:00
DS
902
.2
C67
1894
: \
COREA OF TO-DAY
BUDDHIST MONKS
T. NELSON AND SONS
London, hdiiibni^h, and AVw York
I8 94
:JL
CONTENTS.
I. THE COUNTRY, .... .... .... .... 7
II. THE GOVERNMENT, .... .... .... 17
III. THE CAPITAL, .... ... .... .... 26
IV. THE LANGUAGES, .... .... .... .... 30
V. THE PEOPLE, .... .... .... .... 44
VI. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, .... .... .... 54
VII. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. (Continued), .... .... 64
VIII. FASHIONS, .... .... .... 72
IX. PLEASURES AND SOLEMNITIES, .... .... 78
X. RELIGIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS, ... .... 89
XI. RESOURCES, .... .... .... .... 1>9
XII. PROGRESS, ... .... .... .... Ill
XIII. FOREIGN RELATIONS, ... .... .... 117
XIV. MISSIONS, .... .... .... 125
MUCH of this Look has been extracted from " Corea
from its Capital," by G. W. GILMORE, M.A. New
matter has been added with special reference to the
present crisis.
COREA OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER I.
THE COUNTRY.
WHEN the writer first announced to a college
friend his intention of going to Corea, that
friend replied, " I have a vague recollection that there
is such a place somewhere on the eastern coast of Asia,
but I must get down my atlas and definitely settle its
position in my mind." Geographical knowledge is
often very vague. People have very often only a
" general idea " of a place, and so a word or two on
the geographical position of Corea may not be amiss. /
The most direct way of going to the country a
description of which will settle its geographical posi-
tion is by crossing America to San Francisco or
Vancouver. Taking ship at Vancouver, we sail al-
most directly west, and so run into the harbour of
Yokohama, Japan. Now, if the steamer could push
on through the Japanese Islands, we should run into
8 THE HERMIT NATION.
a peninsula jutting out from the east coast of Asia
toward the south-east. This peninsula is the country
of which we are speaking. Looked at from Canada,
it is directly behind Japan.
This little country of Corea, or, as the natives call
it, Cho Son, the " Land of Morning Calm," whose king
is " monarch of ten thousand isles," has been the
last to open its gates for the entrance of foreigners
within its boundaries. The persistent exclusion of all
foreigners from its territory has gone so far that
mariners shipwrecked on its shores have been detained
as prisoners, in order that no news might through
them reach other nations to tempt incursions for booty
or conquest. But practically the whole world is now
open to Western civilization. There is not a single
independent country from which foreigners are ex-
cluded. Tibet, it is true, still frets at the visits of
curious tourists, but that little corner is only a prov-
ince of China.
It was the expectation of many that, when Corea
was opened up to the world, its people would be found
savage, uncouth, and forbidding in their manners.
What must have been their surprise, therefore, to find
that not only were the people of Corea not of this
description, but that, on the contrary, in no countries
in the East, Japan and India not excepted, were for-
eigners so cordially welcomed, so kindly received, and
so right royally treated ! As a visitor passes along
the crowded streets of the capital, he has not to elbow
NATIVE COURTESY. 9
his way through by main force or by turning himself
" edgewise," as in the thoroughfares of our own cities,
and he is surprised to find that nearly all Coreans,
when they see a foreigner coming, turn aside and
give the right of way to the new-comer. And this
comes not through fear nor through contempt ; the
movement is one of native courtesy : the Coreans
consider foreigners the guests of the country, and as
such to be treated with all respect. Similarly, when
the king takes an outing in state, crowds flock to
see the sight, and line the streets six or eight deep.
At such times, if the cry goes up, " Here comes a
foreigner ! " a passage is opened for the lucky man,
and he can walk through the crowd and take a front
place without the slightest murmur from any one.
The question, therefore, naturally arises, If this is
the disposition of the inhabitants, if they are so
universally courteous and hospitable, how shall we
explain the policy of isolation which was adhered to
till within eight years a policy which refused to
the Chinese, who claimed suzerainty over Corea, the
right to a resident, and even compelled an ambassador
from the Emperor of China, on the rare occasions
when one made a visit, to enter the country with only
the scantiest train of attendants ? The answer to this,
as to many other questions, lies in the position of the
peninsula between China and Japan.
The history of Corea is a peculiarly chequered one.
Were we to trace it, the one fact which would stand
10 A CHEQUERED HISTORY.
out before us is the frequent invasions from China on
the north and Japan on the south. While the Chinese
have time and again attempted to subjugate the
peninsula, occasionally for a time adding it as a pro-
vince to China, the Japanese have held from the
second century of our era that Corea is a part of
Japan. The consequence has been that hordes, some-
times reckoned at a million of men, have been sent
like tidal- waves from China, carrying devastation in
their wake. And again, from the south the sturdy
and brave soldiers of Japan (and there are no better
fighters in the world to-day than the Japanese) have
overrun the peninsula toward the north. And not
only this : we find the Chinese and the Japanese,
whose hate for each other has ever been deadly, fight-
ing out their battles on Corean soil. To this there
must be added the incursions of pirates from the
Japan coast and islands, who have ravaged the coasts
of Corea, burned the cities, and kept the inhabitants
of the peninsula in a state of constant fear. It is
no wonder then that the Coreans have reasoned thus:
" If our own cousins, those of Mongolian origin, the
people of straight black hair, oblique eyes, and yellow
skin, treat us in this fashion ; if they know no use
for us but to burn our cities, plunder our territory,
and kill and capture our people, what must we ex-
pect from barbarians of the West ? We'll none of
them." And so, isolated from all that she could keep
out, rejecting all overtures, preventing, as far as
COREA AND JAPAN. 11
possible, all news concerning herself from reaching
the outside world, the hermit nation has lived in
content, shut in and confined to her own resources,
until the last decades of the nineteenth century only
have seen treaties made with Western powers.
Of course, we are not to forget that a start was
made in the direction of opening up the ports of
Corea when, in 1876, a treaty was made with the
Japanese by which Japan once for all gave up her
claims to the peninsula, and acknowledged the in-
dependence of the sister country. Its chief signifi-
cance, however, was in its opening a port of Corea to
trade with the Japanese. The hermit condition was
by this act abandoned. The way was paved for
other nations to ask the same with some reasonable
ground of expectation that it would be granted. A
treaty with the United States was negotiated in
1882. Others soon followed with England, Russia,
Italy, and France, and the hermit nation is a hermit
no longer.
The peninsula presents to the casual tourist none
of the attractions of Japan. The traveller will find
here no interesting temples set in groves of beautiful
cryptomeria. There are no picturesque shrines in
lovely valleys, few wooded hills inviting the traveller
to rest, no art-producing workshops, a delight to the
eyes, and suggesting a depletion of the purse. The
country in the neighbourhood of the capital is denuded
of forests. The hills, bereft of their mantle of tree
12 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY.
and bush, lie open to the baking sun and the wearing
rain, their gaunt sides furrowed and seamed with
channels worn by the midsummer floods.
The sail up the coast brings to view no beauties of
cultivation such as are seen in passing through the
Inland Sea of Japan. Only bleak hills, rugged crags,
here and there in a recess the few low huts of a fishing
village, clustered together on a lonely shore washed
by surging tides of nearly thirty feet, which, sweep-
ing out, leave bare vast mud-flats and dreary weed-
covered rocks. Its shores are rocky and hemmed in
by dangerous shoals and treacherous rocks.
Only a vivid imagination could regard Corea as a
land worthy of the visit of people who seek wealth
either by robbery or by industry. One going there
| must be prepared to see a country with apparently no
/__ resources. Its people seem slothful and unambitious;
its towns and villages appear unhealthy and its homes
uninviting. It is only during a longer sojourn than
tourists can generally afford that aught attractive
really comes to the surface.
In passing through Japan every turn brings into
view something to charm the sense. Interesting faces,
pretty costumes, neat homes, careful agriculture, gro-
tesque horticulture, sprightliness, wit and grace, all
abound there ; and with all there is to be seen an
inherent politeness in the people that bestows addi-
tional charms upon all besides. In the Corean penin-
sula faces appear dull, costumes repeating each other
CLIMATE OF THE CAPITAL. 15
grow monotonous, houses are poor and without adorn-
ment, agriculture is neglected, and landscape gardening
is unknown, excepting crude attempts at the graves
of the nobility, while the people look dull and un-
interesting, gazing with open mouth at any unusual
sight, and seeming at times bereft even of mother wit.
Corea is decidedly not a country for tourists.
In its physical features, Corea much resembles Japan.
It is very mountainous, though the mountains nowhere
reach a great height. The backbone of the peninsula
runs near the north-eastern coast. From this, spurs
run out towards the sea.
The climate of the capital, which is in the latitude
of Lisbon, is delightful, except for about six weeks
in midsummer. Sudden alternations of heat and
cold are unknown there. Snow often lies on the
ground from the middle of December to the middle of
February, but at no time does the cold become
unbearable. I have never seen the thermometer
below zero, though for nearly a month the mercury
in a sheltered place did not vary 15, running from
about 5^ to 20. Thus there is in midwinter a level of
cold. About February 1, the mercury begins to rise,
until by March 15 people are making gardens. The
temperature continues to rise till about July 15,
when the summer level of about 90 is reached, with,
however, but few nights when the heat makes sleep-
ing difficult. This is the rainy season. And how it
16 CLIMATE OF THE CAPITAL.
rains ! Apparently the water falls in sheets. Clouds
roll across and drop their loads, and then roll back
and double their contribution. Not steadily, but often
with a day or two of fine weather succeeding a day or
two of successive, almost continuous, showers, until,
about September 1, the magnificent autumn weather
commences. This is the crown of the year. Delight-
ful days, bright and sunny temperature, almost im-
perceptibly falling, up to the middle of December.
I have played tennis on December 16, and gone skat-
ing at Christmas.
Thus there seem no unusual drafts on the resident's
strength, and, with the care necessary in the East, life
in Corea is healthy and pleasant.
CHAPTER II.
THE GOVERNMENT.
IN this chapter we shall deal with the composition
and internal administration of the Corean
government. The relations of the country to the
neighbouring nations demand a separate chapter.
Power centres in the king, or hapmun, or ingum,
as he is called by the people. The functions of
government are all exercised in his name by ministers
presumably appointed by him, and acting under his
authority. The people have no share in the govern-
ment, and no authority proceeds from them. In Cho
Son truly " le roi c'est 1'etat." From the king, power
filters through a line of officials down to the head
man of the smallest village, each official requiring
from those beneath him an account of whatever
transpires in his own jurisdiction.
Yet, although the people have no voice in the
selection of officers, and no direct way of controlling
the actions of the government, when measures dis-
tasteful to the mass of the inhabitants have been
decided on, there is what might be called a popular
2
18 POPULAR PROTESTS.
protest by the mass of citizens, in the shape of a
sort of ferment, at first unnoticeable, but increasing
in degree until a state of excitement ensues, when
business is neglected and mass -meetings are held,
until the news reaches the palace that the people are
displeased. So far as I could learn and the pheno-
mena under discussion appeared several times during
my residence in Corea these popular protests, if
founded on right, are effective in producing a change
in the policy. If, however, the excitement has been
caused by false rumours, if mischief-makers have cir-
culated false reports, and, owing to these, misapprehen-
sions are abroad, the usual course is for proclamations
to be posted in the great square of the metropolis,
correcting the misunderstanding and advising the
people to return to their occupations. If, however,
this is not effective, as is sometimes the case, a
second proclamation is issued, in a different tone. The
tenor of the first may be gentle and fatherly ; that of
the second is sterner, and gives the impression that
" business is meant." Generally a day or two is
allowed for this to have its effect, when, if the excite-
ment does not subside, the military are put into service,
the streets patrolled, disturbers of the peace arrested
and punished, and so the trouble is settled. Thus the
populace have a way of making their wishes known
and their power felt even to the heart of the palace.
The king has as his immediate counsellors and
assistants three men, who are called the " prime min-
DEGREES OF " RANK." 19
ister " and ministers of the " right " and the " left."
These three are the chief men in the kingdom, and
out-rank all others. After these come the heads of
the departments, six in number. These are assisted
by numerous officials of different rank all the way
down to the pettiest official, who is of the standing of
our village constable. The whole matter of " rank " or
pessal is very intricate. There are in Corea two kinds
of rank, civil and military (Corea has no navy). Of
these the higher is the civil. Both civil and military
rank are divided into a large number of grades of office-
holders, separated from one another with the finest dis-
crimination. When a man, by passing an examination,
gets " rank," he becomes an office-holder, so that all
" men of rank " are office-holders. A man on becom-
ing an office-holder is assigned to some duty, and is
thereupon in the line of promotion. He is supposed
to get his pickings at the public crib, and the people
at large furnish the fodder.
With all these ramifications of rank it ought to be
an easy matter to secure responsibility and good
government. But, unfortunately, the possession of (
official position makes it possible to oppress the people
with but little danger of punishment. There seems
to be a tacit agreement among the nobility to suppress \
any attempt on the part of the common people to
carry information against one official to another.
While we were in the country, our cook was becom-
ing quite a wealthy man. He had bought two
20 EXACTIONS OF OFFICIALS.
houses, and had besides a little ready money ; but
he told me that he wished to continue to work for
foreigners. On being asked for the reason, he said
that were he not in the employ of foreigners, he would
be immediately sought by some of the officials for the
t purpose of lending them thirty or forty thousand cash
(about five pounds). As this loan would of course
never be returned, it would amount to a levy on his
property. So long as he was employed by foreigners
he, in accordance with treaty stipulations in such a
case, could not be arrested except through their own
consulate, and he was consequently safe from the exac-
tions of the petty officials. It became very clear to
me that exactions of this sort were exceedingly common
in Corea. If it became known that a man had laid
up an amount of cash, an official would seek a loan.
If it were refused, the man would be thrown into
prison on some trumped-up charge. The supposed
criminal would be whipped every morning until he
had met the demands, or had by his obstinacy scared
the officials into apprehensions for their own safety,
or until some of his relations had paid the amount
demanded, or some compromise had been made.
But this is not the only method of obtaining money.
Not only is a person liable for his own debts, but
even for those of his relations. The niching officials
often take advantage of this, and not being able to
arrest the moneyed member of the family, they will
arrest a cousin or brother, and then demand payment.
APPEALS TO THE KING. 21
When the unfortunate fellow protests that he has no
money, and cannot possibly pay, the officers will
coolly retort, " Oh, well, we know that. But your
cousin has plenty. Get him to pay your fine." So
close are the bonds of family relationship that this
method is usually effectual.
When travellers speak of the poverty and indolence
of the Coreans, it must not be taken for granted
that this is altogether the result of their tempera-
ment. It must be remembered that the people have
no incentive to labour. Their laziness is not innate,
but results from a knowledge that all fruit of toil,
above what is required for the veriest necessities, is
liable to be stolen from them by corrupt and insatiate
officials, against whom they are powerless.
Appeals to the supreme power are exceedingly diffi-
cult from the fact, already mentioned, that officials are
chary of listening to complaints against one of their
number. So it is a very rare occurrence for His
Majesty to hear of the wrong-doings of his subordinates.
Besides this, there is a custom among them that the
king must hear no unpleasant news if it is possible to
prevent such reaching him. Of course, when wrong
has been done to a man of another nationality, the
wrong comes to the king's ear through diplomatic or
consular channels, and then punishment is swift and
sure.
But not only in the ways indicated above, do officials
abuse their power. There is besides a great deal of
99
OFFICIAL LIFE.
nepotism in the ranks. It is a fact that the sons of
high officials are invariably, before reaching the age
of maturity, well advanced in official position.
While examinations are held for the purpose of
finding scholars who are capable of taking part in the
administration of government, these scholars are most
frequency found among the sons of officials. The ex-
aminers, having received a bribe, can easily find the
paper of the briber, and, by ostentatiously showing it
to His Majesty, gain for the writer a high grade.*
A picture of the parade which attends official life
is thus given by a recent writer :
" About the courts of the yong mun (official re-
sidence) is at all times a great crowd of attendants,
police runners and soldiers, in coarse uniforms of va-
riegated colours indicating their position. These pass
the orders of the great man within in long-drawn,
shrill cries, heard long distances away from the yong
mun ; they come and go, carrying and bringing mes-
* My own teacher, an exceptionally honourable as well as well-read
man, told me that he would very much like to obtain rank, but said he
could not do so, as he had not the money or the influence necessary.
Asked how it was that either was necessary when the examination was
held to find ability, he said, "Very true; but very many papers are
written, The king sees only a few, and those are selected by the assist-
ants of His Majesty. If I knew one of these men, I might persuade him
to see my paper and show it, or I might brighten his eyes with some
cash." Asking him how much cash would be needed, he said, "Oh,
perhaps a hundred thousand " (over ten pounds). I then said, "Suppose
I should offer to lend you that amount ? " To this his reply was, " You
are very kind, and I appreciate your offer, but it is not according to my
conscience to get rank in that way. "
PAINFUL ATTENTIONS. 23
sages. Squatting with heads close to the ground,
they speak in stage tones to the officer in the high
place within from morning to night, at both of which
times, at the opening and closing of the gates, there
is a great noise of drums, of shrill fifes, and of weird
cries ; all seems bustle and confusion, believed to be
necessary to the dignity of the officers. I was lodged
in a kilchung or guest-house, off the main courtyard.
A host of braves was detailed to provide for me.
Their attentions were painful in time. If I tried to
take a nap, the word went forth, ' The great man
sleeps ; be still,' and in a little time a continuous
wrangle and racket began, preventing all sleep, in the
efforts of the braves to keep each other quiet, and
the vigorous thrashing of citizens who came to get a
peep at the foreigner. Meals appeared six times the
first day, seven the second ; and at short intervals
during the day an officer appeared to ask if I had
eaten well, and, if so, to thank me."
In the administration of state affairs there is a\
strange combination of shrewdness, want of judg-
ment, and indecision which is decidedly Oriental.
The opening of the country to trade necessitated
the adoption of customs regulations, and the collection
of customs was placed under the administration of
the Chinese service, then under the direction of Sir
Henry Parkes. This was probably the best arrange-
ment that could have been made, for it has insured a
24 STATE AFFAIRS.
faithful and careful handling of the customs. At
the present time the customs service of Corea is
really a part of the customs service of China, though
no part of the duties collected goes into the Chinese
treasury. All surplus remaining over the cost of
administering the service goes into the Corean trea-
sury. The government is deriving a considerable and
steadily increasing sum from this source.
The other government departments are under native
officials, who seem fated to fail in all the enterprises
which they undertake. Thus, the government derives
some revenue from the raising of silk, and so an ex-
pert was engaged to look after the cultivation of the
silk- worm. This became a burden on the govern-
ment's hands; for after an engagement of about five
years, the expert left his position, the only result of
his years' service to the government being some small
mulberry orchards of sickly growth, and probably
not a pound has come, or will come, to repay the
hundreds expended in his services and in the planting
of the orchard. Similar failures, as we shall see, have
attended the attempts to establish a mint, to open
coal mines, and to enlarge and organize the army.
Each of these enterprises, except perhaps that of
the army improvement, might have done well and have
brought good returns. But they all stopped short of
thoroughness, of actual use.
Perhaps the root of the whole matter lies here : the
king has had a " foreign adviser," a gentleman who
JEALOUSY TOWARDS FOREIGNERS. 25
has advised against these various enterprises. But
the jealousy toward foreigners, which hampers all such
as engage with the Corean government, made the em-
ployment of this gentleman a farce, the money paid
to him a sheer waste, and the enterprises of the
government pure loss.
The question now is, whether in time the king and
his advisers will let common sense in these matters
guide them, and whether they will not intrust to
those foreigners whom they engage full control of the
matters they are appointed to manage. If they are
content to let competent men direct such matters, the
finances of the kingdom and the government itself
can soon be put in excellent condition.
CHAPTER III.
THE CAPITAL.
"\ ^ /'E are accustomed to speak of the capital of
V V Corea as " Seoul," supposing that to be the
name of the town. Really that word means " the
capital," and the name of the capital is Kyung-gi-do
or Kyung-gi.
The first impression one receives on passing a night
there is that somehow one has gone back to the
middle ages. It has a decidedly medieval flavour
to find oneself in a walled town with the gates shut,
going about after dark, with lantern in hand, in
streets otherwise unlighted and quite deserted by men,
with no possibility of exit except by scaling the walls.
The capital of Corea, occupying in that peninsula
a position much like that of Rome in Italy, about
twenty-eight miles from its port, called Chemulpo,
is a town estimated to contain 250,000 to 400,000
inhabitants, including those villages clustered on the
outside beneath the walls. The city proper is en-
closed by a wall from twenty to thirty feet in height,
crowned with battlements and pierced with embra-
THE CITY WALL. 27
sures, not, however, for cannon, but for bowmen.
Behind the wall is a mound of earth which forms
a vantage-ground for the defenders in case of attack.
The excellence of the construction of this wall will
be understood when it is known that it has been built
about five hundred years, and is now in excellent
repair except in a few places. It has not, however,
a smooth surface, but can be scaled at very many
points, and at intervals there are found well-worn
traces where late arrivals enter or leave the city
between the times of closing and opening the gates.
The wall is pierced by eight gates, one of which is
secret, leading by a hidden path to the fortress of
Pook Hon, and is for the purpose of affording the
king an escape in times of danger. The road can be
very speedily destroyed behind him, so as to make
pursuit impossible. These gates are set in arches
about sixteen feet deep, made of large blocks of
stone finely hewn and joined, which furnish as perfect
specimens of arch-building as can be seen in any
country. The gates themselves are but sorry affairs
in comparison with the strong wall and the mag-
nificent arches. They are surmounted by typical
structures of wood, one or two stories in height,
which make the gates very picturesque objects and
the sure cynosure of the tourist's lens.
The great wall scales two hills in its circuit round
the city. About the centre, on the south, is a bold,
well-wooded, and beautiful hill about eight hundred
28 THE STREETS OF SEOUL.
feet in height, rising abruptly from its base, and
showing in some places sheer precipices of a hundred
feet. This is called Nam San, or South Mountain.
Diagonally across the city, toward the north-west, is
another hill, higher and with a less dense covering of
trees, in many places only large bare crags appearing.
This is called Pook San, or North Mountain.
Inside the walls, the impression of medievalism is
by no means removed. The visitor finds only three
wide streets in Seoul. One of these almost traverses
the city from east to west, ending at the great east
gate. The others run off at right angles from this,
one of them to the main gates of the palace, and the
other to the great south gate. Only one of these is
kept clear so that its entire width can be seen at all
times namely, the one leading to the palace. In
the others, booths and shops are built, so that only a
narrow way wide enough for ox-carts is left.
All the other streets are narrow and winding, and
in many of them it is barely possible for men on foot
to squeeze past each other. A close investigation,
however, shows that, as originally laid out, the streets
were not so contracted. Gradually the owners on
each side have encroached on the road, until they
have almost closed up the public way. Through
these streets, owing to their narrowness and to the
projecting thatch and tiling of the roofs, a single
mounted man often finds it difficult to ride, and
must pass carefully along, bowing his head and
PALACE ENCLOSURES. 31
swaying in his saddle, to avoid being swept from
his seat.
There are now three palace enclosures in the city.
That occupied at present by the royal family is
immediately under the North Mountain. Another
enclosure was formerly occupied by a regent, after-
wards used as a mint, and is now fallen into a woful
state of dilapidation. The grounds are occupied by
mulberry groves planted by the government for the
fostering of the silk industry. The third, which was
until a very few years ago the residence of the royal
family, is a large enclosure containing very many
pretty buildings now fast falling into decay, and is
of such great extent that there is said to be the lair
of a tigress and her cubs in the thickets near the
back. There has been some attempt at landscape
gardening ; but, unfortunately, it is a persistent notion
of the Coreans that the grounds about a residence
should be cut up by walls, each set of buildings
being enclosed and thus shut off entirely from the
rest.
The houses of the Coreans may be divided into
two classes according to the materials of their roofs
thatch or tile. The poorer ones are of course
thatched. The typical shape of a peasant's hut is
that of a horse-shoe, with one side resting on the
street, and the court in the centre. The houses are
separated one from another by high walls, so that a
32 COREAN HOUSES.
view of a neighbour's yard is impracticable. The
houses are of one story, only a few buildings used
for shops having two. The Coreans do not seem
to care for gardening, nor have I ever seen a house
with lawns laid out about it. Some cultivate a few
flowers, especially chrysanthemums and hollyhocks.
The houses of the more wealthy are distinguished by
occupying more ground, by being built in a square
around a hollow court, and by having tiled roofs.
Besides this, the grounds are entered through large
gates, and contain not only the residence of the owner,
but sometimes a great number of small out-buildings,
which are the homes of the retainers and servants,
besides wood-houses and store-houses of various de-
scriptions. The ground is by no means all built up,
and there is unoccupied space enough inside the walls
to furnish a large portion of the population with food
should the city be l>esieged.
It speaks volumes for the orderly character of the
people that one sees no police in the daytime. Police
duty is done at night by the soldiers, and private
watchmen are also engaged, at least by some of the
foreigners and by the legations. Very rarely, except
in times of popular excitement, is there to be seen
anything that suggests the need of a police force.
Very rare indeed is the sight of a man in an uproari-
ous state of intoxication. Not more than two such
cases came under my observation during a residence
THE CITY BY NIGHT. 33
of over two years. Not more than a dozen cases of
intoxication in any form met my eye, and these were
generally of men lying in a stupor and sleeping off
the effects of their potations. Occasionally there
was a fight, the usual method in such cases being for
the belligerents to drag each other about by the hair.
Not the least strange of a newly-arrived foreigner's
sensations after nightfall is the perfect stillness of the
city. After dark the only sounds are the occasional
howl of a dog, or, in summer, the shrill piping of
the frogs (frogs piping in a city of two hundred
thousand inhabitants !), or the patter of the ironing-
sticks as the housewife smooths out the coat of her
lord for the morrow's outing. If the stranger feels
the stillness oppressive, and leaves his room for a
stroll, he will find a lantern a necessity, for the city is
not lighted, and as he looks out over the dwellings he
will see but few indications of the existence of the
thousands of inhabitants. As he passes through the
streets he may see a figure dart hastily through a
doorway, as though to be abroad were a misdemeanour ;
or he may meet a solitary woman, or, mayhap, a little
company, at least one of them carrying a lantern,
passing quietly along, with faces carefully shielded
from observation. He may meet the patrol two
soldiers armed with musket or native flint-lock
sauntering in a loose-jointed manner round their beat;
but so silent is the city that his own footfalls re-
3
34 A TRANSFORMATION.
echo unpleasantly from the walls, as though he were
in a city of the dead. Here and there a door stand-
ing ajar will show a group of men in a small room
lighted by a rushlight, playing a game very much
like go-bang ; or perhaps a company listening while
one of them sings a solo, and they all join in the
chorus ; or they may take turns in telling delightful
little stories, of which there is in Corea a great abun-
dance. After going back to his lodging, if he is enter-
tained where a private watchman is engaged, he may
just be sinking into a doze when he will be aroused
by a sound entirely new to him that of a staff with
strips of metal fastened loosely upon it struck sharply
on the ground at measured intervals. He may then
learn that the custom is for watchmen to carry such
staffs, and by striking them on the ground give warning
of their approach. Of course a robber is seldom caught ;
and it always seemed to me that the one object of this
rattle was to keep up the courage of the watchman.
If the visitor wakes early in the morning, and takes
a walk through the town, he will find the scene trans-
formed, and as he nears the centre of the city the
clangour of the morning market will assail his ears.
He will find wooden platforms in the middle of the
street, covered with dried fish, fruit, greens, rice, and
all the varied articles composing the Corean's diet, and
their owners crying out the virtue of their wares in
thorough Western fashion ; for the people are early
risers, and in summer five to six o'clock is high
marl
SIGNAL-FIRES. 35
market-time. By eight o'clock, or very little later,
the streets are pretty well cleared of these articles of
a perishable nature, and then purchases must be made
at the shops or booths.
The impression of medievalism will be heightened,
if the foreigner is, about sunset, in a position whence
he can see the summit of Nam San and the other
peaks about the city. He will see first one fire, then
another, and another, until at least four fires are burn-
ing. These are the terminals of as many series of
fires, signalling from the remote provinces that all
is well and the kingdom at peace. Immediately the
palace bell is rung, and officials go to the palace to
report to His Majesty the doings of the day in the
several departments of public business. About the
same time one near the west gate will find his ears
assailed by sounds which are new, unless he has
visited China. These will be found to proceed from
a Corean band at the residence of the governor, just
outside the wall, whose duty it is to play an evening
serenade. The gates of the city are closed soon after
nightfall, at about half-past eight or nine o'clock, no
exact time being set. About nine o'clock the strokes
of a huge bell near the centre of the town may be
heard resounding through the city, deeply and richly
resonant if struck in time, and this signal corresponds
to the curfew in Norman England, sounding the hour
for people to retire from the streets.
CHAPTER IV.
THE LANGUAGES.
CORE A is bilingual. Not that two languages are
spoken, but two are used. Thus we find a
^spoken and a written language, differing in vocabulary,
ingrammar, and in writing, in existence side by side.
The vernacular is a native language exactly like the
Japanese in grammar, but differing from it in vocab-
ulary, excepting only in the case of those words which
have been borrowed from the Chinese, or have been
derived from a common ancestry. This is the language
spoken by everybody, from the king down. The great
difficulty a foreigner finds in acquiring it arises from
its euphonic changes and its " honorifics." One who
has not had much drill in languages finds the euphony
very perplexing, as the roots of verbs are often so
modified by the influence of endings and by contrac-
tion as to be almost unrecognizable. The " hja^orjfics "
are also most perplexing, and yet a thorough mastery
of them is essential. The endings of words must be
carefully altered according to the grade of the person
addressed. There is a different ending for almost every
THE VERNACULAR, 37
grade. As a rule, it may be said that the longer the
ending attached to the verb, the greater the respect
for the person addressed. A new-comer who has not
mastered these difficult points, is very apt to confuse
his endings ; and it has happened that when a host
wished courteously to invite a Corean visitor to dis-
mount and enter and rest, the mistake has been made
of peremptorily ordering him to get down and go into
the house. On the contrary, a lady has been known
to use to her servant the politest forms of language ;
such, for instance, as would be equivalent to asking
him to " have the extreme condescension to go and
bring in a scuttle of coal."
Even the greetings^are graded for different ranks.
The three mosiTln use are, "Are you welTT^lised to
inferiors ; " Have^you^been freeTrom^s^kness ? " or,
">May you be free from sicknessj^ more honorific than
thetxreceding ; and " May you have peace ! " which is
bhepreceding
the most complimentary.
Coreans realize the difficulties of their language for
foreigners, and make great allowances for the mistakes
which they make in using it. The belief of the
people that others cannot learn their language often
puts the Coreans into rather ludicrous positions. More
than once, when passing through a part of the capital
not much frequented by foreigners, we have seen arti-
cles we desired to purchase. On stopping and inquir-
ing the price, we have been amused by the assumption
of the shopkeeper that we could not understand his
38 THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
answer, and have watched his most extraordinary
pantomimic exertions as he tried to show the value of
the things, counting on his fingers, or laying out coins
to show the price, notwithstanding that he had
been addressed in Corean, and had grasped the mean-
ing. After looking mystified for a while, we would
suddenly ask the man if he spoke Corean, at which he
would look astonished and say, " Yeh, yeh " (yes, yes),
and we would tell him to do so ; at which the by-
standers, who are generally quick at a joke, would
laugh, and sometimes bore the fellow with their
badinage.
Along with the spoken or vernacular, we find the
Chinese as the medium of correspondence, of official
documents, etc. Almost all works of a philosophical,
religious, or ethical character are in Chinese. __ Those
who make any pretensions to scholarship must read
Chinese easily and write it correctly. It is that with-
out which no one can hold office. Hence it is prob-
able that at least one-third, perhaps one-half, of the
male population is tolerably well versed in both Corean
and Chinese, for nearly all males are eligible for office.
Reference has been made to the examinations held
for promotion to official position. As these vary only
in importance and in the numbers attending them, a
description of one will suffice.
These examinations, or quagas, are held in the en-
closure behind the palace, and to them come candidates
from all parts of the country. The examinations are
THE QUAGAS. 39
not conducted like those in China, where each candi-
date is shut up in a little compartment until he has
produced his thesis. On the contrary, the competition
is in an open field, where the candidates work, some
in the heat of the sun, some under the shade of a
large umbrella, some of the more wealthy under tents.
Passing about among the candidates are numbers of
vendors of sweets, cakes, and various drinks. Atten-
dants and officials and soldiers swarm in crowds. On
one side of the field is a massive stone platform, where
His Majesty, who is supposed to be the arbiter of the
contest, remains during the examination. Soldiers
armed with muskets and various firearms, native and
foreign, antique and modern, march or lounge around :
side by side may be seen two soldiers, one armed
with a repeating rifle of excellent make, with sabre-
bayonet fixed, and the other bearing a native flint-
lock, fired not when pressed against the shoulder, but
held out at arm's length. These guards do not
seem to be there for the purpose of watching the
candidates, or to prevent unfair advantages being
taken. Their sole purpose seems to be to add to the
pomp of the occasion. The candidates are all known
by their tall horse-hair caps, which distinguish them
as far as they can be seen. They range in age from
boys to hoary-headed veterans, from the silken and
fur-robed noble to the cotton-clad peasant. When their
papers are finished, they are signed, rolled up neatly,
and then thrown at the foot of the royal platform.
40 THE CANDIDATES.
We once saw a boy come up gaily, with a bright
and happy face, and, with a careless laugh, gleefully
pitch down his paper, evidently casting hardly a thought
upon this his first essay in literature. Thence his
paper was picked up and carried to be placed on the
platform, where it would be lost in the pile which
soon became many feet in length. Soon after we saw
approach an old man, who pushed his way through
the throng, and then, with anxiety written on every
line in his face, carefully poising his paper in the air,
he threw it at the feet of a servant, who picked it up
without a thought that in that paper were concentrated
the study of a lifetime, and perhaps the last hopes of
an old man of gaining that goal of a Corean's desires,
official position. We saw the old man stoop and crane
his neck as he saw his last venture carried up and
laid away in the pile, with nothing to distinguish it
from the hundreds which lay there ; and then, as he
saw it safely laid away, with a sigh that reached our
hearts and aroused our sympathy, he turned away,
hoping against hope, and gathering up his writing-
tablet and his equipments, he slowly wended his way
home.
The severity of these examinations is undoubtedly
very great. They are often on some important subject
treated in the Chinese classics. Such questions are
asked as, " What does the yih king say is the duty
of children at the death of a father ? " The answer
to such a question necessitates a perfect recollection of
A COREAN ROMANCE. 41
a long passage, every character of which must be re-
produced with the utmost faithfulness.
Not the least peculiar of the abuses attending these
quagas is the passing of them by proxy. Thus, a man
who finds himself unable from any cause to attend
may go to one of his friends and engage him to write
a paper for him, paying down a certain amount, from
a few shillings to several pounds, and agreeing to pay
a much larger sum provided the paper shall secure the
prize. One man sometimes passes in no less than four
or five papers in a single examination.
The Coreans have many tales connected with the
quaga, and some of the best of them cluster about a
monarch who was the Corean Haroun Al Raschid.
One of these runs somewhat as follows : The king,
who loved to go about incognito, that he might find
out the condition of his people, one night applied his
eye to a crack in a window, and was amazed to find,
in a room which betrayed the poverty of the occupants,
an old man weeping, a woman singing, and a younger
man gaily dancing to the woman's merry notes. The
combination was an unusual one, and it aroused the
curiosity of the king. He therefore knocked at the
entrance, and after a little conversation, in which he
played the role of the belated traveller, he confessed
what his curiosity had led him to do, and, mentioning
the sight he had beheld, asked an explanation of the
peculiar actions. His host, who was the dancer, told
the disguised king that he was the son of the old man
42 A COREAN ROMANCE.
who wept. The old man, he said, had formerly been
wealthy, but through the avarice and oppression of
officials had been stripped of his possessions. He
had grown very melancholy, and so at eventide the
son and his wife were wont to sing and dance, so as
to draw the old man's mind from his troubles. The
king, not disclosing his identity, then entered into
conversation upon topics of national interest, and dis-
covered in his host a man of extraordinary knowledge
and discretion, which, coupled with the filial love so
admirably shown in the endeavour to cheer his father,
quite won the king's heart. He then asked the host
whether he proposed to enter the quaga taking place
on the morrow. To this the reply was given that he
had not even heard there was to be one. " Oh yes,"
said the king ; " and if I were you, I would enter. If
you take the prize, it will place you above want, and
make your father's last days comfortable and bright."
The host promised that if there was an examination,
he would certainly attend. The king, apologizing for
his intrusion, withdrew, and on returning to his palace
ordered a proclamation to be posted, giving notice of
a quaga to be held on the following day. The people
of the capital were surprised, for no examination was
expected then ; but the news flew, and the candidates
flocked in. When the subject was given out it was :
" A weeping elder, a singing woman, and a dancing
man." The candidates, excepting one, were all aston-
ished, and agreed that no such subject was treated in
A CORE AN ROMANCE. 43
the classics, and wondered how they should proceed.
The man who had entertained the king was also lost
in wonder, not at how he should treat the subject, but
at the coincidence between the subject and his own
daily practice. However, he was at home with the
theme, and treated it in a skilful and ingenious man-
ner. Upon examination his paper, of course, was the
only one which treated the subject adequately, and so
he was adjudged the prize. Orders came to him to
be present the following day at the court, as he was
now an official. He was therefore presented at court,
and was astonished to find on the throne his late
inquisitive visitor. The king received him kindly,
appointed him to a lucrative office, and gained for
himself a stanch adherent and an able officer.
CHAPTER V.
THE PEOPLE.
TOURISTS have talked and newspaper corre-
spondents have written as though Coreans
were much above the average of mankind in height.
There are two possible explanations of this. Those
who have either visited or lived in Japan have
become accustomed to the diminutive stature of these
people, and when among the taller people of Cho
Son have naturally magnified the stature of the
latter. Another reason for this mistake is found in
the garb of the Coreans. It is a well-known fact
that a long overcoat adds apparently to a person's
height. Now, the Coreans all wear flowing coats,
and when we remember that these coats are often
white, we can understand the misapprehension of
visitors in speaking of their stature. My own obser-
vation would lead me to say that the men average a
little over five feet six inches in height perhaps five
feet seven.
Their hair is long, straight, black, and coarse.
There is a tendency to a dirty, tawny tinge ; but as
PHYSIQUE. 45
the hair is an important feature in the toilet of both
sexes, this tendency is carefully kept out of sight
under oil and a blacking mixture lavishly laid on.
The Coreans in many points of physique seem, as
in their geographical position, midway between the
Chinese and Japanese. They are on the average
much taller than the latter, but probably do not reach
the average stature of the former. In colour they are
not so dark as the Japanese, nor yet have they the
dingy yellow cast of the Chinese. Occasionally one
sees a native from the country, whose skin is a dirty
brown. Some of them are quite fair, and whiteness
of complexion is so valued that the women frequently
make use of powder, which they find ready to their
hand in the shape of rice flour.
The Corean has the oblique eye, which marks
his Mongolian origin. The high cheek-bone is also
there, and a decided tendency to the flat nose.
In build the Coreans are generally sturdy, and the
impression one gets is that they are a well-developed,
strong people. But observers are often surprised to
find that they do not have the strength their appear-
ance seems to suggest. Many a time, until we got
used to them, we have become impatient at the
struggles of servants in raising some article of furni-
ture, and one of us has lifted without unusual exertion
what two of them seemed to find a heavy burden.
This weakness is doubtless real, not assumed. Their
diet is largely rice, and often in times of scarcity not
46 COREAN WOMEN.
so good as that ; lentils and millet, and even barley,
furnish them sustenance, while in summer-time many
a meal is made on cucumbers !
Corean women live in such seclusion that one sees
very few of them. Those whom we have seen are
very much shorter than the men, not exceeding the
Japanese in stature, averaging not over five feet two
inches. They are of heavier mould than their eastern
neighbours, having very solid, stout frames, seemingly
able to endure any amount of labour.
There is nearly always present a pleasing vivacity,
a merry sparkle, in the eye of a Japanese woman.
Life for her seems . a game or a picnic. But from
the Corean woman this sprightliness and vivacity and
sparkle are absent. Life for her is a serious and
earnest business. But this is not the case with the
men. Nowhere can be found a readier appreciation
of a joke than in Corea. I remember what laugh-
ter there was over a trap we laid for a dishonest
attendant.
One of our men had been detected stealing wood.
A particularly fine stick had captivated his eye, and he
had hidden it under the house, with the intention of
taking it home after dark. The place of hiding was
discovered, and at dusk a small string was tied to it
and attached to a mat in the dining-room, in such a
way that the mat would curl up as soon as any one
attempted to remove the wood. We waited patiently
in the dining-room, playing dominoes, until suddenly
/a
REGARD FOR FOREIGNERS. 49
the mat began to curl, when we rushed out and sur-
rounded the hole by which the man had crept under
the house. We then called him out, and summoned
the other attendants, among whom were three soldiers.
One of these handcuffed the fellow, and awaited
orders. A search was then instituted by the serv-
ants to discover how we knew what was going on,
and we found two or three so overcome with laughter
at what they considered the fun of the trap, that
they were literally rolling on the floor. For weeks
we heard of this story being told by our servants
to their visitors, and the table-boy could hardly cross
the threshold where the mat lay without a glance
at the crack and a smile or chuckle at the stratagem.
Among the people at large there seems to be not
the slightest antipathy to foreigners as such. We
hear in the Corean peninsula no such names as are
applied to men of other climes by the Chinese. The
name " foreign devil " never once met my ears, nor in
all my intercourse with natives did I hear a word
in any way derogatory to foreigners because of their
foreign birth. The mass of the people look up to
Western people as being of superior powers. Tales of
the achievements of our fleets, armies, and guns, which
do not in any way equal the actual performances,
cause open mouths and staring eyes in the listeners.
Left to themselves, the people, rulers and all, would
welcome gradual and sensible approaches to the ways
4
50 CREDULITY.
of the Western world. There are among the higher
officials two parties, conservatives and liberals, the
former opposed to, the latter favouring a tendency
in the direction that Japan has taken. Among the
former the Chinese work, and so they manage to
retard Corea's advance.
The masses in the country are exceedingly credulous
and excitable. They have most curious notions about
the ways and doings of foreigners. As a consequence,
reports concerning them, no matter how absurd they
may be, find a ready lodgment in the ears of the
people. The Chinese ambassador, or " resident," as
lie calls himself, endeavours by all arts and devices to
check the tendency towards opening up the country.
For instance, in the summer of 1888, it was found
that some boys had been stolen and sold into slavery.
This is an act not often accomplished, but it is done
sometimes. There was great excitement, and the
Chinaman spoken of above fanned the spark into a
name by subtly spreading the report, first, that the
Japanese had bought the children and eaten them, then
that the foreigners had bought them to make medi-
cine, and then that the eyes of the victims were used
in making photographs. As the pages of this book
testify, the author was a dabbler in photography, and
this report was brought to his ears. The capital was
in a ferment of excitement ; the populace scowled
from beneath lowering eyebrows whenever foreigners
were seen in the town. Natives were mobbed, and in
EXCITABILITY. 51
two or three cases stamped to death by a crowd, when
some mischief-maker cried out, " There goes a child-
stealer ! " In one case a man leading his own child
down the main street was attacked because of such a
cry, and only escaped by appealing to a petty official
who chanced to be at hand, and by being taken before
the chief justice of the city. The passion raged so
violently that the king issued a proclamation saying
that the reports were false, and commanded quiet.
Even this had no effect, and in the course of a day or
two it was followed by a stern edict that any one
caught circulating such reports would be immediately
arrested and punished, and that all disorder would be
immediately repressed. In less than ten days the ex-
citement subsided, and where a few days before angry
crowds had congregated there were to be seen only
the usual number of laughing, happy-go-lucky loungers,
merchants, and purchasers. The foreigners had little
reason for fear, for very few Coreans possess fire-arms.
These are contraband articles, and by treaty stipulation
they are not allowed to be sold to the natives.
The people have a wholesome fear of an armed
foreigner ; hence it would be no feat at all in times
of excitement for one well-armed and resolute man to
keep a whole street clear and put to flight a large
band of evil-disposed persons.
Another trait which is peculiarly Corean is curi-
osity. In that peninsula this trait is by no means
exclusively feminine. It is a question whether the
52 CURIOSITY.
men are not more infected with it than the women.
Of course, foreigners are as yet a curiosity ; especially
is this true of the ladies. Consequently, when for-
eigners, especially if ladies are in the company, go
for a stroll with sight-seeing or shopping as a purpose,
they are often followed by a crowd varying from a
half-dozen to more than a score of persons, all good-
natured, though they often crowd a little too closely
for comfort. Every motion is watched, commented
upon, and each attempt to speak the language is
greeted with a smile of approval and appreciation.
Another characteristic of Coreans is a love of
country. They yield not even to the Swiss in their
intense patriotism. This was strikingly brought out
in a case which came under our immediate observa-
tion. When we arrived in Japan, in 1886, Kim Ok
Kiun, the man who was at the head of the govern-
ment at the time of the emeute in 1884, and who
was charged with directing it, was staying in Yoko-
hama. Staying at the hotel with us was another
Corean, who was seldom seen and who hardly ever
left his room. We were surprised soon to find that
the hotel was guarded, and the Japanese police officers
were so stationed that no one could leave the house
without being seen. Subsequently we learned that
this Corean had come over with the intention of
assassinating Kim Ok Kiun, and the suspicion was
that he was commissioned by the government, of
course secretly, to accomplish that design. At any
PATRIOTISM. 53
rate, the Japanese government apprehended him, and
sent him back to Corea under guard, delivering him
to the officials of his own government. Of course,
every one who knew the methods of Oriental govern-
ments of the Corean type suspected that he was going
to his death, and doubtless so did he. The fact that
he had compromised his government would certainly
produce that result. Notwithstanding that, as soon
as we came in sight of Corean shores, he manifested
his delight in ways beyond mistaking ; and when we
dropped anchor in Chemulpo harbour he came to us,
and, pointing to the town, said in English (the only
words he knew in that language, and which he had
learned from his Japanese guards), " My country. I
very glad." We never heard of him after that.
At another time, when some tumblers and tricksters
exhibited themselves at our compound, they were
asked whether, if Mr. Barnum would engage them
" for much money," they would go to America for a
year. The reply was, " Very many, many thanks.
But they could not," they continued, " leave their coun-
try, for they would die of home-sickness."
The vice of the Chinese, opium eating and smoking,
is extremely rare. The properties of the drug are
known. A Corean once remarked to me that " it is
very nice, but it costs too much money for us to buy
it." There is no likelihood of its becoming common
among the people.
CHAPTER VI.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
IT is in the social life of the Coreans that we find
the greatest contrast with our own institutions.
The key to Corean life lies in the seclusion of the
S women. As__onepasses through the streets or along
the roads one sees very jew females. Most of those
who are met wear what does duty as a veil a light
coat of some kind, generally of green silk, sleeves and
all, which is cast over the head, and when men are
.met is drawn tightly over the face, so that only the
eyes, sometimes only one eye, perhaps not even so
much as that, can be seen ; and often the wearer is
so exceedingly bashful that she not only takes this
precaution, but also "turns her back to the street and
her face to the wall of the houses along the way.
But whenever I met a female thus coy and bashful,
I always felt that one thing would surely happen,
that as soon as she thought I was fairly past, her
curiosity would get the better of her bash fulness, and
she would throw oft* all restraint, to see how the
foreign stranger was dressed. Accordingly, after
-
SECLUSION OF WOMEN. 55
passing her a few steps, I would, if feeling a little
mischievous, cast a quick glance over my shoulder,
and catch the lady, generally with her face entirely
exposed, in the act of gazing with both her eyes at
the foreigner in his queer garb. Of course my glance
back would disconcert her, and send her scurrying off
in the opposite direction.
The cardinal point of social etiquette is that the
ladies of a household are not to be seen, and, so far
as conversation about them is concerned, are not sup-
posed to exist. Consequently, when a visitor makes
a call on a friend, he is not taken in and introduced
to the wife or wives and daughters of his host. The
guest-room and reception-rooms are either apart from
the house or in front of the host's own residence. In
the latter case no windows or doors look in upon the
inner court or toward the women's apartments. The
visitor is met in the front by his host, is there enter-
tained, and in his conversation does not, unless he is
a near relation or on the closest terms of intimacy,
allude to the ladies of the house.
So, too, the institution which passes among us
under the homely name of " courting " is not known
in Corea. A young man there does not choose the
partner of his joys and the sharer of his woes, nor
does the young w r oman have a voice in the selection
of a husband. She may have caught a glimpse
of him through a hole in the window as he passed
along the street, but he never knows how she looks,
56 COURTING.
except from the description of his mother or other
female relation, till he sees her on the wedding-day.
The arrangement is a family matter, managed by the
father. The method is somewhat as follows :
A father, his son having reached a marriageable age
fourteen to sixteen decides that the latter ought
to settle down. Accordingly, he runs over the list of
his acquaintances whom he knows to have marriage-
able daughters, and decides upon the family to which
he will make overtures. Having got so far, he may
talk the matter over with his wife, and having found
her acquiescent, he will rise some morning, don his
best apparel, and saunter down the street. The word
" saunter " is used advisedly, for a Corean is seldom in
a hurry. The old proverb so much quoted among Oc-
cidentals, " Never put off till to-morrow what you can
do to-day," takes another shape in the Corean mind.
It would probably run thus if it were formulated :
" If a thing is not done to-day why, there are
other days coming ; and if there should not be
another day, it doesn't matter any way." Conse-
quently, the father saunters leisurely along, saluting
his acquaintances, stopping to discuss this matter or
that, till he reaches the home of his friend. There
he is welcomed by his host, who, noting the holiday
garb, has probably surmised the object of the visit.
Westerners would probably come immediately to the
purpose in mind, but not so the Corean. He will talk
on every subject but the one which is uppermost in
COURTING. 57
his mind : prices, the last famine, the cholera, the feats
of foreign ships of war, the state of the market, all may
come under discussion. And when there is a lull in
the conversation, the remark may fall, as if casually :
" By the way, I have a son, a good-for-nothing fellow,
whom I want to see settled in life." "Ah, is that so?"
says the host. " I hope you will have the satisfaction
of seeing him well married and a suitable wife attend-
ing to his wants." Then the conversation wanders off
on any topic that suggests itself. After more or less
time, if the host thinks favourably of what is in fact
(and is so understood) a proposal, he will perhaps be
heard to remark, " Do you know, it seems like a pro-
vidence your coming here to-day ! It just happens
that I have a marriageable daughter, and perhaps you
were directed here. Mayhap my daughter, who is a
no-account girl, might be taught her duty to your son."
And from that the two fathers may proceed to make
the arrangements, after which the visitor goes home
and tells his son that a w T ife has been found for him,
and that he will be married on such a date. Visits
are now in order between the women of the two fami-
lies, and the details are arranged, and of course the
mother tells her son the appearance of his bride, ex-
patiating on her good points her modesty, beauty,
docility, obedience, and so on. The young man now
takes a step upward in the social scale. He is now
becoming a man, so he no longer wears his hair down
his back in a braid, but has a little place shaved at
58 OUTING-TIME.
the crown, and the rest of his hair done up in a knot
on the top. He may now wear the black hat, and
begin to assume the deliberate step and dignified
manners of an adult. He must now be addressed
in honorific language. He may talk to his boy com-
panions of yesterday as inferiors. He is now a " Mr.,"
and is to be treated with becoming respect.
After the marriage the girl is carried to her hus-
band's home in a closed chair with a leopard or tiger
skin covering it, and takes her place in his family.
She no longer has any ties connecting her with her
own parents' home. She is part and parcel of the
family into which she has married, and her hopes and
ambitions are henceforth all in this direction.
Though women may not appear in the street by
day, there is a time when they may take their outing.
After the curfew strikes, all males are supposed to be in
their homes, and the ladies may then go abroad. They
do so in general, but still the coat is worn over the
head ; and by day or night the women are grotesque
figures, with their full skirts, and with the sleeves of
the coat flapping derisively from about the locality of
the ears. At this time a foreigner walking through
the streets will meet many a little company of women
chatting along on their way to make a call.
If a call has to be made by a lady in the daytime,
there is a great deal of trouble about it. She will
be carried in a two-man chair, which may be de-
MAKING CALLS. 61
scribed as a box rather less than three feet square and
a trifle over three feet high, carried by two poles which
run through rings in the sides of the bottom frame-
work. This is enclosed by curtains, and a lady's chair
is covered with little brass and ribbon ornaments which
mark it as a lady's conveyance, and so warn off curious
or prying glances. When a lady wishes to go out,
one of the servants is sent to summon chair-coolies
with their chair. They carry this into the inner court,
set it down facing the entrance, and then retire. After
they have gone, my lady's maid comes out, sees that no
eyes are prying around, and then gives the signal for
her mistress, who comes out, squats in front of the
chair (which is too low for her to creep into), and
shuffles back inside, to sit tailor-fashion on the bottom ;
the curtains are then carefully pulled down and ex-
amined to see that no cranny is left through which a
prying eye can see the occupant ; then the coolies are
called in, given their directions, and they take up the
chair and fare, and carrying her to the appointed place,
set her down in the inner courtyard, retiring until she
is ready to return, when the operation is repeated. It
should be stated, however, that while the chair-curtains
are so arranged as to prevent people's looking in, they
do not prevent the occupant from seeing out, so that
whatever goes on outside can be watched by my lady
as she passes through the streets.
The labours of a woman in Corea lie in much
62 LAUNDRY WORK.
the same direction as in Great Britain. She is queen
of the kitchen and laundry. She is seamstress and
tailor, and she varies the monotony of her ex-
istence by embroidering in silk the badges of rank
of her husband. The cuisine of the Corean is very
limited. Rice is the staple, and that in a boiled state.
Soup is common. Meat is not so common as with
us, and when used is generally broiled.
Cooking occupies only a small part of the Corean
wife's time. Her most wearying and incessant labour
is at the laundry. Washing is done at the well-side,
by the side of the street, or by the side of a brook or
river. In a hollow in the brook's bed they dip the
clothes, and then, laying them on a smooth stone,
proceed to beat out the marks of wear, turning the
cloth now and again to bring uncleansed spots under
the paddle. They beat in time, as though to a tune,
and dexterously change the paddle from one hand to
the other without losing a stroke. Nowhere is there
a more glowing whiteness produced in the laundry.
Starch made of rice is used. Especially interesting
is their method of ironing. In the first place, the
" irons " are made of wood, and, instead of being flat,
are round. The table, instead of being a flat board,
is a wooden roller. They do not heat the " irons,"
but instead sometimes heat the flat stone on which
the " ironing-board " rests. Instead of steady pres-
sure to smooth out the wrinkles, the ironing is done
by quick, sharp raps, like those of a drummer.
SEWING AND EMBROIDERY. 63
It is not unusual to see a woman in the field
assisting in the gathering of the crops, and often in
preparing them for use ; but far less outdoor work
is done by Corean women than by their sisters in
Japan.
In sewing the women are very neat. They are ex-
tremely deliberate. Not much is accomplished in a
day, but what is done is well done. As embroiderers,
Coreans are not particularly skilful. In embroidery
everything is stereotyped. The way of representing
rocks is repeated in each piece of work. While in
the representation of birds, bats, and butterflies they
are wonderfully true to nature, and in reproducing
such striking figures as the bamboo and various
flowers they are accurate, the general effect of their
work is tame and uninteresting.
CHAPTER VII
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. (Continued.)
ONE tradition which obtains in Corea undoubt-
edly obstructs the advance of the country. It
is that men of the yang-ban (gentleman or noble) class,
even though their means do not furnish them with the
necessities of life, must not work to make their own
living. A gentleman may starve or beg, but may
not work. His relations may support him, or his
wife may, in one way or another, supply means, but
he must not soil his hands.
When we arrived in Corea to begin our work at
the king's school, called the Royal College, we found
ourselves occupying an enviable position in Corean
eyes, as men who had taken rank in a great foreign
quaga. In other words, we were looked upon as
"gentlemen" in the Corean sense, and were ex-
pected to keep up the dignity of our position. Now,
Corean " gentlemen " are not supposed to carry any-
thing for themselves. Even our scholars, who were
all chosen from the nobility, would not carry their
books from their studies to the class-rooms ; a servant
ABSURD NOTIONS. 65
had to do that for them. Whenever a gentleman goes )
abroad, he is accompanied by a band of servants, more
or less numerous according to his rank or means, who
carry his belongings. He does not carry even his
pipe. So when we went out into the street, it was
very much against the will of our attendants that we
should carry anything.
Soon after our arrival, a soldier was sent to each
teacher, by order of His Majesty, to be a sort of
personal attendant and messenger. If either of us
went hunting, the soldier in attendance always took
the gun, and carried it till we got to the hunting-
grounds. The distress of my man was rather pitiful
when once I brought out two pieces, a shot-gun and
a rifle, so that he had to submit to my carrying one
of them.
In like manner, in the spring, when one of the
teachers commenced gardening, of which occupation
he was especially fond, and began by using the spade,
an attendant ran up and tried to take the spade out
r
of his hands, remonstrating with him for doing
" coolies' work."
Yet, in spite of such absurd prejudices, there is in
Corea nothing resembling the caste distinctions of
India. Men may pass, through the medium of scholar-
ship, from the peasant class to the rank of scholar
and noble. But there is a great deference among the
people toward officials. For instance, in discussing
business, men below a certain grade (that known as
66 RESPECT FOR OFFICIALS.
cham-way) may not sit in the presence of men of
higher rank, unless invited to do so. Officials passing
along the street are often preceded by soldiers and
attendants, who clear the way for these great men,
and order all men to rise and show respect to them.
In the case of men of high rank, soldiers of a certain
class precede the chair of the official by nearly a hun-
dred yards, shouting out at short intervals, at the top
of their voices, what sounds like "Kee-roo-che-roo-oo-oo !
Kee-roo-che-roo-oo-oo ! " Generally two old soldiers
perform this duty, each taking his turn in shouting
the above call. The exact translation of the term I
have never learned, but the meaning is unmistakable.
It is equivalent to " Look out, all you people ! here
comes a great man ; get out of the way, and be pre-
pared to show respect." After these two leading
soldiers, who walk on opposite sides of the street, come
others, sometimes to the number of thirty or forty,
and they are followed, in the case of military officers,
by two or more ranks of soldiers with muskets and
fixed bayonets enclosing the chair of the officer, and
then comes a train of servants, secretaries, etc., bearing
various utensils.
Etiquette is graded with exactest nicety. Even
the distance a host accompanies his guest on the
latter's departure is measured by the elevation the
guest has attained in official station. A curious
custom is that two intimate friends passing along the
street on horseback will not speak or recognize each
" CARDS OF IDENTIFICATION." 67
other. When a Corean riding in a chair meets in the
street a foreigner whom he knows, he usually stops
his chair, dismounts, and passes the time of day. This
is a mark of respect, and a tribute not usually paid
by Coreans to men of their own nationality.
Each male Corean carries with him a card of
identification in the shape of a small piece of wood,
on which are stamped his name and address. The
possession of this " card " is obligatory. Many a time
I have endeavoured to buy one of them, but was
never successful a pretty conclusive proof of their
importance. One of our own men, when asked why
he would not part with his, explained the reason in a
graphic way : " If this were gone " completing his
unfinished sentence by drawing his finger around his
neck and shrugging his shoulders, to represent decapi-
tation. He may have been playing on my credulity,
but there was probably some foundation for his state-
ment.
Among the strange features of Corean life are the
changs or fairs, where the trade of the country is
carried on. The places for these fairs are always near
a stream and close to cross-roads, and of course on a
level spot. These spots are marked by a few inns
and by rude sheds, put up for the protection of the
wares. The fairs are held about every five days, and
on fair days what at other times looks like a deserted
village becomes lively with the moving crowds and
resonant with the cries of the vendors. The goods
68 FAIRS.
are displayed under a shed or in the open air, and
often a huge umbrella will shelter the stock in trade
of a merchant. As the fairs are held on different
days in different districts, vendors move from one to
another, transporting on their own backs or on those
of oxen or ponies the stock remaining unsold at the
last one. It has arisen from this custom that there is
a profession of peddlers and another of porters, and
these peddlers are organized into a guild which goes
by the name of pusang. The porters are also organ-
ized, and they are called posang. The former guild
is under government protection and supervision ; it is
divided into sections of one thousand men, with heads
or chiefs appointed by the home office. These men
are utilized by the government in various ways. They
serve, for example, as detectives, their roving life
making them of much value in this way, and they
are also liable for military service. They are said to
number nearly one hundred and fifty thousand men,
and their patriotism is of a very high order.
The following graphic description is given by Mr.
Foulk, attache to the United States legation at Seoul.
It tells his experience in returning from a visit to
Song-To, a stronghold and one of the fortresses of the
capital.
" It was nightfall when we started to return. The
magistrate, who was an officer of the pusang, brought
his seal into use, and called out thirty of the body to
light us down the mountains. Where these men came
THE " PUSANG " MEN. 69
from, or how they were called, I did not understand,
for we were apparently in an uninhabited, wild
mountain district. They appeared quickly, great,
rough mountain-men, each wearing a straw hat with
a cotton ball in the band, and the characters 'fidelity'
and ' loyalty' written on the brim. We descended
the worst ravine in a long, weird, winding procession,
the mountains and our path weirdly illuminated by
the pine torches of the pusang men, who uttered
shrill reverberating cries continually to indicate the
road or each other's whereabouts. Suddenly we came
upon a little pavilion in the darkest part of the first
gorge ; here some two hundred more pusang men were
assembled by a wild stream in the light of many bon-
fires and torches. On the call of the magistrate they
had prepared a feast for us here at midnight in the
mountains. The magistrate told me that he had been
asked by the late minister to the United States, Nim
Yong Ik, to suddenly call on the pusang men of the
Song-To district for services, to show me the usefulness
and fidelity of the body ; and he had selected this
place, the middle of the mountains, and time, the
middle of the night. I need not say that the experi-
ence was wonderful and impressive. The manner of
the magistrate to the pusang men was most kind and
pleasing, and they likewise exhibited the utmost
regard and deference for him. I was assigned the
place of honour at the feast in the middle before
the largest table, which was piled with a great variety
70 ODD CUSTOMS.
of food. The leading pusang men old men, nicely
dressed, with kind faces were presented to me, and
exhibited curiously their pleasure in thus talking
pleasantly with a foreigner for the first time in their
lives. The fact of my travelling in Corea utterly
alone (so far as the company of other foreigners was
concerned) seemed to please them very much.
" In returning to the city our own escort was sent
to the rear at the request of the pusang men, who
took charge of us. They carried us across rocky
streams, up and down rocky gullies, energetic and
cheerful all the while, a distance of eight miles, thence
on into the city over a comparatively level road.
Thirty or forty men carried torches, which were found
lying across the path at regular intervals, to light the
way. At 3 A.M. we arrived at the yongnmu (official resi-
dence); here the pusang men were dismissed, to return,
for the most part, to their homes in the mountains."
Many little customs of the Coreans strike a
foreigner as odd : for instance, hats are not removed
by visitors when they enter a house, nor in greeting
an acquaintance on the street ; but the shoes, which
resemble our slippers, are left at the door when a call
is made. The Corean language is written not in words
but by syllables. It can, therefore, be written so as
to be read intelligently either up or down, or from
left to right, or vice versa. The usual way of writing,
and the only way of printing, however, is in vertical
columns, beginning at the right. Often the greeting
ODD CUSTOMS. 71
and name of the writer come first. The people sifc
clown at their work much more than we do. A woman
sits to wash and iron, a carpenter sits to plane and
saw, and a labourer to chop wood. The method of
counting on the hands is peculiar. All the fingers are
closed. One extends the thumb, two the forefinger,
and so on ; then six closes the little finger, seven the
third finger, and so on ; while eleven extends the
thumb, and so on. As in China, the last name comes
first ; so that if a man's name is written Kim Chul Mo,
he is Mr. Kim. But he is not addressed in that way ;
he is called " Kim So-Pang," " Kim Mr." So all titles
follow the family name. Hence a gentleman is not
called " Count Min," but " Min Count." In reviews
the cavalry is drawn up with the tails of the horses to
the street. When the four quarters of the compass
are mentioned, it is in the order east, west, south,
north. So points between are not " south - east,"
" north-west," but " east-south," " west-north." The
farmer's plough throws the furrows to the left. The
saws for making planks and boards have their teeth
pointed away from the centre toward the ends, instead
of all pointing the one way. In fractions, the denom-
inator comes first ; not " three-fourths," but " fourths-
three," is the order. In entertainments, the place of
honour is at the left of the host. The seasons are in
the same order, but the first three months are spring,
the next summer, and so on, irrespective of tempera-
ture and the sun's course in the heavens.
CHAPTER VIII.
FASHIONS.
AN Englishman was once heard to say that the
dirtiest man he ever saw was a clean Corean,
and visitors to the country would generally agree with
him. It can only be said by way of excuse for the
people of the peninsula, that their white summer
clothing is very easily soiled, while their thick-quilted
winter garments are troublesome to wash.
The fabrics of which clothes are made in Corea are
cotton, silks, and grass cloths ; no woollen garments
are found there.
The prevailing colour of clothing is white. But
the cotton is, for women, often dyed blue ; for boys
and girls, red or pink. The silks are of all colours
except black, and the gaudiest materials are used by
the men. Black is used only in the hat. The play
of colour on a Corean street, especially when viewed
from an eminence, is very varied and bright.
One of the first matters of concern in the toilet of
these people is the hair. Boys wear all their hair
down their backs in a braid. This must not be con-
THE HAIR. 73
founded with the queue of the Chinese. The China-
man shaves all the hair except that on the crown ;
the Corean boy has all his hair braided. As soon as
a boy is betrothed or married, he becomes a man, and
the transition is shown in the style of dressing the
hair. His hair is unbraided, a spot as large as a
crown piece is shaved on the top of his head, and
all the hair is then combed up toward a spot about
two inches from the top of the forehead, and there
gathered into a " top-knot." This knot is about two
inches high, and sticks up from the head like a little
blunt horn. The next operation is the binding on of
the mangon. This is a band about an inch and a
half wide, of woven horse-hair, which is bound around
the forehead. It is drawn tightly around the head
and tied behind. Once a boy puts this on he is a man.
The women dress their hair in a very neat fashion
by parting it in the middle, then combing it straight
back and coiling it low on the back of the neck.
Through this coil a pin is thrust to hold it in place.
The articles of clothing commonly worn are a hat ;
a tunic, loose and reaching to the waist ; loose, baggy
trousers supported by a girdle and gathered in at the
knee by leggings which tie at the ankles ; stockings
padded with cotton ; and over all a coat, the sleeves
of which are wide-flowing and reach to the hips or
lower, and are sewed up from the bottom to the wrist
so as to form very capacious pockets. Not to be
forgotten are the purse for coins, the knife and the
74 PIPES AND HATS.
tobacco pouch and pipe, with flint and tinder or
matches, without which no Corean is dressed. The
use of tobacco is universal, even boys and women
using the weed.
A traveller has well said that you can tell approxi-
mately the rank of a Corean by noting the length of
his pipe stem. The official is unable to light his pipe
by holding a match to it he cannot reach the bowl.
So men of rank have their pipes filled and lighted by
their servants. Much taste is displayed in the or-
namentation of the pipes. The bowls are usually of
metal, and the mouth-pieces are often of the same
material. The most expensive mouth-pieces are made
of jade. Short and handy pipes of foreign make are
coming into use among the coolies, but a short pipe
is to a man of note an abomination.
Of all lands in the world, Corea is the land of hats,
and leads the world in the superficial area of head-
gear. Hats may be seen measuring over two feet
from rim to crown. The usual hat is of black woven
horse-hair. Often not merely one hat is worn at a
time, but sometimes three together. First there is
the mangon, then another indicating that the wearer
has " taken the quaga " or passed an examination for
the rank of " scholar," and over these the usual straight-
brimmed black hat. At the palace, the outside hat is
discarded, and instead of the quaga hat, one of similar
shape is used, but with two appendages looking like
little wings joining at the back and stretching round
COATS. 75
loosely to just above the ears. These ear -tabs let
loose are said to typify the ear of the servants and
courtiers open to the commands of the king. His
Majesty wears the same kind of a hat, but in his case
the ear-tabs are tied up, as of course there is no one
to issue commands to him.
In Corea, as in China, it is a mark of respect to
keep on the hat in the presence of others. It is said
that so peculiar and so nicely settled is the way of
wearing the hat, that the rank of high officials can be
told by the set of the head-gear ; it being, in the words
of a native, " not too much so. nor too much so."
The coats are made in several shapes. One is very
much like the full-dress evening coat, with the tails
greatly lengthened. Another is like an exaggerated
sack coat with the flowing sleeves already mentioned.
The colour of these is often white ; for boys,
especially those who are engaged to be married, pink ;
sometimes a pale blue is the shade, and not seldom
green. Often two or three coats made of silks of
different colours are worn at once, the effect sometimes
being very pretty, often very odd. The winter over-
coat is made of the same materials, but is padded with
cotton and quilted. Those worn by the wealthy are
often trimmed, and occasionally lined, with fur of
sable or mink. For winter wear, the tunic and
trousers also are padded and quilted, so that people
endure well the severe cold of their steady winter.
The dress of women differs only slightly from that
76 DRESS OF WOMEN.
above described. They use the same shoes, wooden
and leather, as the men, the same padded stockings,
the same trousers and leggings, but over them a full
skirt generally coloured blue (girls usually wear pink),
and falling below the knee.
Most of the women seen in the streets are models
of neatness, their shoes, stockings, skirts, and leggings
shining like incrusted snow in the sunshine. They
are fond of adornment, and are skilled in the use of
powder to whiten the skin. They wear not one
wedding-ring but two, and these of silver, very thick
and massive.
The most peculiar article of woman's wear is the
coat worn over the head. This is made of green or
blue cloth or silk.
Mention should not be omitted of the court-dress
of officials, which, in addition to the items already
described, consists of a dark -green overcoat, on the
back and breast of which is worn a square of cloth
upon which figures are embroidered. These figures
are either cranes or tigers, the former denoting civil
rank, the latter military. All officials below a certain
grade may wear only one of these figures ; all above
that grade wear two. In addition to these signs of
rank, there is another, worn on the mangon behind
the ear.
One thing that strikes foreigners is the universal
use of the fan. A part of the equipment even of
soldiers is a large fan. Every person who keeps
FANS. 77
servants is supposed to supply them during the
summer season with these indispensable articles ; and
they serve not only to cool the person, but also to
shield the face from too curious observers. Many a
time have we passed Coreans on .horseback and been
amused to see the riders hold their fans before their
faces so as not to be seen.
In summer Coreans have a peculiar device for
keeping cool. Next the body is worn a framework
made of split bamboo woven in fancy designs. This
is so made that it is supported from the shoulders and
springs out from the body. It therefore holds the
tunic away from the person, and permits the air to
penetrate beneath the clothing and circulate freely.
CHAPTER IX.
PLEASURES AND SOLEMNITIES.
/^OREANS are fond of fun. From the small
V ' toddler who can scarcely stand, to the gray-
haired minister of state, all like fun, and do their
share in making it. Going through the streets of
the city or along the country roads, one will find
much the same diversity of games as is seen in our
own land, and each game has its appropriate season.
By far the most popular amusement is kite-flying.
To fly the Corean kite involves an amount of skill far
exceeding that called for by the English species. The
name given to kites is yun, and they are of peculiar
construction. They are nearly square, constructed of
thin pieces of bamboo covered with tough paper, with
a hole left in the centre, and connected with the line
by three pieces of string joined to the sides near the
top and to the centre of the bottom. A nice degree
of skill and practice is required so to attach the line
as to make the kite balance. It generally has no
tail, and is therefore very unsteady in its movements,
until a great amount of line is out.
" KITE-FIGHTS/' 81
Men and boys of all ages indulge in the pastime.
The " kite-fights " are an absorbing part of the sport.
The object of each of the combatants in these fights
is either to haul down his adversary's kite by en-
tangling the lines, or to saw through the one line with
the other, and cause the loss of the kite. The kites
dash and curvet in the air, and dive and plunge at
each other in such a way as easily to suggest to the
imagination that they are alive.
To witness a kite-fight the shopkeeper will often
stop serving a customer and risk losing a sale, though,
as a rule, the customer is as eager as any one to see
the fun. So great is the interest in these encounters,
that sometimes a thousand people gather and look on
in breathless excitement, and with keenest interest,
which they show by their ejaculations and cries of
encouragement or dismay, as one or the other of the
combatants scores a point or wins the game.
In the winter and early spring, favourite amuse-
ments are jumping the rope and see -saw. Pitching
coins is another popular game with young and old.
Many a time a little knot may be seen collected
around two boys who are the champions of their dis-
tricts engaged in settling a dispute as to their skill
in tossing. Boys may also be seen whipping tops
along the streets.
One of the most common Corean words is koo-
gyung, sight-seeing. The people are exceedingly fond
6
82 THE ROYAL PROCESSION.
of spectacles. Accordingly, whenever the king and
prince leave the palace for an outing, or for purposes
of worship, or on other occasions, the day is a holiday;
the opportunity is seized for making a display, and
the people gather to witness the sights.
The show or kur-dong is coming ! Coolies are
carrying baskets of soil, which they strew down the
middle of the streets through which the king is to
pass. The tradition is that His Majesty's person is
sacred, and he must not be carried over soil trodden
by the foot of common man. Virgin soil must be
beneath his royal soles.
At last comes the procession : companies of soldiers of
varied sorts footmen and cavalry, spearmen, swords-
men, and bowmen leading the way ; captains and gen-
erals, guarded by files of soldiers, each one held on his
horse by men on either side of him, and the horse led
by a groom. The little horses are tipped out with
brass-bedecked coverings. Officials are in their most
gorgeous robes. Flags stream in the wind. Men
armed with poles pass along the sides of the street,
piishing or striking the people with the poles to keep
the way clear, and sometimes singling out some unfor-
tunate individual for severe punishment in this way.
Now comes a body of tiger-hunters, bearing the native
match-lock or flint-lock weapons men to whom fear
is said to be unknown ; who else dare beard the royal
man-eater in his lair ? Clad as they are in flowing
and picturesque uniforms of blue, with dark, broad-
THE ROYAL PROCESSION. 83
brimmed hats adorned with red tassels, they present
a striking appearance. It may be that right behind
them marches, in company front, a regiment of in-
fantry, armed with breech-loading Remingtons and
sabre bayonets, and dressed in what are supposed to
be foreign-fashioned uniforms. The generals look
ridiculously helpless, supported by their attendants,
and they are said to go into battle held on their
horses. Civil officers are attended by huge retinues of
servants ; and one of the novel sights is an official who,
instead of being carried in a chair on the shoulders
of men, rides a unicycle, the seat being over the
wheel. The official is held up by servants on each
side, while the motive power is furnished by coolies,
who push and pull at poles passed through the
bottom of the chair or seat. One has fair time to
get wearied watching troop after troop of cavalry,
mounted on ridiculously small horses, company after
company of infantry armed with medieval or modern
weapons, bodies of spearmen and clubmen and swords-
men, companies of bowmen and others, before the
noise made by a company of buglers announces the
approach of the king. Before the king is always
carried a large chair borne by eighteen men, with
no one in it. This chair is exactly like the one
His Majesty occupies. The custom originated in
the times when the king was always carried in a
closed chair. Once when the monarch was going
out a conspiracy had been formed, and through the
84 THE EMPTY CHAIR.
chair which was supposed to contain him arrows were
shot with the purpose of assassinating him. But he
happened to be in another chair, and so escaped.
Ever since that occasion an empty chair has been
borne in the royal procession, and as long as closed
ones were used it was not known in which one the
king rode. But since the ruler of the kingdom began
to ride in open chairs, the custom has been main-
tained, simply as a reminiscence of the ancient at-
tempt at regicide. The king himself is borne in a
large open chair raised aloft in the air ; for none may
look down upon His Majesty. He is in full view of
all who choose to look, though the natives are accus-
tomed to bow the head as he passes. To foreigners,
when present in a body, he almost always shows the
courtesy of stopping the chair a moment as he passes.
If during an outing he passes foreigners to whom he
has granted audience, and even others whom he knows
only by reputation, he generally recognizes them by a
gracious bow and a very pleasant smile. After him
is usually carried a second empty chair, and following
that comes one which bears the prince, who generally
accompanies his father. After them go other bodies
of soldiers nearly a repetition of what precedes.
I know of no procession in which the display of
colour is so varied and magnificent as in the Corean
capital on the day of the king's outing. The varied
suits of the troops, the gorgeous standards and flags
embroidered with silks, the gay trappings of the horses,
THEATRICALS. 85
and the brilliant clothing of the courtiers, flanked by
the gala dress of the natives, make a kaleidoscopic
picture probably not to be equalled elsewhere in the
world, unless perhaps in India. These shows are
good opportunities for the king to exhibit himself to
the populace, and keep himself in their favour. As
he goes out four or five times a year, he succeeds in
maintaining his popularity, and at the same time, by
being unapproachable by the masses except at such
times, the " majesty which doth hedge a king " is
easily supported, and with it the awe of the common
people for the august ruler of the kingdom, the
" favourite of Heaven."
Another spectacle, which reminds one of the mys-
tery or miracle plays of England, collects crowds of
people in places where the hollows in the hillsides
form natural theatres. The players, in hideous masks,
personate legendary and mythical characters, and the
performance lasts for two or three days. The object
of these it seems difficult to learn, and, curiously
enough, they are not visited by the mandarins or
gentlemen of the vicinity. They seem to be frowned
upon by the orthodox Confucian. No collection is
taken up, and no fee demanded.
But all the rage in the late winter and early spring
is the game which stirs up the most life and engages
the most zeal the stone-fight. Villages are gener-
ally built around the bases or upon the sides of
86 THE STONE-FIGHT.
the rolling hills and spurs of the mountains. Often
between two villages thus situated there is a large
level stretch, and this is made an annual battle-ground.
The sport usually begins in good-humour, often con-
tinues so to the end, but not unfrequently engenders
bad blood, and arouses angry passions. The game is
begun by the boys, sometimes early in the afternoon,
and there is desultory fighting until towards evening.
Then the men begin to arrive and take a hand, and
the battle becomes sharp. The end comes soon after
sunset. The weapons employed are stones and clubs,
the stones being thrown from the hand or from slings
made of straw string. Sometimes these stone-fights
become more than mere sport, and are the occasions
when the bad blood existing between the villages
is let out. Occasionally, so large are the numbers
engaged, so great the noise made, and so dangerous to
life is the game, that the thing comes to the king's
ears, and he has to give orders that the fighting shall
cease. It is a wonder that so few are hurt ; but
when we remember that the participants wear their
winter clothes, including a long, flowing overcoat
padded with cotton, the danger is seen to be much
less than at first seems to be the case. A traveller
who visits Corea and does not see one of these fights,
misses one of the most characteristic sights to be
witnessed among this strange people.
The Coreans are exceedingly fond of singing. Most
MUSIC AND DANCING. 87
of their songs are exceedingly monotonous, reminding
one of the chants of the medieval monks. A single
note is held and dwelt on, and harmony is unknown.
Corean music has but the air. Even a bass is un-
known. The consequence is that a foreign band
appears to the people to emit a jargon of sounds.
But on the few occasions when a band of musicians
from a war-vessel has visited the capital, crowds of
people have gathered to listen, and quaint and queer
are the comments dropped at such times.
The favourite musical instrument of the Coreans
is a compound of the clarionet and the cornet, the
mouth-piece and stem being of reed and bamboo, arid
the flare or end of brass. At dinners " music " is
furnished by a band, but upon Western ears the
impression is decidedly unpleasant. The instruments
are Chinese in origin, are very imperfect, and the
music is in a minor key.
Dancing, too, is a favourite pastime, the dancing,
however, being rather posturing according to the
Japanese or nautch-girl fashion. These gestures
being wavy motions of the arms and hands and
sinuous twistings of the body, accompanied by slow
though comely slides, are very graceful.
The solemnities of Coreans are confined to the
thought of the dead. Yet they do not seem to dread
death, for their belief leads them to look for a life
beyond. While Heaven is angry when it removes a
88 THE DEAD.
friend or relation who has not reached old age, it is
the survivors who are punished, not the one whom
death has taken away.
Hills are the burial-places. Passing out of the
capital by almost any road, the traveller will come
upon the bury ing-places, always on the tops and sides
of hills and bold knolls, never in the valleys. The
social position held by the deceased can always be
inferred from the size of the mound over the grave
and the amount of space devoted to it. For members
of the royal family a single grave occupies a hill,
and no one else is interred there. Of wealthy men
or high officials, several may occupy a hill together.
But the people are buried together in numbers, their
graves as closely contiguous as they can be placed.
A Corean funeral is a sad affair. When a death
occurs in any family, the neighbours have no excuse
for being ignorant of the fact. The women and girls
and boys mourn in shrill and penetrating tones, that
reverberate through the night air with frightful dis-
tinctness. Oftentimes hired mourners are called in,
and they make night hideous with their cries.
It is probably on account of the occupation of the
hills as burial-grounds, and the horror felt at the
thought of disturbing graves, that the Coreans are
averse to opening up the mineral wealth tying in the
mountains. As worship is paid to the spirits of the
dead at the graves, disturbing the tombs is to the
people the equivalent of sacrilege.
CHAPTER X.
RELIGIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
RELIGION in Corea has not attained the in-
tensity of growth which it has reached in
China and Japan.
The temples are few, and lack the element of pic-
turesqueness. They reflect the poverty of the country.
Stately structures on commanding sites, approached
through rows of votive lanterns, rich in lacquer and
wealthy in decorations and gifts, are conspicuous only
by their absence.
While China and Japan have each three cults or
forms of religion, in Corea only two are found
Buddhism and Confucianism. Of course the intro-
duction of both of these was from China.
From the lowest peasant up to the king, Confu-
cianism has been long practised by all. There are
traces throughout the country of a former more ex-
tensive worship of Buddha ; but at present, while not
tabooed, Buddhism is little followed. True, the guard-
ians of some of the fortresses are Buddhist monks.
They are supported by His Majesty from the public
90 BUDDHISM AND CONFUCIANISM.
granaries in return for this service. The monks who
have the care of the little shrines placed here and
there along the road do not have this advantage, but
they beg from the people, and certainly do not seem
to suffer. There is no mutilation, no maiming of the
body, nothing that repels one from the priests and
monks except the shaving of the head. Yet the
status of Buddhism in the eyes of the people is fixed
by the fact that no monk may enter the capital.
If one is found there he is put to death. Nor are
there any temples inside the walls of the capital.
There are ancestral tablets before which Confucian
rites are performed, but nothing like a temple except
one in the north-west corner of the city, a " Temple of
Heaven " really no temple at all, but an open space
paved and surrounded by a low wall, and with a
grove as a background.
One who visits, say, the fortress of Puk Hon, some
ten miles to the north of the capital, will find the
men inside it all monks. He will see these men with
shaved heads lounging about, doing nothing that
looks at all like either military or religious duty, ex-
cept that a number may be found at a clingy temple,
in which are disreputable images, before which attend-
ants mumble or chant prayers unintelligible even to
themselves. Diligent inquiry would show that these
monks are not such upon deep conviction and from
religious principle, but that the rice given from the
public stores suffices to make this mode of living
VILLAGE IDOLS.
SPIRITS AND DEMONS. 93
attractive to them. Among the people I never met a
single hearty Buddhist. I found persons who spoke
of the monks with a laugh or a sneer, showing in
their way of speaking that they pitied them. The
monks themselves are harmless enough. They seem
too lazy to do anything. They are in a state of
harmless inactivity.
The real worship of the Coreans is before the an-
cestral tablets and at the graves. It is simple in
character. It consists merely of setting out on small
tables offerings, principally rice with various condi-
ments, before which prostrations are made and prayers
offered. The spirit is supposed to be present, and to
partake of the gifts thus presented.
But subsidiary to these two religions, which are the
prominent religious features, is a belief in a multi-
plicity of spirits and demons of different powers and
various characters. The gates of the cities, palaces,
temples, and often of private houses, are surmounted
by grotesque shapes of animals and contorted figures
of men. These are to frighten off the various spirits of
evil and the demons, which otherwise might enter the
city to disturb its peace and destroy its prosperity.
During the cholera season of 1886, as I passed from
street to street, I often found stretched across the
entrances of the narrower ways bits of string from
which hung slips of paper or pieces of rag inscribed
with invocations to cholera devils not to enter that
street and carry off the inhabitants. Fires were
94 SHRINES.
burned outside the walls to scare away or propitiate
the same malicious beings. As the traveller goes
along any road or path, he will every little while pass
a tree or bush decorated with bits of coloured rag or
paper ; occasionally a prayer is attached, and beneath
the tree will be found an irregular pile of small stones.
He will find that these bushes or trees are the reputed
homes of sprites or genii, and that the stones are
cast there by chance wayfarers, who hope to deposit
with the stones whatever bad luck the journey may
have brought them.
Here and there the tourist may be shown a little hut,
inside of which he will find some figures painted on
paper, representing a patron deity, and hung on the
walls prayers in Corean and Chinese, in which the
petitioner begs " for one year of three hundred and
sixty days to be delivered from all sorts of sickness
and disease, and from all unprofitable ventures."
Occasionally a more stately building will be seen,
which is perhaps erected to the memory of some
celebrated warrior, in whose honour the temple was
built. In the building will probably be found the
figure of the deified warrior, in red and gilt, with
glaring eyes and impossible moustache, seated in
defiant attitude on his throne. In close proximity
to each other may be seen the strangest objects
gifts of worshippers. An ancient sword of native
make keeps guard, while a Waterbury clock ticks the
seconds as if in derision. In one shrine I saw be-
"EATING UP THE MOON/' 95
fore the god a solitary rubber boot, much the worse
for wear, which the donor had perhaps picked up from
the ash-heap of some foreign resident of the capital.
Not long after my arrival in Corea, I was startled
by one of the men attached to the house running
in to tell me, with an air of perturbation, that a
heavenly dog was eating up the moon, and would I
please come out and see ? It occurred to me that
there was an eclipse of the moon due at that time, so
I went out to view the phenomenon. When I got
out of the house I heard a great din in the street, the
beating of drums and iron instruments throughout
the city, together with firing of guns. Soon came
from the palace the sound of platoon firing, and then
the quick rattle of Gatling guns turned on the vora-
cious monster. Asking what all this meant, I was
told that it was noise made with the object of scaring
off the heavenly dog ; that it had been uniformly
successful all through Gorean history ; that though
the beast had often nearly eaten the moon up, he had
always been scared away before completing it ; and,
in short, that this noise was very good medicine, and
that they proposed to keep it up.
Bodily ailments are ascribed to the evil influences
of sprites and devils. The exorcists and conjurers
find in the commonest of them excuses for using their
powers in dispossessing the sick body of the sprites
96 CIRCUMVENTING DAME FORTUNE.
which have made it their home. Their treatment is
a noisy one. Day and night, it may be for a week,
the ceaseless beat of drums is maintained, until nature
is either wearied out and death results, or she recovers
herself and the patient is restored to health.
One of the departments of the government is that
of etiquette and ceremonies, in which men studied in
magic and in the lore of omens regulate official and
royal conduct, guiding the course of events according
to tradition and to prognostications from chance hap-
penings. That an event is unlucky is sufficient to
forbid the entrance upon any enterprise.
Consequent upon this belief in omens are various
subterfuges for circumventing Dame Fortune. Thus
the season of kite-flying, which ends on the fifteenth
day of the first moon, is closed by cutting the string of
the kite as it flies in the air, when it falls and bears
away with it much of the bad luck which might have
attended the owner during the year. At the same
season of the year, an effigy of straw, representing
the maker, is tied together, and in different parts of
it are hidden cash, and also a scrap of paper on which
is written, in Corean or Chinese, some such prayer as,
" For one year of twelve months, from all plagues
and diseases and misfortunes deliver me." This effigy
is then given to a boy who calls for it, and he, after
cutting it up sufficiently to secure all the cash that
can possibly be hidden in it, throws it down where
SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS. 97
roads cross or meet. Sometimes a number of these
effigies accumulate at some cross-roads, and the by-
standers amuse themselves by making a fire of them,
or in kicking them about. The more this man of
straw is mutilated, the better the luck of the person
it represents, and the more complete his immunity
from the evils that may assail him.
On this same day, it is the custom for men of
the same station in life to call to each other as they
pass along the street, and if one answers the other,
the person answering is supposed to carry away
in his own person whatsoever diseases and mis-
fortunes might have befallen the one who accosted
him. Therefore on that day every one is on his
guard, and to the various and pressing calls no heed
is given. On this day nearly all partake of one
meal, in which five kinds of grain are used this being
a mode of beseeching an abundance and variety of
food during the coming year. At this meal a peculiar
kind of wine, called the " ear-brightening wine," is
drunk, which is supposed to have the effect of sharpen-
ing the hearing and preventing aural diseases. At
night there is a suspension of laws relating to curfew,
and men may wander around the city without fear of
arrest. The reason for this privilege is a current
superstition that if a person traverse the city and pass
over every bridge within the walls, he will have im-
munity from diseases of the lower limbs and extremi-
ties for a year. For this day nine is the lucky number.
7
98 PROGNOSTICATIONS.
Accordingly, nine meals are eaten. If a man bring to
the house a load of wood, he must manage to bring
nine ; or if a woman spin, she must spin nine bundles.
The fifteenth of the Corean January is the time for
prognostications regarding weather and crops. If on
that day there is any wind, there will be much wind
during the spring. Men go down to the barley-fields
and pull up grains of barley. If these grains have
only one main root, the crop will be small ; two roots
denote a fair crop ; while three foretell a great abun-
dance. The wise ones also tell which months will be
the most rainy. A piece of bamboo is split, and into
the slit twelve beans are inserted, and the whole is
taken into the field and buried lightly for the dew or
rain to moisten. The beans which swell most repre-
sent the months in which there will be the greatest
rainfall.
CHAPTER XL
RESOURCES.
MEASURED by her developed industries, her
exports and her imports, Corea is perhaps the
poorest member of the family of nations. Not a
twentieth part of the arable land is under cultivation.
There are no manufactures which command an outside
market, and though Corea has plenty of mineral
wealth, what little is developed is done only in the
crudest and most wasteful manner. The fisheries
another valuable source of income are neglected.
The northern and western parts of the peninsula are
well wooded, and a large revenue might be made
from the sale of the timber in Japan and China, yet
no advantage is taken of the markets offered there.
As is the rule in the East, agriculture is on a small
scale. Upland and lowland are cultivated, the latter
for rice, the former for varied products. The area
under cultivation is very small, but what land is
tilled at all is well tilled.
The most striking agricultural implement is the
shovel, the mode of working which is rather unusual.
100 FOOD RESOURCES.
This instrument has a straight handle about seven
feet long, which is set into the blade, and this is made
of wood, shod at the point and sides with iron. In
the upper corners of the blade holes are bored and
ropes are attached. One man takes the handle, hold-
ing it nearly perpendicularly and guiding it into the
dirt, while one, two, or three men hold and pull each
rope, throwing or carrying the soil where it is needed.
Work can be done very rapidly in this way, and 1
have seen labourers throw earth to a distance of two
rods with one of these shovels.
Of grains the principal is rice, and most of the
valleys are taken advantage of for the culture of this
cereal. In a sufficiently wet season there is a large
quantity of rice raised, but never enough for the needs
of the people. The deficiency is supplied from Japan.
Barley is grown in moderate quantities, and is some-
times used as food by the poorer classes, but its prin-
cipal use is as food for cattle. Wheat is very little
known, though some is grown in the north and a little
around the capital. A grain which is very useful to
the people is millet, of which there are several varieties.
This is one of the most graceful of cereals, and as it
ripens, its heavy, well-filled head bowing gracefully on
its strong stem and waving to the wind, it makes a
very pretty picture.
The Coreans have a very ingenious way of keeping
the sparrows and magpies from their grain -fields.
Strings are stretched between posts right across the
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 103
fields, and on them are hung scare-crows of rags.
Boys are employed to watch the fields, and as the
birds attempt to settle, they shake the stakes and
strings, and shout with lusty lungs, thus keeping the
little thieves from their pilferings. Three or four boys,
with the assistance of the strings and stakes, and a
man to look after them, can protect quite a large field
from the depredations of the feathered robbers.
The foregoing list includes the principal resources
of the inhabitants for food. Large granaries are
placed in the principal cities and in the fortresses, in
which the tribute rice is stored. In times of scarcity
these granaries are sometimes opened for the benefit
of the people. The real purpose, however, is to re-
ceive the tribute, which is paid in kind, and to afford
sustenance for the army and for His Majesty's re-
tainers.
In the way of fruits, a great variety is found in
Corea. Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, and
many others, grow abundantly.
Vegetables, too, are very numerous, the most popular
being potatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers. No one who
has not visited Corea can realize how much this last
production can be to a people. Many a meal of the
Corean consists of nothing but a cucumber, eaten
whole, skin and all !
Other agricultural products are cotton, of riot very
good quality, growing rather poor, and mulberry trees
for the silk industry, found chiefly in the south.
101 BEASTS OF LABOUR AND BURDEN.
Corean silk is very thin, poorly spun, and not well
woven. It resembles very thin pongee, and is not
likely to become an article of commerce. Flax is also
raised to some extent, and a fair quality of coarse
linen is manufactured.
Ploughing is done with oxen or cows. The oxen
are of enormous size, and the ordinary cattle one meets
along the roads are larger than the average prize
cattle of our own land. They are kept by the natives
solely as beasts of labour and burden, for Coreans use
neither butter nor milk. In a ride of a few miles in
the morning, a person will meet hundreds of the
patient beasts moving slowly along, almost entirely
hidden beneath loads of grass or brushwood which is
being taken into the city to be sold as fuel.
But if the oxen are of large size, the horses or
ponies are equally small. Few of these animals
measure fourteen hands. The consequence is, that a
very tall foreigner has sometimes to hold his feet up
when riding on a foreign saddle. The Coreans escape
this difficulty by having their saddles built up nearly
a foot from the horse's back. One of the ludicrous
sights which met me on my first day in the country
was one of these little animals running away with a
tall foreigner on its back, his rider trying to stop
the beast by dragging his feet along the ground, a
course which eventually brought down both man and
horse.
MINERAL WEALTH. 105
Of mineral wealth Corea has an abundance, but, as
stated, it is undeveloped. In the neighbourhood of
Ping Yang, the former capital, there are magnificent
veins of coal, seemingly anthracite, and yet burning
with almost the readiness of the bituminous variety.
This coal is quite hard, burns out well, makes almost
no smoke, and even the dust can be and is utilized
when rolled into balls with a little wet clay. This
coal-field, not, we believe, the only one in Corea, is
worked as yet only by the Coreans, and that in a
most wasteful manner. They simply grub out
what is easiest to get at, tumble the rock and earth
back into the excavation, and so cover up at least as
valuable deposits as they excavate. The mines are
almost on the bank of a large and navigable river, so
that there seems no reason why the native article
should not become a competitor with the Japanese, not
only in Corea, but in all the markets of the East.
Several good offers have been made by foreign firms,
German and American, to open the mines and give
the government a fair percentage of the proceeds, but
these have always been refused. The government at
one time decided to open up the mines themselves.
Accordingly, mining machinery was bought ; but it
has never been erected, and is now scattered all over
the country, rusting away, with many parts miss-
ing, which have been stolen for their value as old
*o
iron.
Not very far from these coal mines, iron ore of an
106 MINERAL WEALTH.
excellent quality is to be found. With abundant
supplies of these two staples of industry almost touch-
ing each other, the statement that Corea may become
wealthy is not unfounded.
The principal source of revenue to Corea at present
is gold-dust. In obtaining this, too, the crudest
methods are in vogue. Only a few placer diggings
are worked, and yet a good many thousand pounds'
worth of dust is said to be sent every year to Japan.
A considerable amount of silver is also gathered in
different localities. Copper, too, is found in abun-
dance, and is more used than any other metal.
The country has not yet been scientifically explored,
but its geological formation is so varied that, in all
probability, much that will enrich the little kingdom
will yet be found stored away in her hills and woods.
The fisheries, which are excellent, produce no re-
venue for the kingdom, as the fishermen sell only to
their own people. Immense quantities of fish are
dried, and very queer are some of the ways for pre-
serving them.
A few pearls are found, but very few of good shape
and colour, most of them, though large, being flat and
dark. They are highly esteemed among the people,
and bring good prices from officials.
The last great invasion of the peninsula by the Jap-
anese marks the death of Corean industry and art
MANUFACTURES. 107
and the renaissance of Japanese art. The Japanese,
when they retired, carried away with them every
artisan from whom they were likely to learn any-
thing, and so brought about a revival of industry and
of production of art objects in their own country and
the extinction of both in Corea. There cannot be
claimed now for Corea any important manufacture.
The two lines in which the most is done are cabinet-
work and the production of brass ware.
In the making of both brass-work and cabinets no
originality is shown, and each piece is modelled after
a pattern with great exactness. Every design seems
to be stereotyped.
In the south some mother-of-pearl work is done
which has a very pretty effect, and indeed a few
pieces show great artistic taste.
Fans of various sizes, shapes, and materials are
made in the country, and as tribute to His Majesty is
paid in kind, he has a vast number to give as presents
to his servants and to the nobles who have duties at
the palace. These fans are far superior in strength
to those of Japanese make, though the paper is pasted
only on one side. The bamboo which forms the
framework is well polished, and often decorated with
great patience and pretty effect.
Another industry peculiar to Corea is the making
of Kang-Wha mats. These are made at Kang-Wha,
of rushes which are cultivated only there. The pat-
terns, which look as though they were painted on, are
108 MAT-MAKING AND EMBROIDERY.
really made of short pieces of stained rush sewed on,
but so closely and carefully done that only the min-
utest examination reveals the secret of their make-up.
These are not made even for domestic commerce, but
are meant for His Majesty's use alone. But they
find their way into the market through being presented
at the palace to this or that mandarin, whence they
pass for ready money into the merchant's hands.
Embroidery is continually being done in the palace,
where a trained corps of women is kept for this pur-
pose. They do work on silk for screen-panels, and
though exceedingly conventional in their treatment of
rocks, clouds, w r ater, and landscape generally, their
figures of birds, butterflies, bats, and the palm and
bamboo are very correct and lifelike. I have seen
very few Corean paintings, but to a Western eye they
were exceedingly ridiculous, showing not even the
most elementary knowledge of perspective. In the
temples erected to the honour of deified heroes there
are usually a number of paintings purporting to por-
tray the important events and achievements in the
lives of the heroes. These bear a very marked re-
semblance to similar paintings in Japan, the style of
execution being the same.
In the foreign commercial relations there is as yet
little inducement for foreigners to enter the country.
Chinamen are there in great numbers, as also Jap-
anese, who have opened shops where nearly every-
FOREIGN COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 109
thing of foreign production can be obtained. Since
Chinese and Japanese can live very much cheaper
than Western merchants, as a rule they can sell for
much less, and consequently there is nothing to induce
traders to settle there. Besides this, the poverty of
the people is so great that they are unable to pay the
high prices Western-made articles command. Two
firms, one German and one American, do business in
the capital ; but the bulk of their trade is with the
palace and the government directly, in the furnishing
of arms, Gatling guns, and furniture, and, of course,
the inevitable champagne and liquor. These com-
modities are fortunately too high - priced for the
masses, so there is less danger than might be ex-
pected of the corruption of the Corean people by the
introduction of fiery drinks. The most important
imports from England are unbleached muslin, out of
which clothing is made, rice and silk from Japan, and
silk from China. A curious penchant of Coreans is
for cuckoo clocks. The cuckoo is a native of the
peninsula, and people seem never tired of entering a
store and listening to the cry of the birds which come
out of the clocks and tell the hour. Dozens of these
are kept in the Chinese stores, and they sell readily at
a good profit.
It must be remembered that the average commercial
transaction is very small. The coin of Corea is the
" cash," which, however, is not uniform over the
country. The piece in use at the capital, which is
110 FOREIGN COMMERCIAL RELATIONS.
called a .five-cash piece, has about the value of an
eighth of a penny. Five pounds' worth of this coinage
is a load for a coolie. The comparative smallness of
even the largest Corean transaction can be seen from
this. In dealings with foreign countries the Mexican
dollar used to be the basis, but as it was greatly
debased and sweated and tampered with by the
Chinese, it has been largely replaced by the Japanese
yen, a beautiful coin engraved with such fine designs
and so excellently milled that even the Chinese ex-
perts at stealing silver from coins and plugging them
up are unable to operate upon it.
With patience, and with the development of re-
sources, a respectable trade will doubtless be estab-
lished with the once hermit nation ; yet the country
cannot be in a fair way to a prosperous condition,
until it learns to develop what must prove to be its
main sources of reliance a better system of agricul-
ture, and the opening of mining industries by foreign
capital (until Coreans have learned how such operations
should be carried on), in all this acting with more
candour and less distrust toward the people to whom
it must commit the developing of its resources. With
the customs left under its present able and honest
management, a very few years would see Corea
rivalling Japan in the advance toward wealth and
prosperity.
CHAPTER XII.
PROGRESS.
COREA has now been a member of the family
of nations for eight years, and naturally the
thoughtful are beginning to ask what has been accom-
plished. Japan on the one side has made wonderful
strides. Her people are doing all they can to become
Westernized. A constitution similar to that of some
of the European governments has been adopted. The
government, from being an absolute monarchy, has
now become a constitutional government, with its
provisions copied from, or suggested by, European
instruments. In fact, Japan is losing a great deal
of its Orientalism. Such is the tendency of one of
Corea's great neighbours. Now, what of the other ?
As Japan represents the radical or progressive, China
represents the ultra-conservative. Hardly a step to-
ward Occidentalism does she take without being
forced. Those, therefore, who know the tendencies of
these nations have naturally been watching carefully
to see which of them Corea will follow Japan and
Occidentalism, or China and the Oriental conservatism.
112 EDUCATIONAL AND MILITARY.
Let us see what has been done. First, as to edu-
cational steps. A royal school was established in 1886,
and has been most successful. If the excellent system
thus begun in the capital is extended throughout the
country, the development of the peninsula will be not
a probability but a certainty. In Seoul there are
also several mission schools which are well attended.
In the direction of the development of the military
power much has been attempted. The native firearms
of Corea are of course very ineffective, as compared
with modern Western weapons. Accordingly several
battalions have been armed with modern breech-loaders,
and, I believe, some with magazine rifles. (Not the
least curious of the sights to be seen on the king's
parades is the appearance of companies marching side
by side, one carrying the old flint-locks, or match-locks
fired with punk, and the other armed with breech-
loaders and sabre bayonets.) In line with this new
equipment was the purchase of several Gatling guns,
and practice with these is frequent, especially as the
noise is pleasing to His Majesty. The uniform of most
of the soldiers has been changed from its picturesque,
though somewhat inconvenient form, and is supposed
now to be modelled after the Western military style ;
but as the material is dyed cotton, and the dye fades
with all degrees of irregularity, and since the cut of
the clothing is decidedly sui generis, the aspect of
the companies on march is peculiar rather than pic-
turesque.
AN ABORTIVE REFORM. 113
It will be seen, then, that there has been an attempt
to model the army after a European pattern, but one
cannot say that it has been successful.
In 1888 four officers, three from the United States
and one from Japan, were called in to train a corps of
cadets, and so to extend instruction to the four thou-
sand troops or so in the capital. But after these men
had come, and attempted to begin work, they found
themselves hampered and harassed so that they could
accomplish nothing. Add to this the fact that their
salaries were for months not forthcoming, and it will
be seen that this venture was one of disaster for all
concerned. Hardly any instruction has been given,
money has been expended in a change of uniforms,
and but little real benefit has resulted from the en-
gagement of these gentlemen. There might be added
to these miscarriages the expenditure in erecting a
powder-mill which makes no powder.
Now, Corea is in a peculiar position. She is sand-
wiched in between Japan and China, two very strong
nations. She therefore needs either a very strong
army, so as to present at least a show of resistance
in case of attack, or else an army simply for police
duty. But the very largest army Corea can raise
could not carry on a successful war. Were she
to arm all her available fighting force, to call out
every male capable of bearing arms, she could not
oppose with any success the forces of either Japan or
China. At present her men are und rilled, her resources
8
114 AN EMEUTE.
are undeveloped, she has no weapons, and there is no
military obstacle in the way of a regiment of experi-
enced soldiers marching the length of the land, carry-
ing everything before them. No movement has been
made for fortifying the keys of the capital, or for
replacing the native cannon with modern guns. The
government is as yet too poor.
In a third way Corea has started on Western paths.
In her treaties, the right to admit and to send diplo-
matic officers is given. She has also in various coun-
tries merchants who act as her consuls, though as yet
there is no business demanding their attention.
Other advances and attempts have been made, the
fruits of which have not as yet been realized. In
1884, under the administration of a radical govern-
ment, preparations had been made to enter the postal
union. The stamps had been printed, and all arrange-
ments completed ; a banquet was held at the Foreign
Office to rejoice over and celebrate the consummation
of this work. While the banquet was in progress,
Min Yong Ik, the confidential agent of the king,
staggered into the banqueting-hall, covered with blood
flowing from numerous wounds. An attempt had
been made by the radicals to assassinate him, because
he was supposed to have drawn back from the policy
of advance. An emeute followed. The radicals fled
because of the revulsion of feeling caused by their
action. The feeling of hatred to the foreigners was
fanned by the conservative or Chinese party. For a
A NATIONAL MINT. 115
few days there was danger of a rising which would
sweep away every foreigner in the country. But grad-
ually the excitement died out ; people saw that the
trouble was not due to the foreigners, but to hasty
and ill-balanced officials, who could not make progress
slowly, and the resentment against outsiders little by
little faded away. But the post-office was defunct.
The Corean postage stamps are sought by collectors
because they are a curiosity, having never been used.
Though mails are distributed in Corea, it is by the
Japanese government, which maintains offices, collects
all the revenue, and does all the work arising from
this source.
Another direction in which it was hoped progress
would be made, and in which steps have been taken,
is in the establishment of a national mint. The best-
machinery was bought and placed in position, designs
were made and dies cut, and in 1888 the mint was
completed, the wheels revolved a few times, a couple
of hundred copper coins were turned out for the in-
spection of the king, who paid a visit to the new toy,
and then the wheels were stopped. Since then the
machinery has stood idle and rusting, the German
expert who erected it has returned to his home, and
the work of nearly two years, at an expense of per-
haps forty thousand pounds, remains as so much out-
lay without any corresponding return.
We have had occasion to speak of the custom of
signalling daily along the tops of the hills the news
116 THE TELEGRAPH.
of the peace and welfare of the kingdom. Alongside
of this medieval system of despatching news must be
placed the modern way of using the electric current,
since for years the capital has been connected by wire
with the southern port of Fusan, with its own port
of Chemulpo, and with the capital of China, and so
with the whole outside world. Corea, the hermit
nation of 1882, in telegraphic communication with the
isles of the West in 1885 !
In the domestic life of the nation but little change
has been caused by the opening of treaty relations
with other nations. But few Coreans have changed
their manner of living.
The revenue from imports is increasing largely
each year, proving that Western products are taking
their place in the domestic economy of the people.
And with each importation and its use among the
people, a wider interest in the nation from which the
article comes is excited, and so progress is made.
CHAPTER XIII.
FOREIGN RELATIONS.
THE geographical position of Corea exposes that
small kingdom to the attentions, not always
disinterested, of her powerful neighbours China,
Japan, and Russia. She is most naturally connected
with China, of which the Corean peninsula is an
extension. China's suzerainty over Corea is generally
admitted, although the securities on which it rests
are very vague. No one can be surprised at the
desire of China to convert that indefinite superiority
into a closer bond by the annexation of the penin-
sula. Not less intelligible, however, is the objection
of Japan to an extension of Chinese territory which
would bring its powerful rival within an hundred
miles of its western coast. It has no doubt been with
i\ view of preventing this contingency that Japan has
been striving for some years to increase her influence
in Corea, and to detach that kingdom from China.
Corea's third neighbour is Russia, whose Maritime
Province of Siberia is conterminous for a few miles
with the Corean frontier. Russia has shown no in-
118 A NEW EASTERN QUESTION.
clination to interfere in the recent controversies of
China and Japan over this new Eastern Question ;
she has even taken the trouble to deny that she had
intervened. Obviously, however, Russia has a very
direct interest in the matter in dispute, and it need
not be doubted that Russian diplomacy will be ready
to take its share in the work whenever that may be
necessary. Russian statesmen have always shown a
remarkable capacity for biding their time. The same
reasons which made it important that Russia should
obtain the coast of Manchuria south of the Amoor
a few years ago, would make it important that she
should include Corea in her Maritime Province. In
any case she would certainly do her utmost to prevent
the peninsula from falling into the hands of any
other state.
In the meantime China and Japan are the only
claimants for influence in Corea. The question is an
important one for Japan ; but to China it is more than
important it is vital. If Japan were to secure a
foothold on the continent, such as the possession of
Corea would give her, she would be forced by the cir-
cumstances of the case to extend her encroachments if
possible into the heart of the Chinese Empire. Recent
events seem to show that a struggle of that kind may
be imminent. Japan is evidently eager for the fray,
and China, though her government has shown no desire
to precipitate matters, is evidently ready to take up
the gauntlet, and is prepared, in the words of her ablest
FOREIGN RELATIONS. 119
statesman, " to fight to the bitter end." The conflict
will be an interesting one for the student of history.
It will be a struggle in the far east of Asia between
the new civilization and the old between Western
ideas and methods of administration and diplomacy
and the most stagnant of Oriental despotisms.
Only in quite recent times has Corea been induced
to enter into diplomatic relations with foreign states.
The earliest efforts in that direction were made by
France and by the United States of America in 1871,
and they failed. The first treaty that the King of
Corea is known to have signed was concluded in 1876,
and that was a treaty with Japan. The immediate
practical purpose of the Japanese government was to
obtain protection and trading privileges for Japanese
residents in Corea, who numbered several thousands.
Under this treaty also the Japanese government was
entitled to send a permanent resident to the capital
of Corea ; three ports were opened to Japanese trade
namely, Chemulpo, Fusan, and Gen-san ; Japanese
vessels in distress were allowed to enter Corean ports ;
and Japanese mariners were free to survey the Co-
rean coast. Probably, however, the treaty was in-
tended also to serve a diplomatic purpose that,
namely, of putting the King of Corea in the position
of an independent sovereign, having power to make
treaties with other states. It is difficult to understand
how the king reconciled his action with his acknow-
ledged subjection to the suzerainty of China. That
120 FOREIGN RELATIONS.
consideration did not trouble the Japanese govern-
ment. That government has never denied the suzer-
ainty of China over Corea , but it has advanced the
opinion that that relation was not inconsistent with
the right of the King of Corea to make treaties with
other states. Japan maintained the same position in
1885, when a new treaty was made; and again in
1894, when the Corean question led to war.
The second recorded treaty into which Corea
entered was made with China in 1882. The fact
that China entered into such a relation has been held
to be a recognition by China of the independence of
Corea. It is not usual for a government to make
treaties with a subject state. A treaty is a mutual
agreement implying the equality of the high contract-
ing parties. China, however, maintains that the so-
called treaty of 1882 was not a treaty in the strict
sense was, in fact, no more than a body of " com-
mercial and trade regulations for the subjects of China
and Corea." Clearly there was nothing improper or
unusual in a suzerain state issuing such regulations, or
in a subject state accepting them.
In the same year (1882) Corea made a treaty with
the United States ; and that was followed, during the
next four or five years, by treaties with Germany,
Great Britain, Italy, Russia, and France. All these
countries seem to have dealt with the Corean king as
an independent and autonomous sovereign.
Japan succeeded in concluding a second treaty with
INTERNAL REFORMS. 121
Corea in 1885, which greatly strengthened her hold
on the peninsula and its government. That treaty is
of the greatest importance, because it forms the foun-
dation of the subsequent action of Japan in Corean
affairs. It established the right of Japan equally
with China to send troops to Corea in case of disturb-
ance or other emergency. If China did not sanction
this treaty, she certainly did not make objection to
it. Indeed, at the time, her diplomatic hands were
fully occupied with an embroilment with France,
and probably Japan took advantage of China's diffi-
culties in order to extort the treaty from the King of
Corea.
Japan has missed no opportunity of taking advan-
tage of the improved position which the treaty of
1885 gave her. She has pressed on the Corean gov-
ernment the necessity of internal reforms ; she has
sought to obtain privileges for the Japanese residents
in Corea ; and she has declared her desire to be the
champion of the independence of that kingdom.
The question of internal reforms was taken up
eagerly by a strong party in Corea, consisting in the
first instance chiefly of Japanese, and they had an
able Japanese leader. The outbreak of what is
known as the Tokugato rebellion in 1893 gave the
Japanese government an opportunity of acting on the
treaty of 1885. Such a disturbance had occurred
as seemed to warrant armed intervention. The hos-
tile feeling was imbittered by an incident. The rebel
122 ARMED INTERVENTION.
leader, when driven out of Corea, took refuge in
Japan. After he had resided there for some months,
he was enticed to Shanghai, and was there murdered
by order of the King of Corea, with the complicity, it
is alleged, of the Chinese authorities.
When the King of Corea applied to China for mili-
tary aid to put down the Tokugato rebellion, the
Chinese government resolved to send a force of
10,000 men. As soon as Japan heard of this inten-
tion, the Mikado despatched a force of 5,000 men
of all arms, well equipped and organized, which
succeeded in reaching Corea before the Chinese
troops.
In taking this step the Japanese disclaimed hostile
intentions. Their professed objects were to protect
their countrymen, and " to co-operate with the Chinese"
in restoring order. At the same time, they renewed
their claim to deal with the King of Corea as an
independent ruler. They maintained that they had
the same rights in Corea as China had, excepting
always the Chinese suzerainty, which was not to be
interfered with, "but was to retain 1 its historical and
ceremonial character."
The Japanese government also submitted to the
king twenty-five proposals for internal reforms. In
the first instance the king agreed to accept these
proposals, but afterwards he made his acceptance of
them conditional on the withdrawal of the Japanese
troops. China, as was to be expected, supported the
WAR DECLARED. 123
king in refusing reform, and further demanded the
withdrawal of the Japanese army.
In the midst of the diplomatic controversy hostili-
ties suddenly broke out. On July 25, 1894, a Japanese
squadron attacked a Chinese fleet that was convoying
to Corea a transport vessel, the Kow Shing, with
fifteen hundred men on board. The transport was
sunk, and only a few of the men were saved. As
war had not been declared, it rested with the Japanese
government to explain this wanton violation of peace.
The explanation offered was that the Japanese com-
mander was under the impression that China " in-
tended to begin hostilities." It turned out that the
Kow Shing was a British vessel chartered by the
Chinese government, and flying the British flag. The
Japanese government found it necessary to apologise
to the British representative at Tokio, and to promise
compensation. There were other collisions between
the forces of the two countries, both at sea and on
land. In this state of matters the Japanese govern-
ment, on July 31, intimated to the foreign represen-
tatives at Tokio that " a state of war existed between
China and Japan," Corea being the bone of contention
between them.
The following figures regarding the fighting strength
of the two countries may be interesting :
CHINESE ARMY.
On peace footing 200,000 men.
On war footing 600,000 men.
Capable of being raised to 1,200,000 men.
124 RELATIVE FORCES.
CHINESE NAVY.
' Battleships 1 first-class, 1 second-class, 3 third-class. Port defence
vessels, 9. Cruisers 9 second-class, 12 third-class (a), and 35 third-
class (6). Torpedo boats 2 first-class, 26 second-class, 13 third-class,
and 2 smaller boats.
JAPANESE ARMY.
On peace footing 78,000 men.
On war footing 250,000 men.
JAPANESE NAVY.
Armoured cruisers, 5; second-class cruisers, 9; third-class cruisers, 22.
%* The above figures are taken from the Statesman's Year Book for 1894.
CHAPTER XIV.
MISSIONS.
^" S HIS little book should not be closed without a
word about the missions to Corea.
Roman Catholic priests pushed their way into the
country from China as early as the end of last
century, and the missions they established were very
successful, their converts numbering many thousands.
Several times during the present century the Corean
Catholics have been subjected to bitter persecution
notably in 1868, when thousands of them were killed,
and the only three Catholic missionaries left had to
flee for their lives. In spite of persecutions there are
still many Catholics in Corea.
The beginning of Protestant evangelization is due
to Rev. John Rcss, a missionary in China, who visited
the country and translated the New Testament into
Corean.
The actual occupation of the country as a mission
field did not begin till 1884, when Dr. Allen was
sent out to the capital by the Presbyterian Church of
the United States.
126 DR. ALLEN'S SUCCESS.
Dr. Allen was not known at first as a missionary.
He went ostensibly to practise his profession as a
physician. The unfortunate postal emeute of 1884,
and the attack upon Min Yong Ik, next to the king
the most prominent person in the kingdom, by giving
Dr. Allen an opportunity of displaying upon the
young prince the skill of Western medical science,
opened the way for more direct mission work. His
success in bringing Min Yong Ik through his illness
led to his being asked to prescribe for the king and
other members of the royal family. Success attended
him here. He was consulted in other matters, and
his conservatism and the common sense of his advice
gained for him the entire confidence of the king.
In a conversation with the king, some time after
the emeute, the work of the hospitals in Western
lands was brought to his attention, and the descrip-
tion the doctor gave of their operation and benefits
interested the king so much that he suggested, or
acted upon the suggestion of Dr. Allen, that one be
established in the capital. This was warmly wel-
comed by Dr. Allen, and buildings were set apart for
the purpose, a certain sum was devoted to its main-
tenance, and Dr. Allen became the head of it, while
mandarins were detailed to look after its management,
and servants were appointed for doing the necessary
work.
In the following year more missionaries were sent
out by the United States Presbyterians, and in a short
POSITION OF MISSIONARIES. 127
time they succeeded in organizing a school of medicine
connected with the hospital, and an orphanage, both
of which have been most successful.
Missionaries have also been sent to Corea by the
Methodists of the United States, the Presbyterians of
Canada and Australia, and lastly the Church of
England. Their work has been hitherto centred in
the capital ; but the English bishop has taken a for-
ward step in establishing a station in the south of
Corea.
What is the position of missionaries in Corea at
the present time ? There is no open government
sanction for the active work of evangelization ; in-
deed, the treaties made with foreign nations do not
permit it. As a matter of fact, however, the govern-
ment has winked at the prosecution of the mission-
aries' labours. No open preaching is permitted, and
even teaching is prohibited ; but evangelistic work
is done by the circulation of literature and by con-
versation with those who go to the missionaries for
instruction.
As for the converts to Christianity, their position is
not perfectly safe. The machinery which wrought
destruction among the Roman Catholics is still in
existence ; the only question is as to the disposition
to put it into operation against the Christians. From
what has been said already, it has been seen that the
government does not interfere with missionary work,
beyond warning missionaries now and again not to
128 POSITION OF CONVERTS.
push forward their cause too openly. During the
last few years trouble has several times appeared
imminent, and on one occasion a massacre might easily
have been precipitated, but no unseemly act was com-
mitted, and no Protestant convert, so far as is known,
has suffered for renouncing the faith of his fathers.
THE END.
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