[KS] Memories of Sookmyung--the house in Noryangjin

Wed Sep 27 16:16:19 EDT 2006

Hi, Stefan:

Interesting story! I was interested because I spent three years teaching at
Sookmyung Women's University from 1999-2001. Indeed, the university started
as a high school before becoming a two-year college, then a full-fledged
university, and it now enjoys a high reputation in Korea.

As far as the house goes - I hate to be pessimistic but I know Seoul quite
well and to be honest there is not much standing around that area from that
era. Noryangjin is now a built up working class area on the periphery of
central Seoul, and there is a high chance that any older buildings from that
era will have been bulldozed to make way for housing blocks sometime between
the 1960s and now! It's well known for its Hagwons (private academies) and
the famous fish market there. The best bet might be for someone in Seoul who
speaks Korean to go to the dong office with a photo and the address and make
some enquiries. Good luck!

Iain Sands
MA Program, School of Asian Studies
University of Auckland

On 9/27/06, Stefan Ewing <sa_ewing at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear KS list members:
>
> (Apologies for any confusion yesterday.  The second email I sent out
> yesterday was different from the first one, but might have appeared like a
> reposting.)
>
> I have received more information from the lady enquiring about the house
> in
> Noryangjin.  I have the vain hope that this might help in locating it, as
> it's possible that someone here has heard of her great grandfather--or his
> wife--who lived there.
>
> The lady's great grandfather was one Nomura Seinosuke (Kanji/Hancha
> version
> of name in attached document), who lived in Seoul during the Japanese
> colonial period and became the principal of Sookmyung Girls' High School
> in
> 1940.  (The school was first established in 1906 as "Myeongsin Girls'
> School"; the university's predecessor, Sookmyung Institute, was founded in
> 1912.)  Mr. Nomura is mentioned in the school's chronology, under the
> entry
> for 1940 here: http://sookmyung.hs.kr/info/04.asp .
>
> I have read that there were many progressive Japanese educators who took
> their responsibilities in Korea to heart, and Mr. Nomura appears to have
> been one of them.  He cared for the students in his charge, and the
> feeling
> was reciprocal to the point that one of his charges wrote a book about her
> experiences.  To quote my correspondent:
>
> "He was a very good Christian man and was well liked among his students.
> One of his students named Choe Hesook wrote about how he influenced her
> life
> in a book.  The book was written in Korean and Japanese.  The Japanese
> title
> was Hanno Kanatani. He encouraged her to go to college when that sort of
> things wasn't really done back then.  She also writes in her book that one
> of her friends wanted to help as a nurse in the Japanese army to get money
> for her family.  He told her not to do this and to stay in school.  She
> later found out those 'nurses' were used as comfort women.  She was very
> grateful to him for that."
>
> I also have one more detail about the house.  Mr. Nomura "enjoyed living
> there because he could see the ocean from the hill where his house was."
> (Could this reinforce the idea that the house might have been along the
> eastern ridge south of the Han'gang Daegyo?)  Beyond that, all she knows
> is
> that its address at the time was 205 Roryoshin (205 Noryangjin).  I know
> the
> addressing system in Seoul was just revamped radically within the last few
> years, and I'm sure that even before then, the address would have changed
> a
> few times--but as I asked yesterday, does anyone know of a database or
> physical archives where one might be able to look up a property by its
> former address?
>
> Her great grandfather did return to Seoul 15 years before he passed away,
> and the house was still there (I don't know when he passed away), so
> perhaps
> there's some faint hope that it still exists!  This story has so intrigued
> me that if I were in Seoul, I would gladly look for the house or try to
> undertake the research myself.
>
> Thank you in advance to anyone who can provide information on any of the
> following:
>
> * Any Japanese-era maps of Seoul that are detailed enough to show property
> information (fire insurance or local police station neighbourhood maps,
> perhaps, if those still exist or are available);
> * Resources for searching for historical property information (i.e., land
> registry offices);
> * Mr. Nomura Seinosuke (a Google search for his name in Han'gu^l and
> Kanji/Hancha turned up nothing);
> * Ms. Choe Hyesook or the book she wrote (even the Korean title?);
> * A more detailed history of Sookmyung than what's available online via
> the
> university's own website or the Naver encyclopedia; or
> * The location of the house itself, if it's still standing.
>
> Yours very sincerely,
> Stefan Ewing
>
> ***
>
> >Just a quick follow up...
> >
> >I have found two panoramas of the Noryangjin area from the 1930s,
> although
> >I can't pick out the house being looked for.  I wonder how much more
> >extensive the neighbourhood was than what appears in those photos.  The
> >pictures are the 3rd and 4th ones down on this page:
> >
> >
> http://www.seoul.go.kr/life/life/culture/history_book/picture_seoul2/6/1203346_3019.html
> >
> >Judging by the house's setting in the photo I linked to earlier (and
> >judging by the house's appearance, the family must have been well off), I
> >wonder if might have been located along the ridge in the background of
> both
> >photos.
> >
> >A more general question: I haven't taken the time to explore Noryangjin
> >myself, though I have often wanted to, since it was one of the first
> >built-up areas south of the Han River.  All I've seen of it has been from
> >the subway, or zipping along the Olympic Daero.  Are there still many old
> >buildings standing there, or has it been as completely redeveloped as
> >everwhere else south of the river?
> >
> >Thanks again,
> >Stefan Ewing
> >
> >***
> >
> >Dear KS list members:
> >
> >A lady has contacted me asking to locate a house in Seoul that her great
> >grandparents lived in, and if possible take a picture of it.  As I live
> in
> >Canada, there's not much I can do for her.  I've attached her email
> (minus
> >personal information) below.  A few notes:
> >
> >1) She sent along an old photo of the house, available through this link:
> >
> http://pictures.aol.com/ap/singleImage.do?pid=3ca0x3uS7Dtn2m2QPhNf1jQmK8LudAokAkSvv4xQp5Fd3Ig%3D
> >
> >2) In the address she's provided, Roryoshin appears to be the Japanese
> name
> >for Noryangjin
> >(http://www.fallingrain.com/world/KS/11/Noryangjindong.html).
> >
> >3) Dr. Cwiertka asked this question back in April (which is how this lady
> >found out about the Army Map Service's 1946 map of Seoul, I guess), but
> can
> >anyone think of any additional Japanese-era maps of Seoul, beyond those
> >mentioned in the spring?  (The thread starts here:
> >
> http://koreaweb.ws/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreaweb.ws/2006-April/005530.html
> )
> >
> >How might she match the address of her great grandparents' house to a
> >modern-day address?  Are there archives anywhere storing property records
> >from the colonial era?
> >
> >Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks,
> >Stefan Ewing
> >
> >***
> >
> >Dear Stefan,
> >
> >Thank you for posting the Keijo map from Texas University.  We went to
> the
> >genealogical library in Salt Lake City looking for a map and so far this
> >one has been the best.  Do you know where I can find a more detailed map
> of
> >Keijo (a map with street names in Japanese or romanized English)?
> >
> >My great grandparents use to live in 205 Roryoshin, Eitohoku, Seoul.  I
> am
> >looking for their old house.  I also posted a picture of there house just
> >in case anyone happens to be in the neighborhood.  If you do see it,
> could
> >you take a snapshot of the house for me?
> >
> >Sincerely,
> >Esther ...
>
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