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Title: The Korea Review, Vol. 5 No. 5, May 1905
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Korea Review, Vol. 5 No. 5, May 1905" ***
·
VOL. 5.
NO. 5.
·
·
Seoul,
Korea.
·
The
KOREA
REVIEW
Published each Month.
HOMER B. HULBERT, Editor.
CONTENTS.
KOREA AND JAPAN 161
A VISIT TO QUELPART 172
THE MAGIC OX-CURE 179
THE SEOUL-FUSAN RAILWAY 183
EDITORIAL COMMENT 187
NEWS CALENDAR 191
MAY, 1905.
METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE: SEOUL
ADVERTISEMENTS.
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION.
CAPITAL $10,000,000.00
RESERVE FUND { Sterling at 2/- $10,000,000.00 } $15,500,000.00
{ Silver $5,500,000.00 }
RESERVE LIABILITY OF PROPRIETORS $10,000,000.00
CHIEF MANAGER
HONGKONG—J. R. M. SMITH, ESQUIRE.
CHEMULPO—INTEREST ALLOWED ON FIXED DEPOSITS:—
For 6 months, 3 per cent, per annum.
” 12 ” 4 ” ”
No interest allowed on current accounts.
All the Accounts of the Corporation with its customers are kept in _Yen_
local currency.
Drafts issued and Bills discounted on all the Principal Cities of Europe
and America.
THE SEOUL-CHEMULPO SECTION.
The Seoul-Fusan Railway Company.
Time Tables 1st December, 1904.
-------------------------------+----------+-------------------------------
EAST BOUND | | WEST BOUND
-------------------------------+ STATIONS +-------------------------------
TRAIN LEAVES | | TRAIN LEAVES
----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----------+----+-----+-----+----+----+----
A.M.| A.M.| P.M.|P.M.|P.M.|P.M.| |A.M.| A.M.| P.M.|P.M.|P.M.|P.M.
7.20|10.00|12.30|3.00|5.30|8.30| Chemulpo |8.50|11.12| 2.00|4.30|7.00|9.42
7.28|10.06|12.38|3.08|5.38|8.36| Saalijy |8.45|11.18| 1.55|4.25|6.55|9.38
7.33| ... |12.43|3.13|5.43|... | Sopple |8.38| ... | 1.48|4.18|6.48| ...
7.51| ... | 1.01|3.31|6.01|... | Poopyong |8.20| ... | 1.30|4.00|6.30| ...
8.07|10.36| 1.17|3.47|6.17|9.06| Sosha |8.08|10.39| 1.18|3.48|6.18|9.09
8.19| ... | 1.29|3.59|6.29|... | Oricle |7.51| ... | 1.03|3.33|6.03| ...
8.36|10.57| 1.46|4.16|6.46|9.29|Yungtongpo|7.36|10.16|12.49|3.19|5.49|8.46
8.43| ... | 1.53|4.23|9.53|... | Nodol |7.27| ... |12.42|3.12|5.42| ...
8.49| ... | 1.59|4.29|6.59|... | Yungsan |7.21| ... |12.36|3.06|5.36| ...
9.01|11.14| 2.11|4.41|7.11|9.46|South Gate|7.21|10.00|12.27|2.57|5.27|8.30
9.05|11.17| 2.15|4.45|7.15|9.50| Seoul |7.05| 9.55|12.20|2.50|5.20|8.26
----+-----+-----+----+----+----+----------+----+-----+-----+----+----+----
Passengers from the intermediate stations where no Ticket office exists,
will Procure the Tickets from Conductors on the Trains. Where Ticket
office exists Tickets procured from the Conductors must be paid for at
the rate of 5 sen extra for each fare.
Any Passenger who over-rides the distance indicated on the ticket, or
who changes cars for a higher class, must pay the difference, and 5 sen
extra, for each fare.
Dogs taken in the Passenger-cars, with no objection from the other
passengers are charged 40 sen per head.
50 Trip Coupon Tickets for family use are issued at the following rates:—
1st class 60 yen. 2nd class 30 yen.
THE KOREA REVIEW.
MAY, 1905.
Korea and Japan.
The attitude of the Korean people toward Japan has undergone many changes
during that past quarter of a century. The thing that we must always
reckon with is the ancient feeling of enmity aroused, in the first place,
by the devastating raids of Japanese freebooters during the tenth,
eleventh and twelfth centuries. At that time the Koreans suffered so
severely that the very name of Japanese became the synonym of all that
was dreadful and to be hated. This was further intensified by the great
invasion of 1592 when the Koreans suffered untold things at the hands
of the temporary conquerors. The result of these things are clearly
seen in Korean character today. It would be very hard to find a Korean
child who does not drink in, almost with his mother’s milk, a feeling of
dislike against the Japanese. On the other hand the Japanese seem to have
imbibed as strong a feeling toward the Korean. This feeling is one of
contempt, born of the less warlike character of the Korean and his strong
conservatism.
These sentiments we firmly believe to be the real underlying ones and if
so the only genuine _rapprochement_ between the two people must be along
the line of mutual self-interest. If it _pays_ sufficiently to forget the
old feud then forgotten it will be, but it is plain that the interest
must be a mutual one.
From the days of the Great Invasion up to the year 1868 the difficulties
between Korea and Japan were quiescent, though by no means dead. After
the Manchu invasion of Korea the Japanese even offered Korea help in
throwing off the Manchu yoke. As we look at conditions today we can
almost say that it was a pity Korea did not accept the offer.
The late Regent, during the first decade of the present reign, conceived
a fanatical hatred against all outsiders and, through a few unfortunate
victories over them, conceived the idea of hermetically sealing the
country against foreign intercourse. He adopted the one course which
was sure to effect the opening of the country, namely by banning the
Japanese commercial settlement at Fusan. This was just at the time of
Japan’s great awakening and it is probable that she sincerely hoped and
believed that Korea was capable of taking the same forward step which she
herself was taking. When, therefore, Korea not only took no forward step
even but attempted to retire more deeply into her political solitude she
aroused a good deal of feeling in Japan, a feeling that was so intense
that it resulted in a sanguinary civil war called the Satsuma Rebellion.
The leaders of the people in the Southern island of Kiusiu, which lies
nearest to Korea, earnestly desired that Japan should force upon Korea at
the point of the sword what time has at last effected. If the leaders of
that rebellion could have looked forward to the year 1905 they would have
left their swords in their scabbards.
In opposition to these advocates of force the new government in Tokyo
took the wholly reasonable and laudable ground that Korea should be
treated as a coördinate and independent power and that she should be
approached from the diplomatic rather than the military side. The
rebellion which resulted caused a long delay in the carrying out of any
plans that Japan may have formed relative to the opening up of Korea.
At the same time the approaching majority of the King of Korea, and the
consequent retirement of the Regent, was sure to cause important changes
in the attitude of the peninsular government. This became all the more
evident as the queen and her powerful faction developed a feeling of
strong hostility to the person and the policy of the Regent.
Taking advantage of this rift in the Korean lute the Japanese sent a
semi-official agent in the person of Hanabusa who found means to secure
frequent access to the Queen and her party and who doubtless used every
argument to widen the breach between the Queen and the Regent. When
everything was ready the Japanese warship _Unyo Kan_ appeared off the
Korean coast near Chemulpo and got herself fired upon by a Korean fort.
This was the last, the dying act of the Regent, but it formed an opening
wedge for the negotiations which were immediately instituted and which
resulted in the signing of the treaty between Korea and Japan at Kangwha
in 1876. The Regent had already retired from public life in disgust,
although his friends were constantly plotting to bring him back to Seoul
and reinstate him in power.
The years 1876-1880 form one of the most important periods in the modern
history of Korea, even though they were very quiet years. The king had
entered upon his career and his course was to be determined upon. The
court was in a plastic state ready to be moulded into any form which a
strong mind might suggest. Chinese suzerainty had slept so long and was
so nominal in character that no protest was forthcoming even when Korea
and Japan signed a treaty as between wholly independent powers. The
ruling faction had come into power through the help of the Japanese. The
latter recognized to the fullest extent the independence of Korea. There
was every reason in the world why Japan should use her powerful influence
to direct the stream of Korean politics into safe and progressive
channels. She had an unparalleled opportunity. Everything was in her
favor. England never began to have such a favorable outlook in India as
Japan had in Korea beginning with the year 1876.
What then, was the reason for the comparative failure that resulted?
There can be but one answer. The Japanese failed to study the situation
closely enough and to gauge the quality of the instrument by means of
which Korea must be led. The king was young and physically strong and
a long reign was to be expected. His will was led by the powerful Min
faction. It was the province of statesmanship to study these factors
and so gauge their qualities as to be able to mould them in the forms
desired. The central figure was the Queen. The country and the court went
with her. She was young and impressionable and favorably impressed by the
Japanese. Behind her was the Min faction, strong, ambitious, selfish,
tenacious of its prerogatives. That faction was itself impressionable. It
recognized that a new era was opening, that the policy of the Regent had
been cast aside. It felt the incentive of national independence and was
ready and willing to undertake the responsible work of leading the nation
into these new and untrodden paths; but first and most of all it held to
its own prestige. The selfish element was preeminent. There was no love
of country, detached and altruistic. It was their conviction that the
progress of the country would enhance their own prestige. The motive was
not a very high one but such as it was it should have received careful
study from the Japanese before it was rejected. The latter strongly
favored a radical change in Korean conditions, a change for which Korea
had received no such preparation as Japan had received and for which it
was not ready. There were two things which might cause such a radical
change as that of the Japanese—education or the rise of an intense
nationalistic spirit. It was the latter which worked in Japan, but in
Korea there was neither education nor a national spirit to work upon.
These things had yet to be evolved.
The Japanese saw with impatience the slowness of the Koreans to take
advantage of their opportunity and it was this impatience which spoiled
the whole thing. If the Japanese could have realized the mental and
traditional standpoint of the Koreans at that time and could have
exercised tact and large patience the outcome might have been very
different, but the truth is that the Japanese were as unable to
understand the Koreans as the Koreans were to understand them. There
were a few Koreans who seem to have taken hold of the problem in the same
spirit as the Japanese but they were in such a hopeless minority and they
were so far ahead of their time that the Japanese made a damaging mistake
in forsaking the ruling faction and pinning their faith to these few
progressives. Of course the ideas of these progressives were excellent.
What they proposed would have been for the good of the country, but they
had no public sentiment behind them and their views were so radical
as to bar them from the field of practical politics. It is not good
statesmanship to attempt what is better than the best thing possible, and
the mistake the Japanese made at that critical point was in supposing
that the Korean people would fall in with a radical progressive policy.
The result was seen in 1884 when, throwing over diplomacy, they assisted
the Korean radicals in a sanguinary _emeute_ in which seven cold-blooded
murders proved the quality of the would-be reformers. Here we see a
second case in which a diplomatic failure was tided over by military
force. But even so they did not succeed, for the Chinese, who were on
the scene and who had been making high bids for the Queen’s favor by
kidnapping the Regent and carrying him away to China, were in greater
force than the Japanese and virtually forced their retirement.
Up to this time people had not greatly favored either the Chinese or
Japanese influence but if anything were inclined toward the latter. But
now the ruling faction turned wholly toward China and with it went the
mass of the people. The common people did not understand nor appreciate
the ideals of the progressives, and the death of seven government
ministers effectually weaned away what little fealty they had given to
the progressive cause.
A new phase of the situation now opened during which the high-handed acts
of the Chinese Minister alarmed the better class of Koreans and made them
think more kindly of the Japanese who had at least not tampered with the
independence of the country. Japanese diplomacy did all it could during
this period to stem the rising tide of Chinese influence, but the Queen
was so constituted mentally that having once conceived a thorough dislike
for any person or policy it was well-nigh impossible to change. From the
time when the Japanese, in 1884, helped the progressives in their attempt
to wrest the power from the hands of the Queen’s faction there was no
peace between her and the Japanese. But she was the pivotal point in the
whole situation, and this the Japanese failed to see, or, seeing, ignored.
As we have said, the Chinese were striving hard to make up for the
mistake which they had made in allowing Korea to sign treaties on the
basis of independence, and with such good results that Japanese diplomacy
was again frustrated. Once more she had recourse to the arm of force to
carry out her ideas. The war with China resulted in complete success for
her arms and again Japanese influence became paramount; but it should be
noted that this aroused little enthusiasm among the Koreans. To be sure
they had been saved from the threatened Chinese supremacy but the Koreans
had no confidence in the ability of the Japanese to handle the situation
wisely. In this they were right, for Japan began by enforcing unnecessary
sumptuary laws which did not strike at the root of the Korean difficulty
but only wounded the pride of the Korean people. At that time Japan had
a second opportunity to prove her ability to handle an alien people
and again she failed. The assassination of the Queen and the enforced
detention of the King in is palace, which resulted in his throwing
himself into the arms of Russia, was the direct result.
This series of events convinced the Koreans that Japan was unable to
effect the changes which were necessary in order to prepare for the real
progress of the country, and they also demonstrated to the Western world
that however capable Japan may have been in leading her own people toward
civilization and enlightenment she lacked the peculiar power necessary to
the handling of an alien people.
As time went on and Russian prestige increased in the peninsula it became
evident that diplomacy would again fail to save the situation and Japan
was again driven to arms. The result bids fair to be another Japanese
success. So far as Korea is concerned the situation is much the same as
it was at the close of the Japan-China war. Japan is in a position to
do about as she pleases here. The question arises whether, during the
years that have elapsed since her former failures to handle the Korean
problem, she has gained the requisite ability to do so. At the beginning
of the present war she concluded a special agreement with Korea by virtue
of which the latter gave her the right of way through the peninsula for
war purposes. Korea, on her side, received the solemn pledge of Japan to
uphold her independence and to work for her welfare.
To review the successive steps of the policy which Japan has pursued in
Korea since the ratification of that agreement is not a particularly
agreeable task. It must always be borne in mind that the Japanese are
working under a terrible strain. Hundreds of thousands of their people
are perishing on the battle field and millions of treasure are being
poured out to secure to the Japanese nation a guarantee of continued
existence. It is a life and death struggle and when a man is in the midst
of such a struggle we do not expect from him the niceties of courtesy
which we should expect from him at other times. There have been many
criticisms of Japan’s course in Korea during the past year. She is
charged with having done little or nothing to stem the tide of official
corruption, that she has not bent her energies to the bettering of the
condition of the common people, that nothing has been effected in the
line of currency reform. Whatever may be the reasons for this it must
appear to the unprejudiced observer that the charges are substantially
true. We do not dare to say that Japan has no intention of effecting
these needed reforms and it may be that there are cogent reasons why they
could not be. Leaving out of view what the intentions of the Japanese may
be and holding ourselves strictly to what has been actually accomplished
we are bound to admit that up to the present time the results have been
disappointing.
But the fact that the needed reforms have not been instituted should
not lead us to a wholesale condemnation of the Japanese regime. The
problem is an extremely complicated one and those who expected that by a
single wave of the hand a condition of official corruption that has been
fostered and fed by centuries of precedent could be rectified were doomed
to disappointment from the start.
But unfortunately both for Korea and for Japan the failure to carry
out reforms is only one, and the lesser one at that, of the complaints
that are heard. It is stated from various parts of the country that
Koreans are being deprived of their property without receiving proper
compensation. Doubtless some of these stories are exaggerations but
enough of them have been witnessed by foreigners of unquestioned veracity
to establish the general fact. What we wonder at is that in the midst of
a great war, in which all her energies are absorbed, Japan should allow
the already difficult Korean problem to become complicated to such a
painful degree by an influx of the less desirable element of their people
into the peninsula. We hear it repeatedly asserted that the reinforcement
of Japan’s enormous army in Manchuria is gradually depleting the supply
of labor in Japan itself. This must be so if something like a million
young men have been taken away to the seat of war. But if it is so how
does it come about that thousands upon thousands of Japanese are flocking
into Korea? It must be because they consider their opportunities better
here than in the home country. But just at the present crisis they
are doing their own land a double injury, first by further depleting
the supply of labor there and secondly by complicating the already
sufficiently difficult Korean problem.
The Japanese authorities in Korea have repeatedly been heard to say
that a very undesirable class of Japanese is pouring into this country.
They are thoroughly aware of this and they feel very keenly the extreme
difficulty of holding their nationals in check. What we wonder at is
that the Japanese government, which has shown such consummate ability
in holding its subjects in check in Japan should allow itself to become
hampered by the lawless acts of its subjects in Korea. It seems to us,
and in this we are simply voicing the general sentiment of foreign
observers in Korea, that the obvious course would have been to prohibit
promiscuous emigration from Japan to Korea until the war was over and
adequate arrangements could be made for the management and jurisdiction
of those who wished to come.
Whether we are reasonable in this may be seen from the following
consideration. It is affirmed by the defenders of Japan’s policy in Korea
that as soon as the war is over and things quiet down these acknowledged
difficulties will be overcome and the common people of Korea will be
protected in their rights. This sounds reasonable, but does not every
undesirable Japanese who comes here before that time make that solution
more difficult? What, for instance of all the Koreans who have been
forced to sell their property for a mere fraction of its value? Will
the justice which Japan’s advocates foresee be retroactive, and will
those acts of injustice be rectified? The Korean government guaranteed
to secure the land for the building of the great railway through the
peninsula. Was it not the duty of the Japanese to see to it that this
land was paid for by the Korean government before it was seized, or at
least should not each Korean whose land was appropriated have received an
official paper signifying the amount of land he surrendered, such paper
constituting a claim on the government for payment at some future time?
Unless something like this was done it is hard to see how any future
action of the Japanese could right the manifest wrong. The evidence has
been lost.
It seems to be an object of general surprise that Japan should estimate
at such a small value the good will of the Korean people. It was not
to be expected that the government could look with satisfaction upon
a Japanese occupation, but at first the people were enthusiastic over
it and hailed it as a sign that all abuses were to be done away. We
confess to utter inability to understand how or why Japan should have
sacrificed this heavy asset of good will. It is the province of diplomacy
and statesmanship to make use of all such moral factors to the fullest
extent. We hear on all sides the statement that the Koreans have brought
the present state of things upon themselves, but what we would like to
know is the reason why Japan has not only failed to carry out needed
reforms but has rendered future work in this time almost impossible by
allowing an army of adventurers to come in and exasperate the people. We
can see only two possible answers, either the Japanese government has
concluded that reforms will not pay or else they are not fully aware of
the actual conditions that prevail in Korea.
A few weeks ago at a station on the Seoul-Fusan Railway a Korean stepped
upon a path leading away from the station. There was no sign to indicate
that this was forbidden. Instantly three or four Japanese rushed upon
him, knocked him down and beat him into unconsciousness. He remained
in that state two days but finally recovered. It was an utterly brutal
and causeless assault, and this sort of thing is going on all over the
country. The class of Japanese who for the most part are exploiting
Korea seem to take delight in wantonly abusing the people, simply out of
braggadocio. There is no use in multiplying examples of this. We think
that the Japanese are injuring themselves in allowing this sort of thing
to go on. We are sorry to see that Koreans have come to the conclusion
that all Japanese are like this. Such is far from being the case. We
believe the average Japanese would act very different from this. The
daily press of Japan is constantly recording acts of generosity and
kindness on the part of Japanese even toward Russian captives and we
believe that if the more respectable class of Japanese should come to
Korea the people would be treated justly and kindly.
We have consistently upheld Japan in her opposition to Russian intrigues
in the Far East. Japan is doing a splendid work and is fitting herself
to do a still greater work in this region. She probably aspires to be a
leader of opinion in this part of the world and to bring her influence
to bear upon China for the renovation of that enormous mass of humanity.
That is a much larger work than the mere absorption of a little corner
of the Far East like Korea; but if Japan breaks her solemn pledges to
Korea and continues to treat this people as she is now doing she is sure
to injure herself in the eyes of the world. Japan is fighting Russia
because of the latter’s broken promises in Manchuria, but if Japan
herself breaks the promises she has made to Korea, how can she gain the
countenance and acquiescence of the Western powers in any plan for large
work in the rehabilitation of China? The best thing for Japan from the
merely selfish standpoint would be to clear her skirts of all suspicion
of double dealing with Korea, to give this people even-handed justice, to
visit swift and exemplary punishment on any Japanese subject who treats a
Korean less justly than he would a fellow Japanese.
We would ask what Korea has done that her people should be despoiled
of their property and debarred from ordinary justice. To be sure she
has not responded to the appeal which Japan made so many years ago and
still retains the forms of conservation, but this can hardly be called
crime. If Korea had been leagued with Russia against Japan and had been
conquered by the latter then Japan would have some semblance of right to
absorb the territory of the peninsula, but this was not the case. Of her
own accord Japan formed an alliance with Korea and engaged to preserve
the interests of the country. A failure to carry out this agreement would
throw suspicion upon all Japan’s policy regarding the territory she
acquires during the present war and would make it difficult to believe
any of her promises.
A man who is prominent in the Japanese _regime_ told us flatly a
few days ago that as soon as this war is over Japan would declare a
protectorate over this country. The excuse seems to be that it has been
found impossible to make anything out of the Korean government or to
effect reforms. This is the merest subterfuge. No serious attempt has
been made to effect reforms, no one stands in the way of reforms, the
people have been waiting for them and hoping against hope that reforms
would be instituted, but so far as reforming this government for the
sake of the Korean people is concerned there are few signs of a desire
or determination to do so. Russia was severely blamed for making use of
corrupt officials to carry out her schemes in Korea but we find today
that Japanese are doing the very same thing in some parts of the country.
We do not believe the leading authorities in Japan are aware of all the
facts in the case and we cannot believe that they would countenance such
a close imitation of Russian methods. What is needed is that the facts
should be known. If they are known there are those who will attempt to
have the evils remedied.
Our attitude, and that of most foreigners in Korea, is one of admiration
of Japan’s wonderful ability and of earnest desire for the real welfare
of the people. We want to see Japan’s military and naval record equalled
by a wise and broad-minded solution of the Korean problem, a solution
that will secure to Japan all the legitimate fruits of victory and still
ensure to Koreans immunity from unjust reprisals.
A Visit to Quelpart.
There appeared in the Korean Repository in 1899 an interesting article on
the island of Quelpart by Rev. A. A. Pieters, one of the few foreigners
who have visited that place.
As a rule we hesitate to use our pages for the reproduction of material
once published, but we believe that comparatively few of the readers of
this REVIEW saw that article and the subject is such an interesting one
that we venture to reprint it here.
The island of Quelpart, or as Rev. W. E. Griffis, D.D. in his book on
Korea calls it—the Sicily of Korea, or as Koreans call it, Chai-joo, is
the largest island of the Korean archipelago and is situated south of
the peninsula at a distance of some fifty miles from the mainland. The
shape of the island is elliptical, and straight lines drawn between the
two farthest and two nearest points thro the center would be forty and
seventeen miles long. As you approach the island from the north at a
distance of twenty miles it looks like an isosceles, the two sides rising
at an angle of about seventeen degrees and only near the top turning a
little steeper—something like Namsan as you look at it from the north
gate of Seoul. The island rises gradually all round from the edges toward
the center where the foot of Mount Auckland, or Hal-la-san, is planted.
All over the island are scattered small conical hills, which look very
insignificant before the cloudy peak of Hal-la-san rising to the height
of 6,558 feet. The origin of the island is decidedly volcanic, the
mountain being most probably an extinct volcano. The flow of lava was
toward the north and south-southwest, the streams being, the first, some
twenty miles wide along the coast of the island and the second, some
thirty miles. Thus the lava covered two-fifths of the whole area of the
island. This part of it is very stony and very difficult to cultivate
and gigantic labor must have been spent in trying to clear the fields of
the innumerable stones. Often on a field of one acre there will be four
or five piles of stone eight or ten feet high. Another way of disposing
of these stones was to build walls between the fields, so that from the
top of one of the small hills the land seems to be covered with a large
irregular net. The other three-fifths of the island are almost free from
stones and the soil is black and rich. The mountain slopes gradually
towards the east and the west, but comes down abruptly in deep ravines
towards the south and especially towards the north.
On the top of the mountain there is a small, round lake and at the bottom
of one of the ravines another large lake. The first one is probably the
old crater filled with water from the melting snow. We were told that
ice lies on the top until June, altho the climate on the island is so
warm that cabbage grows all winter in the open air. When we were there,
towards the end of February, the grass in some places was four inches
high and on the southern coast flowers were blooming. In spite of that
a third of the mountain was covered with deep snow which would make all
attempts to climb to the top useless. All the mountains as well as the
hills to the east of it are covered with thick woods of oak. In these
forests deer, wild hogs, hares and other animals abound but there are no
tigers or bears. The hills that have no trees on them, are covered with
the peculiar short Korean grass which makes such fine lawns. This grass
is much prettier in Quelpart than anywhere on the mainland and often one
comes across natural lawns four or five hundred yards square, with not a
weed on them and all covered as with a heavy velvet carpet. The coast of
Quelpart is devoid of harbors or any shelters, rocky, and the numerous
small islands which are scattered so thickly all along the southern and
western coast of Korea are absent here.
This absence of shelter together with the constant strong winds makes
navigation very difficult.
One is surprised at the absence of streams and springs. On making our
trip around the island we came across only two streams, and that after a
whole week of rains. While there are some powerful springs in the city
of Chai-joo, in the other two magistracies there are no springs nor any
wells and the people have to use rain water gathered in artificial ponds.
Where the water from the melting show on the mountain goes is a mystery.
As I above mentioned there are three magistracies on the island: Chai-Joo
on the northern coast, the capital and the seat of the Governor (Mok-sa).
Tai-Chung on the southwest coast and Chung Ui in the east part of the
island. All the three cities are walled. Chai Joo counts some twelve
hundred houses, Tai-chung, four hundred, and Chung Ui three hundred. The
distance from Chai Joo to Tai Chung is ninety _li_, from there to Chung
Ui a hundred and thirty _li_, and from Chung Ui to Chai Joo seventy _li_.
Until the war the island belonged to Chul-lado: soon after the war it
was made independent, and again when Korea was divided into thirteen
provinces, Quelpart was put under the jurisdiction of the Governor
(Quan-chul-sa) of South Chul-la-do. On the whole island there are said
to be about a hundred villages and some hundred thousand people. These
figures are given by the Koreans and of course are probably not quite
true. All the villages lie either along the coast where the people can
raise some rice or at the foot and along the sides of the mountain where
fuel is plentiful and where Irish potatoes grow very well. The space
between the shore and the foot of the mountain is not populated and long
stretches of rich soil lie uncultivated. Only those woods and fields
that are near the towns and larger villages have owners. All the rest
of the island belongs to nobody and anyone may come and cut the trees
or cultivate the ground. An oxload of wood which a man has to bring on
his ox for ten or fifteen miles is sold in the cities for twelve cents.
Of the cereals raised on the island millet takes the first place, and
this is the main article of diet. Rice is a luxury and is eaten only by
well-to-do people in the cities. In the villages the people never use it.
This is on account of the scarceness of rice fields, of which there are
only a few along the coast. The little rice there is mostly brought from
the mainland. Besides millet, rice and Irish potatoes, the people raise
barley, wheat, buckwheat, beans, sweet potatoes, tobacco, vegetables
and a few other less important cereals. Of fruits peaches, oranges
and pomeloes are the only things that grow there. Of animal food the
islanders, like the people of the mainland, eat very little. It consists
of beef, horse and dog meat, pork, game, fish and pearl oysters. Crabs,
common oysters and all the different kinds of clams that are so plentiful
on the southern and western coast of Korea are absent in the Quelpart
waters. Owing to the rocky bottom of the sea very little, if any, net
fishing is done and the fish are mostly caught with hooks. For going out
into the sea to fish, boats are not employed. Instead of them people go
out on small rafts made of some ten short logs with a platform built a
foot above them to which an our is fastened. Instead of the tiny little
frames not more than eight inches long, used by the fisherman on the
mainland for fastening the string, the Quelpart fisherman uses regular
rods made of bamboo some twelve feet long, and lack of fish, clams, etc.,
is supplied by the abundance of pearl oysters and seaweed, which are both
used on the island and exported. The pearl oysters are very large some
measuring ten inches in diameter, and very fleshy. Unlike other oysters,
it has only one shell, which is often used by the Koreans as an ash tray
and from which mother of pearl is obtained. Covered with this shell as
with a roof the oyster lives fastened to a rock. Its meat is considered a
luxurious dish and one oyster costs as much as six cents on the island.
Pearls are but very seldom found in the oysters. For export the oysters
are torn out of the shell; the intestine bag cut off, the meat cleaned,
dried and strung on thin sticks. Altho white when fresh the color changes
to a dark red, like that of a dried apricot. They can be seen displayed
in the native grocery shops in Seoul, flat reddish disks about four
inches in diameter fastened by tens with a thin stick stuck thro them.
Of the seaweeds there are several different kinds: some of them are
used as fertilizers, some are used for food and some are sold to the
Japanese for making carbonate of soda. The first kind is gathered on the
seashore, but the other two have to be obtained from the bottom of the
sea. It is strange to say that the diving for these weeds as well as
for the pearl oysters is entirely done by women. Dressed in a kind of
bathing suit with a sickle in one hand and a gourd with bag tied to it
in front of them, they swim out from the shore as far as half a mile:
boats cannot be afforded and they dive, probably a depth of forty or
fifty feet, to the bottom, cut the weeds with the sickle, or if they
find a pearl oyster, tear it off from the stone, and then put it into
the bag which is kept floating by the gourd. They do not go back before
the bag is filled, which often takes more than half an hour. Altho they
are magnificent swimmers, one cannot help admiring their endurance, when
he thinks that this work is begun in February. Of late Japanese supplied
with diving apparatus, have been coming to Quelpart and catching all
the pearl oysters, so that the poor women have to be satisfied with the
weeds only. The magistrates told us that these Japanese never asked for
permission nor paid anything for catching the pearl oysters. If it is so,
the imposition upon the weak Koreans is surprising.
The Quelpart women not only dive for weeds and oysters but do the largest
part of all work. Even ox loads of grain are brought to the city market
for sale by women. The carrying of the water is done entirely by the
women, who have often to go a long distance to fetch it. For carrying
the water they use broad low pitchers set in a basket, which is fastened
with strings around the shoulders and carried on the back. I never saw
this done anywhere else in Korea as it is considered very disgraceful
for a woman to carry anything on her back. I was told by the Koreans
whom we had with us, that if on the mainland a man made his wife to do
so he would be driven out of the village. Native hats, hair bands and
skull-caps, which are extensively manufactured on the island are also
mostly made by women. In fact the women of Quelpart might be called the
Amazonians of Korea. They not only do all the work but greatly exceed
the men in number, and on the streets one meets three women to one man.
This is because so many men are away sailing. The women are more robust
and much better looking than their sisters on the mainland. As almost
everything is done by the women, there remains nothing else for the men
to do but to loaf, and to do them credit they do it well. Except for
a shop here and there in which a man is presiding with a long pipe in
his mouth, it is very difficult to find a man doing anything. For this,
however, they are not any better off, as all the islanders seem to be
strikingly poor. Not only the food, but the clothes and houses are much
worse than on the mainland. Dog skins are extensively used for making
clothes. Hats, the shape of a tea-cup, overcoats, leggings, like those
worn by the Chinese, and stockings are all made of dog skin with the
hair outside, which for greater warmth are used untanned. A suit of such
clothes is handed down from generation to generation, and the smell
of it is far from being sweet. The women’s clothes as well the men’s
trousers and shirts are made of native or Manchester sheeting. To make
the sheeting stronger they dip it into the juice pressed out of some kind
of a wild persimmon. This makes it a dirty brown color, which saves the
trouble of washing it. The cloth is thus worn until it falls to pieces.
Besides skin hats the men also use felt hats of the same shape as those
worn by the Seoul chair coolies, only much larger, the brims measuring
more than two feet in diameter. The one exception in respect of clothes
is made by the people in the magistracies who wear the same white clothes
and black hats as the people on the mainland.
The houses consist of one six foot room and an open kitchen. The walls,
ceiling and floor of the room are bare, and the floor has no flues for
heating it. Instead of this a large hole is dug in the floor of the
kitchen and in the cold weather a fire is kept there day and night.
Around this fire they eat, work, and sleep. This again is different in
the cities where the houses are much the same as on the mainland. All the
houses with a few exceptions are thatched. On account of the strong winds
the thatch is fastened by a net of straw ropes two inches thick and eight
inches apart.
The needs of the people for things outside of their own products seem to
be so small that a few shops supply them all. In the capital, Chai-Joo,
there are some eight small shops; in Tai-Chung one; and in Chung-Ui
perhaps one. These are probably the only shops on the whole island and
from them the people obtain the few needed foreign articles, such as
shirting, dyes, thread, needles, nails, etc. The periodical markets which
are held on the mainland and in all the towns and many villages every
five days, are altogether absent, and on the whole trading seems to be
yet in its infancy. The things exported from Quelpart are pearl oyster,
seaweed, native medicine, cosmetic oil, horse and cow hides, horses
and cattle. The cosmetic oil is pressed from the seeds of the fruit of
the _Ditnea Strawmium_ or, as the Koreans call it, _Tang Paik_. This
tree grows abundantly all over the southern part of the island. It is
evergreen and blooms in February with beautiful crimson flowers. On the
mainland this tree is very rare.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
The Magic Ox-Cure.
A wealthy country gentleman, whom we will call Mr. Cho, tiring of the
_otium cum dignitate_ of provincial life and wishing to throw himself
into the vortex of official activity, came up to Seoul and became
the ante-room loafer and flatterer in general to one of the highest
dignitaries in the land. Morning and evening he inquired assiduously
after his patron’s health and backed up his words with frequent and
costly gifts. Of course this began to tell upon his finances and after
ten years of perseverance he received word from his family in the country
that he was bankrupt and that as his household were about to die of
starvation they must write and let him know.
This disclosure aroused Mr. Cho to violent anger against the official who
had so long accepted his gifts with complacency but had never suggested
any equivalent in the shape of a government position. He hurried to the
official’s house and explained that as his property was all gone be must
return to his shattered home and his starving family.
“Very well,” replied the official. “Of course you will consult your own
convenience.” This made Cho’s anger burn seven times hot. He stalked from
the room and posted to his country place vowing that he would find some
way to bring the unfeeling official to terms.
Arrived at his ancestral village he found that his family had given up
the spacious mansion he had formerly owned and were living, or rather
dying, in a wretched straw-thatched hovel. It was necessary to raise some
money, and so he started out for a distant town where his fourth cousin
lived, in order to negotiate a small loan.
As he was on his way he was overtaken by a severe storm. He looked all
about but could see no shelter anywhere. He struggled on, looking to
right and left through the pouring rain, and at last sighted a little
cottage among the trees. At the door he called out to the good-man of
the house but there was no reply. The house was not deserted, for he saw
a thin line of smoke issuing from the chimney. He shouted aloud and at
last an old woman appeared at the door and questioned who it was that
thus rudely demanded entrance, though uninvited. When the bedraggled Cho
explained the situation the woman relented and let him in. There was but
one stone-floored room but this she gave up to him with good grace and
went about preparing him a nice supper, after which he lay down and fell
asleep.
How long he had slept he could not tell, when he awoke with a start to
the sound of a man’s voice who was asking of the woman gruffly:
“What time is it, anyway? I must get off to market early with that ox”;
whereupon the couple entered Cho’s room, the man carrying four sticks
and the wife a halter. The farmer dragged the bedclothes off the guest,
bestrode his chest and began to belabor him with the sticks, while the
woman fastened the halter around his neck. He was then dragged out of the
room, but to his horror he found himself going on four legs and when he
tried to speak he could only low like an ox. When one of his horns caught
against the door-post he learned that he had indeed been transformed into
a four-footed beast and was being taken to market. To say that he was
experiencing a new sensation would be to put it very mildly indeed.
At the market town he was herded with a drove of cattle, among which
he was the largest and fattest, and consequently there were many eager
buyers; but the farmer asked such a high price that none of them could
buy. At last a burly butcher came to terms with the farmer and poor Mr.
Cho found that he was being led away to slaughter.
But as fate would have it, the butcher was of a bibulous temperament
and when they came to a wine shop the ox was tied to a stake while the
butcher indulged in the flowing bowl. And so copiously did the latter
drink that he forgot all about the animal. Mr. Cho stood waiting for
hours but his master did not appear. Just over the hedge to the right
was a field of succulent turnips. To the bovine nostrils of Mr. Cho this
proved as tempting as the wine had proved to the butcher.
Mr. Cho had a ring through his nose which was very awkward but at last
he managed to get loose from the stake and, crowding through the hedge,
he pulled a turnip and began to munch it. After the first bite a curious
sensation overtook him and he began to have an over-mastering desire to
stand on his hind legs only. A thrill went through him from tail to horns
and in another instant he found himself an ox no longer but the same
old two-legged Cho as of old. This was eminently satisfactory and the
satisfaction was doubled when, coming through the hedge into the road,
a befuddled butcher asked him if he had seen a loose ox anywhere. He
assured the purveyor of beef that he had not, and walked away toward home
pondering upon this rather unusual occurrence.
Suddenly he stood stock still in the road, uttered an exclamation of
triumph, slapped his thigh and hurried forward with his mind evidently
made up.
“Sticks and turnips! Sticks and turnips!” he repeated over and over again
as if it were a magic formula. He kept straight on till night overtook
him near the very house which had witnessed his metamorphosis. He called
out again as before and was similarly received, but instead of sleeping,
he arose in the night and sneaked about the premises until he found and
secured the four sticks with which the work had been done. He followed
this larceny with a silent and speedy departure, not toward his home but
toward Seoul, still muttering in his beard,
“Sticks and turnips! Sticks and turnips!”
Of course he knew the ins and outs of the official’s house which he had
haunted for ten long fruitless years, and as it was summer time and
very hot all the windows were open. So he had no difficulty in marking
down his prey. He found him sleeping profoundly. Cho knelt beside the
recumbent form and taking only two of the sticks began tapping very
gently upon the sleeper, but not hard enough to awaken him. By the dim
light of the moon he soon saw two horns grow out of the sleeper’s head
and his two hands gradually turn into hoofs. This was enough. He arrested
the operation at this point and silently departed.
When morning came there were hurryings to and fro and whispered
consultations in that high official’s house. A celebrated physician came
hurrying up in his two man chair and disappeared within the house. On a
distant hill a devil shrine awoke to life at the howlings and twistings
of a _mudang_ who was begging the imps in frenzied terms to lift their
heavy hands from the person of a high official.
But there was no relief. The great man sat there dumb as a brute with two
great horns protruding from his forehead and his two hands turned into
horny hoofs.
At this juncture Mr. Cho appeared upon the scene, announcing that he had
just come from the country, and when told of the terrible affliction of
his former patron expressed the utmost concern. Admitted to the chamber
of the official he inquired what had been done for him. He learned that
physicians had exhausted their skill and that, at the instance of the
lady of the house, _mudangs_ had done their best but all to no avail.
Mr. Cho assumed a mysterious air and asserted that there was one remedy
that had been left untried and that he was sure it would prove effective.
He promised to secure some of it and hurried away. Purchasing a turnip at
the corner grocery he cut it up fine, macerated it and dried it into a
powder. Late in the afternoon he returned to the official’s house and in
the presence of the family administered the potent drug. An instant later
the two horns were seen to recede slowly into the cranium of the patient
and the hoofs to change their form, and at last all evidence of the
bestial metamorphosis was wiped out. The official’s voice came back and
he joined with the rest of the family in heaping thanks upon Mr. Cho.
But if anyone supposes that his reward ended with mere thanks he will
make a grievous mistake. Honors poured in upon him, _peysil_ unlimited
and _kwansey_ without alloy.
YI CHONG-WON.
The Seoul-Fusan Railway.
The completion of this important line of communication is an event
of international importance, for it marks a definite period in the
construction of a through line that will connect Fusan with the whole
of Europe. The trip from Tokyo to London will then require but a few
hours of sea travel. The Korean Straits and the Straits of Dover are the
Eastern and Western sea barriers which separate the two Island Empires
from the great continent. To think that only a few miles of track require
to be laid before this stupendous piece of work is completed is almost
enough to take one’s breath away. A few years ago it was laughed at as
being the dream of a fanatic. Today it is an accomplished fact. The
dreams of yesterday are the realities of today.
The formal opening of this branch of the through line called for
appropriate ceremonies. No other one thing has done so much to strengthen
Japan’s hold upon the peninsula, and the way Japan has poured money into
Korea to complete it shows how confident she was of ultimate victory in
this present conflict. Of all known things capital is the most timid, and
the unreservedness with which money was handed out for this purpose is a
measure of Japan’s confidence in herself.
For weeks before the opening ceremonies took place the broad space
acquired by the railway for terminal facilities outside the South Gate of
Seoul was being prepared for the occasion. Enormous arches of evergreen
were erected, a score of temporary buildings of various kinds were put
up. The steep hill to the east was laid out with care and many forms of
curious and beautiful ornamentation were devised to please and interest
the guests of the occasion.
In honour of this occasion Prince Fushimi came from Japan to act as
chairman of the opening ceremony. He is the son of Prince Fushimi who has
lately been travelling in America. In preparation for his coming, the
city went through a species of Spring house-cleaning and all the main
thoroughfares were covered with a thick coating of fresh red sand.
On the momentous day a large company gathered about nine o’clock in the
morning. Special trains had been run from Fusan and Chemulpo and besides
the great number of Japanese and Korean officials there were upwards of
fifty Europeans and Americans present. Gathered under a spacious awning
the company had not long to wait before the exercises began. On the
platform, Prince Fushimi for Japan and Prince Eui Yang for Korea occupied
the places of honor. Various addresses were made in Japanese and in
Korean and the Prince declared the railway open. Hon. H. N. Allen made an
appropriate speech in English. It was partly reminiscent in character and
carried his hearers back to the time when even between Seoul and Chemulpo
there was nothing more than a bridle-path.
After the formal exercises were over the audience were treated to
excellent samples of Japanese histrionic art. Poems were acted in
character and though the words were lost upon some of the audience the
acting was fully appreciated.
About eleven o’clock an elaborate banquet was served in a long pavilion
where one thousand guests were seated. After this was concluded and the
toasts had been drunk the guests wandered about the extensive grounds
and listened to the excellent music discoursed by the Imperial Korean
Band, or examined the curious objects of interest which had been prepared
by the hosts. In one part of the grounds a company of jugglers drew the
attention of many of the guests and in another part trained Japanese
wrestlers were exhibiting their skill.
Late in the afternoon the guests dispersed, but only to return in the
evening and witness the fine display of fire-works, which closed with
several set pieces of great beauty.
Among the guests of the company was Mr. E. W. Frazar of Yokohama, the
head of Frazar and Co. who furnished the line with a large part of the
rails and the rolling stock. He is the son of Everett Frazar who was for
so many years the Consul-general for Korea in New York. He expressed
himself with great satisfaction over the fact that the Japanese had
adopted the American system throughout, in their Korean railways,
contrasting it with the heterogeneous system found in Japan itself.
The guests from Fusan were enthusiastic over the new 120 ton Baldwin
engines that are being put on the road and over the fact that soon
we shall see a nine-hour schedule between Fusan and Seoul. This will
be an average of thirty miles an hour including stops. The road bed,
the bridges, the culverts and tunnels are all of the most substantial
character and do great credit to the constructors.
It is asserted that the traffic on this road is already quite
considerable and that the Koreans are taking advantage of it very freely.
The influence of such an artery of traffic and travel cannot but be
immense. It will almost surely cause great changes in former methods, and
during the period of readjustment it may be that more or less hardship
may be caused. But this is incident to all great improvements and the
ultimate results must be highly beneficial to all such Koreans as have
energy and ability to take advantage of the opportunity.
When we think of the enormous appreciation of land values all along the
line we feel as if Koreans ought to inaugurate a campaign of education,
to make their countrymen aware of this enhancement of value and to urge
them to make the most of it rather than sell to the first bidder who
offers them a ten per cent rise upon the original value of the land. If
a bag of rice formerly cost nearly its full original value to get it to
market, while now it will cost only a few cents to do so, it is plain
that farm land has nearly if not quite doubled in value. But there are
other factors at work as well, which enhance the value of land, and
unless the Korean is apprised of this he is likely to sell for much less
than his land is worth.
Whatever sentimental notions one may have about the Koreans it is quite
certain that the Japanese have come here to stay and they come with
money, ready to buy liberally. One of the most important problems in
sight, therefore, is that of the future of those Koreans who elect to
sell their fields. They are not accustomed to handle large sums of money
and it looks as if there would be considerable danger of their suffering
loss. Koreans should be exhorted to hold on to their property at least
until they have clearly decided what to do next.
The Koreans will have to learn by hard experience just as the Japanese
themselves did between 1868 and 1880. The stories that are told of old
worn-out steam-ships sold to the Japanese at high figures in those days
would fill a small volume. The Korean must also learn by his failures. We
believe that in this school he will develop a fair degree of ability to
take care of himself. It will take time and there will be many unpleasant
experiences in the process, but it is certain that he is now “up against”
a genuine business proposition and unless he can bring to bear upon the
situation a keenness and an energy proportionate to that of the Japanese
he will go to the wall.
All we ask is that the Korean be given a fair chance. If he is given an
opportunity to obtain redress in case he is treated in an illegal manner
the rest may safely be left to his native genius. But what he surely
should receive from the Japanese is a “square deal.” If this is denied
him of course he will have nothing left but to succumb or rebel.
In spite of many cases of injustice which have been reported we still
believe that as soon as the war is over Japan will put forth strenuous
and successful efforts to govern the unruly element among her nationals
in Korea. She may proclaim a protectorate over the country and
temporarily impair its independence. This will be contrary to her express
promises but there will be no one to make a successful protest and it
may be that in time events will so shape themselves that Korea may again
be given an autonomous position. Meanwhile there are important lessons
of industry and thrift for the Korean to learn and upon his success in
learning them will depend in large part the recovery of his political
autonomy.
Editorial Comment.
The great event of the month has been the crowning victory of the
Japanese over the Russian fleet. The details of the fight are now at hand
and enough is known to demonstrate that the Russian fleet was a mere
man of straw, to be blown over by the first wind. When we think of the
tons of printers ink that have been expended upon a minute description
of every movement of this doomed armada from the time it left the Baltic
Sea until it was swept away like a mere cob-web by the Japanese navy
there seems to be a grim humor about the whole thing. It was a tragic
comedy! The thought of the doomed men who went down in this forlorn hope
is inexpressibly sad. They were trying to do their duty as they saw it;
but when we look at this event as a war measure and see how totally the
Russians misconceived of the prowess and the skill of the Japanese we can
only say that Russia is lacking in the first essential of war—a knowledge
of the forces that she must contend against.
The Japanese command of the sea is now assured so far as Russia is
concerned and this will put an end to all speculation as to whether Japan
will be permitted to carry out her plans in Korea unmolested. This is
a severe disappointment to many Koreans but it may prove best for the
peninsula after all. After the strain and stress of war has been removed
and the Japanese authorities have time to examine the Korean question
in all its bearings, it is reasonable to hope that they will see fit to
arrange for the proper jurisdiction of their people in this country. In
spite of the views of some extremists we believe that affairs may be
so arranged here that the latter state of Korea and of Koreans will be
better than the former one.
We see from the _Times_ of London that Dr. Morrison’s recent brief
visit to Korea led him to make such optimistic statements, that that
influential periodical judges Japan’s work in Korea to be superior to
the work of England in Egypt. But we would like to inquire what Japan
has done for the common people of Korea that is any way comparable with
England’s work for the Fellahin of Egypt. We would not for a moment
disparage the splendid work that Japan has done along the line of railway
construction and of general trade in Korea but when anyone reports
the condition of affairs here in such terms that England’s peaceful
achievement’s in Egypt and India seem to be thrown into the shade, then
we are compelled to interpose a decided negative. Are the people of Egypt
governed better than before the English occupation? Incomparably better.
But the Koreans are governed no better than before, if as well. The great
public works put through solely for the benefit of the people of Egypt
have absolutely no counterpart whatever in this country. The railway was
a war measure which will benefit the people of Korea, but such help was a
secondary consideration entirely.
One good result of this great victory is that the state of harrowing
uncertainty in which the more conservative officials of Korea were
plunged has been cleared up. They know now definitely who their masters
are to be and they can prepare as best they may to accept the inevitable
with good grace.
There are so many rumors circulating that one can hardly put confidence
in the statement of any proposed reform in Korea until after the actual
event, but we hope that there is more than the ordinary amount of truth
in the report that Japanese police are to be stationed in each of the
prefectures of Korea. If this means a court of appeal to which Koreans
can bring cases of ill treatment with some hope of redress, a very
important step in advance will have been taken. Whatever happens to the
official ranks of Korea, we protest that the common people should be left
unmolested and that their personal liberty and their property rights
should not only not be impaired but, under the influence of the more
enlightened power of Japan, they should be more carefully preserved than
they ever have been under purely native control. American sympathy for
Japan is based upon the belief that Japan stands for the “square deal,”
and Americans believe the justice of Japan’s contention in this present
war is based upon Russia’s departure from this principle. Whatever
America’s good will may or may not mean to Japan, it will be lost if in
the flush of victory the latter should take undue advantage of their
power to despoil the Korean people of their territory either by seizure
or by forced sale. Such acts have been going on all about us, but it
is the hope of Japan’s well-wishers that the Japanese authorities will
repudiate such actions and put themselves on record as being unalterably
determined to give the common people of this country a “square deal.”
* * * * *
The appearance on June 3rd of the first number of the weekly _Seoul
Press_ is a matter on which foreign residents in Seoul and every other
portion of Korea should be congratulated. It is published by the firm
known as the Seoul Press of which Mr. J. W. Hodge is the manager. No
intimation is given in the first number as to the personnel of the
management of this weekly but we are pleased to learn from the editorial
column that “Our little paper will be run on a strictly honest and
independent basis, and will be the tool of no particular party, but
maintain itself on sound journalistic lines and principles.” The editor
invites all who are of a literary turn of mind to make use of his
columns and to endeavor to make the paper a success. We trust that our
new contemporary will not be disappointed in his plan and that he will
have the hearty support of the reading, the writing and the advertising
portions of our foreign community.
We feel sure that this publication will meet a very decided need in our
community and the fact that it is not a party organ nor committed to any
faction makes it doubly valuable. We shall expect to see facts published,
whoever may be pleased or displeased thereby. Almost all the news that
foreign papers in Japan get about Korea is taken from the reports in
native papers, from Japanese reporters in Korea. They thus get but one
side of the story. The world wants to know what is being _done_ in
Korea not mere statements of plans and theories. Every effort which the
Japanese authorities or private citizens put forth for the benefit of the
Korean people should be clearly and fully stated and full acknowledgement
should be made, and if there are evils which need to be remedied they
should be, in a kindly way, brought to the notice of the public so that
an intelligent opinion can be formed as to the exact situation here.
Public opinion is a mighty agency either for good or ill, but the only
way it can be legitimately used is by feeding it upon cold, hard facts.
That is what makes the difference between public opinion in England, and
in Russia. So we hope that this new periodical will hunt assiduously for
facts, and give them to us. We would rather have one column of facts
about Korea than ten columns of clippings from abroad. For this reason we
are pleased to see that the management of the _Seoul Press_ intends to
increase gradually its staff of reporters and correspondents throughout
the peninsula.
We wish this journalistic venture all success. The past ten years of
Korean history are strewn with wrecks of similar ventures but we trust
the time has now come when something permanent can be undertaken; and
when in about 1970 the citizens of Seoul look over the back files of the
_Seoul Press_, which will then be in its sixty-fifth year, they will say
with pride “This is the first genuine foreign newspaper in Korea.”
News Calendar.
The Home Department has written to all the provinces to the effect
that many of the laws are being disobeyed and people without means
of livelihood are wandering about the country accompanying powerful
Koreans or foreigners and tempting young people to sell or pawn their
rice fields or other property, generally in secret and then spend the
proceeds in riotous living. These debts have finally been collected of
parents or brothers by force, and these innocent parties complain that
their property is taken from them without cause. It is a shameful state
of affairs, and hereafter a father will not be compelled to pay the debts
of his son, and the son cannot sell the fields of his father. Any one
charged with this offence in future will be severely punished and the
governors are asked to notify all the magistrates.
Early in the month it was reported that the Russian soldiers in northern
Korea had exhausted all their funds and were demanding both money and
rice from every village.
The Il Chin Hoi in Chin Ju district expelled eighteen members and brought
six of them into court for punishment for illegal acts.
The following terms have been agreed upon between Korea and Japan for the
regulation of marine traffic between the two countries;
1. According to treaty Korean and Japanese vessels can sail along the
coast and on the rivers of both countries for commercial purposes.
2. To secure proper permit the owner or master of a vessel after applying
to the government authorities through his consul at any commercial port,
must apply to the customs authorities for a navigation permit. This
permit is good for one year only, and must contain the following:
a. Name and address of ship’s owner.
b. Kind of ship and number of tons.
3. The following rates must be paid either to secure the permit or to
have it renewed:
a. Twenty yen for each steamship or sail boat less than 100 tons.
b. Fifty yen for each steamer more than 100 tons and less than 500.
c. One Hundred yen for each steamship more than 500 and less than 1,000
tons.
d. Five hundred yen for each steamship of more than 1,000 tons.
4. With this permit a ship may sail along any coast or on any river, but
cannot sail through a closed harbor for any foreign part.
5. The permit must be exhibited on demand of any Customs officer or
magistrate.
6. After government consent has been granted only one storage house may
be erected at any given port, the maximum area to be not more than two
hundred square meters. This land must be cured by application to the
magistrate, and on expiration of the contract may be returned at original
price.
7. If the owner or master of vessel acts contrary to this agreement his
permit may be suspended by the Customs authorities, and if a serious
wrong is committed the permit may be cancelled.
8. Any ship sailing along the coasts or on the rivers of either country
without the above-mentioned permit will be examined by the consul and a
fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred yen shall be
imposed.
9. If sailors on these ships act contrary to these articles and the
commercial treaties or disturb the peace the matter must be investigated
and adjudicated according to treaty.
10. This agreement shall be in force for five years.
It is reported that a new issue of 3-cent postage stamps for use in Korea
have been ordered from the Printing Bureau by the Japanese government.
In northern Choong Chung province the Righteous Army is said to be
increasing daily.
While here several members of the Japanese House of Commons visited the
Justice Court and city jail.
Yi Yang Pak, of Euiju, has been executed, having been charged with
injuring the military telegraph lines.
The Yang Chung prefect says the Japanese railway authorities have
demanded of him five hundred men to work thirty days each on the railway
line. He finds it difficult to get fifty men for ten days, during this
season of the year, and thinks the people should not be robbed of their
time for plowing and weeding their fields.
At the ceremony of opening the Keo-Fu Railway there were present from the
Japanese House of Peers, Count Ohgimachi, Count Matenakoji, Viscounts
Juonye, Tsutsumi, Akabe, Torii, Joiye, Matsdaira, Makino and others to
the number of twenty-eight, and from the House of Commons there were
Messrs. Yebarar, Sugita, Morimato, Hoselba, Ogino, Asano, Honai, Ando,
Fuknoka, Takenchi, Iwamato, Tsunada, Nagai, Ishida, Terada, Kimura,
Haseawa, Matsumoto and others to the number of one hundred and seventy
five, besides bankers, editors, shareholders, contractors and railway
managers. This distinguished company very strongly impressed the Korean
officials and the foreigners of various nationalities in Korea with the
substantial character behind Japanese commercial enterprises in Korea.
The governor of South Choong Chung asks the Home Department what
disposition to make of the request of the Japanese army that he shall
report concerning all the horses in the province.
Mr. Cho Min Huy, Korean Minister to Japan, has been notified by the
Foreign Office to return to Seoul. A reply has been received that Mr. Cho
is seriously ill, but will return after his recovery.
The governor of North Pyeng An province reports to the Foreign Office
that the prefect of Kang Kai has received a demand from the Japanese
army for two thousand oxen, to be delivered on the border of China, five
hundred miles distant. He bitterly complains because of the difficulty
in securing the oxen and the hardship imposed on the people during the
cultivation season.
All the French Legation Guards have departed from Seoul with the
exception of four who remain to look after the Russian Legation property.
In Juksau district about one hundred evil characters have gathered under
the name Righteous Army and have been squeezing money and rice. The
magistrate reported that his efforts to arrest them had failed because
each had a gun and ammunition.
The government has asked that the following be inserted in the agreement
between the Japanese and Korean Communication Departments:
1. All officers appointed must be Koreans.
2. Salaries of officers must be paid by Korean Finance Department.
3. Korean postage stamps must be used.
4. The duration of this agreement must be settled.
On the first of May the contract for communication service between Korea
and Japan was published in the Official Gazette.
From his country residence Mr. Min Yeng Kui, Minister of the Finance
Department, sent in his resignation, but it was not accepted.
The Minister of Finance has been requested to allow the free and
uninterrupted circulation of Japanese bank notes, without regard to the
condition of the Korean market.
One night recently many valuable jewels and several thousand yen were
taken from the home of one of the leading Ministers in the Korean
government. Thorough investigation revealed a trusted servant as the
guilty party. The goods were returned, and after a lecture in which
he was reminded that according to the law of the land he should be
imprisoned, the man was given a handsome present and dismissed from
service.
The Home Department has asked the War Department to despatch soldiers to
Choong Chung province to hasten the dispersal of robber bands.
Ten thousand boxes of gunpowder for the use of the British mines are just
now being imported into Korea.
Syn Tai-hu, Chief of Police, has sent identical notes to the police in
the five wards of Seoul to the effect that young boys found smoking
cigarettes must be whipped, and fathers neglecting to get the boys in
school must be punished.
The German Minister has requested the government to remove the granite
blocks from the compound of the new German Legation being erected outside
the West Gate of Seoul, and he also asks that the stones be used in the
repair of the city wall in that vicinity.
The Vice Minister of the Supreme Court asked for a modification of the
Communication agreement so that all officials and postage stamps be put
under the control of the Korean government, but the proposition has been
refused by the Japanese.
On the twenty-second instant nearly three hundred members of the Young
Men’s Christian Association went to the Synheung Temple for a picnic. In
addition to a splendid luncheon, cooked in foreign style, debates and
several unique races were features of the day’s outing.
The Vice Minister of the War Department, Mr. Om Chu-ik, has resigned and
his resignation has been accepted.
More than one hundred post office clerks are said to have been ordered
from Japan to Korea to assist in the new postal work undertaken by the
Japanese.
The regulations requiring examinations in order to secure appointment
to any of the Departments, include the Chinese language (reading and
composition) international history and international law. Only thirty may
pass the examination at one time and the first thirty have already been
passed and have received their appointments.
The Korean Minister in Washington telegraphs the Foreign Department that
Korean immigrants in Hawaii desire a Consul of their own nationality
instead of a Japanese subject.
When the Japanese officials took possession of the postoffices on the
seventeenth instant the Korean clerks and officials were assigned certain
duties, which they refused to perform. Resignations were sent in and the
Koreans went to their homes, and for several days refused to attend the
offices. A few were arrested by the Japanese.
Nearly all the officials of the Communication Department presented their
resignations a number of times but the resignations were not accepted.
In addition to the previous regulations issued by the Japanese
commander-in-chief, the Foreign Office has been notified of the following:
1. When the Korean government appoints a magistrate the office of the
commander-in-chief must first be notified.
2. Without the consent of the commander-in-chief the magistrate will not
be permitted to go to his post of duty.
3. No mines can be worked or forests be cut down without permission of
the commander-in-chief.
Complaint is made that coal stored in Pyeng Yang has been secretly sold
without an account being rendered. Request for payment has been made and
a demand to discontinue secret selling.
The magistrate of Chin Chun district reports that more than seventy
members of a so called Righteous Army entered his district from
Chook-san, with their leader Pak Chai-man. They had robbed the people of
rice, money and guns, and departed in the direction of Chung an district.
Mr. Chung Choo-yeng has been appointed governor of North Kyeng Sang
province.
The Law Department has ordered all judges to post bulletins of the trials
of those sentenced to be hung, so that the public may know the charges,
evidence, and law under which the criminal has been condemned to death.
The Wonsan Kamni cannot see how ten policemen can satisfactorily perform
the labors it formerly took forty policemen to perform. He wishes to know
why thirty of his policemen have been dismissed, and he further greatly
desires to have their places filled at once.
The Agricultural Department has been requested to grant the use of the
silk worm compound to the Japanese commander-in-chief.
Graduating exercises of the Japanese language school in Chemulpo were
held on the twentieth inst. The Minister, Inspector and other officers of
the Korean Educational Department were in attendance. The five graduates
have been appointed assistant teachers.
The Foreign Office has been notified that the salaries of Japanese police
inspectors in the five wards of Seoul must be paid at once.
On the eighteenth inst. a Japanese notice was posted on the bulletin
boards of the Korean Communication Department that from that day the
Japanese would:
1. Take charge of the Korean ordinary postal service.
2. Take charge of the Korean telegraph and telephone service.
By a special Edict Prince Eui Yang-koon represented His Majesty, the
Emperor of Korea, at the formal ceremony of opening the Seoul-Fusan
railway.
The Japanese Prince received from the Emperor of Korea the decoration
Keum Chuk Tai-soo and the attachés received the Pal Kwa and Tai Keu
decorations from His Majesty.
It is proposed to place Korean assistants under the Advisers of the
various Departments in the Korean government, with salaries paid by the
Finance Department.
The director of all the foreign language schools, Mr. Yi Chong-tai, has
communicated with each school to the effect that education is for the
mind, the soul and the body. Of late some students have taken a dislike
to bodily exercise. The teachers are instructed to require students to
take exercise regularly, and all who refuse to obey the order must be
dropped from the rolls.
Prince Yi Chai-wan has asked permission of the Household Department to
erect a paper mill in Yang Kun district, and it has been granted. When
told of this His Majesty ordered the Household Department to collect the
old and useless paper from all the Departments now and in the future and
send it to the paper company without charge.
On the 13th inst. public exercises of all the primary schools were held
and some suitable rewards were distributed by the Educational Department
to those excelling in their studies.
Trains are running daily over the military road between Seoul and Pyeng
Yang, and the mails are carried regularly. Passenger coaches are not
used, and at present no passenger business is desired; but an occasional
pass is issued so that one may make the journey on an open flat car,
usually loaded with railroad or army equipment. The trip would doubtless
be rather taxing on ladies, and the authorities are at present chary in
granting them permits.
The governor of North Choong Chung asks the Home Department to see that
all magistrates residing in Seoul be sent to the country at once, because
robbers are numerous and the people cannot peacefully attend to their
crops.
The Foreign Department has announced that it will be impossible to send a
special representative to Belgium to the forthcoming congress.
Six inspectors have been appointed by the Law Department.
The Home Department has provided for the stationing of police as follows:
ten each for Mokpo, Sam-wha, Masanpo, Gensan, Sung-chin, and Yongampo;
eight each for Pyeng Yang and Euiju; and four for Kyeng Heung. The annual
expense will be twenty-three thousand four hundred and eighty-six dollars.
A band of more than thirty robbers have been carrying on their work by
daylight in the Poo Pyung district, and several wealthy Koreans have fled
to Seoul to escape trouble from them.
The Il Chin Hoi have organized a company for the ostensible purpose of
cultivating waste lands, and the Agricultural Department has been asked
to allow it.
Since the second instant only Japanese steamers in special instances have
been permitted to go north of Wonsan, by order of the commanding general.
Five magistrates dismissed for squeezing money from the people have
voluntarily appeared before the Justice Court.
Sixteen thousand one hundred twenty-three dollars ninety cents and two
cash is the amount paid for work on the railroad in Pyeng San district,
Whang Hai province, as reported to the Home Department by the Finance
Department.
Yi To Chai, Minister of the Home Department, sent in his resignation four
different times, and then it was not accepted.
Mr. Hayashi, Japanese Minister to Korea, has returned to Seoul, as has
also the Japanese Adviser to the Korean Police Department.
Much of the material for the new water works system has arrived, but
government delays have thus far prevented actual work of construction.
The Korean Consul, Mr. Ma Kyeng, has been appointed acting Minister of
the Korean Legation in London.
The Constitutional Society, with Yun Hyo-chung at its head has received
from the Japanese authorities a permit to hold meetings.
The acting Foreign Minister, Yun Chi Ho, has received a request from the
Chinese Minister for the release of a Chinese merchant recently arrested
at Haiju.
A telegram from the Korean Legation in London announces to the Foreign
Department the death of the Acting Minister, Mr. Yi Hon-eung. A
telegram from the Foreign Department to the Legation in Paris orders
the Secretary, Mr. Kim-Myeng-soo, to take charge of Korea’s diplomatic
affairs in London.
Very numerous complaints have reached the Foreign Office on account
of large quantities of nickels having been refused when offered for
exchange. All magistrates in the thirteen provinces had been warned not
to receive nickels not coined by the government; but of late counterfeit
coins have become so numerous that innocent people suffer greatly and
cannot protect themselves. The government out of pity for the innocent
have decided to accept coins whose quality and form compare favorably
with government coins, even though they may be counterfeit.
No celebration in Korea in modern times has equaled that in Seoul on the
25th inst. at the formal opening of the Kei-Fu, or Seoul-Fusan Railway.
Many oxen have been demanded in the north for the purpose of transporting
rice and other commodities to the Japanese army in Manchuria.
Books are now being printed for the use of those Koreans who desire to
study Japanese without a teacher. Sample volumes have been presented to
His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and others in the Royal Household.
The Foreign Department has been notified by the Japanese Minister that
according to the announcement of the Japanese Chief of the Communication
Department since he has assumed control of Korean Communications he will
collect all rates from telegraph, telephone and post offices, and the
official salaries will be paid by the Japanese government.
A contract has been signed with a Japanese fishing company defining
the limits of waters between Japan and Korea where whale fishery may
be carried on in three different districts. The yearly rates have been
increased from four hundred and fifty to nine hundred yen.
From the Korean Legation in Paris a despatch has come stating that
the secretary, Min Sang Hyun, is starting at once for Korea as he has
received notice of the sudden illness of his father. As immediate
departure is necessary there is not time to secure leave of absence. The
government is asked to pay the return expenses.
The magistrate of Hong Wan district has been changed, but as the former
magistrate was entirely satisfactory to the Japanese army representations
have been made that a change is not desirable.
The railway company has been asked to remove posts placed around the hill
near the South Temple.
Agreements with four French engineers have been cancelled and the Foreign
Office has sent to the French Legation eleven thousand seven hundred
and seventy-three yen and thirty cents for salaries, house rents and
traveling expenses.
It is asked that the material which arrives at Fusan to be used in iron
bridges be admitted duty free.
The willow trees in An Pyen district are asked for by the Japanese
authorities for the railway.
Civil service examinations were announced to be held between the
thirteenth and seventeenth of May, to which each Department was
privileged to send not to exceed five men. Vacancies in the office of
clerk in any Department are to be filled in regular order from the ranks
of those passing the examination.
The Home Minister, Mr. Yi To-chai, sent his resignation to His majesty.
A dealer living in Chongno has secured the monopoly of furnishing all the
Korean national flags throughout the country.
The resignation of Min Yeng Whan, Vice Minister of the Supreme Court, has
been accepted.
The former Chief of Ceremonial Department has been appointed Vice
Minister of the Supreme Court.
Governors of the various provinces have been asked by the Japanese
commander-in-chief to report the number of horses in each district.
The ex-magistrate of Ko-Wan district, Hamkyeng province, unfolds a tale
to the Home Department of how he was appointed prefect last September,
and proceeded as far as Wonsan on his journey to take up his work. At
Wonsan the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army detained him. He
telegraphed to the Home Department seven different times but received no
reply. Finally the police inspector of Wonsan took his official seal by
force and there was nothing left for him to do but to return to Seoul
which he did four months ago. Now he has been dismissed, charged with
being absent from his post of duty, and he desires to be relieved of the
charge.
Nine Japanese police inspectors and thirteen policemen for the various
districts have arrived in Seoul.
According to the recent military adjustments the monthly expense for the
army is about two hundred and seventy thousand dollars, and the adviser
of the Finance Department is willing to pay but one hundred and eighty
thousand monthly, hence the War Department is short on salaries.
The home Minister and acting Minister of the Finance Department presented
their resignations but they were not accepted.
On the sixth instant the Japanese representatives appointed to receive
the transfer of the Korean communication Department made a demand for
said transfer on the ground that the government would appoint special
agents to attend to the matter.
His Majesty has issued a proclamation concerning the new laws which have
been promulgated. He calls attention to the fact that there has been
doubt in the minds of magistrates as to whether certain ancient laws
were repealed, and it has therefore been found difficult to enforce the
existing laws. The new laws are made up of the best of the ancient laws
conformed to modern foreign regulations, to be published throughout the
country and observed forever.
The Sunju prefect has been summarily dismissed for squeezing money from
citizens of his district.
The governor of South Pyeng An province reports that the people are
greatly disturbed, and he asks that a good magistrate be sent there at
once.
Cutting of trees on South mountain by the Japanese has been complained
of, and the authorities have been asked to put a stop to it.
The Minister of the Law Department memorialized His Majesty, stating that
law should mean justice and asking permission to appoint special agents
from his department to investigate all the courts of Justice and Judges
and examine the evidence and judgments carefully to see that no wrong is
done. His Majesty acquiesced, and six agents have been appointed.
The Japanese gendarmes have been asked for permission to form another
political organization by several prominent Koreans.
Human bones are said to have been found scattered along the road-side
near the railway outside of South Gate, probably having been disinterred
when the many graves were removed by railway workmen. The Home Department
has ordered policemen to see that the bones are properly interred.
The former secretary to the Korean Legation in Russia returned to Seoul
this month.
The Minister of War, Kwan Choong-hyen, has repeatedly sent in his
resignation because of the reduction in the allowance for military
expenditure. He has now been dismissed and Yi Yong Ik, formerly governor
of North Kyeng-san province, has been appointed Minister of War.
The magistrate of Si Heung district complains that the conduct of
Japanese workmen on the railroad is such that the Koreans are all leaving
the district. A reply has been returned that of course such conduct will
cease on completion of the railway.
The kamni of Chemulpo reports the request of the Japanese authorities for
the removal of all the inhabitants from Walmi Island, and the people are
in an uproar.
The chief of Police has proposed to the Home Department to employ a
force of ten men in each ward at ten Yen per month to keep the streets
and gutters free from filth. As there are no funds for the purpose he
proposes to tax each jinrikisha one dollar per month, and after defraying
the expenses of the department he will pay any remaining money into the
Royal Treasury.
In the Chunju district the magistrate has been requested to furnish one
hundred and thirty men daily for work on the Japanese railway with a
daily wage of seventy cents. It is very difficult to take the men from
their fields during the sowing and cultivating season, and if the fields
are neglected the crops will be a failure. The magistrate asks the
government what he shall do.
Special thanks have been sent in an official communication to the
Japanese Minister for exceptional greetings to the Korean Envoy to Japan,
such as providing a Royal ship for his journey and one of the Royal
palaces for his hotel.
The governor of Pusan reports that since the action of the Home Minister
in relation to the police force many police inspectors are resigning,
and he asks that new police regulations be promulgated as speedily as
possible.
A complaint is made to the Foreign Office by the Chinese Minister that
many Koreans are crossing the border into China and causing disturbances.
He asks that this be stopped at once.
The Finance Department has authorized the governor of North Chulla
province to collect taxes by accepting copper cash.
All the governors of the thirteen provinces have been cautioned by the
Finance Department to collect the taxes with great care.
In a cabinet meeting the Ex-minister of communications, Gen. Min Sang
Ho, is said to have created a sensation by declaring the agreement
between the Korean and Japanese governments on postal matters to be sheer
nonsense, and the other Ministers are said to have remained silent after
his denunciation.
By a special Edict the Minister of the Royal Household, Min Yeng Chul,
the General of Royal Officers Yi Koun taik, and the Minister of the War
Department, Yi Yong-ik have been decorated with the First Degree of Pol
Kevai. Yi To-Chai, Minister of the Home Department, resigned and Yi
Chi-yong, Minister of the Law Department, has been appointed to take
his place, and Yi Keun-ho, governor of Kyeng-kea province has been made
Minister of Law.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Korea Review, Vol. 5 No. 5, May 1905" ***
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