Changdeokkung the palace where Hamel met the king
Be aware that the image is big.

Jan Boonstra's in search of traces

An account of his visit to Cheju-do , to find the possible location where Hamel and his fellows shipwrecked in 1653.

Historic map of Cheju-do

A very detailed map of Cheju-do in the 18th century; the topography will certainly not have differed much from the time when Hendrick Hamel and his fellow crew members shipwrecked here.

Hamel's route through 17th century Korea

The route Hamel and 34 fellow castaways followed from Cheju to Seoul in 1654, reconstructed from Hamel's journal and other sources.

Eibokken's story about Korea
A 17th century scholar of the Orient, Nicolaas Witsen, interviewed 2 members of Hamel's group of sailors and among others, a wordlist was produced. Frits Vos, a modern times Korean studies professor, treated and commented this work. Henny Savenije and Jan Boonstra prepared Frits Vos' work for the internet.

Choryang Weikwan,
the 17th century "gateway from Japan into Korea

The monument itself

Click into the Hermit Kingdom: (2) Chosôn Society Opened to Foreign Exiles Out of Diplomatic Concern

Shipwrecked Dutch soldiers became musketeers in Korean royal guard
Hidden chapters' of Hamel's stay in Chosôn

 

Hamel in German

Third

Fourth

The opening of Korea in 1871 (with eyewitness account)

The Americans felt that Korea needed a lesson:

"Corea up to this time was to the civilized world an unknown land, and inhabited practically by an unknown people. Only Catholic missionaries and a few fearless travelers had visited it. The outer world knew nothing of it except some hobgoblin stories of cannibalism and truthful accounts of wanton murder and pillage. In the latter part of the 60s several American sailing vessels had been thrown upon the coast of this peninsula, resulting as a rule in the murder or captivity of the crews. Protests were of no avail, and finally in June, 1871, a punitive expedition naval force was sent to beard these people in their own land."

Plants found on Quelpaert
A Review of the Genus Hepatica by Michael D. Meyers

Andrew Pratt's dissertation
In Search of Clues to the Development of Korean Martial Arts During the Yi Dynasty

Critique of his BA Dissertation

Early European Adventures and the Opening of Japan
Had Christopher Columbus had his way, he would have been the first Westerner to set foot in Japan. Cruising the Caribbean, he was sure that his fleet of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María was on the verge of reaching this mysterious destination. Upon sighting Cuba on October 28,1492, he believed it to be Zipangu, or Japan ...

Marjon Peters' homepage about Nicolaes Witsen
NICOLAES WITSEN’s life (1641-1717) was jostled to and fro between his numerous official duties and his love of scholarship. He was a geographer by heart, but had to act as a magistrate. At the age of 21 he became famous for his book about shipbuilding. He was burgomaster of Amsterdam, board member of the East Indian Company (VOC) and extraordinary envoy for England.

Discussion about the subject Hamel
I recently subscribed to this list for a number of reasons. First let me introduce myself. I'm a Dutch national who lived in Korea until a year ago for four years. Before I went there, I've read a lot of books about Japan, Indonesia and China. The only book I've ever read about Korea, was a book called Hollanders in Korea (Hollanders in Korea) by Van Hove. Because of a number of reasons explained in my website I became interested in this subject again. When I came back to Holland I decided to translate this book into English and put it on the web. I became more and more interested in the subject and now it has become a tantalizing thirst for knowledge about the subject. In the meantime I gained a copy of the original Journal of Hamel and a load of additional information. Nevertheless what fails me are the Korean sources.

Site about Hamel in Korean
This site also has interesting pictures about the fort under construction in Pyongyong  

 

Official website of Kangjin

Official website of Gorinchem (or Gorkum)

Pictures of Gorkum
(the unofficial website of Gorkum)

Unofficial website of De Rijp
DE RIJP'S GOLDEN AGE
During the 17th century De Rijp flourished as an important fishing center. It was the birthplace of Jan Adriaanzoon Leeghwater, who was responsible for planning many of the land reclamation projects for which Holland is famous; and it is reputedly the birthplace of another enterprising Dutchman, Jan Janse Weltevree, who spent many years at
the court of Korea in the 17th century.

He(y)ndrick Hamel was born in 1593 He was in so far family of our Hendrick that the father of Hendrick; Dick Hamel and Heijndrick Hamel had the same ancestor and belonged to the same generation. Their great-grandfathers were brothers. Here you can find his name also mentioned as a patroon in the New Netherlands (Now New York area)

 

Animations of the Snaphaunce Lock

The journey to North Korea by a descendant of Jan Janse Weltevree (in Dutch)

In juni 2000 hebben de leiders van Noord- en Zuid-Korea voor het eerst sinds 50 jaar een toenaderings-akkoord gesloten in Pyongyang. In de zomer van '99 kregen Henk Weltevreden en Guido Spring na jaren proberen toestemming om Noord-Korea te bezoeken.

 

A radio documentary about Hamel in Dutch only

 

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