A Korean wedding circa 1900 / Robert Neff Collection

In the past, more so than today, small hometown newspapers were often filled with gossip, the more scandalous the better, alongside unsubstantiated accusations. Depending upon public interest, these tantalizing tidbits often graced the pages for an issue or two before they faded away into obscurity, leaving the issues unresolved.

In the early 1900s, Hawaiian newspapers, although relatively small, enjoyed a wide readership due to the islands’ strategic position as a stepping stone between Asia and North America. Their stories were frequently reprinted in newspapers on both continents. Given the large number of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Puerto Rican laborers on the islands’ many plantations, they often became the subject of newspaper gossip — especially when the tales involved multiple nationalities and reinforced the prevailing stereotypes of the period.

In the summer of 1910, Hawaiian readers were captivated by what one newspaper described as a case of “white slavery” involving a Russian man, his stepdaughter and two young men — one Korean and the other Japanese.

According to the accounts, Teodor Kolishenkoff, a Russian veteran of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, was the stepfather of 16-year-old Maria Kolishenkowa, whom he had cared for since she was 5. What became of Maria’s parents is unclear, though Teodor claimed her father had been his friend. Maria became everything to Teodor, and he credited her with his survival during the war despite having been wounded seven times.

A Korean wedding circa 1920s / Robert Neff Collection

In late 1909, the Russians arrived in Hawaii. What brought them there remains unknown, but in court, Maria — who, with her golden hair, appeared much younger than her age — testified that her life on Maui had been pitiful, revolving around “implicit obedience to paternal instructions.”

She avoided looking at her........

© The Korea Times