The waterfront of Jemulpo in the early 1900s / Robert Neff Collection

The summer of 1892 was, a foreign resident in Jemulpo (modern Incheon) declared, the hottest summer in Korea he had experienced. According to him, “the oldest resident” in the community could not remember a hotter summer, and, the narrator added, the old man had a “pretty lengthy” memory to draw upon. Unfortunately, we do not know if the elderly gentleman was Korean or foreign — but regardless, considering Jemulpo was a fairly new port, it was a pretty bold assertion.

According to the Imperial Customs’ Service Meteorological Return, July began with “rain, fog, and boisterous weather.” The rain only lasted for a couple of days and then the weather became “remarkably dry” and “nature seemed for the greater part of the month exhausted of all moisture.” There........

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