Sontag Hotel

Sontag Hotel(in Hangul: 손탁호텔) was the first European hotel in Seoul, Korea built in 1902. The 25 room hotel was bestowed to a German Russian, Antoinette Sontag, by Gojong of the Korean Empire. She was the sister-in-law of the Russian ambassador, Karl Waeber.[1] It is said that she could speak German, Russian, English and also some Korean, gaining wider acknowledgement from the royal family.[2] However, she was almost expelled from Korea under the condition that Japan took strong control of the Korean peninsula before the annexation. The hotel was sold in 1917 and eventually demolished in 1922.[3]

Location

Bestowed land was next to Deoksugung palace. Later, the emperor granted the hotel to Sontag, which was the reason for naming the hotel. It had another names such as guest hall in Hansung, Sontag's residence, etc. Currently, it is presumed to be by the cennetial memorial hall of Ewha Womans University.[4]

The first Dabang or coffee shop was opened here where most westerners resided in Seoul visited at the time. Several famous people also stayed at Sontag hotel while they paid a visit to Korea such as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American writer Jack London When they were war correspondent. The 1st PM of Japan, Itō Hirobumi invited the authorities of Empire of Korea here.[5]

Miscellaneous
  • In 1976, the notable writer, Cha Bum-seok completed his screenplay named "Sontag Hotel". Later in 2005, this script became transformed as a musical.
  • In 2012, Lee soon woo published the book named 손탁 호텔 featuring the modern diplomatic history surrounding Korean peninsula and life of Sontag.[6][7]

References
  1. Culture content Korea
  2. KOCCA It is said Queen Min only accepted western dish prepared by Sontag
  3. Interview of writer-손탁호텔
  4. Location of Sontag Hotel Archived 2013-02-18 at Archive.today
  5. 손탁여사와 손탁호텔 Archived 2012-07-10 at Archive.today, 한국콘텐츠진흥원
  6. Interview of writer
  7. Korea Central Library
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