Siegfried Genthe: The First Westerner to climb Korea’s Mount Halla

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Korea, known as the Land of the Morning Calm, was anything but calm in the early years of the twentieth century. Accounts of political unrest, massacres and the threat of war peppered the pages of newspapers around the world. And while these articles may have caused uneasiness in the hearts of the readers who had family members in Korea, it also inspired adventure-seeking journalists and globe-trotters to visit Korea.

One of these adventure-seekers was Siegfried Genthe – a well-educated German journalist – who arrived in Korea in the summer of 1901. He is said to have been the first Westerner to climb Mount Halla and his adventure is worth a quick read. The following is a typical encounter that demonstrates just how difficult his task was.

“One hundred days of sacrifices must be performed in any case before attempting to climb the mountain in order to propitiate the spirits of Halla-San.” If the sacrifices were not made or the mountain was defiled, “the people and the island and the crops would be certainly ruined by the rains which would surely follow.”

Just as Governor Yi finished warning Genthe that he must not climb Mount Halla, a horrendous thunderstorm struck the city. The roaring winds and the pounding rain were too much for the governor who fled back to his residence convinced that the mountain spirits had spoken – no one was to climb the mountain.

You can read the rest of the story here – at Jeju Weekly.

I also thought some of you might like the two pictures of Chemulpo. The one above is from my collection circa 1910. The one below is from Norman Thorpe’s book “Korea Through Australian Eyes” circa 1905. Both pictures are from pretty much the same location.