In the residential area near Daehangno, Seoul‘s favorite street for culture and art, is a beautifully cared for garden with several hanok (traditional houses). This is Ehwajang (梨花莊 meaning pear blossom manor).

In May, when all flowers are in full bloom, Ehwajang boasts a graceful and elegant appearance. There is also a special story behind Ehwajang. It is the place where the loving spirit of Korea’s first president and his wife remains. 

As you enter Ehwajang, the building on the right is the family residence (built in 1985) and a statue of President Rhee is on the lawn. The hanok right ahead is the main building where Rhee and his wife lived. Even at a short glance, Ehwajang is an attractive place.

After liberation from Japan on Aug, 15, 1945, the Rhees returned from the U.S., but didn‘t have anywhere to live. Thirty-three friends who felt sorry for them donated money and bought a hanok. Built in the 1930s, the house had originally been the residence of the third son of King Injo of Joseon Dynasty. They gave the house to Rhee in the winter of 1947. The couple left Ehwajang when Rhee Syngman took the office of president and moved to Gyeongmudae, the residence of the president. He spent 12 years at Gyeongmudae, and returned to Ehwajang after he stepped down on April 26, 1960. The Rhees then stayed at Ehwajang from April 28 thru May 29, until they left for Hawaii.

If you follow the path on the right side of the garden you come to Jogakdang. Jogakdang is an eye-catching building on a small hill, where the first Cabinet was organized and announced on July 24, 1948. The building’s small size reflects the economic conditions of that time. Inside Jogakdang, Rhee‘s calligraphy of “nambuktongil” (unification of the south and the north) hangs on the wall. As we pass Jogakdang and move toward the main building, there is the Rhee Syngman Exhibition Hall which opened in 1988. Faded black and white photos on the wall reflect back on Korean history. There are captions for the photos written in English.

Inside of the main building, there is a living room in the center, a reception room and a study on the right, a bedroom and a kitchen on the left. And in other spaces, many articles left by the deceased are exhibited. Worn articles provide another window on the life of Rhee and his wife. Underwear and socks mended many times, pencil stubs, a worn-out coat, a shabby cupboard and brassware show that they really lived frugally.

Rhees’ love story

How did they meet each other? Was it possible to marry a foreigner at the time?

Rhee Syngman was born in 1875. He was the third child of Rhee Gyeong-seon, who was part of a ruined aristocratic family. He was an only son. At age 16, in 1890, he married a woman two years older than him, in his hometown, and she gave birth to their first son three years later. They got along well, but it seemed that their marriage was not easy due to Rhee‘s frequent imprisonment, exile and political involvement. On Feb. 26, 1906, their son died of typhoid in Philadelphia. Their relationship rapidly deteriorated following the sudden death of their son and ended in divorce.

Francesca Donner was born in 1900 in Austria and spent her childhood in Vienna. She was the third daughter of a wealthy father, who ran a trading company and a soda factory. She was a talented person who could speak several languages, and her father wanted to name her as his successor. In 1920, she married a race-car driver but divorced in 1923.

In February 1933, she was on a trip with her mother to Switzerland. She stayed at a hotel near Lake Leman. The hotel restaurant was crowded with the participants of a U.N. meeting. Rhee joined Donner’s table at the restaurant and they met. Rhee had flown from the U.S. to make an appeal for Korea‘s independence. He spent busy days, interviewing with journalists and representatives of various delegations.

The next day, Francesca found and saved an interview article of Rhee arguing for the independence of Korea and had it delivered to Rhee through the hotel reception desk. She also sent another article from a different newspaper. This kind action was appreciated by Rhee, and he treated her to tea.

Francesca’s mother did not like her daughter meeting an Asian man, and she decided to take her home. However, they were still connected. She kept writing letters to Rhee in Geneva, and met him once again in early July, when he came to Vienna to get an entry visa to the Soviet Union.

In 1934, after one year and three months, they finally got married in New York. The wedding was paid for by Francesca, and the wedding gift from Rhee was one small pearl from Jeju Island. Rhee was 59, and Francesca was. Would love really break the barriers of age and nationality? Is there really an unavoidable, destined love?

Life as a Korean

From that time on, Francesca’s life was full of hardship as the wife of a poor man dedicated to fighting for the independence of his country. Right after their marriage, Rhee‘s colleagues in Hawaii sent him telegrams twice telling him not to bring his Western wife back to Hawaii, but he boarded the ship to Hawaii with his wife. Despite some concerns, many of them came to the harbor to welcome the couple, and they threw a big party.

Francesca was open to embracing Korean culture. Rhee had her follow Korean culture and thinking. He taught her that Korean men never entered the kitchen and the wife must not talk about her husband at all. She had learned the same things from her parents, and so this was not unnatural for her. She learned Korean, wore hanbok and made kimchi. She taught piano lessons, took care of their children and cooked meals. She typed until her fingers got blisters. For Francesca, Rhee was a husband and a comrade.

After the death of her husband in 1965, Francesca stayed in her hometown Vienna for five years until 1970. She came back to Ehwajang to live with the family of her stepson, Lee In-su.

She died in 1992, leaving a will that requesting the Korean flag and the Bible that Rhee had used when he was fighting for the independence of Korea be put into her coffin. She also asked for the coffin to be covered with her husband’s calligraphy “nambuktongil” (unification of the south and the north).

Francesca helped her husband‘s great cause, the independence of Korea, for 12 years, lived as the first First Lady of the Republic of Korea for another 12 years, and lived as a Korean grandmother for 22 years.

As I left Ehwajang, the face of young Francesca overlapping that of old Francesca kept coming to my mind. She spent her last days in a foreign country strange to her just because of her love. I could not help but ponder what love was, and that she might have been a Korean in her previous life. With these thoughts, I was moved to tears.



Travel Data

*Direction: After leaving Exit 2 of Line 4, Hyehwa Station, pass Marronnier Park and Korea National Open University, and turn left at the first alley. Go straight ahead until you meet the stairs toward Naksan Park. Ehwajang is located right next to the stairs.

Address: 1 Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu

Open hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Admission fee: Free

Information: (02)762~3171(reservation required)

Nearby restaurants: Dama (02-741-5511, traditional Korean dishes), Suda (02-762-7565, handmade coffee and snacks), Pizza More (02-718-6644, pizza and pasta), Sotdae (02-741-1357, shabu shabu), Hong Kong Banjeom (02-3675-5004, spicy noodle soup), Hobnob (02-744-2255, beer bar) are some of good dining places in Daehangno.



*mini interview

Tourists’ reactions

There were some tourists visiting Ehwajang when I visited there: Remo Drost, 30, and Tineke Zwart, 21, a couple from the Netherlands. They were exchange students majoring in international business. They arrived in Korea two months ago, and in two months they will return home after traveling to Jeju-and Southeast Asian countries.

They first pointed out that the well-tended garden, articles and photos exhibited at the museum were very impressive. Drost expressed big interest in the fact that a European lady married a Korean man. He admitted that there was “destiny” between a man and a woman. He said the age gap would never be a problem and he felt okay about having a relationship with a woman older than him.

Kevin Cowell, a Canadian, and Jessica O‘Kelly from the U.S. seemed very familiar with Korea. They had stayed in Korea for quite some time. They carefully looked at the photos as if they were studying them. They also admired the beauty of the garden. There were other Canadians, Michael Vander, 35, and Anne in her 60s, who had been living in Korea for almost 10 years. They said that it was very good to see the actual site which they had heard about and to get know about its history and former occupants. 


*Travel Tip: If you are a tourist, you might want to make a reservation at the Seoul Tourism Organization for the walking tour course. You can reserve the course that starts from Dongdaemun → Seoul (Naksan) Fortress → Biu-dang → Naksan Park → Exhibition Hall → Ehwajang (2.5km). The scenery of Seoul seen at the top of Naksan fortress wall is captivating. Japanese, Chinese and English guide services are available. Tour times are 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. for weekends. For more information, call (02) 6925-0777.

By Lee Sin-hwa
Lee Sin-hwa is the author of “Best Places to Travel with a DSLR Camera.” (www.sinhwada.com).-Ed.