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| A young candy merchant plying his wares. Circa early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
Sometimes their bodies, horribly mutilated and missing parts, were found discarded in out-of-the-way places but often the child was never found ― vanished without a trace.
As the days passed and more children were victimized, the Korean community soon resorted to vigilante justice.
On June 12, a Japanese resident reported seeing a Korean man, "tightly bound with straw ropes," lying on the side of the street badly bruised. Nearby were a couple of clubs "for the convenience of passers-by who might feel inclined to stop and give a few blows."
It was explained to the horrified Japanese witness that the man was being punished for "conspiring with foreigners to do this great wickedness [of preying upon Korean children]."
On the following day, another foreign resident reported seeing a different Korean lying in the street ― he was bound and "his whole body was one mass of wounds and bruises." As in the previous case, several sticks were placed nearby so those who felt inclined to do so could met out their own punishment.
The witness returned the next morning and found the man dead, "with nails five inches long driven through the most tender parts of his person and the boys who passed were throwing filth over the body." It was a horrific display but, according to the Korean residents in the area, the man had a history of kidnapping.
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| A candy merchant and his young customer. On the back of the postcard the sender wrote: "This man is selling candy, doesn't it look inviting?" Circa 1907. Courtesy of Diane Nars |
This fear of foreigners and sweets wasn't confined just to Seoul. Born in 1883 in Cheongju (a city in Chungcheong Province), Hugh Heung-wu Cynn recalled:
"One winter day, when I was about four years old, I was overtaken with fright, because my playmates told me that a candy peddler had appeared in the village. I had heard the grown-ups talking among themselves about the incoming to our country of the terrible ocean-men [foreigners], who sent their agents far and wide, disguised as candy-peddlers. The peddlers were supposed to give out candy to innocent children who upon eating this mysterious mixture would lose their mind and follow the agents to the ocean-men. These ocean-men, according to the story, were cannibals, and they relished the tender flesh of the children better than any other kind of meat. So, when I was told of the coming of the candy merchant to the village, I with my cronies, took refuge behind a haystack until sundown."
It was, however, in Seoul that this anti-foreigner sentiment peaked. Rumors spread wildly through the streets that the missionaries were using children for immoral purposes; others claimed children were being killed to harvest their eyes which, they explained, were needed to develop the film in foreign cameras; and some claimed children were being boiled alive and eaten ― the American Minister to Korea was said to be quite fond of dining on Korean children.
These supposed outrages committed on the Korean population also extended to women. Some people believed Korean women were being murdered for their breasts, which were then canned and used by Westerners for milk.
The growing unrest was only quashed when the various legations in Seoul sent word to their naval vessels at Jemulpo to send marines and sailors to help protect the foreign population. With the arrival of these foreign soldiers, the Korean government took measures to dispel the vicious rumors and, once again, Korea became the "Land of the Morning Calm."
Korean candies and sweets were also popular with foreign children. In her memoirs, an American woman who grew up in Korea in the early 20th century wrote:
"On the dirty streets, there would be candy sellers on street corners. They had a tray with straps going up over their shoulders, and the candy was malt taffy. It was good, I loved it. But it was just exposed to the dust and the dirt blowing around. When they made it, they spit on their hands so it wouldn't stick to them when they pulled it. Then it was rolled in sesame seeds. We used to buy it once in awhile and re-cook it to kill the germs."
Apparently, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Have a safe Halloween.
