Traveling to History: Twenty Five
“A Remarkably Progressive Corean Woman”: Lady Bae of the Korean Legation
By James F. Lee
Mrs. Ye Cha Yun, Lady Bae, wife of the Korean chargé d’affaires. She lived at the Korean Legation in Washington, D.C. from 1889 to 1893 and became a familiar figure in the city. (Courtesy of Old Korean Legation Museum)
Arrival in Washington
In late January 1889 at the station in Washington, DC., a heavily muffled figure was escorted from her train to an awaiting coach. A correspondent for The Washington Post who witnessed the event reported “she was so muffled in folds of green silk that no one could scarcely see her.”
This young woman had just completed a cross-country trip from San Francisco, and before that a trans-Pacific crossing taking her from her homeland in Korea to the United States. She was accompanied by her husband, a member of the Korean Legation in Washington DC.
Her husband’s name was Ye Cha Yun, and today we don’t know her full name. She was a member of the Bae clan from Seongju, so she is often referred to as Lady Bae, although in the press she usually was identified as Mrs. Ye, or sometimes incorrectly as Mrs. Yun. Mr. and Mrs. Ye served at the Legation from January 1889 to September 1893.
Early on in her stay, Lady Bae decided that she would engage with the public side of diplomacy, an astonishing decision given the restrictions placed on women of her standing in Korea, where she would be expected to withdraw from public gaze. In short order, she became a familiar sight in Washington, riding in an open carriage, hosting diplomatic functions, shopping at fashionable stores, and attending services at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.
The Washington and national press delighted in reporting her activities.
Mr. Ye Cha Yun. He led several positions at the Korean Legation in Wahington, D.C., including translator, secretary, and chargé d’affaires. (Courtesy of Old Korean Legation Museum)
Social Whirlwind
Mr. Ye Cha Yun first came to the legation as an interpreter and later rose to the rank of chargé d’affaires. As chargé he effectively ran the legation because the appointed Minster became ill after his arrival in Washington and had to return home. While Mr. Ye served as chargé, Lady Bae was by his side.
Lady Bae wasn’t the only Korean woman at the legation. The wife of Ye Wan Yong, another legation member, also lived there, and often accompanied Lady Bae to public events.
Her social calendar was a busy one. A month after her arrival, she and Mrs. Ye Wan Yong attended a reception given by former First Lady Frances Cleveland, where their colorful native dress elicited admiration. The next day, she presided over a tea at the Korean Legation attended by over 800 diplomats and government officials and their spouses.
Early in March 1889, Lady Bae and Mrs. Ye Wan Yong with their husbands attended the opera seated in the box next to the new First Lady Caroline Harrison’s party. The Korean ladies were enthralled by the performance leaning over the rails as they watched. Between acts the two parties mingled.
The Old Korean Legation Museum on Logan Circle in Washington, D.C. (Photo by James F. Lee)
Birth of a Son
On October 12, 1890, Mrs. Ye gave birth to a son, an event that generated much interest in newspapers around the country. The boy, named Ye Washon in honor of Washington, had the distinction of being the first Korean born in the United States. Tragically, the boy died two months later due to illness. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, where visitors can see his tombstone today.
Despite the death of her son, Lady Bae was intent on keeping up her social obligations. Two weeks after Ye Washon’s passing, she attended the President’s New Year Levee at the White House, and on February 4 and February 11, 1891, she presided over receptions at the legation, standing for over four hours without apparent fatigue. She wore a traditional Korean dress (hanbok) of pale-blue silk with a jacket of yellow brocaded silk.
Anti-Korean Incidents
The members of the Korean legation didn’t always face a friendly welcome in the United States. Anti-Chinese, and by extension anti-Asian, sentiment ran high in the country, leading to the onerous Chinese Exclusion Act passed by Congress in 1882. And while that Act didn’t pertain to Koreans per se, many Americans cared little about the distinction.
Legation members suffered the indignity of children throwing mud at them and complained bitterly about it. Mr. Ye told the Post that his carriage was pelted with pebbles thrown by children chanting “Chinee, Chinee” just outside the White House, where he had gone to enjoy the annual Easter egg roll.
Lady Bae often resorted to wearing Western clothing to make herself less conspicuous, but that didn’t stop one woman at a reception from lifting Mrs. Ye’s dress to see if her feet were bound.
And perhaps the most serious incident occurred when Lady Bae was struck by a piece of slate thrown at her by a boy as she traveled with her husband in an open carriage on Vermont Avenue near Logan Circle, bruising her cheek. (As a sad corollary to this incident, that boy tragically drowned in Rock Creek a little over a year later)
Photographs at the Old Korean Legation Museum of Ye Cha Yun (left) and Lady Bae (far right). The other woman is Mrs. Ye Wan Yong, wife of an earlier chargé. (Photo by James F. Lee)
Travels Outside Washington
In addition to their cross-country train travel, Mr. Ye and Lady Bae traveled outside the capital. She accompanied her husband on a visit to Mount Vernon in May 1889, along with other members of the legation. A photograph from that visit shows her standing next to her husband dressed in a pale hanbok and a tasseled headdress. She looks quite small standing between her husband and another member of the legation staff and appears tired as she looks into the camera. This was only about four months after her arrival in the United States.
In 1891, like most of official Washington, Korean legation members summered away from hot and humid Washington, spending part of the summer at the Greenbrier in Berkley Springs, West Virginia.
They also made excursions to Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, a liberal arts college that hoped to enroll Korean students. While in Salem, Lady Bae converted to Christianity, specifically Presbyterianism. She tried to keep her decision quiet, but it was widely reported in the press throughout the United States. At that time in Korea, Christian missionaries were active, but caution was necessary for someone in her high position. Interestingly, The Roanoke Times identified her as Mrs. Shon Ye, the wife of Ye Cha Yun. At any rate, her conversion makes her one of her country’s earliest converts.
In May 1893, as Mr. Ye’s days at the legation were concluding, the Post reported that Mrs. Ye was already home in Korea, and that her health and the health of their new daughter was fine. Ye returned permanently to Korea in September 1893 to serve in the Korean government. The legation building would remain open until 1905, when the Japanese government assumed control of Korea’s foreign relations.
The photograph taken in 1889 at Mount Vernon shows Lady Bae standing in the row second from left. Her husband is to her left. The other woman in the photo is Mrs. Ye Wan Yong. (Courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)
Old Korean Legation Museum
The years that the Korean Legation operated were a precarious time in Korean history. The Kingdom was just throwing off the yoke of hundreds of years of Chinese suzerainty, and was reaching out to the wider world, especially the United States. By 1905, the country would lose its right to conduct foreign affairs and by 1910 Korea was swallowed whole by the Japanese Empire, losing its sovereignty completely.
Ye Washon’s headstone at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. (Photo by James F. Lee)
After the closing of the legation in 1905, the building was sold to private hands. The Korean government acquired the structure in 2012 and began an impressive restoration to reflect the 16-year period between 1889 and 1905 that the legation operated. Using photographs and inventory records, the Koreans have created an astonishingly detailed reconstruction of the interior. The museum opened in 2018.
The three-story brick structure on Logan Circle is constructed in the Second Empire style crowned by a mansard roof with elaborate decorative railing. Double windows on the front façade are capped by heavy arched pediments. The double-door front entrance is above street level accessible by stone stairs and protected by a projecting pavilion.
Climbing the front steps today, visitors enter a central hallway dominated by a large Korean flag on the wall.
To the left is the parlor, where Lady Bae would greet guests. It is a Victorian room with heavy drapes and dark wallpaper, and an elaborate gold-leaf mirror over the mantle, but there are some Korean touches, such as a folding screen of nature scenes, and large vases flanking the fireplace. A photograph of the room taken in 1893 shows the incredibly accurate detail of this reconstruction.
Adjacent to the parlor, the Jeongdang is a small room where portraits of the king and the crown prince were hung. Ceremonies were held here on special days in the Korean calendar. In this room is a photograph of Ye Cha Yun and another of Lady Bae standing with Mrs. Ye Won Yong.
Across the hall the dining room served as a venue for diplomatic dinners and receptions. The dining room table is set for a setting of seven and two colorful Korean screen panels adorn the room. This room was the scene of dancing at an afternoon reception on February 9, 1892, while Lady Bae presided wearing a gown of blue and pink silk.
There are no known photographs of upstairs living quarters and workspaces, so they have been recreated by examining repair invoices and Inventory books. The Minister’s comfortable-looking bedroom contains a bed with a large headboard flanked by end tables. A Victorian chest of drawers stands to one side. Two other chests in the room are of Korean design, one with metal butterfly-shaped hinges. An alcove with a table and chairs offers a sitting area for Mrs. Ye. Plenty of light enters through four tall windows and a large chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
The parlor at the Old Korean Legation Museum. The furnishings are reproductions based on photographs from the 1890s. Mr. and Mrs. Ye would greet visitors in this room. (Photo by James F. Lee)
The Minister’s office contains a heavy wooden desk and an elaborately carved chair with a high straight back. On top of a cabinet are three horsehair hats that a man of rank might wear depending on the occasion. Brushes and an inkstand are on the desk.
One of the most interesting rooms upstairs is the bathroom, complete with a washstand, tub, and a pull-chain toilet with a high-mounted tank. The toilet area has a screen for privacy. It was all quite modern for the time.
The Legation Staff Office, where much of the diplomatic business of the legation occurred, contains several desks and lots of interesting items such as a hand-operated stamping machine, a contemporary typewriter, and a rotating fan. On the desks are brushes and inkwells. An English-Korean dictionary is displayed on a reading stand. A paneled screen to one side cleverly depicts shelves lined with books, pens, brushes, vases, and pottery.
The final room on the second floor is the Library, with a large bookcase with glass doors containing volumes from the late 19th century. A Banaji chest next to the book cabinet was brought over from Korea. Placed on a table in the room is a geography book in Korean and an old Victrola.
The third floor museum covers the history of the Korean Legation from the original Korean delegation visit to Washington in 1882 to the opening of the legation in 1889 to the closing in 1905. Displays show photographs of the legation staff, a timeline of Korean-U.S. relations, and actual diplomatic documents from the period.
For more information visit www.oldkoreanlegation.org/en.
The dining room at the Old Korean Legation. Sometimes the furnishings would be cleared out during receptions to allow guests to dance. (Photo by James F. Lee)
Sources
Remarkably progressive. The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.), 12 Feb. 1891. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063034/1891-02-12/ed-1/seq-5/>
Muffled figure. "The New Corean Secretary Coming." The Washington Post (1877-1922), Jan 21, 1889, pp. 1. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/new-corean-secretary-coming/docview/138352352/se-2.
Busy social calendar. The Washington Post (1877-1922), Mar 03, 1889, pp. 5. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/posts-society-record/docview/138346324/se-2.
"Mrs. Harrison at the Opera.” The Washington Post (1877-1922), Mar 16, 1889, pp. 5. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/mrs-harrison-at-opera/docview/138429679/se-2.
"The First American Born Corean." The Washington Post (1877-1922), Oct 16, 1890, pp. 4. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/first-american-born-corean/docview/138449787/se-2.
President’s Levee. The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]), 02 Jan. 1891. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015679/1891-01-02/ed-1/seq-1/>
Receptions. The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]), 15 Feb. 1891. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016373/1891-02-15/ed-1/seq-12/>
Children chanting and lifted dress. “Land of the Morning Calm.” The Washington Post (1877-1922), Nov 26, 1893, pp. 10. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/land-morning-calm/docview/138925724/se-2.
Struck with a stone. “The Wife of the Corean Minister Slightly Injured While Out Driving.” The Washington Post (1877-1922), Apr 27, 1892, pp. 1. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/struck-with-stone/docview/138822362/se-2.
Travel to Greenbrier. "Society Doings." The Washington Post (1877-1922), Jul 26, 1891, pp. 13. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/society-doings/docview/138655058/se-2.
Widely reported. See, for example, “Mrs. Ye Joins the Church.” The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina), 14 Oct. 1892. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026918/1892-10-14/ed-1/seq-1/>
Conversion. The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.), 04 Aug. 1895. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86071868/1895-08-04/ed-1/seq-2/>; Dwayne Yancey, “Roanoke College’s Hidden History: How it Defied the Times to Attract Korean Students in the Late 1800s and Early 1900s.” Cardinal News May 11, 2023. How Roanoke College attracted Korean students in the late 1800s and early 1900s- Cardinal News.
Return Home. Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 01 Sept. 1894. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1894-09-01/ed-1/seq-15/>
Scene of Dancing. Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 10 Feb. 1892. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1892-02-10/ed-1/seq-3/>
