Do Byeongyeong Koreans Have Dutch Ancestors?

Some people in Byeongyeong in the county of Gangjin are said to look different from other Koreans. They have markedly larger bodies, smaller noses, and lighter hair. A few are reported to even possess blue – or bluish – eyes.

The common explanation for these unusual features is the seven-year stay of the Dutch trader Hendrick Hamel and his fellow sailors, who had the misfortune to be shipwrecked on a Korean beach in 1653. Hendrick and eleven of his men were captured and sent to Byeongyeong, where they were expected to spend the rest of their lives performing community service for an endless series of short-term governors. According to Hamel’s journal, “One governor wanted us to stamp rice for him all day. The next one ordered us to twist 100 fathoms of rope for him.”

The crew eventually escaped to Japan because, Hamel explained, “We didn’t feel like doing slavery work for the rest of our lives.” However, Byeongyeong officials say you can still find signs of their influence on the town today, such as its unusually high walls and a unique canal – and of course, there are the people. No wonder that one of the three Nam family names of Korea originates from the town; Nam means “outsider” in Korean, after all!

Like so many popular myths, it all makes sense – until you start asking questions. We know from Hamel’s journal that only 12 Dutchmen lived in Byeongyeong. They were all “accommodated in a scarcely furnished house.” Is it likely that a dozen poorly treated prisoners, all living together, were allowed enough access to Korean women that their genetic influence is still clear 250 years later?

With regard to blue eyes, that is particularly hard to accept, since they are a recessive genetic trait. To maintain the genetic potential for blue-eyed descendants, the sailors would have needed enough progeny for interbreeding.

Is that also possible? Yes, but a more believable explanation for people’s supposedly unusual features in Byeongyeong is simple confirmation bias: everyone’s psychological habit of interpreting information as a confirmation of what they already believe to be true. That is, it is unlikely that anyone would consider the townspeople to look Dutch if a silly rumor had not already spread that the people do look Dutch. This tendency explains why the theory has only subjective and usually anecdotal evidence.

For their part, Byeongyeong’s people are proud of Hamel’s visit, but have not reacted well to the suggestion he is their ancestor. Dr. Kim Tae-Jil of Chonnam National University tried to interview them about their family trees in the ’70s and ’80s. He complained then, “People are dismayed, yes even deeply shocked, when I only suggest that they might have descended from the Hollanders.”

Until they are more at peace with the idea, perhaps it would be best if this particular myth kept being shared.