Hamel Shipwreck

Overview

The Hamel Shipwreck refers to an incident in which the Sperwer (Sperwer), a trading ship of the Dutch East India Company, was wrecked on the southwestern coast of Jeju Island in August 1653 (4th year of Hyojong) after encountering a storm while sailing to Japan. The 36 surviving sailors were detained in Joseon for 13 years and 28 days. Hendrick Hamel (Hendrick Hamel), a clerk who escaped successfully in 1666 (7th year of Hyeonjong), recorded what he saw and experienced during his detention. Published in Amsterdam in 1668, this record (the Hamel's Journal of Shipwreck, 『하멜표류기』) was widely read in Europe as the first work to introduce Joseon to the West.

Background

The sailors left the Netherlands in January 1653 and arrived at Batavia (present-day Jakarta) on the island of Java in June. Following the orders of the governor of the East India Company, they sailed on the Sperwer to Anping in Taiwan, where they delivered the new governor, Reserre, to his post. They then received orders to sail to Nagasaki in Japan and departed on July 30, but from the Taiwan Strait onward they were battered by fierce storms. The dates in Hamel's record are based on the Gregorian calendar used in Europe at the time, that is, the solar calendar.

Development

Shipwreck and Detention on Jeju

On August 15, the storm grew even stronger, and the observation platform at the stern broke away, and they also lost the small boat meant for escape. As water flooded the ship, the sailors threw away their cargo and even their masts, and at that time land came into view. It was the southern coast of Jeju Island. They attempted to bring the ship ashore, but successive large waves eventually wrecked it, and 28 of the 64 people drowned. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the 36 survivors came ashore along the Daeyasu area below Chagwi-jin in Daejeong-hyeon.

The survivors were taken to the Jeju government office and detained. The court sent Jan Janszoon Weltevree (Korean name Park Yeon), a Dutchman who had drifted to Joseon around 1627–1628 and settled there, to serve as an interpreter. Hamel's group met fellow countrymen, but their request to return home was not granted.

Seoul and Jeolla Province

The group was escorted to Seoul and detained there for about two years. According to the English Wikipedia, they appealed to King Hyojong for permission to return home but were not allowed to do so, and some sailors caused a disturbance by stepping forward in front of the procession of a Qing envoy to seek help. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture states that the group was moved to Jeolla Province in March 1656. In the meantime, 14 people died.

Around 1663, as famine continued, the 22 surviving men were divided and housed in Yeosu, Namwon, and Suncheon. Hamel stayed at the Jeolla Left Naval Command in Yeosu. They engaged in miscellaneous labor and lived in hardship, and at times even resorted to begging.