Celebrating the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and the United States, the special exhibition Diplomats in Gat: The Story of the Joseon Legation in Washington, D.C.  is underway. The special exhibition, which runs through December 13th at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul, shows displays of former diplomats who worked for their country’s independent diplomacy in a distant land. In May, the exhibitions’ 35 artifacts including Miggukgongsa-wangboksurok (Records of Korean Minister’s Round Trip to the US) and a collection of Yi Sang-jae were designated as state-registered cultural properties.

Joseon signed a diplomatic agreement with the United States on May 22nd, 1882, Korea’s first treaty with a western nation. The U.S. legation was built in Jeong-dong, Seoul, and the Joseon legation was built in Washington D.C. 

Joseon diplomats with Pak Chung-yang (1841-1905), the first minister plenipotentiary to the US as their leader left their country in November 1887 by ship. They passed through Japan, Hong Kong, and Hawaii, stepping onto U.S. soil in January 1888. They arrived in Washington D.C after traveling about 15,400 kilometers by the transcontinental railroad. 59 days since they left Joseon. 

But there wasn’t much that diplomats from a poor, weak country could do there. Qing’s interference was severe and Joseon was much poorer and weaker than other countries. Lee Sang-jae, a secretary who was sent there together, confessed, “Qing’s minister finds fault with many things whenever he gets the chance. There are about 30 ministers dispatched from each country, and their countries are all rich, but only our country is poor and weak in national power.” In the midst of these difficulties, they hung a flag at the Joseon legation to inform and publicize that Joseon was an independent country with its own sovereignty, and constantly tried to contact the U.S. government officials. 

The exhibition hall creates the indoor atmosphere of the legation at the time, allowing people to vividly imagine the lives of contemporary diplomats. The story of horror they felt when they took an elevator for the first time or the story of Americans who wanted to take pictures with them of a strange appearance, are funny enough to evoke laughter. The photo of the “first U.S. legation” combined with the technology catches the eyes of visitors by showing the characters changing their expressions, and when the visitors press the button, they can feel the atmosphere of Seoul at that time, when the electric lights came to be available there for the first time. 

Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to Korea, said, “There is no doubt that the relationship between the two countries has continued to develop since the official establishment of diplomatic ties 140 years ago. The Korea-U.S. alliance will respond to any challenges and seize new opportunities.” Kim Choong-bae, head of the exhibition and Public Relations Department at the National Palace Museum, said, “We organized the exhibition with various materials including related books and articles. We tried to improve our understanding with sophisticated exhibition techniques such as video and animation.”