36 of the 64 members of the crew survived the shipwreck, and the men were promptly taken into custody and sent to Seoul (where the king was Hyojong of Joseon, who ruled from 1649 to 1659).
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King Hyojong ordered them to build muskets for the army, providing muskets to the Koreans for the first time after the Seven Year War (1592-1598).
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When the novelty of their capture was still fresh, the Dutchmen had been brought to the royal palace in Seoul, as a kind of novelty item for the king.
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In 1666, after thirteen years (during the reign of Hyeonjong of Joseon, 1659–1674) of what then had become imprisonment, eight men including Hamel were able to escape.
Hendrick Motorsports | Hamel | George Hendrick | Gary Hamel | Alan Hamel | Mike Hendrick | Howard Hendrick | Burton J. Hendrick | Battle of Hamel | Keith Hamel | Hendrick Theyanoguin | Hendrick ter Brugghen | Hendrick Joseph Dillens | Hendrick Hudson High School | Hendrick Hamel | Hendrick Bradley Wright | Gustav Hamel | Beaumont-Hamel |
The leitmotif of the book is taken from a historical figure, Hendrick Hamel, a bookkeeper with the Dutch East India Company found adrift in Jeju while heading to Japan.