WEBZINE ACC

Story of drifting in space like the characters in Breathedge, a survival game being stranded in space, or film <Gravity> (2013) and <The Martian> (2015) is no longer new to us. Considering 28 people already went out to space for travel in 2021 alone, the future of when people can easily space travel or go on a trip to the Moon may not be too far as we are witnessing more and more space travel tourism. Countless stars and the Moon in the night sky and the scorching Sun has been the source of curiosity and imagination since ancient times, and the adventurous have gotten on a spaceship, risking their lives. More people might actually get lost in space when space shuttles become as common as airplanes. About two centuries ago when the ocean was the only route to go overseas, it was common to lose one’s life in the ocean. The sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which became a motif for film <Titanic> (1997), happened merely a century ago. The means of travel has been advanced from the ship, to the airplane, to the spaceship, but the boldness of human beings overcome the fear of the unknown world and the risk awaiting ahead has not changed.

Skillful sailors' experiences, a shabby ship, and luck were all passengers could rely on when traveling the ocean in the 17th century. It only takes about an hour from Seoul and 30 to 40 minutes from Gwangju and Busan to Jeju by plane, but it took at least two months from Hanyang (Seoul) to Jeju back then. It's no wonder that the story of castaways who survived being lost at sea must have been exciting and intriguing to those in the 17th century. It is not surprising then that the governor of Jeju-mok Yi Ik-tae (1633-1704) left the record of Jeju islanders and foreign castaways who came ashore at Jeju in “Understanding Yeongju (Jiyeongnok).”

Yi Ik-tae is from the Yeonan Yi clan, whose courtesy name was Dae-yu, passed Munkwa, the higher civil service examination, in 1668, and started his term of office as the Jeju governor in 1694. He left Hanyang on May 8, 1694, arrived in Haenam on Jun. 21, rode on a ship in Bogil Island the next day, and finally arrived in Jeju on Jun. 29, 1694. The book, “Understanding Yeongju,” contains his two-month journey to Jeju and the daily events he heard and observed during his two-year service in Jeju.

Portrait of Yi Ik-tae ©Jeju National Museum

First page of <Understanding Yeongju> ©ACC

The composition of “Understanding Yeongju” is largely divided into two parts: the first half and the second half. In the first half, Lee Ik-tae's own story is written, and in the second half, the story of the Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and Jeju people is written. The first half is a diary of Lee Ik-tae for about a year and a half from May 2, 1694 to November 13, 1695, and is an important historical record and record for understanding Jeju's culture and history, natural scenery and customs, and the administration of Jeju in the 17th century. It was designated as Treasure No. 2002 in 2018 in recognition of its importance as the first human geography of Jeju Island, and the original is donated by the Yanan Yi Clan, a descendant of Lee Ik-tae, and can be seen in the permanent exhibition room of the Jeju National Museum. In the second half, the records of major drifting events in Jeju from 1652 to 1693, that is, from Hyojong to Sukjongdae, before Lee Ik-tae took office, were investigated and 14 books were selected and published. Among them, two notable films are “Records about Westerner Castaways”, which is well known as “Story of the wreck of the Sperwer yacht”, and “Diary of the Castaway Kim Dae-hwang”.

“Records about Westerner Castaways” is a book about sailor Hendrik Y. Hamel, born in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, and his crew being stranded in Jeju. Hamel started working for the Dutch East India Company in 1651 and sailed to Nagasaki, Japan, passing Taiwan, on the ship De Sperwer in July 1653. Hamel and his 36 crewmates met a powerful storm and came ashore to Jeju Island. After going through hardships, they successfully escaped from Jeju in 1666 and went back to their homeland in 1668 through Nagasaki. It was a 14-year long journey back home. In 1668, Hamel published <Relation du Naufrage d'un Vaisseau Hollandais> and its appendix <Description du Royaume de Corée>.

First page of <Hamel’s Journal>. The French translated version published in 1670. ©ACC

His book has become the first publication that introduced geography, folk culture, politics, military, education, and trade of Joseon to Europe. The book is now known as "Hamel's Journal" in Korea. Museums and memorial halls were established in memory of Hamel in Jeju, Yeosu, and Gangjin. In 2015, the Hendrick Hamel Museum opened at the location thought to be where he had lived in Gorinchem, Netherlands, introducing Hamel and Korean culture.

Hendrick Hamel Museum in the Netherlands

“Records about Westerner Castaways” includes vivid descriptions full of personality, something hardly found in the official royal records of that time, such as “The Veritable Records of King Hyojong,” “Records of the Border Defense Council,” and “Seungjeongwon ilgi.” The Jeju Office failed to figure out the nationality of Hamel and his crews despite numerous investigations and interpretation, so the office requested Hanyang to send Park Yeon to Jeju, who got drifted in the island and later decided to reside in Joseon. Park Yeon’s original Dutch name was Jan Janse Weltevree, and got stranded on Jeju Island in 1627 sailing to Nagasaki on Ouwerkerck. Park Yeon and his two other companions were residing in Joseon’s Military Training Agency and training Joseon soldiers on manufacturing and using hongyipao, a European-style muzzle-loading culverin introduced to Joseon from the Ming dynasty. Yi, the author of “Records about Westerner Castaways”, recorded the moment Park met people from his home country for the first time as follows:

“Park Yeon and three Western castaways looked closely at each other a rather long time, and finally Park Yeon said, ‘They are like brothers to me.’ As they talked to each other, the three Westerners could not stop crying due to being lost in the unknown. Park Yeon cried as well. The following day, Park Yeon gathered all the Westerners and asked them where they were from, and they were all from Nanman. One of them was only a 13-year-old child, whose name was Denijs Govertszen. The child alone was from the region close to where Park Yeon used to live. Park Yeon inquired him about his family and relatives, and the child replied, “The house is gone and only abundant grasses remain. He passed away but the relatives are alive.” Park Yeon could not withstand the overwhelming sadness upon hearing this.

Although Park had been living in Joseon for 30 years at that time, he couldn't help himself but cry, missing his family and having no way to return to his homeland, a scene sad enough to make readers want to cry with him. Moreover, Yi recorded every single detail from the encounter, including: the garments of the Dutch when they arrived; the color of their eyes and skin, their courtesy; their left-to-right writing system and their naming system of writing given name first and surname last; and body language and gestures he and the Dutch used to communicate.

“Diary of the Castaway Kim Dae-hwang” is a record of Jeju official Kim Dae-hwang’s observations of Annam (Vietnam). Kim and 24 other people departed from Hwabuk Military Position in 1687, carrying three horses on a ship, a gift from a former Jeju governor to his successor, but were cast adrift at sea for a month after encountering a storm around Chuja Islands. He and his crew finally returned to Seogwipo, Jeju Island on Dec. 17, 1688, after promising to give 600 bags of rice to the merchants on a merchant ship in Fujian, China in July 1688 and sailing the coast of 4 provinces, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang. They returned home after 16 months of being lost overseas. “Diary of the Castaway Kim Dae-hwang” contains detailed records of the crew’s journey back to Joseon through Vietnam and China; and local products, administration, and the culture of Vietnam in the 17th century. It’s a valuable and rare record, considering how uncommon it was for Joseon people to visit Vietnam and how miraculous it was for him to drift to Vietnam and return alive at that time, along with how detailed his records of the culture and daily events were in Vietnam.

The clothing of people of Annam showed no difference between the upper and lower class, and between men and women. It was impossible to distinguish their class. Everyone colored their teeth black, and higher class people wore a hat made of horse tail. Official documents, important or not, use Junghwa as the name of its era, which makes the year of Mushin the 9th year of Junghwa. Each household was growing a large number of livestock, such as Asian roe deer, deer, buffaloes, elephants, and peafowls. They cultivated the land with buffalo, and rode elephants. Horses and cows in Annam were perceived as big and strong compared to those back home. All farms were paddy fields, and there were no fields for dry crops. Mountains were full of mulberry and cedar trees. They harvested rice twice a year, and bred silkworms eight times a year. People were kind and generous, and the food and products were abundant.

“Record about Westerner Castaways” and “Diary of the Castaway Kim Dae-hwang” not only show how Joseon people and foreigners viewed each other in the 17th century, but also demonstrate that there was a systematized process between countries in Asia to deal with castaways in terms of investigation, aid and care provision, and repatriation. In addition, the books contain historical materials that can be used to understand East Asia in the 17th century, containing the history of confusing times of the transition from the Ming to Qing dynasties, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, the emergence of Chinese merchants overseas in East Asia, Japan's subjugation of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the private trading system and traded products, and customs in 17th-century Asia.

Yi did not clearly explain why he included the stories of castaways in his book. He simply wrote in the foreword that he left this record “as waiting for the successor.” People living in 17th-century Joseon may have still believed that rabbits were living on the Moon. It’s still surprising that Hamel escaped from Joseon and returned to the Netherlands after 14 years, and that Kim Dae-hwang returned back to Joseon alive from Vietnam. We are said “successors” to the castaways' adventures, making the dream of space travel come true, whatever Yi’s intention was when writing this book. Their surprising stories still resonate and move us living in the 21st century.

Download “Understanding Yeongju (Jiyeongnok)” from Jeju National Museum
Translation of Korean Classics Series