Korea and Her Neighbors

Isabella L. Bird (1831 - 1904)

In this book, Isabella L. Bird, who had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society only 2 years prior, describes her travels through Korea from 1894 - 1897 in her well-known style. She went on lengthy trips through the interior of what is today both North- and South Korea and vividly describes the landscapes, people and customs of the "Hermit Kingdom".

Isabella's sojourn coincided with a time of great turmoil in Korea. Shortly after her arrival, the Japanese occupied the country, ostensibly to protect their expatriate community. But when relations worsend further, Isabella was forced to flee, first to Manchuria, and, after the outbreak of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895), to Russia. She returned to Korea only days after the assassination of Queen Min in October 1895, and saw King Gojong reduced to a mere "salaried automaton" until he fled to the Russian Legation in 1896. Isabella, having had several audiences with the monarchs throughout her stay in Seoul, gives a first hand account of the political and governmental changes throughout this time.

Altogether, this is a fascinating account of Korea at a time when the country was not only torn between tradition and modernisation, but also found herself a pawn of Japan, China, and Russia, all vying for control in the Far East. (Summary by Availle)

Genre(s): Travel & Geography, Memoirs, Modern (19th C)

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Preface and Author's Prefatory Note Availle
00:15:45
Play 01 Introductory Chapter Availle
00:30:07
Play 02 I. First Impressions of Korea Availle
00:27:45
Play 03 II. First Impressions of the Capital Availle
00:31:58
Play 04 III. The Kur-dong Availle
00:25:04
Play 05 IV. Seoul, the Korean Mecca Availle
00:16:48
Play 06 V. The Sailing of the Sampan Availle
00:13:12
Play 07 VI. On the River of Golden Sand Availle
00:26:15
Play 08 VII. Views Afloat Availle
00:41:18
Play 09 VIII. Natural Beauty - The Rapids Availle
00:40:05
Play 10 IX. Korean Marriage Customs Availle
00:15:09
Play 11 X. The Korean Pony - Korean Roads and Inns Availle
00:29:05
Play 12 XI. Diamond Mountain Monasteries Availle
00:44:35
Play 13 XII. Along the Coast - Part 1 Availle
00:35:39
Play 14 XII. Along the Coast - Part 2 Availle
00:32:27
Play 15 XIII. Impending War - Excitement at Chemulpo Availle
00:19:17
Play 16 XIV. Deported to Manchuria Availle
00:17:37
Play 17 XV. A Manchurian Deluge - A Passenger Cart - An Accident Availle
00:15:50
Play 18 XVI. Mukden and its Missions Availle
00:17:35
Play 19 XVII. Chinese Troops on the March Availle
00:15:04
Play 20 XVIII. Nagasaki - Wladivostok Availle
00:24:38
Play 21 XIX. Korean Settlers in Siberia Availle
00:38:02
Play 22 XX. The Trans-Siberian Railroad Availle
00:14:51
Play 23 XXI. The King's Oath - An Audience Availle
00:39:35
Play 24 XXII. A Transition Stage Availle
00:18:17
Play 25 XXIII. The Assassination of the Queen Availle
00:33:37
Play 26 XXIV. Burial Customs Availle
00:22:00
Play 27 XXV. Song-do: A Royal City Availle
00:20:51
Play 28 XXVI. The Phyong-yang Battlefield Availle
00:47:45
Play 29 XXVII. Northward Ho! Availle
00:25:23
Play 30 XXVIII. Over the An-kil Yung Pass Availle
00:19:07
Play 31 XXIX. Social Position of Women Availle
00:13:47
Play 32 XXX. Exorcists and Dancing Women Availle
00:35:35
Play 33 XXXI. The Hair-cropping Edict Availle
00:29:49
Play 34 XXXII. The Reorganised Korean Government Availle
00:38:28
Play 35 XXXIII. Education and Foreign Trade Availle
00:28:38
Play 36 XXXIV. Daemonism or Shamanism Availle
00:24:14
Play 37 XXXV. Notes on Daemonism Concluded Availle
00:43:43
Play 38 XXXVI. Seoul in 1897 Availle
00:40:39
Play 39 XXXVII. Last Words on Korea Availle
00:35:46