Old Korean Legation Museum

Built in 1877 by American naval officer and Minister to Peru, Seth Ledyard Phelps (1824-1885), the Old Korean Legation Museum preserves and promotes the history of Korean-American relations. It served as the Korean legation between 1889-1910 for Joseon, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, and the Korean Empire, which existed from 1897 until 1910 (a legation was the diplomatic representative office and residence of a foreign minister). The building is operated by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation and is a contributing property of the Logan Circle and the Greater Fourteenth Street Historic Districts. The first two floors were restored and the third floor was converted into exhibit space.

Seth Ledyard Phelps

Seth Ledyard Phelps was born on January 13, 1824 in Parkman, Ohio. As a young man, he joined the Navy, becoming a midshipman in 1841 and served on the USS Independence. He later served in the Mexican-American War on a vessel called Bonita. In 1850, he sailed to Santiago, Chile to spend two years as part of a scientific expedition. In 1853, he married his wife, Lizzie and they had one daughter together. During the Civil War began, Phelps served with distinction as commander of gunboats on the Mississippi River. However, he was very ambitious and often critical about the promotion of officers who he considered unworthy or unqualified. Unhappy with his situation, Phelps retired from the Navy in frustration in 1864 and then worked for the Pacific Mall Steamship Company, a job that took him to China and Japan. In 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Phelps to the board of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia and later became its first president. In 1883, he was appointed minister to Peru and served until his unexpected death in 1885.

Korean Legation

In 1882, Korea and the United States signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations (this was the first time Korea had done so with a Western country). The next year, the United States opened a legation in Seoul, Korea. The first Korean minister to the U.S., Park Chung Yang, was appointed in 1887. The first location of the Korean legation was the Fisher House, which was close to the the White House. The Korean minister and his staff arrived there on January 19 and remained until moving into the Phelp's house on February 13, 1889.

The house continued to be the Korean legation until 1910. Five years earlier, Japan occupied Korea and made it a protectorate (Japan had recently won the Russo-Japanese War [1904-1905] and desired to increase its sphere of influence in the region). Japan annexed Korea in 1910 forced Korea to sell the house to them for a mere $5. Japan then quickly sold it. Over the next several decades the building was used as a private residence, a union hall, and a recreation center for African Americans. Finally in 2012, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation bought the house and began restoring it in 2015. The work was completed in 2018.

"Capt Seth Ledyard Phelps." Find A Grave. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37224690/seth-ledyard-phelps.

"History." Old Korean Legation Museum. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://oldkoreanlegation.org/en/about/welcome.

Kamen, Al. "Korea set to reclaim former Logan Circle embassy." Washington Post. September 18, 2012. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/korea-set-to-reclaim-former-logan-circle-embassy/2012/09/18/99f27734-fd0a-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_blog.html.

Schoenfeld, Sarah et al. "A Fitting Tribute: Logan Circle Heritage Trail." Cultural Tourism D.C. 2014. https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/documents/701982/4dc9b100-8d11-4bf1-bc25-5a6bf8eecc65.

Taylor, Nancy C. "Logan Circle Historic District." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 30, 1972. https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Logan%20Circle%20HD%20nom.pdf.