Onyang Hot Springs circa 1930s / Robert Neff Collection

In 1907, Thomas Sammons, the American consul in Seoul, described six of the most “notable hot springs” on the Korean Peninsula in a report to the State Department. According to him, five were in the north and only one was in the south — Onyang Hot Spring in South Chungcheong Province.

The hot springs at Onyang are said to be the oldest in Korea and were once used by Joseon monarchs. In his report, Sammons did not mention the history of the hot springs but instead wrote about its current situation:

“The baths nearest Seoul and most used by foreigners and Japanese are those at On-yang. Here a hotel has been erected and there are arrangements not only for typical Japanese baths, but for special treatments at the hotel. The rates at the hotel are about $1.75 gold a day — that is, very reasonable. The hotel being but nine miles from the railroad makes these baths very accessible. None of the others are. Several Americans have found that the On-yang baths give much benefit to those suffering from Rheumatism, female and skin diseases and during the Russo-Japanese war extensive use of the baths was made by sick and wounded Japanese soldiers.”

The Dongnae Hot Springs circa 1930s / Robert Neff Collection

Sammons painted the Japanese enterprise in a favorable light but failed to mention the earlier friction between the local Korean population and the Japanese developers.

During the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, a Western writer visited Pyongyang and denounced the Japanese developers for taking advantage of the Korean population. According to him, if a Korean owned a “fine hot spring” near the city, it was conceivable a Japanese civilian would suddenly appear and drive wooden stakes all about the Korean’s property and then claim it for himself because of Japanese “military necessity.”

In March 1905, the magistrate from Onyang complained to the Korean government that “Japanese subjects have placed........

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