An American hunter on Jeju Island in the late 1950s / Robert Neff Collection

Old letters are treasured windows into the past. They lack the brutal honesty and starkness of diary entries, instead offering a sanitized portrayal of daily life, written to entertain and inform friends and family. Fred Dustin’s letters from Jeju Island, penned some 50 years ago, are no exception.

His letters from January 1974 were tinged with uncertainty. Fuel and energy troubles plagued the nation — as well as the rest of the world — causing food prices to soar and fostering desperation among the people, which resulted in the “robbery rate going way up.” In his letter he wrote:

“It is fantastic how prices are rising here. Unbelievable. A package of noodles that used to cost 18 won (4 months ago) now cost 50 won. Flour is going up about 50%. Any kind of beef costs just a little over a dollar a pound [1,390 won].”

Even the island’s fresh seafood and vegetables were not spared from inflation. Dustin lamented that, the previous year, a fresh mackerel at the fish market on the pier could be purchased for 7 won, but they now sold for 78 won. One serving of battered shrimp cost about 700 won, while a carton of eggs was priced at 70 won. Dustin confided to his parents that, due to the cost, he ate a lot of salad, as cabbage remained relatively affordable, albeit more expensive than the previous year.

Fred Dustin and a group of visitors to Jeju Island in the 1970s / Robert Neff Collection

Dustin assured his parents that 1975 would be better — and, judging from his letters, it was. As an employee of KAL Hotel in Jeju City, he was frequently sent to Seoul to promote Jeju Island as an ideal vacation site for American soldiers and their families.

According to Dustin, “the [KAL] Hotel is absolutely modern, charming and complete with good food, fine drinking water and there is absolutely no pollution on [Jeju Island],” unlike the smog-filled skies of Seoul.

In his letter, he praised the island’s well-kept 18-hole golf course, located just a 20-minute taxi ride from the hotel. The view from the course, he noted, was breathtaking and,........

© The Korea Times