong), Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-736 Republic of Korea Tel: (82-2) 763-9483; Fax: (82-2) 766-3796; Email: [email protected] Visit our website at www.raskb.com 2 TRANSACTIONS Volume 92 – 2017 Contents Cultivating Collective Memories: Seoul’s Changgyeonggung David Kendall 1 Imperial Crown Style in Colonial Korea Nate Kornegay 21 The Hungnam Evacuation: A Korean War Christmas Miracle Ned Forney 31 Reinventing the Lost Village of Zandari Jon Dunbar 41 Korea in Early Western Cartography Henny Savenije 73 Imagining Community and Nation in Late Chosŏn Kasa Boudewijn Walraven 91 “To devise an escape from destiny” : The role of fortune-telling in Korea’s developmental past and neoliberal present Matthew VanVolkenburg 115 Korea as Seen from the Saddle (Part 2: Pyongyang) Robert D. Neff 133 Korean Women’s Traditional Outfit and Chador: Cousins? Maija Rhee Devine 155 The Korean War, American POWs and the Legacy of Brainwashing Michael Devine 163 Imaginative Awakenings: Dream Writing in South Korea Loren Goodman 175 Photo-Memories: DPRK-Russia By Train Victoria Kim 187 100 Great Books of Korea Richard Rutt 205 Annual RASKB Report 227 3 THE COUNCIL OF THE KOREA BRANCH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY [As of May 2018] HONORARY PRESIDENTS Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador Charles Hay Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador Simon Smith (from March 2018) OFFICERS Brother Anthony, President, Ms. Suzanne Crowder Han, Vice President, Mr. Tom Coyner, Treasurer, Ms. Elizabeth Kraft, Secretary, COUNCILLORS Mrs. Bae, Sue Ja, Mr. Robert Koehler, Mr. Peter Bartholomew, Mr. John Nowell Mr. Patrick Bourgo, Mr. Hank Morris, Ms. Yeri Choi Mr. Andrew Salmon Mr. Jon Dunbar Mr. Fred Jeremy Seligson, Ms. Jennifer Flinn Mr. Jun (Yong-Kyun) Shin, Mr. Jun Byung Geun Mr. Alan Timblick, Mr. Jang Sung-Hyun, Prof. Michael Welles, Mr. Jaebum Kim, Prof. Kathryn Weathersby, Honorary Councillor: Dr. Lee SeUng (Seoul Cyber University) General Managers: Ms. Yonjoo Hong; Mr. Tom Coyner & Ms. Yeri Choi Room 611, Christian Building, Daehangno 19 (Yeonji-dong), Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-736 Republic of Korea Tel: +82 (0)2 763-9483 Fax: +82 (0)2 766-3796 Email: [email protected] Homepage: www.raskb.com 4 Cultivating Collective Memories: Seoul’s Changgyeonggung1 David Kendall This article is an attempt to trace distinct changes in the representations of a Korean palace over three periods: the end of Joseon/Colonial period (1900-1945), the Authoritarian period (1945-1993) and the Civilian period (1993-2015). The main focus is on the inclusion and exclusion of information surrounding the Prince Yi Museum,2 its collection, and a 27- year-old crown prince who was sealed in a wooden chest by order of his father King Yeongjo and starved to death over eight sweltering summer days in 1762. All three subjects are linked to a currently pine-covered plot on Changgyeonggung’s grounds. One small signboard identifies the spot as the former location of a royal residence and modern library. More interesting is what has been excluded from that description. The manner in which Japanese and Korean officials have chosen to present or conceal information linked to this roughly 30-meter-by-100- meter site reveals major social shifts in Korea from 1907 to 2015, proving Verdery’s observation that “the macro is in the micro.” Analysis of 60 guidebooks and websites also shows how authors tend to pick up the conveniently condensed narratives reflected in publications endorsed by concurrent governments.3 1 References and documentation have been reduced to a minimum in publishing this article. Readers needing full references and a complete bibliography should refer to the author’s online thesis: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/20267/KendallThesisSe pt3.pdf;sequence=1 2 The official English name of Korea’s first museum is now the Yi Royal Family Museum. However, the most common Colonial-Period name, the Prince Yi Museum, is used throughout the article for consistency. 3 Primary government journals studied: Pictorial Korea (1956-1970 -1991-2006), Facts about Korea (1963-2007), Korea Annual (1964-2003). 1 Cultivating Collective Memories 1. LATE JOSEON/COLONIAL PERIOD (1900-1945): At the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese authorities were out to prove their empire’s high Social Darwinian rank. Fact-finding missions dispatched abroad in the 1860s had studied how the Western world worked. One aspect entailed the presentation of historical, artistic and industrial achievements. These findings led to the construction of a zoo, museums and gardens within Tokyo’s Ueno Park in 1873. Its museums embodied a chance to craft a national narrative. On the Korean Peninsula, the Joseon court was struggling to modernize as well through trade concessions with Western nations. These efforts were aborted after Korea became a Japanese protectorate following the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. The Joseon royal family (the House of Yi) and their property were placed under the supervision of Japanese administrators who devised a plan – on their own or at the behest of the last Joseon king (or emperor; many details depend on the source) – to turn the palace Changgyeong-gung into a public pleasure garden (Changgyeong-won), complete with zoo, museum and botanical garden. Over 80% of the palace structures were demolished to make room for this. Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung in 1820 For recent Korean scholars, the erection of Japanese edifices over the few dilapidated palace structures left standing was a calculated humiliation designed to demystify and desacralize a space that had long been off limits to the public during the Joseon period. Non-Koreans scholars tend to concede an assertion of dominance but see Ueno and Changgyeongwon (hereafter simply ‘Changgyeong’) as designed primarily to unify society inwardly while outwardly projecting the image of a cultured, powerful empire. By the time park construction had ended in 1911, Korea’s first and last two living emperors had been forced to abdicate and Japan had 2 Cultivating Collective Memories annexed their entire 518-year-old realm. The largest Japanese icon built on Changgyeong’s grounds occupied the highest spot in the park. The brick, two-story Prince Yi Museum was capped with the high-pitched gables epitomizing Japanese castles. Changgyeong’s transformation was a small part of a much larger picture. Military campaigns from 1894 to 1905 had drained Japan’s treasury and generated bad Western press coverage. Tourism offered a way to soften its image while providing revenue. The Japan Tourism Bureau (JTB) partnered with newspapers and railroads to attract inbound tourists as soon as the empire expanded. Seoul’s palaces received barely a mention in a 1910 guide released by the Welcome Society of Japan. A year later, Changgyeong was a well-trodden part of a recommended day tour for those en route to Manchuria. Asserting Japanese dominance was a major concern in the Military Rule Period (1910-1920), and the Prince Yi Museum curators focused on corresponding exhibits. Godfrey Gompertz described Japanese activities in Korea between 1905 and 1916 as a “veritable orgy of pillaging.” Japanese surveyors could excavate wherever they wished on the peninsula whereas on the main islands, the Imperial Household Ministry expressly forbade disruption of the sacred space of imperial tombs. Prince Yi Museum (Iwangga Bangmulgwan) 1911-1938, demolished 1992 The first travel guide reviews were unimpressed by the Prince Yi Museum’s collection: 3 Cultivating Collective Memories It is decidedly inferior to the customary splendid ancient and modern art objects one usually sees in the museums of Japan. There are strangely few antiquities of artistic or intrinsic worth, despite the oft-repeated assertion that Korea was the fountainhead whence the wonderful artisans of Old Japan drew their inspiration (Terry, 1914: 745). Japanese officials started to apply their proven sales techniques 4 to Korean finds during the Cultural Rule Period (1920-39) with a subsequent rise in the quantity, quality and description of Korean artifacts (Pai, 2013: 93). The Governor-General’s office then began shipping handsome Prince Yi Museum catalogues in English and Japanese to Europe and America (Pai, 2013: 91).5 Once Japan started promoting Korea’s cultural legacy, accounts similar to their scholars’ analyses appeared abroad. Andreas Eckardt published Geschichte der Koreanischen Kunst (History of Korean Art) in German and English in 1929. The monograph covers several pieces held in the “Prince I Museum.” Eckardt explains that his book is a product of German and Japanese universities’ efforts to fill the Korean art void that exists in Western languages.