Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Many Dutch citizens often do not realize how long ago the Koreans got acquainted with each other for the first time. Hendrick Hamel, a Dutchman born in Gorinchem in 1630, was the first westerner who introduced Korea to the west through his blog.
As an accountant of the VOC (Dutch East India Company), Hamel went on a trade mission to Japan in 1653. During the journey the VOC ship (called De Sperwer) ended up in a storm and stranded on Jeju Island—in front close to the Korean peninsula. The survivors of the shipwreck were captured by Korean soldiers and brought to the King’s court in Seoul. After 13 years of hard labor for the King, the Dutch men managed to escape to Japan on a broken fisher’s boat.
During his captivity Hamel lived among the Koreans. Because he mastered writing, he took notes of what he saw. He described the Korean houses, political structure, language, and the population with cultural customs. The VOC eventually published the notes he made – it’s now known as the Journal of Hamel – and for a long period it served as the only available information about Korea in Europe. For that reason Hamel came to be considered the discoverer of Korea. Now Hamel continues to symbolize the close ties existing between the Netherlands and Korea. 

For further reading about Hendrick Hamel and the Hamel House museum in Gorinchem, please refer to:
http://www.hamelhuis.nl/ and  http://www.onskorea.nl .