October 31st, 2012 at 8:18 am » Comments (0)

Robert Neff the expat historian always seems to find some interesting historical tidbits from Korea’s past and this Halloween he has a few ghost stories involving Korea royalty published in the Korea Times The dead in Korea’s past did not always rest peacefully — occasionally they were disturbed by the living. King Bongsan, who reigned over the Goguryeo Kingdom from 292-300 A.D., was most likely not a popular ruler. He was arrogant and even worse he was suspicious of everyone — including his family. He had his uncle, a popular
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August 10th, 2012 at 4:49 am » Comments (15)

10 Aug 1910 – Seoul Paper Suppressed Lt. Gen. Viscount Terauchi, Japanese Resident General in Korea, is actively instituting reforms preparatory to a change in the administration of the Government. A rigid censorship of the newspapers in this city has been established.  One English paper has been suspended. 17 Aug 1910 Japan is About to Annex Korea The dispatches announce that the final negotiations for the annexation were commenced yesterday by Lt. Gen. Viscount Terauchi, the Japanese Resident-General in Korea. Since the present Emperor, Yi Syek, ascended the throne in
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July 26th, 2012 at 10:55 am » Comments (0)

3 July 1920 Sporadic fighting has broken out on the northeast border between Korean bandits and Japanese troops.  About twenty armed Koreans attempted to force their way into the garrison quarters at Koyodo on June 4, but were repulsed.  Another larger force stormed the garrison on the night of the 6th, but was once again driven back by a force under Major Yasukawa, which had arrived from Ranan to reinforce the garrison.

July 7th, 2012 at 12:17 am » Comments (0)

I haven’t managed to get myself to the college library to continue the NY Times Archives review of the aftermath of the 1919 March 1st Movement…  You can’t access those articles for free.  So, I decided to take a look at 1910 – the year Japan took full control of Korea (after gaining much influence in 1905). 1 July Korea Annexation Near In accordance with the convention recently made between Korea and Japan, the Korean Emperor has issued an edict delegating to the Japanese Government the police administration of the
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July 1st, 2012 at 2:38 pm » Comments (1)

This is a post in a series covering news articles about Korea before, during, and after the March 1st 1919 political uprising against Japanese colonization in Korea. 12 June 1920 Reports Korean Plot The Japanese Secret Service has uncovered a plot by Koreans against the lives of Prince Li of Korea and Princess Mesako, who recently were married, and Baron Saito… The alleged plot, which is said to have included bombing the Foreign and Interior offices and Tokio Police Bureau, was intended as a protest against the marriage of Prince
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May 3rd, 2012 at 6:22 pm » Comments (19)

This one looks very interesting since it’s a topic I’ve been watching and writing about since about 1998.  Here is the abstract: This paper analyzes the symbiotic and mutually reinforcing relationship between the anti-American movement and other social movements in democratic South Korea since 1987. Proposing a new typology of anti-Americanism, the paper formulates and develops an argument that the anti-American movement has substantially contributed to the success and survival of South Korea’s social movements. The anti-American movement should not be classified as one of the many social movements active
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May 3rd, 2012 at 3:48 pm » Comments (2)

Having too much time on my hand, and stress from filling out so many teaching applications back home, I started looking through material online.  One good thing about the Korean government supporting academic institutions is a fair number of academic journals have archives available for free online.  The Korea Journal is one. One article from this year I thought some might be interested in is: Contemporary Korean Society Viewed through the Lens of the Candlelight Vigils of 2008 , HAN Do-Hyun I don’t care to write a fuller post on
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May 2nd, 2012 at 12:49 pm » Comments (4)

5 April     200 Rhee Opponents Clash with Police The fight occurred in front of the capitol as the demonstrators attempted to march toward the presidential mansion about half a mile away. More than forty opposition members of the National Assembly were at the head of the crowd of only a few hundred as it started to march from the city hall plaza in defiance of a government warning yesterday.  But the number of demonstrators increased to about 2,000 during the two hour street parade. At least one policeman was beaten
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February 14th, 2012 at 9:54 pm » Comments (3)

9 Feb 1920 – Koreans Revolt – Japanese Routed Active rebelling in Korea against Japanese rule, fostered by the Russian Bolsheviki, and characterized as “the beginning of a tremendous affair,” is in progress, according to official dispatches received today in Washington.  A recent clash between 2,000 Koreans, armed mainly by the Bolsheviki, and a Japanese army post of 700 men in Northern Korea, the message said, had resulted in the defeat of the Japanese, 300 of whom were killed and the remainder routed.  Details of the fight were not reported.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:22 pm » Comments (0)

31 Dec 1919 Several independence manifestations by Koreans occurred last night in Seoul.  It is rumored that a declaration of independence has been signed by prominent Koreans. All the officers of the recently formed “Women’s Patriotic League” have been taken into custody.  13 Jan 1920 A Korean National Army has crossed the Siberian frontiers into Korea and has captured En Chin from the Japanese Provisional Government forces, according to a cablegram from Shanghai to the Korean National Association here.