Skip to main content

Water carrier (south Korea)

(Korea) Believe it or not, these two water carriers apparently held one of the most lucrative occupations during the late 19th century in the South of Korea according to Historian Robert Neff. Like many other cities in Joseon Korea, Seoul was filled with wells. These water carriers played a significant role in the daily lives of the city's residents. 

During this period, the public water supply system wasn't very well-developed, and most people relied on communal wells and nearby streams for their water needs. Commoners obtained water from shared wells, while some aristocratic 'yangban' families had their own private wells. These water carriers were responsible for delivering water to households and businesses in the city. Each household contributed a monthly payment of approximately 500 cash (equivalent to 20 cents), in exchange for a daily delivery of two water buckets sourced from nearby wells. Numerous households needed about seven buckets, whereas larger homes require up to 40. A water carrier typically serviced around 30 homes. Water carriers possessed unique "privileges" not granted to other men, such as entering customers' homes without notifying the female occupants beforehand. 

Neff writes that with a large number of members (2,000 in 1902), water carriers in Seoul formed a strong guild and positions within the guild were highly sought-after. So when members chose to leave their occupation, they could sell their positions (similar to how New York taxi drivers sell their medallions) for up to 18 times their monthly earnings.

Call me boring, but I personally would be interested in watching a documentary about the daily life of these water carriers in those days.

This photo was taken somewhere between 1880-1910.
~@AsianHistoryJunkie
#History #Historicalphotos #Korea #Koreanhistory #Southkoreanhistory #Southkorea #Northkorea #Nolstalgia #oldphotos

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HWPL's 7th Anniversary of DPCW and Chair ManHee Lee

In March, HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light, Chairman ManHee Lee) held the 7th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) in several continents, including Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. More than 7000 dignitaries, including the members of the HWPL Peace Committee who had completed the drafting of the DPCW with Chairman ManHee Lee 7 years earlier, gathered in Seoul, Korea to share the progress of peace worldwide. About 10 years ago, when I had just been discharged from military service, I came to know HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee while researching the topic of global civil conflicts to satisfy my curiosity in ongoing global issues. At that time, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was suffering from a grave civil war that lasted more than 40 years, and Chairman ManHee Lee and HWPL resolved this conflict through non-violent means. Chairman Lee brought an end to the conflict in Mindanao by holding a peace talk bet...
2 comments
Read more

Shincheonji Cheongju Church Held a Photo Exhibition Celebrating Shincheonji’s 100,000 Graduation Ceremony

As Shincheonji Church of Jesus made a huge change in Christianity with the 100,000 Graduation Ceremony, photo exhibitions about Shincheonji’s 100,000 Graduation Ceremony are held all over Cheongju region in South Korea in February. On Feb 12th, Shincheonji Cheongju Church officials (Head instructor is Je Mugyeom) announced that they are holding photo exhibitions on the streets after successfully finishing the special exhibition called ‘Invitation to the Site of the Fulfillment of the Second Coming of Jesus and Harvest.’ The Cheongju church’s special exhibition was held for four days and 4,517 visited and received favorable reviews. According to Shincheonji Cheongju Church officials, from Jan 31th to Feb 28th, the outdoor exhibitions are held at several places in the city, including Iron Flagpole at Yongdusa Temple Site and Sangdang Sanseong Fortress. Citizens are reacting actively to the exhibitions because they easily can see the photos while passing by. A citizen who visited the exhi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Maasai Culture and History

 Maasai Culture and History Migration, origin, and assimilation The Maasai started migrating south about the 15th century, according to their oral history, from the lower Nile basin north of Lake Turkana (northwest Kenya). Between the 17th and late 18th centuries, they arrived to a vast land mass that today stretches from what is now northern Kenya to central Tanzania. habitation in East Africa Midway through the 19th century, when the Maasai realm was at its biggest, it almost entirely occupied the Great Rift Valley and surrounding areas, extending from Mount Marsabit in the north to Dodoma in the south. The Maasai and the larger Nilotic community they belonged to at the time reared cattle as far east as Tanganyika's (current Tanganyika) Tanga coast. Every Maasai boy's Dream Every Maasai Boy's Aspiration "Every Maasai boy aspires to be a warrior. The word itself appears to have magical properties. A warrior must be strong, intelligent, self-assured, fearless, astute, ...
Post a Comment
Read more