In 1653, the VOC ship Sprewer was wrecked on the rocks off a remote Korean island, leaving thirty-six survivors. The king of Korea decided that the foreigners should spend the rest of their lives in his hermit kingdom. The Dutchmen were provided with food and housing and a certain amount of freedom of movement, but had no choice but to accept their fate. After 13 years, eight of them managed to reach Japan in a small, barely seaworthy boat. Hendrik Hamel's report on their adventures soon became widely known. For two centuries, it was the most important source of information about the mysterious kingdom of Korea. It continues to fascinate as a report of a meeting between two completely different cultures. The present book includes a modern English translation of a complete version of Hamel's "Journael." Additional chapters describe the world familiar to VOC employees and the strange world of the Far East which Hamel and his compatriots came to know.
Jean-Paul Buys Knihy
