Jack London’s Korea

by James Card

In the ways that some writers are remembered for their writings and ramblings in certain corners of the earth, Jack London's name evokes images of the Yukon, California locales, and the South Seas. Yet one of London's most adventurous forays abroad is a small footnote in his literary achievements. London covered the Russo-Japanese War as a correspondent in Korea. He journeyed across three different seas under hellish conditions, crossed the rugged mountainous terrain of Korea, and fought bureaucrats along the way, which included some jail time.

His experience on the Korean ...