| The streets of Wonsan in the late 1890s. / Robert Neff collection |
By Robert Neff
In a small community, the arrival of a stranger usually generates speculative gossip, and the Bilbroughs were no exceptions.
It was customary throughout the Far East for new Western arrivals to pay complimentary visits to announce their presence, but Charles and his mother shunned any contact with Koreans or foreigners. The Japanese, who made up the largest part of the foreign community, were extremely anxious to know what Charles was doing. Over the past couple of years, Russia's influence had grown greatly on the Korean peninsula as had its economic concerns. The Japanese feared that he might be a Russian agent. Others thought that he was involved in some secret English plot. Others suggested that he worked for the German government ― his personal connection to Prince Henry of Germany, especially after the nobleman's visit to the port, may have fueled this rumor among the Japanese. Ironically, some of the other nationalities whispered that he might be working for the Japanese government.
Not all of the rumors were nefarious in nature. One German member of the Korean Customs service was sure that Charles was merely an inventor working on his newest invention. To a degree this was true. Charles was a great tinkerer and held several patents before he died
In his diary, Yun Chi-ho, the governor of the province, wrote:
"[Bilbrough] may turn out an English man of means tired of the elaborate conventionalism of the civilized world seeking a quiet corner where he could indulge in his passions for sport, for pheasant raising, etc. Time alone will tell."
He did not have long to wait. Charles established an import/export trading company, ChosenHolme, which seems to have done a fair amount of business. Unfortunately, there is almost no information about his company and it was not even listed in regional directories until after the Russo-Japanese War. What he was trading is unclear ― even the trade reports fail to mention his activities. He was virtually invisible until 1902 when articles began appearing in Japan and were subsequently reprinted in the United States.
According to the articles, Charles had "landed a cargo of arms and ammunition from a filibustering schooner, from Hong Kong." The schooner may have been his large steam-powered yacht. The reason for the smuggling is unclear.
This transgression of Korean laws did not escape Governor Yun's notice. He claimed that one of the Englishman's Chinese servants ― working as a Japanese spy ― reported to the Japanese consul that Charles had smuggled in 1,500 rifles. Yun questioned one of the Korean crew of the yacht, who confessed that weapons were smuggled in, but said there were only 100 pistols and no rifles. Knowledge of the smuggling came too late for Korean Customs to investigate, so it remained nothing more than an accusation and a source for excited rumors.
The allegation of smuggling was not the only problem Yun had with the Bilbroughs. The "hazy and inaccurate wording" of Korean title deeds provided fodder for land disputes. "Ungentlemanly," Charles lodged complaints against his Korean neighbors "for certain insignificant offenses" and infuriated them by "annexing their strips of land to round off his boundaries or by cutting off or fencing in old paths which had been used by generations of Koreans."
Yun denounced the Bilbroughs as being "worse neighbors to the Koreans than the latter are to the former."
ChosenHolme seems to have been fairly successful ― but again, we do not know what he was trading. We do know that, according to Yun, the Bilbroughs paid no taxes on their land, house or for the "privileges of many kinds of hunting, fishing, etc." The only source of revenue they provided the Korean government was the "large amount of duty-paid goods they pass through the customs" for which they felt Emperor Gojong should be grateful.
"With all their braggartism," declared Yun, "they are as mean as the meanest." Surprisingly, it was not Charles who evoked the most animosity among the Koreans ― it was his mother, as we will see in the next article.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.