[KS] Tracking a murder in colonial Korea

Henny Savenije webmaster at henny-savenije.pe.kr
Sun Apr 17 02:00:24 EDT 2011


At 03:29 AM 4/17/2011, you wrote:
>Dear Koreanstudies list:
>
>Hi. I am working on my MA thesis and could use help tracking down 
>records of a murder that may (or may not) have occurred around 1916.
>
>Writing in Horitsu Shinbun in 1917, Wanouchi Shinzo, a Kenpeitai 
>stationed in Korea, notes that Korean marriage customs are "vastly 
>different" and gives an example of a 52 year old man who married a 
>16 year old girl and eventually killed her and her family. He notes 
>that this massacre occurred the "year before" (probably 1916, 
>possibly late 1915 or early 1917), in a village (buraku) around Ky 
>ngi-do Yangp'y ng-gun Yongdu-ri.
>
>I haven't had any luck with the Korea History Online system (Hanguk 
>y ksa ch ngbo t'onghap system), but I was wondering if anyone else 
>had a suggestion to where I might turn.
>

I have no knowledge about the murder but Koreans did treat their 
wives less than slaves according to Hendrick Hamel some 240 years 
before. I guess it wouldn't have been much different 240 years later: 
Here is the relevant passage


A man can repudiate a wife, even if he begets several children by 
her. He then may marry again. A woman doesn't have these privileges 
unless a judge has granted her these.
A man may have as many wives as he can maintain and, if he desires, 
go to the whores. One woman stays in his house and does the 
housekeeping. The other women live somewhere else in separate houses. 
Noblemen usually have two to three women in their house, of which one 
is in charge of the housekeeping. Each of these women has her own 
apartment, where the lord of the house can visit them to his liking.
The Koreans treat their women as slaves, whom they can repudiate for 
a futility. If the man doesn't want the children, the repudiated 
woman has to take them with her. No wonder this country is so densely 
populated.


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Henny (Lee Hae Kang)
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http://www.henny-savenije.pe.kr Portal to all my sites
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http://www.hendrick-hamel.henny-savenije.pe.kr/indexk2.htm In Korean
http://www.hendrick-hamel.henny-savenije.pe.kr/Dutch In Dutch
http://www.vos.henny-savenije.pe.kr Frits Vos Article about Witsen 
and Eibokken and his first Korean-Dutch dictionary
http://www.cartography.henny-savenije.pe.kr (in English) Korea 
through Western Cartographic eyes
http://www.hwasong.henny-savenije.pe.kr Hwasong the fortress in Suwon
http://www.oldKorea.henny-savenije.pe.kr Old Korea in pictures
http://www.british.henny-savenije.pe.kr A British encounter in Pusan (1797)
http://www.genealogy.henny-savenije.pe.kr/ Genealogy
http://www.henny-savenije.pe.kr/phorum Bulletin board for Korean studies


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