Korea

I wish I could tell you more about these cards. Unfortunately, the writing in English doesn't tell me much, and I don't read Korean. If you have some insight, please leave a comment.

The first card shows a pagoda on top of the Keiron. I couldn't seem to find any information on what the Keiron is. There's something very beautiful and mysterious about the card though, so that's why I'm posting it.

Here's a close-up of the people. The variety of hats is particularly interesting.

And here's a picture of a village - but where? I wonder what it looks like now. Is it Yangdong Village? If so, it looks a little different today.

I'd love to be able to wander in for a closer look. Here's a little close-up, showing some people in the village. I'd also love to know more about the building materials. The roofs appear to be straw thatch and the houses may be constructed of mud bricks.

 

Finally, we have a card showing Prince Li's Palace in Seoul. I don't find anything under Prince Li's Palace either, although there are several palaces in Seoul.

The back of the cards all look like this.

Chemulpo Chicken

 

Here's a Korean postcard from Chemulpo. The area is known for the 1904 Battle of Chemulpo Bay in the Russo-Japanese War. Chemulpo, as the main port of Seoul, had strategic significance; it had previously been used as the main invasion route of the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894.

But this card was date stamped in 1940. Now, and at that time, Chemulpo was known as Incheon. It is the largest seaport on the west coast and has the country's largest airport. Other than that, I can't tell you anything about the significance of this card and it's chicken (rooster.) I welcome any input. But do take a look at the sideways rooster on the back of the card.

More Alternative Transportation -The Gama

The caption under this photo says "A Lady on the Chair Korean Gustoms." Litters and sedan chairs were used in many countries, including England, China, Turkey, and Korea. They were being used in one form as early as 250 BC. designs varied from one culture to another and also changed over time. Some were elegant and elaborately decorated and designed for use by royalty and other elite individuals. Others were fairly basic and used for public conveyance, similar to taxi service.

In Korea, the chairs were known as gama. They were generally used for royalty and government officials. They were also used for weddings though, with the bride and groom arriving in separate gamas. This one shown on this card is most likely a wedding gama, because it is relatively plain compared to the elaborate ones used by royalty and government. As with the Latin American Silla (see yesterday's post), gamas were preferred over wheeled transportation because of uneven terrain and lack of paved roads.