Pitching coins or marbles in the streets of Seoul circa 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

When Count Peter Vay, a Hungarian diplomat and writer, visited Seoul in late November 1902, he was somewhat amused by the almost endless quarrels and scuffles around him. Some involved merchants and coolies locked in heated disputes — perhaps over prices or the jostling of the crowd — while nearby, two young boys tussled next to a police sentry box. When the smaller boy began to cry, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, the sentry remained unmoved. According to the count, the sentry’s expression seemed “rather to approve than condemn.”

Somewhat sanctimoniously, the count professed to be unaccustomed to witnessing such frequent fights and conflict. “In China,” he declared, “I never saw one man fighting another — they have their thousands of years of civilization to thank for that.”

Fighting was not the only activity taking place in the streets. The count asserted that “gambling seems to be in the blood” of Asians, and Koreans were no exception. “There is no country where card-sharpers drive so brisk a business as in Korea,” he observed. Notably, he did not provide a comparison with Chinese........

© The Korea Times