Korea, in the early months of 1885, was in turmoil. A failed coup attempt in December 1884 resulted in large numbers of Japanese and Chinese soldiers being encamped in Seoul and the surrounding region - a conflict between these two countries on Korean soil was a real possibility. Blood was being spilled in the streets by the Korean authorities. Rebels were executed and their bodies left as graphic warnings to the public.
In Korea, the New Year began with change and trepidation. December had been brutally cold but the first week of January 1898 was pleasantly mild. There was the promise of prosperity. The rice prices, which had been extremely high due to the failure of the crops in the capital region the previous year, continued to fall as more shipments of rice arrived. There were probably some who believed that the supernatural was responsible for this change of fate.
Korea, in the early months of 1885, was in turmoil. A failed coup attempt in December 1884 resulted in large numbers of Japanese and Chinese soldiers being encamped in Seoul and the surrounding region - a conflict between these two countries on Korean soil was a real possibility. Blood was being spilled in the streets by the Korean authorities. Rebels were executed and their bodies left as graphic warnings to the public.
In the late 19th century, the beginning of a new year meant settling debts from the previous year. Sometimes debtors tried to avoid their obligations by secretly moving to a new location while others tried more drastic means such as trying to convince their creditors that they had moved on to the afterlife.
In the late 19th century, Westerners often described Seoul during the winter in one of two ways: a dirty, crowded city choking under the haze of smoke from countless chimneys, or as a clean and quaint city with streets blanketed by snow and its inhabitants dressed in clean white clothing except during the holidays when they wore brightly colored festive outfits. I think, for the casual observer, the latter was a truer description - at least in the mid-1880s.