[KS] General Sherman Incident
Joy Kim
joykim at usc.edu
Fri Dec 9 03:10:10 EST 2011
Dear List,
I forwarded the discussions on this thread to a library patron who had inquired about General Sherman before. She wishes to contribute some additional information based on her family history, so I am forwarding her message to the list.
Joy Kim
Curator, Korean Heritage Library
East Asian Library
University of Southern California
University Park
Los Angeles, CA90089-1825
Tel: 213-740-2329 or 213-740-2535
Fax: 213-740-7437
http://www.usc.edu/korea
http://libguides.usc.edu/korea
----- Original Message -----
From: SUN KIM <sun_20765 at msn.com>
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011 5:18 pm
Subject: General Sherman Incident
To: joykim at usc.edu
>
> Dear Joy,
>
> Thank you for sending the discussion threads on General Sherman
> Incident. There were a couple of articles that I did not know
> about before.
>
> You had asked me if I want to contribute any information to the
> discussion. I’d like to point out that my statements are based on
> bits of pieces that I overheard during family meetings when I was
> young (I’ll refer it as a local story). I also did additional
> researches on the internet. Whether it’s family or local people
> gatherings, children was not allowed into the room at the beginning
> of discussion. From what I can gather, when previous older
> generation of Pyung Yang residents met, they identify themselves by
> which side their family was on during THE BATTLE. It would be
> great to interview these older generations (over 80 years old) to
> find out more about this. They are very reluctant to talk about
> it—I believe it has something to do with Kim Il Sung’s family.
>
> 1. Wikipedia on Robert Jermain Thomas: It has a pretty good
> description of Mr. Thomas’s background including his first visit to
> Korea in 1865.
> a. According to the local story, Mr. Thomas was in Hwang Ju
> or Hae Ju in Hwang Hae Do. I was told this city was just cross the
> river from Pyung Yang. So, I assume it’s Hwang Ju. Mr. Thomas was
> selling bibles and my father’s grandfather who attended this secret
> meeting on behalf of family was forced to buy a bible from him for
> three times higher than local black market.
> 2. Question on the identity of Schooner General Sherman: I
> also heard there are debates on which ship this might have been and
> whether the ship was destroyed in Dae Dong River at the time of
> incident. One of articles that you have forwarded to me claims
> that the Ship was returned to the U.S. government and it was bought
> by Samuel Cook on 1867 due to Chinese government’s pressure.
> Personally, I don’t think it’s possible since Joseon was not open
> to foreigners till 1876.
> 3. Survivors: Were there any survivors? Everybody is
> forgetting that Schooner General Sherman was led into Dae Dong
> river by other Chinese junk ships. Crews of General Sherman
> perished but crews of other ships fled.
> 4. Contact with locals: Yes. There was a secret rendezvous
> between crews & locals according to my family.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Sun Kim
>
>
More information about the Koreanstudies
mailing list