Korean medals under japanese administration

[alex82]

Hello Gentlemen

Here are some Pictures of a Display in the War Museum in Seoul about the Medals and Uniform under Japanese administration. Unfortunately I lost the piece of Paper where I written down the names of the medals. Apology also for the Quality of some of the Pictures, the glass was very dirty so that my camera had a hard Time to focus on the precious pieces. However, I hope you enjoy…

a l e x

(Display description: The military uniforms of the Taehan Empire were adopted on 15 May 1897, under the Military Uniform Code. The subsequent Royal Decree of 22 May, established five categories – the Great Dress Uniform, the Military Uniform the Dress Uniform, the Semi-Dress Uniform and the Casual Uniform.)

[alex82]

[alex82]

[alex82]

[alex82]

[alex82]

[alex82]

[alex82]

[James Hoard]

Hi,

The sash is incorrect but the first breast star is the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Eight Tigrams (L), the second is the Grand Cordon of the Taeguk Order of Merit ® as is the badge suspended from the sash. They are the wrong way round, the Taeguk being senior to the Eight Tigrams.

Cheers,

James

[James Hoard]

Sash badge and riband of the Grand Cordon of the Auspicous Stars, the second most important order in the Korean order of precedence.

Cheers,

James

[James Hoard]

Sash badge and probably wrong riband of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Plumb Blossom.

Note, 'plumb bossom' is a translation of the Chinese character for "Yi" the name of the reigning dynasty. The plumb blossom was thus taken as the badge of the family.

Cheers,

James

[James Hoard]

Sash badge and incorrect riband of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Eight Tigrams.

Cheers,

James

[James Hoard]

Sash badge and riband of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Purple Falcon.

Cheers,

James

[James Hoard]

Sash badge and riband of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Auspicious Phoenix. And order limited to ladies and the last order to be created by the independent empire of Korea.

Cheers,

James

[Hugh]

Wonderful pictures, Alex, I saw these years ago in Seoul, but was sans camera. The Museum bookstore also appeared to have a very good book on the ODM, but it was closed, and I never got back.

Speial thanks to James for the labels. Can you tell us what the ribands shown are? And also (says he, hopefully) show pictures of the correct ribands?

Thanks to both of you.

Hugh

[Guest Rick Research]

Are these Orders "recreations?" They appear to be made of plast-enamel and the sort of Staybrite metal finish found on modern made items.

[Hugh]

It's a long time ago, but I don't remember them looking inauthentic.

Hugh

[James Hoard]

Are these Orders "recreations?" They appear to be made of plast-enamel and the sort of Staybrite metal finish found on modern made items.

My guess is that not all, but some of them seem to be. The colours are also wrong, the green leaves in the originals I have seen are very much darker. The metal work looks quite "heavy" whereas the originals are much more delicate. But then, photography and bright-lights can play tricks, so one cannot be completely sure unless one can compare originals with these side by side in real life.

Cheers

James

[James Hoard]

Special thanks to James for the labels. Can you tell us what the ribands shown are? And also (says he, hopefully) show pictures of the correct ribands?

Hello Hugh,

I think some of the ribands look like they have come from a theatrical costumer.

Here are three original ribands

The Order of the Plumb Blossom

The Taeguk Order of Merit

The Order of the Eight Tigrams

Cheers

James

[alex82]

Don't relay to much on the color of the Pictures, light in the museum was extreme yellow and I tried to adjust that in most of the Pictures with Photoshop. The Medals looked authentic to me.

Thank you for the labeling james!

cheers

a l e x

[James Hoard]

Here is a picture of an authentic GC set of the Order of the Eight Tigrams sold at Spinks in 2005.

If you look closely at the central disk and the way in which it is attached to the arms, the museum copy is clearly very crude in comparison.

Given the carelessness over the models, the saches (sizes and colours), the uniforms, etc, the original comment by Rick is credible.

Cheers,

James

[Hugh]

Hello Hugh,

I think some of the ribands look like they have come from a theatrical costumer.

Here are three original ribands

The Order of the Plumb Blossom

The Taeguk Order of Merit

The Order of the Eight Tigrams

Cheers

James

Thanks for that, James,

Since my viewing at the War Museum was the first time I had any of these orders, I had nothing to compare them with. I later saw a Grand Cross set of the Taeguk Order of Merit in a pokey little antique shop on a side alley in Insadong. The color of the sash was just like your example. But then we all know how squirrely color can be on a computer screen. (And how squirrely color memory can be!)

The gentleman running the shop wanted 8,000,000 won for the set, and even though that was only a bit less than $8,000 US, at the time, I didn't have it and he wouldn't take a credit card. He also showed me a book (in Korean, which I don't read) which outlined the number of awards made in each class for each year of the Empire's existence. I can't remember the numbers, but it was clear that the GC set was a rarity.

How many classes did these orders have? It seems to me from the book that there were at least 5. And where were they made?

I've also seen examples of the Eight Trigrams (Commander) in Insadong. I seem to remember that the Commander's ribbon was white with medium blue side stripes. Could that be?

Thanks,

Hugh

[James Hoard]

Hello Hugh,

The Korean orders were manufactured in both Korea and Japan, with the quality of the Japanese produced versions much superior. There are also European made versions obviously made for the collectors market because one generally only finds those two orders for which Trost gave illustrations.

The system of orders almost exactly mirrored the Japanese orders.

1. The Grand Order of the Golden Ruler or 'Kumchok Tae-hunjung' (1900) is usually translated as "Golden Measure" but this is incorrect. The Korean word is a pun on ruler as in sovereign as well as ruler as in "foot ruler". It equates to the Grand Collar of the Japanese Order of the Chrysanthemum and came in one class. Riband is 108mm moire in the Imperial colours, dark gold with red edges 19mm.

2. The Grand Order of the Auspicous Stars or 'Sosong Tae-hunjung' (1900) cames in a Grand Cordon class only and equates to the Japanese GC of the Order of the Chrysanthemum. The reverse is curiously marked "Auspicious Stars Second Class". Riband is 110mm moire, lavender with 16mm gold stripes towards each edge.

3. The Grand Order of the Plumb Blossoms or 'Yihwa Tae-hunjung' (1900). Another single class order with a Grand Cordon decoration only which equtes to the GC of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulonia Flowers. Riband 110mm moire, purple with white stripes 19mm towards each edge.

4. The Taeguk Order of Merit or 'Taeguk jung' (1900). Equated to the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun and served as the principal civil order of merit; awarded in eight classes. Riband for the 1st class is 107mm moire, red with 12mm deep blue stripes towards each edge.

5. The Order of the Eight Tigrams or 'Palgoe jung' (1901). Equated to the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure and served as the junior civil order of merit; awarded in eight classes. Each class represented a particular object and virtue, First Class: heaven/power. Second Class: water/complacent satisfaction. Third Class: fire/elegance. Fourth Class: thunder/motion. Fifth Class: wind/flexibility. Sixth Class: the moon/peril or difficulty. Seventh Class: mountains/rest. Eighth Class: the earth/submission. Each has the symbol for the different trigram on the obverse. Riband for the 1st class is 107mm moire, pale grey-blue with 18mm russet-red stripes towards each edge. One usually sees various classes of this order for sale from Japanese dealers on a Japanese Rising Sun ribbon.

6. The Order of the Purple Falcon or 'Chiong jung' (1901). This was the military order of merit and corresponded to the Order of the Kite in Japan, awarded in eight classes. Given Korean military prowess during this period, the number of awards were very few and actual insignia must be rarer than hens' teeth. Probably never conferred on any foreigner. Riband of the 1st class is 107mm moire, white with red stripes towards each edge.

7. The Order of the Auspicious Phoenix or 'Bong jung' (1907). This was the ladies' order and equated to the Japanese Order of the Precious Crown, awarded in eight classes. Riband for the 1st class is 80mm moire, pink (called orchid) with 9mm white stripes towards each edge.

Cheers

James

[Hugh]

Many thanks, James,

You are obviously dipping from a very deep well. Have you served / lived in Korea?

Best,

Hugh

[James Hoard]

Many thanks, James,

You are obviously dipping from a very deep well. Have you served / lived in Korea?

No Hugh, I only worked in a business with a lot of dealings with Korea. Though I only ever managed two visits there during my whole 12 years with that firm.

Cheers,

James