A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm: A Historical Novel

By Donald G. Southerton

Connecticut Yankee Josh Gillet longed for high adventure and travel. Leaving late nineteenth century New England for a sojourn in Japan, Josh soon finds himself in the Hermit Kingdom-Korea.

Coming of age is always filled with trial and tribulation. For Josh Gillet, intense life experiences are forged in an ancient land that has become the political chessboard for imperialist powers-amid a bold Protestant missionary movement and Anglo merchants with hopes of wealth. Josh quickly learns that high adventure, opportunity, and a budding romance come at a price as cultures collide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 20, 2006
• ISBN: 9780595864409

Donald G. Southerton

Don Southerton is a life-long student of entrepreneurialism and business history. His current academic research focuses on American business endeavors with South Korea. In addition, Southerton oversees a consulting firm that globally provides cross-cultural training, coaching, and consulting to major North American and Korean corporations.

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Copyright © 2006 by Donald G. Southerton

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author?s imagination or are used fictitiously. Cover art, design, and illustrations by Anna Cash-Mitchell

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-42097-1 (pbk)

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-86440-9 (ebk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-42097-4 (pbk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-86440-6 (ebk)

Contents

Credits and Acknowledgements

Introduction: Crafting a Historical Novel

CHAPTER 1 LOOKING BACK

CHAPTER 2 CHEMULP’O: GATEWAY TO KOREA

CHAPTER 3 SEOUL: CITY OF KINGS,

MISSIONARIES, AND

MERCHANTS

CHAPTER 4 REBELLION, ASSASSINATION, HEARTACHE

Epilogue

About the Author

Credits and Acknowledgements

This book’s content was built upon considerable historical research into late nineteenth century Korea. Moreover, crafting fictional character Josh Gillet’s sketches drew upon the era’s photographs and illustrations. Inspiration for the book’s sketches came from a number of sources, which I graciously acknowledge. Among the key sources are photographs from the Samuel Moffett Collection, Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries; Isabella Bird Bishop’s Korea and Her Neighbors (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1897); and Lillias Horton Underwood’s Fifteen Years Among the Top-Knots or Life in Korea (New York: American Tract Society, 1904).

Introduction: Crafting a Historical Novel

In 2003, amid research for a book on Anglo entrepreneur Henry Collbran’s late nineteenth century Colorado ties to Korean gold mining ventures, I came upon an obscure collection in the Colorado History Society (CHS) Library. The archive, labeled the Gillet Collection, contained a series of pencil sketches donated to the CHS in the early 1950s. With great care, I scrutinized the time-aged drawings. To my surprise the sketches were of Old Korea. Similar to what historians encounter with many collections, few details or background had been compiled on the sketches—the facility a recipient of hundreds of valuable, but obscure historical documents, photographs, and manuscripts. In fact, it is not uncommon for it takes years to piece together details on an item.

Why hand-drawn sketches of Early Modern Korea surfaced in Denver, Colorado puzzled me. Perhaps, like Denver resident Henry Collbran or an early graduate of the Colorado School of Mines in nearby Golden, someone, too, had ventured to Korea in the late nineteenth century or early twentieth century. Over the next few months I became absorbed in unearthing more of the mystery. Since, my academic work was focused on the efforts of Anglos in Korea, especially those who had documented the daily trade and merchant life, so any new source of information was quite significant.

Slowly, details surfaced. Apparently, the sketches were donated to the CHS shortly after the death of Joshua Gillet. Gillet’s obituary in the January 12, 1951 edition of Denver’s Mountain News noted the man’s long and fascinating career. Born in 1874, Gillet apparently traveled extensively before settling down in Colorado in the 1920s. A Connecticut Yankee, Gillet’s ancestors had been among the first in America. In fact, they were among the early waves of Anglo Protestants who ventured across the Atlantic in the late 1630s.

The following work is crafted from historical records, oral histories, family records, diplomatic correspondence, and generous doses of my imagination! Driven by the need to better understand the story, trips to South Korea have allowed me a glimpse into the land Gillet would have experienced more than a century ago. This project is divided into three chronological volumes—each looking at aspects of the life, times, trials, and tribulations of Yankee merchant and adventurer Joshua Gillet. A particularly fascinating aspect of this endeavor has been linking Gillet’s sketches to his adventures abroad.

CHAPTER 1

LOOKING BACK

Simsbury, Connecticut 1890

The last remnants of a late October New England morning mist lay close to the river surface. Across town, a lone barnyard rooster heralded the new morn. Downstairs the clatter of pans meant the smell of hickory-smoked pork bacon would soon fill the air. From the New England saltbox-style loft window, one could view a sleepy Connecticut village—a setting that had changed little in the past hundred years. Amid trees displaying their autumn colors, smoke rose and drifted past the steeple of the white clapboard Congregational Church adjacent to the village square.

Hunger and a desire to warm up by the kitchen stove eventually led Josh Gillet to navigate down the narrow loft staircase to the home’s main floor. The teen tucked in the front of his shirt and made his way to a place at the kitchen table. No sooner had Josh sat down than his older sister Elizabeth, eyes fixed on two rows of flapjacks on the stove’s grill, remarked in a stern voice gonna need more eggs! Acknowledging the sister’s demand with a passive sigh, Josh pulled on his shoes and with laces dangling scuffed his way across the farmyard to the chicken coop. Stooping to enter the coop, Josh soon had five eggs in his hands. Back in the kitchen, a plate of the buckwheat cakes awaited the teen. With few words between the siblings, Josh gulped down breakfast. In minutes he’d be expected to join his father at work. With a slice of toasted bread in hand, Josh was out the door and headed down the road that led into the village.

Family Business

Nathan Gillet had been working for an hour or so by the time Josh entered the tinware shop. Long tables filled the converted barn. Two workers with thick leather aprons banged on tin sheets—the metal being formed into an array of goods. Overhead in bins were pots, pans, funnels, scoops, strainers, graters, and tableware. The smell of hot solder and flux filled the air as Josh waited for his father’s instructions. We have an order going out today, the elder Gillet said. I’ll need you to help load the wagon when the shipper gets here, so don’t wander off. Grabbing a broom, the teen began his usual Saturday chores oblivious to the pounding mallets. By mid-morning, the shipper from the port town of Bridgeport, Connecticut had arrived. Five wood crates of tinware were soon loaded. With the last crate secure, Nathan chatted casually with the flinty wagon master. Josh’s thoughts wandered. The teen remembered how on

Reviews for A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm

[matthew254 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm is the first in a trilogy of short historical fiction set in late nineteenth century Korea. The source material is based on and extrapolated from relevant historical evidence involving early American entrepreneurs in Korea. The fictional protagonist, Josh Gillet, hails from a sleepy New England town where he apprentices under his family-owned tinware company. When offered the opportunity to work the ledger at a local trading firm's Yokohama office, the young man signs up in hopes of experiencing adventure in the Far East. After arriving in Japan, further lucrative ventures await him in neighboring Korea. The budding entrepreneur soon discovers more about this mysteriously secluded country only recently opened to Western trade.The story itself is believable enough and doesn't flirt with being overtly fictitious. It's a safe narrative that doesn't stray too far from expected adventure tale norms. However, the number of formatting and omission errors in the kindle edition is borderline unforgivable. There shouldn't be a reason why this ebook was so poorly edited but, in its current state, it's embarrassing. Based on this ebook, the author, while a longtime respected Koreanist and international business consultant, demonstrates that writing isn't his strong suit. In addition to careless editing and poor formatting, the term "Yankee" is grossly overused almost to the point of being derogatory. There's only so many times the protagonist can be referred to as "a young Yankee" or "the Yankee trader" until it becomes gratuitously offensive, or even worse, lazy writing. Less noticeable but still worth mentioning are the tacked on "sketches" and "wood prints" depicting scenes in the story. These illustrations undeniably are photographs that have been manipulated to look authentic to the period. Although the effort is acknowledged, the end result is transparently artificial and comes across as phony instead of complementing.This seemingly rushed short story regrettably highlights the importance of hiring a good editor before publishing. It's actually not a bad story, but the faux-authentic illustrations and sloppy editing detracts from an otherwise passably entertaining, if not esoterically, historical novel. Unfortunately, the writing isn't exactly riveting and doesn't have any discernible charm. However, if you're especially interested in this recess of Korean history, then you might enjoy it. Otherwise, it's a short waste of your time.