A Study on the Western Residents’ Daily Lives and the Differenciation of their Perception on Korean Culture in the Period of Port Opening

Abstract

In history of Korea, it’s is after 1880s that westerners fully started to join Korean social and historical developments.<BR> Westerners couldn’t be completely free of Orientalism. But they began to know about Korea and have affection for it.<BR> In particular, westerners residing in Korea had less difficulty in eating food than early visitors to Korea who quite suffered from too much exotic taste of Korean food. Because they were affordable enough to buy imported food from Japan and China or even the United States or Britain although it took a while to deliver food. In addition, they remodeled Hanok(traditional Korean-style house) to satisfy their tastes and enjoyed their free time by playing tennis. However, they would be ill with endemic diseases and homesick. Children, in particular, died young.<BR> To Koreans, the western residents were something that they were curious about and in awe of. It seemed that westerners living with these Koreans felt superior and pleasant for that and thought Korea was a good place to live in.<BR> But some westerners who resided in around open ports and Seoul in the period of port opening helped introduce western cultures by playing a role as ambassadors for private interchange and promoted Korean traditional cultures to change and develop to modern cultures.