Hendrick Hamel

The first Western Expat in Korea was Hendrick Hamel from Gorkum, Netherlands back in 1653. He was held captive by the Chosun dynasty for 13 years until he finally escaped in 1666 to Japan. I read this from "Korea in the eyes of a Tiger, The Great Escape".

What Hendrick Hamel and his shipmates saw of Choson society was little more than the tip of an iceberg, the surface effects of generations of social turmoil. The Dutch saw first hand the effects of Choson's rigidly structured Confucian society on everyday life. In a nation that seemed from the earliest age to be addicted without thoughts of teaching and learning, the nobility and all freeborn men in general took great interest in the education of their children . Students were imbued with Choson's history at private academies and learned to condemn those who had been put to death for crimes against their country. They were taught to honor their ancestors and that to gain great wealth was a worthy goal. Appointment to either a civil or military post was the reward for students who passed the national examination and received the attention of the king. The Dutch also witnessed the darker side of this system, noting that aspiring candidates would go to any length to bribe or otherwise seek favor from higher officials in hopes of gaining a government appointment.




Anyone that is familiar with Korea will understand still today how important education is to parents of children, the importance of honoring ancestors, and the importance of obtaining wealth! Although it is not as severe now it is still quite noticeable.

The reason I decided to mention this is because since the arrival of Hamel in korea, probably the most important Dutchman in Korea since his arrival back in 1653 was Guus Hiddink. His accomplishment as the manager of the South Korean team in 2002 was so remarkable that the stadium in Gwangju was renamed in his honor!




We will see if his newest replacement can do as well as him this year! He's got a tough task in Germany but there are a lot of us over here rooting for the Korean team!

Dick Advocaat, who managed the Dutch team at Euro 2004, was criticized for making a crucial change when the team was up 2-0 against The Czech Republic. He substituted a defenceman for Arjen Robben, who was running constantly at the Czech defence. I think he learned from that mistake though. I mean, I hope.