Russian architect
Afanasii Ivanovich Seridin-Sabatin
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Born
| (
1860-01-01
)
January 1, 1860
Lubny Poltava, Russian Empire
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Died
| January 1, 1921
(1921-01-01)
(aged 61)
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Nationality
| Russian
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Occupation
| Architect
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Buildings
| Russian Legation
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Afanasii Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin
(Афанасий Иванович Середин-Сабатин) was a Russian steersman-pilot and reporter for an English newspaper, but is best known as the first European (Russian) architect to live and work in the
Korean Empire
from (approximately) 1890 to 1904. He built a number of palaces in European style within the city of
Seoul
. He also built the first
Russian Legation building
, also in the city of Seoul. This building is a historical site because shortly after the Japanese invasion of Korea, in 1895, when the Korean Queen Min was assassinated by the Japanese, King
Gojong
and his son were given refuge in the Russian Legation for a year.
Biography
[
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]
Ancestry
Afanasii’s father: Ivan Vassilievich Seredin-Sabatin.
Was of noble birth, landed gentry, of the province of
Poltava
,
Ukraine
, where the family owned an estate, with
serfs
. They lived in the town of
Lubny
, in the same province, where they also owned properties.
[1]
Afanasii’s mother: (name unknown)
Ivan Vassilisvich’s first wife (Afanasii’s mother) was a Ukrainian commoner, descended from
Zaporozhian Cossacks
(on the
Dnieper
River, Ukraine).
[1]
Summarized Biography
Afanasii Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin, was born in Lubny, Poltava, Ukraine, in 1860. While he was still very young his father remarried. His stepmother was cruel towards him, thus, at the age of 14 he went to live with his uncle in
Petrograd
.
[1]
Afanasii attended the
Petrograd Academy of Arts
for a year. He also attended an architectural university (it is unknown which one). However, just before graduating he apparently had a falling out with a professor and left the university without graduating. With no certificate of graduation he was unable to find work as an architect. Later he entered a
Sea Cadet Corps
school. Upon graduation he became steersman-pilot of a Russian vessel in the Far East. It was there that he met his future wife.
[1]
Lydia Christianovna Shalich, was of
Polish
-
German
origin, born in
Galicia
, Russian Empire. She had a very good contralto voice, often singing in concerts. She was also a good swimmer and hiker. Lydia educated their four children. Lydia died in 1936, at the age of 69, in
Shanghai
, China.
[1]
Afanasii spent sometime at sea in the Far East until arriving in Korea in 1883 where he was hired by
Paul Georg von Mollendorff
for geodesic and construction works. Once in Korea Afanasii learned that the Korean King was seeking a European architect to build a number of buildings on palace grounds. Apparently King was interested in western culture, and it did not seem to matter to King that Afanasii did not have a degree in architecture. So at the age of 24 Afanasii left the sea and lived and worked in Korea, where he built a number of buildings of note, a number of which are still standing. He also left historical marks in other ways?namely as an eyewitness to the assassination of Queen Min by the Japanese.
[1]
Later, and while still in the Far East, Afanasii mastered the English language and worked for a while as reporter for an English newspaper. Afanasii also built several summer homes at
Peitaho
, China, and other countries.
[1]
Soon after the
Russo-Japanese war
(1904?05) he suffered some kind of a nervous disorder and left his family consisting of his wife, four daughters and one son. Afanasii went at first to Vladivostok, Siberia, then to European Russia where he died in 1921. The place of his death is uncertain. It was either at
Rostov-on-the-Don
, or
Volgograd
(former Tsaritsin) on the
Volga
.
[1]
Afanasii loved hunting with his 10 caliber double-barreled shotgun. He was an excellent swimmer (having saved several people from drowning), an accomplished tennis player, and an indefatigable hiker. He was irresponsible, and despite his many talents, the family very often found themselves in dire financial straits.
Achievements in Korea
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According to curator at
Cultural Heritage Administration
(CHA) of
South Korea
, only two buildings in Korea can be confirmed as achievement of Afanasy Seredin-Sabatin.
[2]
Eyewitness to the assassination of Queen Min (Empress Myeongseong)
[
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]
September 25, 1895 (Its Russian old calendar = 8 Oct 1895)
On 8 October 1895,
Empress Myeongseong
(referred to as "Queen Min"
[3]
) was assassinated by Japanese agents.
[4]
It was the Japanese minister to Korea,
Miura Goro
that had orchestrated the plot against her. In 2001, Russian reports on the assassin were found in the archives of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation. The documents included the testimony of King Gojong, several witnesses of the assassination, and
Karl Ivanovich Weber
's report to
Lobanov-Rostovsky
, the Foreign Minister of Russia. Weber was the
charge d'affaires
at the Russian legation in Seoul at that time.
[4]
According to a Russian eyewitness, Seredin-Sabatin (an employee of the Korean king), a group of Japanese agents and members of the
Hullyeondae
army entered the royal palace,
[5]
killed Empress Myeongseong, and desecrated her body in the north wing of the palace.
[6]
She was forty-three years old at the time of her assassination.
[7]
Reacting to the murder, father of King's
Daewongun
returned to the royal palace on the same day.
[4]
On 11 February 1896,
King Gojong
and his crown prince moved from the
Gyeongbokgung
palace to the
Russian
legation in
Seoul
, from which they governed for about one year, an event known as
Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation
.
See also
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References
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External links
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