19th-century Seoul's all-too-familiar history with fires

• Published date: 04 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

On the night of February 23, 1885, Seoul was visited by one of its most dangerous adversaries ? a fire! George C. Foulk, the American representative in Seoul, reported that a large "conflagration broke out" in a Korean government-owned lumberyard and warehouses just to the north of the American Legation. The buildings and a "quantity of valuable timber" were destroyed.

The fire caused great unease amongst the Korean population, as well as the small foreign community. Fires, especially those at night and aided by a breeze, had a tendency to spread quickly from house to house and could easily destroy a large part of the city. It was expected that everyone capable of rendering aid would participate in fighting the fire ? not only was it a neighborly act, but also one of self-preservation.

This fire, however, did not appear to be accidental and was believed to be the work of an arsonist. Foulk explained that "fires are not infrequently started as signals, or to draw people together as preliminaries to acts of violence in Corea." He did not mention it in his report but two months earlier, someone started a fire to signal the start of an attempted coup.

Foulk and his Korean neighbors were not the only ones worried about the fire being a tool for political change. As soon as the fire had been detected, the commander of the Japanese soldiers stationed in Seoul immediately sent a squad of soldiers to help guard the American Legation. It was a gesture much appreciated but unnecessary as the Korean government dispatched several hundred soldiers and the fire was "subdued in an orderly manner."

Foulk assumed that the fire was in connection with the planned move of the royal family from Changdeok Palace to Gyeongbok Palace in just over a week. Perhaps it was an attempt to keep the royal family in the old palace or maybe it had nothing to do with politics and was simply an act of a disgruntled employee ? or the capriciousness of Mother Nature. Undoubtedly, punishments were meted out by senior government officials to lesser government officials for carelessness and dereliction of duty. Those without political power or money surely paid a price but it is unclear if the person or persons truly responsible for the fire were ever caught and punished.

Not only did the fire destroy a lot of valuable...