The Korea Times ran a special piece on the introduction of Western dogs into Korea during the late Chosun Dynasty. Now, as you all know by now, I’m an advocate of a certain “special relationship” with the canine race. And here’s all the more reason:
Often the pets were sources of strife between the westerners. Dalzel Bunker, a teacher, and his wife, Annie, worked at the government hospital. They had lived in Korea since 1886 and had seen many of the westerners raise large families, but they were childless. It seems only natural that Annie filled the void in her life with a pet dog she named Gordon. She loved and coddled it and even slept with it as if it were her child. Many of the other westerners were fond of this particular dog _ Philipp Jaisohn’s wife, an American woman, used to kiss and caress it whenever she was around it. However, not everyone liked the dog. The American minister to Korea, Horace Allen, despised it and referred to it as a “stupid dog” and a “mere cur.”
Unfortunately for Gordon, Harry R. Bostwick, an American businessman, also had a large dog he called Jack. One day Jack and Gordon met and a fight ensued in which Jack evidently came out on top and “tried to eat up Gordon.” Annie Bunker was so furious that she lodged a complaint with the American legation and later refused to attend a party at another westerner’s residence out of fear that “she might meet the man who let his dog hurt her dog.”
On July 25, 1905, a Japanese laborer attacked a group of American marines and their mascot, a dog, as they came out of a store in Seoul. The laborer suddenly kicked the dog without provocation causing the marines to warn the Japanese man not to do it again. He immediately lunged at them and even though a squad of Japanese soldiers was nearby, they did nothing to stop it. The American vice consul and members of the American Legation including a squad of Legation guards (with bayoneted weapons) rushed to the site in an attempt to quiet the situation down. When the vice consul announced who he was the Japanese man tried to attack him and nearly ended up skewering himself on one of the bayonets. Eventually the laborer was led away.
Remember, children — a dog in the pot is much less likely to cause diplomatic problems.
