UBRARY ITHACA, N.Y. 14853 Charles W. Wason CoUectior on East Asia Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924080788569 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced lliis replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-I992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 1997 (•fotnell Uttiuerattg Hibtarg Jfttfaca, Neu) ^ork CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 r^t^iLi^^-^^' fc KOREA By ANGUS HAMILTON SOME PRESS OPINIONS The Academy. — •■ A timely book ; a well-considered, matured and informing work by a man who knows the country from end to end, and can put pictures on paper with consummate ease. Under his guidance Korea opens before us as a land of mystery and marvel — the " Hermit Kingdom ' in very sooth. The Court, the country, the people, the princes, the trade, and the native tem- perament are so simply and straightforwardly described that henceforward Korea would seem to be almost as familiar as St. James' Street. No small credit is due to Mr. Hamilton in this matter ; a more elaborate and erudite work would probably have failed in its object, but by its very frankness and direct- ness the book is convincing and obviously right. . ." The Times. — " In the chapters dealing with the treaty ports, the finances, and the commercial prospects of Korea, Mr. Hamilton has collected a great deal of useful information in an attractive and readable form." The Manchester Guardian. — "Mr. Hamilton writes pleasantly on a large number of subjects — Court scandal, the life of the capital, and of the treaty ports. ' ' The World. — " The results of his personal observations during a long resi- dence in the Far East as representative of the Pall Mall Gazette, reinforced by information derived from other qualified authorities on the subject, have enabled Mr. A. Hamilton to produce a volume on Korea which may fairly be called exhaustive, and which will be specially welcome and useful at the present moment." Birmingham Daily Post. — " Mr. A. Hamilton's book ' Korea ' comes at an opportune moment, and deserves to be read by every one desirous of under- standing in a clear and intelligent manner the present situation in the far East. The book gives a full and graphic description of the Korean Archipelago, otherwise known as the Hermit Kingdom or the Land of the Morning Radiance ; its people, their manners and customs, their trades and industries, their resources and prospects, and at the same time considerable information on the existing crisis. A work of helpful reference, ' Korea ' is also an interesting and entertaining work of travel in the Far East." Globe. — "It is freely and usefully illustrated by reproductions from photographs, and it has the attraction of being thoroughly up-to-date in its information." New York Herald. — " Mr. Hamilton's volume may be commended to the reader, who will find in it a mine of information of topical interest and many diverting studies of demi-semi-civilisation under very curious conditions." Nottingham Daily Express. — ■• A book that is likely to be read with a great deal of interest. . . In all respects the volume ought to rank high amongst works of its class. It is printed and bound beautifully, there are plenty of pictures to show what the author wishes to convey to his readers, and a newly- prepared map adds to the value of it for all readers who are taking any interest in the negotiations at present progressing KOREA TAHLET IN SliOUL KOREA BY ANGUS HAMILTON FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY WITH A NEWLY PREPARED MAP AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS SECOND EDITION LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1904 First Edition, Jamiary 1904 Second Edition, February 1904 All rights reserved TO MY MOTHER CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Position of Russia in Manchuria — Comparative Estimate of Naval and Military Resources of Russia, Japan, and Korea Pp. xvii-xli CHAPTER I Off the coast — Lack of survey intelligence — Island flora — Forgotten voyagers — Superstitions and beliefs — Outline of history Pp. 1-12 CHAPTER II Physical peculiarities — Direction of advancement — Indications of reform and prosperity — Chemulpo — Population — Settlement — Trade .... Pp. 13-23 CHAPTER III Move to the capital — A city of peace — Results of foreign influence — In the beginning — Education — Shops — Costume — Origin — Posts and telegraphs — Methods of cleanliness .... Pp. 24-42 CHAPTER IV The heart of the capital — Domestic economy — Female slavery — Standards of morality — -A dress rehearsal . . Pp. 43-58 CHAPTER V The Court of Korea — The Emperor and his Chancellor — The Empress and some Palace factions Pp. 59-69 X CONTENTS CHAPTER VI The passing of the Emperor — An Imperial pageant . Pp. 70-80 CHAPTER VII Sljetch of Mr. McLeavy Brown — The Question of the Customs — The suggested Loan Pp. 8i-93 CHAPTER VIII Foreign action in Korea — Exhausted Exchequer — Taxes — Budgets — Debased currency — The Dai Ichi Ginko — Dishonest officials Pp. 94-107 CHAPTER IX Education — Arts and graces — Penal code — Marriage and divorce — The rights of concubines — Position of children — Government Pp. 108-116 CHAPTER X Farmers — Farming and farm animals — Domestic industries — Products — Quality and character of food-stuffs . . . Pp. 117-137 CHAPTER XI Japan in Korea — Historical associations — In Old Fusan — Political and economic interests — Abuse of paramountcy . Pp. 128-137 CHAPTER XII The commercial prospects of Korea — Openings to trade — Requirements of markets — Lack of British enterprise . . . Pp. 138-147 CHAPTER XIII British, American, Japanese, French, German, and Belgian interests — Railways and mining fictions — Tabled counterfeited Imports Pp. 148-169 CHAPTER XIV Some account of the treaty ports; Won-san, Fusan, Mok-po— Character of export and import trade — Local industries . . Pp 170-181 CHAPTER XV Treaty ports {continued) — Wi-ju — Syon-chyon-po — Chin-am-po — Pyong- yang— Kun-san—SyiJng-chin Pp. 182-191 CONTENTS xi CHAPTER XVI Russian interests — Russia and Japan — Ma-san-po — Ching-kai-wan — Yong-an-po . . Pp. 192-206 CHAPTER XVH By the wayside — A journey inland to Tong-ko-kai — Inland beauties Pp. 207-215 ^\y CHAPTER XVIII TJie German mines — Mineralogy and methods of mining — A bear hunt — With gun and rifle Pp. 216-225 CHAPTER XIX The monks and monasteries of the Diamond Mountains — The Temple of Eternal Rest — The Temple of the Tree of Buddha — Buddhism Pp. 226-240 CHAPTER XX The abomination of desolation — Across Korea — The east coast — Fishing and filth .... .... Pp. 241-252 CHAPTER XXI Drought — Starvation — Ixiland disturbances — Rainfall and disease Pp. 253-260 CHAPTER XXII The missionary question — Ethics of Christianity — Cant and commerce — The necessity for restraint Pp. 261-269 CHAPTER XXIII Inland journeying — Ponies, servants, interpreters, food and accommo- dation — What to take and how to take it — Up the Han River, frolic and leisure ... Pp. 270-283 CHAPTER XXIV Kang-wha, brief history of the island — A monastic retreat, an ideal rest — Nocturnal visitors — Midnight masses— Return to the capital- Preparations for a great journey — Riots and confusion Pp. 284-300 xii CONTENTS APPENDIX I Schedule of train service . . , P. 301 APPENDIX II Return of all shipping entered at the open ports of Korea during the year 1902 ■ • Pp- 302-304 APPENDIX III Return of principal articles of export to foreign countries from the open ports of Korea during the years 1901-1902 . . P. 305 APPENDIX IV Return of principal articles of imports to foreign countries during the years 1901-1902 P. 306 APPENDIX V Coast trade between treaty-ports in native produce (net) . P. 307 APPENDIX VI Customs revenue .... . . . P. 307 APPENDIX VII Gold export to foreign countries P. 308 APPENDIX VIII Table of minerals . . P. 309 ILLUSTRATIONS Ceiling, Imperial Palace, Seoul . Tablet in Seoul .... Devil Post outside Seoul . Guardian of a grave . Independence Arch Pagoda at Seoul . . . . A moment of leisure . At the Wells Chemulpo Pavilion on the wall of the Capital . Hen-seller Not one whit Europeanised A side alley Native dress They wear the Chang-ot A study in hats . . . . Means of locomotion . A Sang-no White-coated, white-socked population She may visit her friends A middle-class family In winter costume A palace concubine Dancing women of the Court Cover Prontisfiece PAGE I 9 II 12 • 13 17 21 23 . 24 35 37 38 39 42 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS Boys ... His Imperial Highness, Prince Yi-Cha-sun His Imperial Majesty the Emperor The Hall of Audience, Seoul Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess A minor Royalty Within the Palace grounds, Seoul Imperial Throne, Seoul Imperial Tablet-House, Seoul An Imperial pavilion, Seoul Mr. J. McLeavy Brown, C.M.G., LL.D. . British Legation, Seoul The Imperial Library, Seoul A Seoul gate Justice is not tempered with mercy Children of the lower class The Korean and his bull . A spade furnished with ropes . Pounding grain . Carrying produce to market Japanese Cavalry ... The Guard of the Japanese Legation, Seoul H.M.S. Astrea . Brick laying extraordinary The Consulting-room of Miss Cooke . A railway siding In New Fusan Palace Gateway Chemulpo . On the Yalu River Chinese Encampment Beyond the Capital Woodland Glades Country Carts A pitched battle . A sumnici' pleasauncc 58 59 60 64 67 69 72 74 77 79 82 88 94 107 113 115 119 121 122 123 128 137 145 ^55 169 177 180 185 197 203 208 2og 213 215 224 ILLUSTRATIONS XV I'AGE The Abbot of Chang An Sa . . 227 The Abbot of Yu Chom Sa . . . 233 Yu Chom Sa 237 An Altar-piece ... . . . . 239 Shin Ki Sa .... 243 The Abbot and Monks of Chang An Sa . . . • 245 A Fair Magician .... 251 Without the walls of Seoul . 253 The Temple of Heaven, Seoul . .... 255 An Imperial summer house, erected to mark the spot where the corpse of the late Queen was burned by the Japanese . . 260 A bridge scene in Seoul . 261 The streets are magnificent ........ 26S Beyond the Amur ... . 281 On the Han River ..... . . 282 Washing clothes in a drain . . ..... 284 A day of festival ....... . . 291 Russian post on the Korean Frontier . . . ■ 297 INTRODUCTION To those who are not close students of military history, as well as to those who do not possess an extensive knowledge of the situation, the position in which Russia is placed equally affords the keenest interest. Certainly in the annals of military history, excluding the march of Napoleon upon Moscow, there is no war which may be said to have developed a parallel to the task which besets Russia in Manchuria and Korea. Her position at sea, moreover, is no better than that which she holds on land. Upon land, a single line of railway traversing the heart of an enemy's country terminates at Port Arthur. At sea, JVladivostock is cut off by reason of its position, while it is inaccessible on account of its climate. These points. Port Arthur and Vladivostock, define the extremities of the strategic position which Russia holds in Manchuria. Excluding Vladivostock at this moment from any especial consideration. Port Arthur is left for the opening moves of this campaign. Therefore, Port Arthur, with a single Ime of communications in its rear, becomes the pivot of the operations. The aspect of Port Arthur from the sea is uninviting. Rugged hills, offshoots from the range of mountains which divides the Liao-tung peninsula, cluster round the bay, and encroaching upon the foreshore and bearing neither trees xviii KOREA nor vegetation, impart to the surroundings a desolate and even wild appearance. Within the headlands of the harbour, conforming with the indentations of the coast, there are several bays shallow and unprofitable, but which in time may become an important adjunct to the small area of deep water which the harbour now possesses. Dredging opera- tions have been undertaken, but there is so much to be done that many years must pass before Port Arthur receives any material addition to its very restricted accommodation. The mud, brought down by the streams which empty into the harbour, has already affected the deep-water area, and since the harbour was constructed these deposits have encroached very considerably upon the depth off shore. At low water steamers, which lie up within sixty feet of the wharf, rest upon mud in little more than a fathom of water, and at the same time the space is so small that it is impossible for a dozen vessels to anchor in the harbour with any comfort. Steamers, if any larger in size than the small coasting-boats which call at Port Arthur from China and Japan must anchor off the entrance, unloading and re-charging from junks or tenders. In relation to the requirements of the squadron Port Arthur is not nearly large enough. When cruisers are taking in stores battleships remain outside, an arrangement which is manifestly inconvenient in a period of emergency. It was for this reason that the authorities constructed at Dalny — a few miles from the fortress and within Ta-lien Bay — a new town, together with com- mercial docks and wharves, in order that Port Arthur might be devoted more particularly to the needs of the navy. Port Arthur is happy in the possession of all those objects which, to a naval base, are component parts of its INTRODUCTION xix success. The dry dock, somewhat weak and unsubstantial, is 385 feet in length, 34 feet in depth, and 80 feet broad, while the naval basin is equal in surface space to the total available steamer anchorage in the harbour proper. When the dredging works in the harbour bays have been completed it is hoped that a mean depth of four fathoms will have been obtained. This systematic deepening of the harbour will give to the fleet a surface anchorage considerably in excess of one square mile, but until the work has been executed the value of Port Arthur as a satisfactory naval base is infinitely less than the prestige which it enjoys as an impregnable position. Port Arthur possesses a small parade-ground, rifle-range, and artillery practice-ground, torpedo-station and training reservation, which will be enlarged when the bays are opened out. There is a flash-light station and various schools of instruction — torpedo, gunnery, telegraphy — while the arsenals and workshops which are built around the naval basin and within the navy yards are very thoroughly equipped. These effects, however, were mainly taken over by Russia when she seized Port Arthur ; their existence at the present moment tends to show how im- possible it is to under-estimate the advantages which Russia derives from the possession of this port, and how far- reaching are the consequences of the monstrous blunder which Lord Salisbury committed when he acquiesced in its usurpation. Apart from the defences Russia, hitherto, has not added much to Port Arthur ; for the main part the troops have been quartered in the old Chinese houses or in the former barracks of the Chinese troops, affairs having been some- what neglected in view of the prior claim which the d XX KOREA defences held. Now, however, fine barracks are in course of construction, and, if there is no war, it is anticipated that ample accommodation will be ready soon upon the shores of some of the bays and on the hills. The defences are indeed magnificent. Very few of the forts, which were in existence during the time of the Chinese, remain. Since the Russian Government entered upon possession the work of extending the perimeter of the defences, as well as strengthening the fortifications, has been a continuous labour. It is quite clear that the au- thorities are determined upon no half-measures. They have gained Port Arthui", and they propose to keep it. Upon the cliffs, rising immediately from the right of the harbour entrance, there is a most powerful position, formed, I believe, of a battery of six 21 -inch Krupp guns, which was further supported by a fort placed a few feet above the harbour, and sweeping its immediate front, containing eight lo-inch Krupps. At the corresponding elevations upon the opposite headland there were two similar forts with identical batteries, while the mine fields within the harbour are controlled from these two lower positions. Following the hills to the south and north there are other forts ; one in particular, of great size, is placed upon the extreme crest of the range, and, towering above all else, sweeps the sea and approaches to the harbour for great distances. It is impossible to detect the character of these guns, but from their position, and the extent of the fort and the nature of the part which they are intended to fill, it is improbable that they can be less than 27-ton guns, dis- charging shells of about 500 lb. The interior line of forts is no less formidable, and it must seem that Port Arthur can never be reduced by bombardment alone, while any INTRODUCTION xxi force attacking by land would be severely handled by the positions from which the Russians propose to defend their flanks and the neck. At the present, however, there is a paucity of field-guns among the troops in garrison, in addition to which many of the more recently constructed forts lack artillery ; while the opinion may be hazarded that the entire position has been so over-fortified as to become a source of eventual weakness in the ultimate disposition of the Russian force. Of course a fight for the command of the sea will precede any land operations. Japan is within fifteen hours steam of Fusan, already a Japanese garrison-town, and of Ma-san-po, the port to which Russia and Japan make equal claim. The strait separating Japan from Korea is 200 miles broad, while Russia's nearest base at Port Arthur is 900 miles away on one hand and Vladivostock is 1200 miles away on the other. It follows therefore, that in Korea, and not in Manchuria, the troops of the Japanese army would be landed. Once established in Korea, Japan would be able to dispute the supremacy of the sea on equal terms. In this respect the possession by the Japanese of numerous torpedo craft confers a distinct advantage upon them, since it will be within their power to utilise their services if the Russian fleet were to attempt to check the movement. The absence of any facilities for repairing damages makes it certain that so far as possible the Russian fleet will evade any serious engagement. It would be difficult to improve upon the position of Japan in this respect. At Yokosuka, from which place a large number of cruisers have been launched, there is a very extensive building-yard, and Japan also possesses suitable docks for large ships at Kure and Nagasaki. In all she has at her immediate disposal some half a dozen docks. xxii KOREA 400 ft. in length or more, and a very skilful army of working mechanics and workmen in general. Port Arthur must be regarded for practical purposes the naval base of Russia in the Far East in the event of a cold-weather campaign. Vladivostock is too far removed from the range of pro- bable utility. At this port, however, Russia has constructed one large dry dock, one floating dock 301 ft. long, and a second dry dock has been laid down. Against these two solitary and isolated centres, Japan possesses naval bases, arsenals and docks at the following points on her coast. Yokosuka . . Arsenal, slip and dry dock. Kure . . Arsenal, slip, dry dock, armour-plate works. Sassebo . . Arsenal. Maitsura . . New docl^yard. Nagasaki . Three docks. Takeshiki . . Coaling-station, naval base Ominato . . Base for small craft. Kobe . . . Torpedo repairing yard. Matsmai . . Refitting station. The squadrons which Japan and Russia will be able to employ in this war are very formidable, and during the past few months each Power has made strenuous efforts to increase the strength of its fleet. In January 1903 the aggregate tonnage of the Russian Pacific Squadron stood at some 87,000 tons, the fleet including the battleships Pcresviet, Petropavlovsk, Poltava, Sevastopol, and the cruisers Rossia, Gromoboi, and Rurik, with other smaller vessels. In March the tonnage went up to 93,000 tons, thanks to the arrival of the cruiser Askold from the Baltic. In May the cruisers Diana, Pallada, Novik, and the battleship Rctvizan joined. INTRODUCTION xxiii In June the cruisers Bogatyr and Boyarin reached the scene. In July the battleship Probleda arrived. In November the battleship Tzarevitch and the cruiser Bayan further added to Russia's strength. In December the battleship Oslyabya, the armoured cruiser Dimitri Donskoi, the protected cruisers Aurora and Almaz, and eleven torpedo-boat destroyers. In January 1904 the battleship Imperator Alexander III. left the Baltic for the Far East. Russia has laboured under great disadvantages to secure her position in this region. In consequence of restricted shipbuilding resources and owing to an unfortunate geogra- phical position, she has not enjoyed those opportunities of adding to her Pacific fleet which have presented them- selves to Japan. In effect, if not in fact, Russia is compelled to maintain four navies. Unhappily, each is isolated from the other, many hundreds of miles separating them. Naval squadrons are concentrated in the Baltic, in the Black Sea, in the Caspian Sea and in the Pacific. The Pacific squadron is of recent establishment and of most modern construction. It dates back to 1898, from which time her policy of naval expansion began. Orders were placed with France, Germany and America for cruisers and battleships, coal was bought at Cardiff, and in a short space the nucleus of a powerful fleet had sprung into existence. At the present time these new ships are deficient in the various ratings, and hundreds of mechanics, gunners and engineers have been withdrawn from the Black Sea Squadron to do service with the Pacific Fleet, moving to the Pacific Ocean from the Black Sea by means of the Trans-Siberian Railway. XXIV KOREA The subjoined, detailed list presents the principal vessels in the Russian Pacific Squadron. The officers commanding are : Vice-Admiral Stark, Rear-Admiral Prince Ukhtomski, Rear-Admiral Baron Shtakelberg, Admiral Virenius (to join). BATTLESHIPS Built Tonnage Speed knots Chief armament Tzarevitch (flagship) . Probleda Poltava Sevastopol . . . . Petropavlovsk .... Peresviet Relvizan igoi I goo 1894 1895 1894 1898 I goo 13,000 12,000 11,000 11,000 11,000 12,000 12,700 18 19 17 17 17 19 18 ( 4 12 in. I12 6 in. ( 4 10 in. '11 6 in. f 4 12 in. 1 12 6 in. ( 4 12 in. 1 12 6 in. ( 4 12 in. I12 6 in. 1 4 10 in. tio 6 in. ( 4 12 in. 1 12 6 in. Reinforcements to join : Oslyabya, 12,000 tons, 4 10-in. guns, 10 6-in. guns; Navarin, 9,000 tons, 4 12-in. guns, 8 6-in. guns; Imperator Alexander III. INTRODUCTION XXV CRUISERS Built Tonnage Speed, knots Chief armament Askold . . . I goo 7,000 23 12 6 in. Bayan . . . I goo 8,000 21 1 2 8 in. 1 8 6 in. Gromoboi . . i8gg 12,000 20 f 4 8 in. 1 16 6 in. Rossia . . . i8g6 IZ,0OO 20 f 4 8 in. ( 16 6 in. Rurik . . . i8g2 11,000 18 f 4 8 in. 1 16 6 in. Bogatyr . . . Varyag . . . Diana. . . . igoi 1899 1899 6,000 6,000 7,000 23 23 20 12 6 in. 12 6 in. 8 6 in. Pallada . . 1899 7,000 20 8 6 in. Boyarin . . . 1900 3,000 22 6 4.7 in. Novik . . . Zabiuca . . . Djijdjit . Rasboinik . . 1900 1878 1878 1879 3,000 1,300 1,300 1,300 25 14 13 13 6 4.7 in. Field guns 3 6 in. 3 6 in. Reinforcements to join : Gremyashtchi, Admiral Nakhimoff; Aurora, Admiral KornilofF; Otrajny, Dmitri Donskoi ; Almaz. The gunboats on this station number nine, the destroyers eighteen, and the transports six. Thirteen destroyers are to join. This fleet, with reinforcements, compares numerically with the eventual strength of Japan as follows : Russia Japan Battleships Cruisers 10 21 7 26 A proportion of Japanese cruisers would be needed for coast defence, so that Russia may prove numerically stronger for sea work. In addition, Russia also has a power- ful auxiliary fleet, consisting of ten steamers of the Black XXVI KOREA Sea Steam Navigation Company, most of which were built on the Tyne, and average fourteen knots. The Russian Volunteer Fleet Association numbers twelve Tyne and Clyde built ships. They are also at the disposal of the authorities. Against this fighting array the Japanese are able to place vessels of equal size and displacement ; in the actual weight of metal the Japanese are at a disadvantage, but in the thickness of the armoured protection there is little to choose. Against this comparative equality of the opposing fleets there must be borne in mind the great advantage which Japan derives from her ability to use her own fortified ports as naval bases. Indeed, this is of such importance that the knowledge of this fact might induce her to risk her whole strength in a single engagement. Again, in the mercantile marine, which has increased enormously of recent years, Japan will find all she may require for the purposes of trans- port and auxiliaries to the war fleet. The principal vessels in the Japanese navy are here indicated : BATTLESHIPS Weight of Name Displace- I.H.P. Nominal Gun Pro- Broadside ment Speed tection Fire Hatsuse ] Tons Knots In. Lb?. Asahi ,- . 15,000 15,000 18.0 14.6 4240 Shikishima I Mikasa . . 15-200 16,000 18.0 14.6 4225 Yashima [ Fuji ' 12,300 13,000 18.0 14.6 4000 INTRODUCTION ARMOURED CRUISERS XXVI 1 Weight of Name Displace- I.H.P. Nominal Gun Pro- Broadside ment Speed tection Fire Tons Kno's In. Lbs. Tokiwa i Asama t ' ' 975° 18,000 21.5 6.6 3568 Yaqumo . . 9850 16,000 20.0 6.6 3368 Azuma . . . 9436 17,000 21.0 6.6 3368 Idzuma i Iwate f • • • 9800 15,000 24.7 6.6 3568 In addition to these there are the two cruisers which Japan purchased in Italy from the Argentine Government. PROTECTED CRUISERS W^eight of Name Displace- I.H.P. Nominal Gun Pro- Broadside ment Speed tection Fire Tons Knots In. Lbs. Takasago 4300 15.500 24.0 4i.2 800 Kasagi 1 . Chitose 1 . . . 4784 15.500 22.5 4J.0 800 Itsukushimaj Hashidate - 4277 5400 16.7 1 1.4 1260 Matsushima 1 Yoshino . . . 4180 15.750 23.0 — 780 Naniwa 1 Takachiho 1 3727 7120 17.8 — I196 Akitsushima . . 3150 8400 19.0 — 780 Nitaka 1 Tsushima ' ' ' , 3420 9500 20.0 920 j Suma 1 Akashi r ' " ' 2700 8500 20.0 — 335 In connection with the First Division of the Japanese Fleet an interesting fact has transpired which, from reason of its association with this country, will prove of more than ordinary interest. In case of war it appears that with one XXVIU KOREA exception the ships comprising this division are all British built. Designs, armour-plating and armament follow the type and standard of our own Navy, and it is therefore obvious that we cannot fail to be stirred deeply by the results of any collision which may occur. Each nation possesses in Far Eastern waters ships supplied with the latest appli- ances which science and ingenuity have devised. To the people of this Empire, whose security rests primarily upon the Fleet, our interest in the engagements is naturally the higher, by reason of the similarity between the ships which will be engaged upon one side and those of our own Navy. These vessels, all of which have received their war-paint, and whose place of concentration is Nagasaki, some 585 nautical miles from Port Arthur, are as follows : Name Where built Tonnage Chief arraament Hatsuse (B) . . . . Shikishima (B) . Asahi (B) . Fuji(B) . ... Yashima (B) . Iwate (C) . Asama (C) . . Idzuma (C) . . . . Tokiwa (C) ... Takasago (C) Kasagi (C) . . . Elswick Thames Clyde Blackwall Elswick Elswick Elswick Elswick Elswick Elswick Cramp (Philadelphia) 15,000 15,000 15,000 12,500 12,500 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 4,300 5,000 1 4 12 in. 1 14 6 in. ( 4 12 in. 1 14 6 in. f 4 12 in. 1 14 6 in. J 4 12 in. 1 10 6 in. ( 4 12 in. 1 10 6 in. (4 8 in. 1 10 6 in. , 4 8 in. 1 10 6 in. f 4 8 in. 1 14 6 in. f 4 8 in. 1 10 6 in. f 3 8 in. 1 10 4.7 in. (2 8 in. 1 10 4.7 in. (B) battleship; (C) cruiser. INTRODUCTION xxix A torpedo flotilla, numbering thirty-five vessels, forms part of this division. The other divisions of the fleet foi war comprise the following : Second division. Third division (Home) Battlestiips Cruisers . 3 10 8 Small craft . 30 80 In addition to these the auxiliary fleet numbers some forty steamers, for the most part vessels belonging to the Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The present constitution of the Japanese Army dates from 1873, and the Military Forces consist of — (i) the permanent or Regular Army, with its Reserves and Recruiting Reserves ; (2) the Territorial Army ; (3) the National Militia ; and (4) the Militia of the various island centres off the coast, &c Military service is obligatory in the case of every able-bodied male from the age of seventeen to forty years of age. Of this period, three years are passed in the permanent or Regular Army, four years and four months in the Regular Reserves, five years in the Territorial Army, and the remain- ing liability in the National Militia. The permanent Army, with its Reserves, conducts operations abroad, and the Territorial Army and the Militia are for home defence. These latter are equipped with Peabody and Remington single-loading rifles. The up-to-date strength of the per- manent Army, on a war footing, which does not include the Reserves, is as follows : XXX KOREA Officers Rank and File Horses Infantry, 52 regiments of 3 battalions, 156 battalions = Cavalry, 17 regiments of 3 squadrons, 51 squadrons = Field and Mountain Artillery, 19 regi- ments of 6 batteries, total 114 bat- teries of 6 guns = 684 guns . . — Fortress Artillery, 20 battalions . . = Transport, 13 battalions . . . = 4,160 400 800 530 270 20 220 143,000 9,300 12,500 10,300 7,000 550 7,74° 52 9,000 8,800 70 215 15 40,000 Total = 684 guns, 6400 officers, 190,390 rank and file, 58,152 horses. The Reserves comprise 52 battalions of Infantry, 17 squadrons, 26 Engineer and Transport companies, and 19 batteries with 114 guns, yielding a total of 1000 officers, 34,600 rank and file, and 9000 horses. Therefore, on mobilisation, the grand effective strength of ths Army avail- able for service beyond the seas would amount to 7,400 officers, 224,990 rank and file, 798 guns, and 67,152 horses. Behind this, there is the Territorial Army, comprising 386 Infantry battalions, 99 squadrons, 26 Engineer and Transport companies, and about 70 batteries, or 11,735 officers, 348,100 men, 11 16 guns, and 86,460 horses. The Infantry and Engineers of the Regular Army have been recently re-armed with the Meidji magazine rifle. The following particulars show that the Japanese small arm is a superior weapon to the Russian, which dates from 1891 : INTRODUCTION xxxi Japanese " Meidji," model 1897. Muzzle Sighted Weight No. of Calibre. velocity. up to with Rounds Ft. -Sec, Yards. Bayonet. in Mag. .255in. ... 2315 ... 2700 ... glb.2 0z. ... 5 Russian "Three-Line," model 1891. .2ggin. ... igoo ... 2500 ...gib. 120Z. ... 5 The Regular Cavalry have the Meidji carbine. The Reserves are armed with the Murata magazine rifle, model 1894, calibre .312 in., muzzle velocity 2000 feet-seconds, sighted up to 2187 yds., and weight with bayonet, 9 lb. i oz. The equipment carried by the Infantry soldier in the field weighs 43J lbs. The Regular Field and Mountain Artillery is armed with 2.95 in. quick-firing equipment, with hydraulic compressor, throwing a 10 lb. projectile. This is known as the Ai'isaka equipment. The Fortress and Siege Artillery have the latest models of Krupp and Schneider-Canet in siege guns, guns of position, and mortars. The Reserve Field Artillery are armed with a 2.95 rifled cannon of bronze on the old Italian model. The Japanese have no Horse Artillery, and the only difference between the field and mountain equip- ments is that the latter is the shorter and lighter gun, and has not as long a range. The Cavalry is the least efficient army of the service. It carries sword and carbine, but no lance. The horses are badly trained ; the men are very indifferent riders. The strength of the Russian forces in Manchuria embraces 88 battalions, 60 squadrons and 50 batteries, which, together with the garrison forces and fortress armament, numbers 200,000 men and 300 guns. These troops in Manchuria are formed into two army corps xxxii KOREA of the first line and two of the second. Two new Rifle Brigades have just been added to the existing strength. They are composed as follows : 7TH Brigade 8th Brigade Port Arthur Vladivostock General Kondratenko General Artamanoff 25th Regiment 29th Regiment 26th 30th 11^ ;; }(«-) Sd :; K--) The Russian is a phenomenal marcher ; the actual weight of his equipment is 58 lbs. 2 oz. One tent is carried in section between six men. Each soldier carries in his haversack two and a half days' biscuits. The ration in daily use for war consists of Biscuit . . I lb 13 oz. Tea . ■ Aoz. Meat . 7l oz. Sugar . . ^oz. Groats ■ 4ioz. Spirits . . ^ of a pint Salt f oz. In the exigencies of active service it happens that the Russian soldier must forage for himself. Under any circum- stances, however, he sustains himself on very little nourish- ment, and relies in a great measure upon what he can find. The Russian cavalry is armed with sword, rifle and bayonet. The latter is invariably carried " fixed," even when the weapon itself is slung. A few regiments only carry the lance. The field guns are steel breech-loaders manufactured at the Obukhov works. They are akin to the Krupp pattern ; many, however, have the interrupted screw breech piece and the de Bange obturation. At present there are many varieties of artillery with the Russian troops, INTRODUCTION xxxiii particularly in their fortified positions, to which places the Russian transported the seizures which they made from the Chinese during the Boxer crisis. These embraced French, German and British examples of artillery. On land, the immense superiority of the reserve numbers of the Russians reduces the advantages which would accrue to the Japanese if the fighting were confined to the sea. At the same time, however, it should be remembered that the Russian troops are slow movers, and although they may exhibit magnificent endurance, and although they may be relied upon to fight well, the lack of individual initiative upon the part of the Russian officers robs the operations of that dash and address which is embodied in the spirit of the Japanese army. Curiously enough, each side favours the Continental school of infantry and cavalry tactics, the underlying principles in the training of the Japanese revealing a close adherence to Teutonic methods. Neither side will profit, therefore, by any degree of indivisibility to which they may have attained. The winter great-coat of either army is very nearly identical in colour, and for warm weather Japanese and Russians alike favour a white blouse. There has been talk of the Japanese adopting a khaki tint ; upon the other hand, the blouse of the Russian soldier is by courtesy equally white or khaki. In the more important direction of land transport, it might appear that the Manchurian railway would be a crown- ing triumph for the Russian authorities. Unfortunately, this immense length of rail, badly laid and indifferently equipped, will impose a perpetual strain upon the military resources. If the country population could be relied upon to maintain a benevolent neutrality towards telegraph poles and lines, railway sleepers and rails, the stone pillars XXXI V KOREA and balks of the bridges, the possibility of any serious interruption of traffic would be materially lessened. Un- happily for the Russians, the attitude and acts of the native population, who, in a general way, will lose no opportunity to harass their enemy, must impede the effective co- operation of the Russian forces. Against this instinctive feeling of animosity there may be set the racial sympathy with the Japanese which governs every Chinaman. In Manchui^ia particularly, the Japanese enjoy a high reputation in the minds of the populace, while there is remembered, above aught else, that prompt redemption of all obligations during the Chino-Japanese War which distinguished the policy of the invaders towards local interests. This policy of benevolence was exhibited for the second time during the Boxer crisis, and, of course, the striking example offered by the Japanese, in com- parison with the Russians, was not lost upon the Chinese. These things are recalled to-day in Manchuria, and they may be calculated to offset any reactionary sentiment which may take place in Korea. Between the hospital arrange- ments of each belligerent there is little lo choose. The more efficient system of the Japanese service is equalised by the greater facilities which the possession of railway communication by the Russians will present to the trans- portation of the wounded. It should be pointed out, how- ever, that the principal medical service — the Russian Red Cross Society — is wholly patriotic, and that it is not, in any degree, a military organisation. It is liable to be withdrawn from the field at any moment after the conclusion of the major operations. Beyond these few observations it is difficult — if not impossible — to trespass with any certainty, although, as a INTRODUCTION xxxv closing remark, it may perhaps be added that, provided the investment of Port Arthur be satisfactorily accomplished by sea and that Vladivostock were enclosed by ice, the estuaries of the Yalu and Liao Rivers enable an ad- mirable line to be taken up, from which the Russian position throughout Manchuria may be very readily threatened. Speculations as to the development of the campaign upon land are, howevei", quite absurd until something is known of the results of the naval engage- ments with which the war must open. Meanwhile the painful familiarity with the costs of war which dis- tinguishes the British taxpayer has directed no little attention to the financial position of either country. An eminent German financier, interested in the public debt of Russia, lately explained to me that a very large proportion of the moneys, which have been raised for the construction of the Russian inter-railway communications in addition to the Trans-Siberian and Manchurian Railways, has been set aside from time to time to supplement her war chest. These sums, added to those collected by Count Mouravieff with the assent of M. de Witte, and including the large balances which have accrued to the State by departmental economies during the past year, represent approximately a capital of one hundred millions sterling. Against this accumulation it is said that the financial position of Japan is most favourable. There is, I believe, a specie reserve in the Central Bank which amounts to 113,000,000 yen, plus some 40,000,000 yen in London. Moreover, the bank's note-issuing margin is 35,000,000 yen, which will be larger after the New Year. The Treasury has three capital funds, amounting together to 50,000,000 yen, besides some millions in London remaining from the bond sale of 1902. Finally, / xxxvi KOREA there are large sums lying idle in all the banks throughout the country, while an Ordinance has been issued which provides the Government with unlimited credit. The more recent action of the Russians in Manchuria tends, of course, to support the view that war may be imminent. Nevertheless, bluff is a component part of Russian diplomacy, and there is ground for believing that the intentions of Russia in the Far East are by no means so warlike as the preparations now proceeding and the acts of the Russian administrative officials in Manchuria itself would imply. Russian diplomacy always covers the development of its plans by preparing to demonstrate in a contrary direction ; and at the present time her occupation of Korean territory is little else than the screen, behind which she pi^oposes to secure her hold upon Manchuria. Nothing short of war will cause her to retire from her position in Manchuria ; but while Korean territory is of little value to the Russian protectorate, whatever the compromise which may be effected between Japan and Russia, she may be expected to make a determined effort to dominate the lower waters of the Yalu River. In fact, curious as it may seem, the estuaiy of the Yalu River is the very locale of the dispute between the two Powers, since, if Russia were ever permitted to dominate the Yalu River, she would gain at once that special position upon the frontiers of Korea which it is the desire of Japan to frustrate. In this Japan can rely only upon the makeshifts of diplomacy ; and although the Russian occupation of Yong-an-po may be circumvented, the development of An-tung upon the opposite shore of the river cannot be prevented. It seems, therefore, as inevitable that some commanding position upon the Yalu River must ultimately fall to her lot. An-tung lies within Manchurian INTRODUCTION xxxvii territory ; the Yalu River is the border stream between Manchuria and Korea, and at Yong-an-po the nucleus of an important Russian settlement has been estabUshed. The future contains no promise of the immediate settlement of the present difficulty. At best the outlook is confused ; while at the same time there is presented in a manner singularly clear and comprehensible the fact that Russia will neither evacuate Niu-chwang nor be driven out of Manchuria, while she will certainly not abandon her position on the Yalu River. The attitude of Russia at Niu-chwang has been indicated by past events, her occupation of Manchuria is an old story, and she is now engaged in the rapid development of her interests at An-tung. The position of this port endows it with unusual advantages, and the commercial potentialities of the place are very great. It lies about fifteen miles above Yong-an-po, on the opposite bank. At present the export trade is confined to millet and silk cocoons, the over- production of the latter commodity requiring close tech- nical supervision. Eight miles below An-tung, situated on the right bank of the river, is the likin station San-tao-lan-tao, where junks and rafts must report and pay the stipulated excise before they proceed onward. The river then bears away to the north-east, and after another stretch of seven miles there comes An-tung, upon the same bank, at a point where the stream divides, the eastern branch being the Yalu River. An-tung is of quite recent construction, and a few years ago millet fields occupied its site. Under the care of native merchants large, solid-looking houses have been built, broad streets have been opened out, and an air of unusual prosperity distinguishes the place. The anchorage is thronged with junks, while timber is stacked in vast quantities below the limits of the town. Sea-going steamers xxviii KOREA of the coaster type can here discharge and load their cargoes, thus obviating transhipment at Ta-tung-kao. Trade between Ta-tung-kao, which is situated at the mouth of the Yalu, and Chi-fu, is at present carried on by small steamers of the Mosquito flotilla and one British ship, the Hwang-ho, of the China Navigation Company (Messrs. Butterfield and Swire), while the vast volume of the exports and imports finds its way hither and thither in Chinese junks. The run from Chi-fu port is one of a hundred and eighty-five miles, and the time usually occupied in the trip north-eastward is twenty-two hours, the steamers anchoring in the fairway channel at a distance of four miles from Ta-tung-kao. Ta-tung-kao is a busy town, inasmuch as it is the place of transhipment for imports and exports, most of which go to or come from An-tung. The fact of steamers being unable to approach Ta-tung-kao makes An-tung the real business centre of the Yalu River. In respect of An-tung, two hundred Russian cavalry have been stationed there for over two and a half years. The canton- ment is situated on a small hill, marking the northern limit of the town, which has no wall. As usual, through the Yalu Valley these soldiers bear an evil reputation among the natives, from whom they commandeer at pleasure. Striking away from An-tung is the Pekin " Great Road," which runs to Liao-yang. Above An-tung the river divides and shoals exist, the water being so shallow that none but native craft can ply. Wi-ju is situated about ten miles to the eastward, and at a point west of Mao-kewi-shan, four miles below An-tung, there is the terminus of the branch of the Manchurian railway, which is to strike the river. The construction of this work will begin in the spring of 1904. The first eighty miles offer little obsti'uction, and it INTRODUCTION xxxix is intended that the work shall be pushed forward until its junction with the main line of the system is accomplished. Russia, therefore, cannot well afford to ignore the conse- quences of her policy in the Far East, nor, at the same time, can she be expected to sacrifice, at the request of Japan, those great interests which she has been at such pains to foster. The position is, indeed, a striking example of the manner in which an imperious policy will create the taste, if not the necessity, for Imperialism. The position of Korea in regard to the disputed questions is a hopeless one. Unfortunately, the government of Korea is powerless to prevent either the advance of Russia or the steady spread of Japanese influence. She possesses neither army nor navy which can be put to any practical use, and she is in that position in which a country is placed when unable to raise its voice upon its own behalf. The army numbers a few thousand men, who, in the last few years, have been trained to the use of European weapons. They are armed with the Gras, (obsolete pattern) Murata, Martini, and a variety of muzzle-loading smooth-bore rifles. Their shooting powers are most indifferent, and they lack besides the qualities of courage and discipline. There is no artillery, and the cavalry arm is confined to a few hundred men with no knowledge of horse-mastership, and with no idea of their weapons or their duties. At a moment of emergency the entire force of mounted and dismounted men would become utterly demoralised. There are numerous general officers, while, I believe, the navy is composed of twenty-three admirals and one iron-built coal lighter, until quite lately the property of a Japanese steamship company. Korea is the helpless, hapless sport of Japanese caprice or Russian lust ; and it has been my aim to present an xl KOREA impartial study of the condition of the country in the pages of this volume. Since so many and so much abler pens have dealt elsewhere with the position of Manchuria, I have con- fined myself solely to a review of Korea. For this I trust that I may not be taken to task, while in order to satisfy those who think that some reference to the questions of Manchuria should have been incorporated in my book I have ventured to impart to my preface the appearance of a chapter which deals solely with this problem. And now, at the end of my work, a last, but none the less pleasant, duty awaits me. In addition to my own notes upon Korea I have gathered information from many people— writers, travellers, and students — all interested in the contemporary history of the Hermit Kingdom. These I now hasten to thank, and by naming them I would mark my grateful appreciation of the kindness which they have extended to me. To Mr. MacLeavy Brown, of the Korean Maritime Customs ; Mr. Gubbins, formerly of the British Legation, Seoul ; to my distinguished and learned friend, Professor Homer B. Hulbert, whose published notes upon Korea have been of exceptional value, I make hearty acknowledgments ; to Mrs. Bishop, Colonel Younghusband, the Rev. Mr. Griffis, Major Gould- Adams, Mr. Henry Norman, M. P., authors of interesting and important contributions to any study of Korea, I express the sense of my obligation ; to the Rev. C. Collyer, who was good enough to make my spelling of Korean names identical with the standard of Dr. Gale ; to Mr. Bolton, of Messrs. Stanford, the map makers, of Long Acre, who laboured so patiently with the many shortcomings of my geographical data, 1 am, indeed, indebted. To Sir Douglas Straight, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, whose paper it was my delight to re- present throughout my long residence in the Far East ; to Mr. INTRODUCTION Nicol Dunn, editor of the Morning Post; to Mr. S. J. Pryor, of the Daily Express, I have to record my acknowledgment of the courteous permission of these distinguished people to reproduce such portions of my work as have appeared in the columns of their respective organs from time to time. And last of all to my readers I offer this book in the hope that an immediate apology for its production may be permitted to atone for its numerous shortcomings. December 35, 1903. CHAPTER I Off the coast — Lack of survey intelligence — Island flora — Forgotten voyagers — Superstitions and beliefs — Outline of history Despite the survey work which has been accomplished in the past by the Japanese upon the coasts of Korea, little knowledge of the numerous islands and archi- pelagoes, shoals and reefs which make its shores the terror of all mariners, exists at present. Until the voyage of the Alcesle and Lyra in 1816, the locality of these detached groups of rocky islets was not marked on any of the Japanese or Chinese maps of the period. In the map of the Empire prepared by the Jesuits at Pekin in the seventeenth century, the space now occupied by the Korean Archipelago was covered with the drawing of an elephant — the conventional sign of ignorance with the cartographers of that time. In the older native maps, the mainland embraced groups of islands, the most imperfect DEVIL POST OUTSIDE SEOUL 2 KOREA knowledge of the physical configuration of their own shores prevailing among the Koreans. In quite recent days, how- ever, the Korean Government has recognised this fact, and in the early months of 1903 the Japanese Government was requested to draw up a complete survey of the Hermit Kingdom. This work is now in process of execution, the plan of the coastline already having been completed. The coast of Korea is remarkable for the number of spacious harbours which distinguish it. Upon the West and South, indications of the volcanic period, through which the country has in part passed, are shown by the frequency with which these island groups occur. From a single peak upon one of the small islands off the south-west coast, as many as one hundred and thirty-five islets may be counted, stretching to the North and to the South, the resort of the sea-fowl ; desolate and almost uninhabited. Many of the more important islands have been cultivated, and give refuge and a lonely home to small communities of fishing-folk. Navigation is peculiarly dangerous in these waters. Many of the islands are submerged by the spring-tides, and the direction of the channels, scoured by the rush of the tide, becomes quite indefinite. In the absence of charts and maps, these island-fringed shores have been the scene of many shipwrecks ; Dutch, American, French, and British shipping meeting in one grim and silent procession a common end : captivity on shore or death in the sea. Some of these unfortunate mariners survived their experi- ences, leaving, after the fashion of Hendrik Hamel, the supercargo of the Dutch frigate Spatwehr, which went ashore oft Quelpart in 1653, records and histories of their adventures to an mcredulous posterity. Most of the islands OFF THE COAST 3 lying off tfie coast are well wooded. As they are very beautiful to look upon and very dangerous to approach, they are regarded with mingled sentiments of reverence and superstition, differing little, in their expression, from the fear in which the ancients held the terrors of Scylla and Charybdis. Their isolated position, moreover, makes them the centre of much contraband trade between the Chinese and Koreans ; their defenceless state renders them an easy prey to any pirates who care to ravage them. The islands off the south-west coast are the sanctuaries of many animals. Seals sport and play unharmed among the rocks ; the woody peaks are rich in game : teal, crane, curlew, quail, and innumerable small birds make them their breeding-grounds. The shores are happy hunting-grounds for naturalists, and a variety of marine food is found through- out the archipelago. A number of well-marked species of sponge may be gathered, and the coral beds display many violent tints and delicate shades, forming in their beautiful colourings a sea garden of matchless splendour. The_^ora of these islands is a no less brilliant feature of the summer landscape. Tiger-lilies, showy and gigantic, daisies, asters, many varieties of cactus, grow side by side with curious ferns, palms and creepers, almost tropical in their character and profusion, yet surviving the cooler temperature of autumn and winter, to greet each coming spring with freshened beauty. The air vibrates with the singing and buzzing of insects, the limpid day is bright with gaudy butterflies. Snow-white herons stand in the shallows. Cormorants, diving birds and ducks throng the reefs to rise in clouds with many angry splutterings when their haunts are invaded. In the deeper waters, there are myriads of fish ; in passing from group to group along the coast 4 KOREA shoals of whales are to be seen, blowing columns of spray aloft, or sleeping idly upon the surface. The coast of Korea is well sprinkled with the names of foreign navigators, who, in previous centuries, essayed to visit the Land of the Morning Radiance. With rare ex- ceptions, these visitors were turned back. Some were captured and tortured ; many were ordered off at once, few were ever entertained. None were invited to make any stay in the new land, or permitted to inspect its wonders and curiosities. Beyond the Japanese, those who succeeded in sapping the wall of isolation which was so carefully built around the country and so rigorously maintained, were gene- rally escorted inland as prisoners, the unconscious victims of some successful stratagem. In a manner, the fashion of their treatment is revealed in the curious names with which these pioneers of navigation have labelled the capes and promontories, the islands and shoals, which they were lucky enough to locate and whose dangers they were fortu- nate enough to avoid. Many of these names have ceased to be recognised. The lapse of time has caused them to be obliterated by European hydrographers from the maps and charts of the country and seas, in which their originators had risked so much. In many parts of the coast, however, particularly upon the west, along the shores of the Chyung- chyong Province, these original names have been preserved. They form, to-day, a tribute to the earnestness and intre- pidity of these early explorers. This mead of recognition is only just, and is not to be denied to their undoubted gallantry and enterprise. It is not impossible to believe that an unusually fickle fate followed in their footsteps, prompting them to leave thus for the guidance of future generations, some hint of FORGOTTEN VOYAGERS 5 their own miscalculations. If one may judge, from the brief narratives which these discoverers have left behind them, the result of their work upon these inhospitable shores surpassed anything that they had foreseen. The visit of these hardy spirits aroused the curiosity of the Koreans, giving to them their first knowledge of that outer world which they had spurned for centuries. Despite the golden opportunities now presented to them, however, they con- tinued to neglect it. The memory of the black ships and the red beards (Dutchmen) — as they dubbed the strange craft and stranger devils, that had to appear only off their shores to be shipwrecked — dwelt long in their minds. Although they treated these strangers with comparative generosity, they were careful to preserve inviolate the secrets and sanctity of their land. They rejected with contumacy the friendly overtures of strangers who came in monster ships, and who, forsooth, left behind nothing but a name. It is scarcely astonishing, therefore, that there are many points upon the coast of Korea which bear some- what uncomplimentary names. Deception Bay, Insult Island, and False River savour of certain physical dis- comforts, which, too great to be borne in silence, left an indelible impression upon the associations of the spot. If the Dutch sailors of 1627 were among the earliest to reach the forbidding shores of this kingdom, the activities of British voyagers were most prominent in the succeeding century. The work of Captain W. R. Broughton, of the British sloop-o'-war, of sixteen guns. Providence, is described to this day by the bays and harbours into which he pene- trated, and the capes and straits which this gallant man christened, to the credit of the distant island kingdom from which he hailed. Broughton in 1797, Maxwell of the 6 KOREA Alceste, with Basil Hall, commander of the British sloop-o'- war, the Lyra, in i8x6, deserve the passing fame which is secured to them by the waters and capes which have been named after them. Their names figure as landmarks upon the west, the east, and the south coasts. While Maxwell and Hall preferred to devote their attention to the discovery and examination of the Korean Archipelago — of which, although Broughton does not mention it, it seems impossible that the discoverer of Broughton Strait can have been ignorant — Broughton roughly charted and surveyed the west coasts, coming to a temporary halt in Broughton Bay, some six hundred miles to the north. Hall left his name in Basil's Bay, where Gutzlaff landed in 1832 to plant potatoes and to leave seeds and books. A generation later, in 1866, the archipelago to the north-west was named after the Prince Imperial, who was to meet his death in Zululand in 1878. In 1867, Prince Jerome's Gulf, an inlet upon the mainland of the Chyung-chyong Province, was to be the scene of Oppert's famous attempt to remove large deposits of buried treasure and venerated relics from an Imperial tomb. These names upon the east and west coasts suggest nothing of the romance which actually surrounds them. At most they conjure up the shadowy silhouettes of the redoubtable personages, to whom they once belonged, and with whose memory many journeys of discovery in these seas are inseparably linked. Englishmen were not the sole navigators who were attracted by the unknown character of the land, and the surpassing dangers of the waters, around the Island of Quel- part, where the Sea of Japan mingles in tempestuous chaos with the Yellow Sea. Russian and French navigators also worked their way through the dangerous shoals and quick- FORGOTTEN VOYAGERS 7 sands, along the tortuous and muddy rivers, into the harbours and through the narrow straits which hold back these islands from the mainland. The shores teem with the distinguished names of men of science and sons of the high seas. Following the curl and twist of its configuration a host of buried names are revealed, the last evidence of men who are dead and forgotten. It is infinitely pathetic that even this one last resting-place should be denied to their reputations. Lazareli, who shares Broughton's Bay ; Unkoff- sky, who foundered in the waters of the bay which is described by his name ; the ill-fated La Perouse, who, in June 1787, discovered in the Sea of Japan an island which now bears the name of the astronomer — Dagelet. Durock, Pellisier, Schwartz, and the rest — what echo do we find of them, their fates, and subsequent careers ? Should not their names at least bear witness to their pains and labours, to the difficulties which they faced, to the small joy of something attempted, something done, which was their sole consolation for many hours of cheerless and empty vigil ? Korea is a land of exceptional beauty. The customs, the literature, and the geographical nomenclature of the kingdom prove that the superb and inspiring scenery of the peninsula is quite appreciated by the people. In the same manner that the coast-line of Korea bears evidence of the adventurous spirit of many western mariners, the names given to the mountains and rivers of the country by the inhabitants them- selves reflect the simplicity, the crudity, and the supersition of their ideas and beliefs. All mountains are personified in Korea. In the popular belief, they are usually associated with dragons. Every village offers sacrifices to the mountain- spirits. Shrines are erected by the wayside and in the mountain passes that travellers may tender their offerings 8 KOREA to the spirits and secure their goodwill. The Koreans believe that the mountains in some way exert a benign and protecting influence. The capital of Korea possesses its guardian-mountain. Every town relies upon some pre- serving power to maintain its existence. Graves, too, must have their custodian peaks, or the family will not prosper, and the impression prevails that people are born in accord- ance with the conformation of the hills upon which the tombs of their ancestors are situated. Rough and rugged contours make for warriors and militant males. Smooth surfaces and gentle descents beget scholars; peaks of singular charm and position are associated with beautiful women. Like the mountain-ranges, lakes and pools, rivers and streams exercise geomantic powers, and they are the abodes of pre- siding shades, benevolent or pernicious. In lakes, there are dragons and lesser monsters. In mountain pools, however, no wraith exists unless some one is drowned in the waters of the pool. When this fatality occurs, the figure of the dead haunts the pool until released by the ghost of the next person who meets with this misfortune. The serpent is almost synonymous with the dragon. Certain fish become in time fish-dragons ; snakes become elevated to the dignity and imbued with the ferocity of dragons when they have spent one thousand years in the captivity of the mountains, and one thousand years in the water. All these apparitions may be propitiated with sacrifices and prayers. In the province of Kang-won, through which the ranges of the Diamond Mountains pass, there are several peaks symbolical of this belief in the existence of supernatural monsters. One dizzy height is named the Yellow Dragon, a second the Flying Phoenix, and a third, the Hidden Dragon, has reference to a demon who has not yet risen SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS 9 from the earth upon his ascent to the clouds. The names which the Koreans give to their rivers, lakes and villages, as also to their mountains, bear out their wish to see the natural beauties of their land associated with its more dis- GUARDIAN OF A GRAVE tinctive features. This idiosyncrasy, however, would seem to be exceptionally pronounced in the case of mountains. The Mountain fronting the Moon, the Mountain facing the Sun, the Tranquil Sea, the Valley of Cool Shade, and the Hill of White Clouds emphasise this desire. Again, in Ham- kyong, the most northern province in the Empire, the more conspicuous peaks receive such designations as the Peak of Continuous Virtue, the Peak of the Thousand Buddhas, the Lasting Peace, the Sword Mountain, Heaven Reaching Peak, the Cloud Toucher. It is evident, therefore, that appreciation of nature, no less than reverence for the supernatural, underlies the system by which they] evolve lo KOREA names for the landmarks of their country. The pecuharities of their land afford great scope for such a practice, and it is to be admitted that they give ample vent to this peculiar trait in their imagination. Korea is now an independent Empire. From very early times until 1895 the King of Korea was a vassal of China, but the complete renunciation of the authority of the Emperor of China was proclaimed in January 1895, by an Imperial decree. This was the fruit of the Chino-Japanese war, and it was I'atified by China under the seal of the treaty of peace signed at Shimonosaki in May of the same year. The monarchy is hereditary, and the present dynasty has occupied the throne of Korea in continuous entail since 1392. Inhabited by a people whose traditions and history extend over a period of five thousand years, and subjected to kaleidoscopic changes whereby smaller tribes were ab- sorbed by larger, and weaker governments overthrown by stronger, Korea has gradually evolved one kingdom, which, embracing all units under her own protection, has presented to the world through centuries a more or less composite and stable authority. There can be no doubt that the whilom vassal of China, in respect of which China and Japan made war, has taken much greater strides upon the path of progress than her ancient neighbour and liege lord. There is no question of the superiority of the conditions under which the Koreans in Seoul live and those prevailing in Pekin, when each city is regarded as the capital of its country — the representative centre in which all that is best and brightest congregates. It was in 1876 that Korea made her first modern treaty. It was not until three years later that any exchange of envoys took place between the contracting party and OUTLINE OF HISTORY II herself. Despite the treaty, Korea showed no disposition to profit by the existence of her new relations, until the opening of Chemulpo to trade in the latter part of 1883 revealed to her the commercial advantages which she was INDEPENDENCE ARCH now in a position to enjoy. All this time China had been in intercourse with foreigners. Legations had been estab- lished in her capital ; consuls were in charge of the open ports ; commercial treaties had been arranged. She was already old and uncanny in the wisdom which came to her by this dealing with the people of Western nations. But, in a spirit of perversity without parallel in constitutional history, China retired within herself to such a degree that Japan, within one generation, has advanced to the position of a Great Power, and even Korea has become, within twenty years, the superior of her former liege. In less 12 KOREA than a decade Korea has promoted works of an industrial or humanitarian character which China, at the present time, is bitterly and fatally opposing. It is true that the liberal tendencies of Korea have been stimulated by asso- ciation with the Japanese. Without the guiding hand of that energetic country the position which she would enjoy to-day is infinitely problematical. The contact has been wholly beneficial. Its continuation forms the strongest guarantee of the eventual development of the resources of the kingdom. PAGODA AT SEOUL CHAPTER II Physical peculiarities — Direction of advancement — Indications of reform and prosperity — Chemulpo — Population — Settle- ment — Trade Korea is an extremely moun- tainous country. Islands, harbours, and mountains are its most pro- nounced natural features, and nearly the whole of the coast consists of Ihe slopes of the various mountain ranges which come down to the sea. There are many patches upon the west, where the approaches are less precipitous and rugged than upon the east. The coast seems to follow the con- tour of the mountains. It presents, particularly from the east, that lofty and inaccessible barrier of forest-clad country, which has won the admiration of all navigators and struck terror into the hearts of those who have met with disaster upon its barren and rocky shores. From Paik-tu-san to Wi-ju there is one mighty and natural panorama of mountains with snow-clad, cloud-wrapped summits, and beautiful valleys with rich crops and quaintly A MOMENT OF LEISURE 14 KOREA placed, low-thatcbed hovels, through which rivers course like angry silver. Everywhere in the north the mountains pre- dominate ; monstrous in shape and size. They are rich in minerals ; they have become sepulchres for the dead and mines for the living — for in their keeping lies the wealth of the ages, coal and iron and gold ; upon their summits, resting beneath the sky or within some nook hewn from their rugged slopes, are the graves of the dead. Mining and agriculture are almost the sole natural resources of the kingdom. There are great possibilities, however, in the awaken- ing energies and instincts of the people, which may lead them to create markets of their own by growing more than suffices for their immediate requirements. As yet, notwithstanding the improvements which have been in- augurated, and the industrial schemes, which the govern- ment has introduced, the reform movement lacks cohesion. Indeed the nation is without ambition. But the prospect is hopeful. Already something has been accomplished in the right direction. At present, however, Korea is in a state of transition. Everything is undefined and indetermined ; the past is in ruins, the present and the future are in the rough. Reforms are scarce a decade old, and, while many abuses have been redressed, the reform movement suffers for lack of support, comprehension, and toleration. The aspirations of the few are extending but slowly to the nation. Progress is gradual and the interval is tedious. The commercial phase of the movement is full of vitality, and the factories which have been established show the evolution of enterprise from aspiration. Foreigners are introducing education, while the present commercial activities are attributable to their suggestion and assistance. The small response, which these REFORM AND PROSPERITY 15 efforts elicit, make the labour of keeping the nation in the right direction very difficult. The people can scarcely relapse into the conservatism of ancient days, but they may collapse altogether, owing to the unfortunate circum- stances which are now making Korea an object of ironical and interested observation among the Western Powers. She may be absorbed, annexed, or divided ; in endeavouring to remain independent, she may wreck herself in the general anarchy that may overtake her. She has given much promise. She has constituted a Customs service, joined in the Postal Union and opened her ports. She has admitted railways and telegraphs, and shown kindness, consideration and hospitality to every condition of foreigner within her gates. Her confidence has been that of a child and her faults are those of the nursery. She is so old and yet so infinitely young ; and, by a curious fatality, she is now face to face with a situation which again and again has occurred in her past history. The introduction of Western inventions to Korea has gradually eliminated from contemporary Korean life many customs which, associated with the people and their tradi- tions from time immemorial, imparted much of the i-epose and picturesqueness which have so far distinguished the little kingdom. Korea, in the twentieth century, bears ample evidence of the forward movement which is stimu- lating its people. Once the least progressive of the countries of the Far East, she now affords an exception almost as noticeable as that shown by the prompt assimilation of Western ideas and methods by Japan. Chemulpo, however, the centre in which an important foreign settlement and open port have sprung up, does not suggest in itself the completeness of the transformation which in a few years has I 6 KOREA taken place in the capital. It is twenty years since Chemulpo was opened to foreign trade, and to-day it boasts a magni- ficent bund, wide streets, imposing shops, and a train service which connects it with the capital. Its sky is threaded with a maze of telephone and telegraph wire, there are several hotels conducted upon Western principles, and there is, also, an international club. At the threshold of the new century, the port presents an interesting study. With the adjoining Ha-do, a hamlet of military pretensions, it has grown in the twenty years of its existence from a cluster of fishermen's huts behind a hill along the river at Man-sak-dong into a prosperous cosmo- politan centre of twenty thousand people. Its growth, since the first treaty was negotiated with the West upon May 22, 1882, by the American Admiral Shufeldt, has been extra- ordinary. Its earlier years gave no promise of its rapid and significant advance. Trade has flourished, and a boom in the trade of the port has sent up the value of local properties. There is now danger of a decline in this state of affluence which may, in view of the chaos and uncertainty of the future of the kingdom, retard the settlement and disastrously affect its present prosperity. From small and uncertain beginnings four well-built, well-lighted settlements have sprung up, expanding into a general foreign, a Japanese, a Chinese, and a Korean quarter. The Japanese section is the best located and the most promising. The interests of this particular nation are also the most prominent in the export and import trade of the port, a position which is emphasised still further by the important nature of its vested interests among which the railroad between Seoul, the capital, and Chemulpo, with the trunk extension to Fusan, is paramount. The Japanese population increased by nearly five hundred ►J ^^ BRITISH LEGATION, SEOUL who were easily ejected by the orders of the Chief Commis- sioner of the Customs. These creatures then tore their clothes and ran crying to the Palace that they had been beaten and otherwise shamefully ill-used. As a result, the dismissal of the Chief Commissioner was demanded. Mr. Gubbins took the matter up with great promptness, and agreed that, upon certain conditions, which included a proper notice to quit and the choice of new sites, the Emperor might acquire both the British Legation and the Customs buildings, which were apparently necessary to the completion of the new Palace. As it happens, the British Legation, which directly overlooks the half-finished Palace, is far more necessary to the Emperor's peace of mind than the Customs buildings, which are upon a lower level. It is THE QUESTION OF THE CUSTOMS 89 obvious, therefore, that the attack was directed more against Mr. McLeavy Brown, by a posse of Court officials, than against his house. Nevertheless, it has always been apparent, since the Emperor came over to the shelter of the Legations, that there could be no sufficient accommodation for him in the Foreign quarter without encroaching on the grounds of the Legations. The Legations have a delightful situation on the only real eminence in the central part of Seoul, and the Emperor, now that he has come, must either be content with a malarial situation, at the feet, as it were, of the foreigners, or absorb the Legation grounds and send their tenants elsewhere. Already he has displaced the German Minister. Sooner or later the British, and perhaps the American, will go too ; and the Palace will then cover the whole hill, save the site of the Russian Legation, whose flag will still wave a little above the Imperial standard of Korea. No sooner had a settlement been attained upon the question at issue between the Court and the Chief Com- missioner of the Customs, than there came the announce- ment that a loan of five million yen had been arranged between the Government and the Yunnan Syndicate, upon the security of the revenue of the Customs. This at once compromised the authority of the Chief Commissioner, who, by virtue of his office, exercises absolute control over the revenues. It should be understood that the loan had nothing whatever to do with the question of Mr. McLeavy Brown's house. The original proposals were first mooted a year before the more recent trouble. The Yunnan Syndi- cate, a French company registered in London, is supported almost wholly by French capital. It is generally under- stood that the main object of the loan was to obtain a M 90 KOREA weapon by which unlimited concessions might be extox"ted. The manoeuvre was not altogether successful. The Yunnan Syndicate, by the terms of the agreement, bound itself to lend the Korean Government five million yen in gold and silver bullion at 5J per cent., the loan to be subject to a charge of 10 per cent, for commission, and to be repaid in instalments stretching over twenty-five years. In case the Korean Government were unable to repay the money out of the ordinary sources of revenue, the Customs revenue had been pledged as security. The agreement was signed by Pak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Yi Yong-ik, the Minister of Finance, on the one hand, and by M. Cazalis, agent of the company, and M. Colin de Plancy, French Minister at Seoul, on the other. The document left many points open. It was particularly vague in that no date was fixed for the delivery of the gold and silver bullion at Chemulpo. It was therefore argued, with obvious reason, that the Syndicate might turn this oversight to account by simply refusing to deliver the money until certain con- cessions had been granted. M. Cazalis, the agent of the Yunnan Syndicate, Limited, was indignant that he should find himself opposed both by Mr. Gubbins and Mr. McLeavy Brown, who, according to his view, followed the Japanese lead in suspecting Russian intrigue. There is no reason, however, to believe that the British charge d'affaires based his objections upon any such grounds. The scheme of the Yunnan Syndicate was quite iniquitous enough to meet with opposition for prima facie reasons. Here are the facts of the case as stated by the representative of the company. The Yunnan Syndicate, without consulting the Chief Commissioner of the Customs, the Japanese Minister, or the British Minister, secretly per- THE SUGGESTED LOAN 91 suaded the Korean Government to borrow five million yen in gold and silver bullion at 5^ per cent., giving the Custom? revenue as security. M. Cazalis argued that it was necessary to carry the matter through with secresy, because it would have been impossible to procure any signatures to the document, if the affair had been conducted publicly, with the full knowledge of the Chief Commissioner of the Customs. In other words, he admitted that the scheme was such as would never have commended itself to Mr. McLeavy Brown, who was absolutely impartial and without interest in the matter. In the meantime, it is as well to note that the loan aimed at creating a position for French interests in Korea. In view of the attempt of Russia to acquire an open and ice-free port for her own purposes, and the distinct understanding existing between the French and Russian Governments with regard to Russia's Asiatic policy, Great Britain could not disregard any possible development. At that moment French activity in Korea may not have involved any direct menace to our own interests. Nevertheless, any combination of circumstances which gave to French and Russian influence a predominance in the administration of the country, could scarcely fail to develop incidents, against which it is our manifest duty to guard. And it is perhaps curious, more- over, that the man who was the prime mover in the intrigue to dispossess Mr. McLeavy Brown of his house should have been the very one to arrange the loan from the Yunnan Syndicate with M. Cazalis. If the wisdom and necessity of a loan of five millions had been assured, there are many directions in Korea in which such a sum could be most profitably spent. With the revenue of the Customs as the guarantee, there would 92 KOREA have been no difficulty in securing more advantageous con- ditions than those of the contract. The terms were pre- posterous. Subsidiary proposals, as to which no conclusion was then reached, further demanded the lease of the Pyong- yang coal-mines, the control of forty-four additional mines, the purchase of French mining plant, the engagement of French mining experts, and involved minor stipulations, which were in themselves objectionable to the Court, while giving to French interests in Korea an unwarranted and undesirable preponderance. The uses to which it was alleged that the loan would be put were precisely those which are actually most necessary. Unanimous support for the loan would have been won if there had been the slightest reason to hope for the faithful observance by the Court of its pledges. Unhappily, there is no prospect that any very appreciable proportion of the loan will be ex- pended upon the objects on which such stress was laid, objects which are potent and vital factors in the economic development of the kingdom. The loan was handed over in bullion ; in the ratio of one-third silver and two- thirds gold, ostensibly that a National bank may be inaugu- rated and the present nickel coinage replaced by gold and silver tokens. This is eminently laudable. If the small dimensions of the loan rendered such a thing feasible, the conversion of the national money would be of incalcul- able benefit to the financial credit of the Government and the country in general. But it must be remembered that one of the reasons for contracting the last Japanese loan was to provide a nickel coinage exchangeable at par with the Japanese and Mexican silver tokens. Unhappily, this same coinage is now at a discount of 120 per cent, for one bundled Japanese cents gold. Examination has proved THE SUGGESTED LOAN 93 that the intrinsic value of one dollar nickel of Korean five cent pieces — at that time the only unit struck — is only one- eighteenth of its face value as against the Japanese gold standards of currency. The balance was "squeezed." It is likewise impossible to make provision for the legitimate and honourable expenditure of this new loan. Quite recently there has been a large issue of one-cent copper pieces. These coins sustain a better ratio to the yen than the nickel currency ; as a matter of fact the intrinsic value of the copper coinage is so much greater than the nickel money that there is a standard of exchange between them. At present the nickel, compared with the copper, token is quoted at 12 per cent, discount. THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY, SEOUL CHAPTER VIII Foreign action in Korea — Exhausted Exchequer — Taxes — Budgets — Debased currency — The Dai Ichi ginko — Dishonest officials The events, which have led up to the present complex con- dition of Korean poUtics, originated in the attempt of the Russians to secure control of the Customs and Finance of the Empire in the autumn of 1897. As the effort of the Russian Minister of that time, M. de Speyer, was only in part successful, his immediate successor, M. Matunine, the present representative, M. Pavlofif, and his confrere of the French Legation, M. Colin de Plancy, have in the interval con- sistently directed their diplomacy to the completion of the task. Their inability to force compliance with their demands upon the Korean Government has embittered their action FOREIGN ACTION IN KOREA 95 towards the British Minister and the Chief Commissioner of the Customs. In the prosecution of a work, at once discreditable and inspired by very petty prejudices, no single diplomatic device, which could serve their purpose, has been omitted from their policy. The check, which the plans of the Franco-Russian-Korean party received in con- sequence of British action has only retarded their develop- ment for the moment. It does not perceptibly relieve the situation, nor make the office of the Chief Commissioner more comfortable or the path of the British Minister more easy to follow. Indeed, it is quite certain that the opposition of the Russian and French Ministers to British activity will become more vigorous in the future. The assistance accorded by the British Government to Mr. Gubbins during the recent crisis, has done much to dispel from the minds of the Koreans those illusions which our past indifference had created. It is improbable that quite identical methods will be employed in any future attempt of the Court to oust Mr. McLeavy Brown from his position. If the Court gave way in the face of the British demonstration, the tact and consideration for the interests of both parties, which Mr. Gubbins subsequently displayed, materially contributed to the restoration of the status quo. Upon the other hand, the apathy of the British Govern- ment in failing to protect Mr. McLeavy Brown when he was deprived of the ComptroUership of the Finances at the instigation of the Russian Minister, in 1897, was of course conducive to the late disturbances. The two offices are so closely related, and the masterful and aggressive spirit of the Franco-Russian policy is such, that the accession of a Russian or French nominee to the Chief Commissionership of the Customs would 96 KOREA imply their subsequent fusion to the complete obliter- ation of British influence. This, of course, should be impossible ; and it would be, if the British Government would awaken to the importance of maintaining unimpaired its prestige in Korea. We have little material interest in Korea, but it must not be forgotten that our position in the kingdom should be superior to that of France, and equal to that of Russia If it were not that France is the partisan and ally of Russia in Korea, as well as elsewhere, there would be no occasion to do aught but support benevolently the policy of Japan, without unnecessarily endorsing the aggressiveness which distinguishes the attitude of the Island Empire to its neighbour. But if we wish to preserve our position we must put a little more vigour into our policy, and, while maintaining our working agreement with Japan, proceed to guarantee the integrity of our own interests. These would be best served by insisting upon the retention of a British nominee in the supervision of the Korean Maritime Customs. Our action in this respect would meet with the imqualified approval of Japan and the United States of America, whose trading interests, equally with our own, justify predominance in this control. The financial embarrassment of the Korean Government, at the present time, is the outcome of the abnormal extrava- gance of the Court. Anything which would tend to increase the load of debt with which the Emperor encumbers the dwindling resources of the national wealth, is neither politic nor desirable. The sources of the Imperial revenue resemble in lesser degree those which prevail in China. There are the Land Tax, paid no longer in grain, which returned four and a half of the seven million yen odd, composing the total domestic revenue in 1901; a House Tax, assessed capriciously TAXES AND BUDGETS 97 and evaded by the practice of a little discreet bribery ; the net Customs revenue, which was returned for 1901 at more than one million and a quarter yen (1,325,414 yen ; ^^135,303 sterling at exchange of as. o|J.), and the proceeds of the various concessions, monopolies, mines, and mint, and the sums derived from such miscellaneous and irregular taxation as may suggest itself to that keen-witted Minister Yi Yong-ik. Taxation is heavy and relentless. The list of the more important objects, upon which an impost is levied, includes, in addition to the land, customs and house taxes, salt, tobacco, fish, fur, lumber lands, minerals, ginseng, minting, cargo-boats, guilds, licences, paper, cowhides, pawnbroking, &c. In more recent times certain taxes have become obsolete. But this list, however, does not by any means exhaust the means by which the Emperor contrives to make his subjects " pay the piper." Quite subsidiary to the regular cases, but of great value in themselves, are the donations which are sent up from various parts of the country for the gratification of the Throne. These gifts are very comprehensive, and embrace the fruits of the land as well as the products of the sea. Little escapes the schedule of donations, and no intervention can bring about the discontinuation of the custom, while a failure on the part of a prefect to attend to this matter would result speedily enough in the loss of his office. The Budget for the year 1901 was assessed at nine million j^en odd, of which one million yen odd was dedicated to Imperial expenditure, and a trifle more than this sum paid to the Imperial Privy Purse. The esti- mated difference between the revenue and the expenditure of the same year was the small sum of 775 dollars. N 98 KOREA The Budget for 1902 provided for seven and a half milHon yen ; the estimated revenue was placed approxi- mately at the same figures, the balance between expenditure and revenue being 653 yen. It will be seen, therefore, that there is little reason for the financial difficulties in which the Tfirone is placed. If it were not that his Majesty frittered away his income upon the purchase of land, the adornment of his Palaces and his person, his relatives, his women, and the perpetual entertainment of his Court, this chronic im- poverishment of his exchequer would not exist. Moreover, at least one quarter of his revenue is appropriated by the native officials through whose hands it passes. Under these circumstances he has never been averse from accepting the assistance of interested parties ; but this ill-omened relief does not free the country from its burden of mortgage and taxation. The disbursements upon the different departments engage the revenue to a degree which is out of all relation to the precise utility or importance of any of these fantastic bureaux. The War Office claimed in 1901, in round figures, more than three and one half million yen, and the Foreign Office a quarter of a million yen, the Finance Department three quarters of a million yen, the Palace a little more than one million yen, and the Home Department a little less than that amount. One million yen is roughly -^100,000. The amount paid to the War Office for 1902 was, in round figures, very nearly three million yen ; to the Foreign Office, something in excess of a quarter of a million yen ; to the Finance Department, rather more than half a million yen. The Departments of Law, Agriculture, Police, Educa- tion, and Communications in this highly expensive and totally inefficient administration, all make good their claims BUDGETS 99 upon the Budget, until there is nothing left and very little to show for this lavish distribution of the public moneys. The Budget for 1903 I give in detail : — The total revenue is estimated at $10,766,115. The total expendi- ture is estimated at $10,765,491. This leaves a balance of $624. REVENUE Land Tax . . $7,603,020 Customs Duties . 850,000 House Tax . 460,295 Various Imposts . 150,000 Miscellaneous 210,000 Mint . 350,000 Balance from i eluding surpl 902 (in- us from 10,766,115 loan) . 1,142,800 EXPENDITURE The Emperor's private purse Sacrifices .... $817,361 186,639 1,004,000 The Imperial Household Railway Bureau . $21,980 Palace Police . . 118,645 Police in Open Ports 69,917 North-west Railway . 22,882 Ceremonial Bureau . 17,608 Mining Bureau . . 10,000 261,022 The Old Man Bureau 24,026 Bureau OF Generals. 65,853 The Cabinet 38,730 The Home Department Office Mayor's Office . Provincial Govern ments Prefectural Govern ments, 2nd class Quelpart . Prefectures Imperial Hospital Vaccination Bureau Travelling Expenses Prefectural Sacrifices 34.624 6,144 91,862 52,674 4,222 778,325 7,632 3,354 7.SO 866 980,533 lOO KOREA The Foreign Department Educational Department Office 26,024 Office 24,822 Superintendents of Trade . . . 51. ^54 Foreign Representa- tives . . . 201,020 Calendar . Schools in Seoul „ „ Country . Subsidies for Private Schools . Students Abroad 6,022 89,969 22,580 278,198 MENT 5.430 15,920 The Finance Depart 164,943 Office 53.910 Tax Collectors . 141,600 Agricultural Department Mint . 280,000 Payment on Debt Pensions . 989,250 1.956 200,000 Office General Expense 38,060 8,240 Transportation . 46.300 1,666,716 Council War Department Office 50,651 Office 18,580 Soldiers 4,072,931 Imperial Body-Guard Office 4.123.582 58.099 Law Department Office 31.603 Bureau of Decorations Supreme Court 15,686 Office 20,993 Mayoralty Court 8,162 Prefectural Courts 1. 251 XeLEGRAPH and PnQT Police Bureau 56,702 Office General Expense 23.640 438,295 Office 252,857 461,935 Seoul Prison 32,650 Bureau of Surveys Policemen Border Police, &c. . 51.462 23,762 Office 21,018 Travelling Expense, & c. 600 Surveys 50,000 361.331 71,018 DEBASED CURRENCY lOI Incidentals Miscellaneous . 480 Road and other Re- pairs 35,000 Police at Mines, Shrinkage . &c.. . 1,840 3,120 Repairs in Country . 10,000 56,240 Arrest of Robbers 500 Relief Worl< . 5,000 Burial of Destitute . 300 Emergency Fund 1,015,000 Steps have been taken from time to time by the Foreign Representatives to improve the finances of the country. Upon one occasion seven reforms were re- commended, and the report subsequently presented to his Majesty. In the course of an inquiry it transpired that, in addition to nickels which were minted by the Govern- ment, there were more than twenty-five separate and distinct brands of nickels then circulating in Korea. Until recent years the counterfeiting of Korean currency has not been remunerative. The old time cash was of such small value, and the combined cost of the metal and work together so nearly equalled the face value of the true token, that the risk was not commensurate with the profit. A single nickel of the present currency, however, is equivalent to twenty- iive of the old coinage, and as the net cost of their manufacture is less than a cent and a half a-piece, it will be seen that there is some incentive to the production of false money. The number of counterfeit nickels is rapidly increasing, and permits to coin were at one time freely issued by the Government to private individuals. Nickel is openly imported through the Customs ; spurious coins in large quantities are brought by almost every steamer from Japan and smuggled into the country. The Government care only for the profit which they derive from their illegitimate transaction, and, ignoring the permanent injury which they I02 KOREA are doing to the solvency of the country, adopt every means to circulate these depreciated coins. Until quite lately the circulation of nickel pieces was confined to the capital and the vicinity of two or three Treaty ports, the old copper cash being current elsewhere. With a view to extending their use, however, the magistrates throughout the Empire were ordered to accept redemption of taxes only in this currency. But as wages are generally paid in the nickel currency, and as the purchasing power of the nickel Korean dollar is less than half it was with copper cash, while the standard of payment remains the same, the bulk of the nation is paid no better than formerly, while the purchasing power of their earnings is infinitely less. There appears no prospect of any immediate improvement, since the Government contracted for the issue of a further forty million nickels. With this accomplished, the face value of the coinage in circulation, as against the Japanese gold yen, will be fourteen million yen, or nearly one million and a half pounds sterling. There is, of course, no gold or silver reserve with which to redeem this gigantic sum. To such a pitch has this condition of affairs attained that in Chemulpo quotations are current for : — (i) Government nickels ; (2) P'irst-class counterfeits ; (3) Medium counterfeits; and (4) Those passable only after dark. There is little wonder, therefore, that the currency question is engaging the earnest attention of the foreign repre- sentatives. Awakening at last to some sense of its responsi- bilities in this matter, the Japanese Government issued, on November 7th, 1902, an Imperial ordinance,, which came THE DAI I CHI GINKO 103 into force on the T5th, -with a view to deterring Japanese from making spurious coins or despatching such nickels of Japanese manufacture to Korea. The punishment to which offenders against the ordinance are liable is imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a line of not more than 200 yen {£20 8s. 41^.). This enactment gave the Japanese customs officers power to prevent the counterfeit coins from being shipped abroad, and enabled the Korean customs authorities to institute proceedings against Japanese found guilty of importing nickels of this description. From January 22nd, 1902, when the first seizure of the year took place, until the close of December, 3,573,138 pieces (coins and blanks), the total face value being ;^i8,i9i, were con- fiscated by the Chemulpo customs officers. The largest quantity taken at one time was 739,000 pieces, face value ^3772, detected on August 19th aboard a Korean junk, the second largest haul was made on September 8th in a cargo- boat, and consisted of 530,090 pieces, with a face value of ;£2SI2. With a view to provide a remedy against the deplorable condition of the Korean currency, a Japanese Bank, Dai Ichi Ginko (No. I. Bank), which is under direction of Baron Shibusawa, decided, with the support of the Japanese Government, to undertake the issue of notes by which a promise was made to pay the bearer on demand in Japanese currency at any of its branches in Korea. The Dai Ichi Ginko possesses branches at all the larger Treaty ports, as well as in Seoul, and is, perhaps, the most important com- mercial agent in the country. The Japanese Consular officers are authorised to supervise the issue and to receive statements of the circulation and reserves twice a month. They are also entrusted with certain discretionary powers I04 KOREA as to limiting the number of notes in use. The denomina- tion of the notes are i yen (2s. o^d.), 5 yen (los. 2^d.), 10 yen (;^i os. ^d.), and on May loth, 1902, there appeared the first issue of notes of i yen value. Those of 5 yen were put in circulation on September 20th following. The 10 yen notes were not issued until a later time. On February 28th, 1903, the circulation of Dai Ichi Ginko notes and the reserves held for their redemption stood as follows : Amount. Branch. In circulation. Reserves. Chemulpo . . 18,927 ... 18,927 Fusan . . . 24,568 ... 19,701 Seoul 1)894 ■•■ i)894 Mok-po . . . 14,406 ... 12,250 Total . . 59,795 ... 52,772 This action upon the part of the Dai Ichi Ginko gave rise to vehement opposition from the Korean Government. Although the issue of the notes was duly authorised by the Emperor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs persistently ob- structed the circulation of the notes. Upon September nth, 1902, an order was issued from the Foreign Office, upon the authority of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, pro- hibiting the use of the notes by Koreans upon grounds which impugned the credit of the entire proceeding. This order was inspired, of course, by Yi Yong-ik, and when a few months later, on January 8th, 1903, Cho Pyong-sik — then Foreign Minister — removed the prohibition, Yi Yong-ik at once contrived the dismissal of his too complaisant col- league. The Foreign Office was now without its Chancellor, and Yi Yong-ik immediately set himself to revoke the charter of the bank. After declaring that the Japanese DISHONEST OFFICIALS 105 paper-money would be the ruin of the country and alleging that the compensation claims against the Seoul-Fusan Rail- way Company were purposely paid in those notes with a view to an ultimate declaration of bankruptcy upon behalf of the bank, Yi Yong-ik summoned on January 24th a meeting of the Pedlar's Guild, at which he forbade their acceptance of this paper-money. A few days later, February ist, the Mayor of Seoul posted an edict throughout the city giving effect to this prohibition and, at the same time, threatening with most severe penalties any one who used the notes or in any way assisted to circulate them. The Finance De- partment then circulated the edict throughout the provinces, whereupon an immediate run upon the bank ensued. Three days later, upon February 4th, the Acting Japanese Minister threatened the Government with the demand of an indemnity and a number of mining and railway concessions in com- pensation for the injury occasioned the bank, unless the obnoxious measure was withdrawn. After considerable discussion and various meetings, the Korean authorities agreed to withdraw all obstruction and to publish throughout the Empire their recognition of the existence of the bank. From that day the validity of the position of the Dai Ichi Ginko has been unquestioned. The exactions and dishonesty of the officials impose a perpetual drain upon the national exchequer. In the removal of this one great evil, another serious obstacle to a more flourishing financial condition would be surmounted. Unfortunately, the drought and famine of 1901, added to the decrease in the revenues of 1902, created a discrepancy of five million yen. If this deficit may be considered extra- ordinary, no extenuating circumstances can excuse the supplementary losses of revenue attributable to the personal o io6 KOREA peculations of the officials. The stringency of the financial situation created by the famine drew attention to the very large deficits, with which many of the more important metropolitan and chief provincial officials were debited. The inability of any of these gentry to disgorge their ill- gotten gains resulted in their immediate prosecution at the instigation of the Finance Minister, Yi Yong-ik. Ministers of State, governors of provinces, prefects and inspectors were brought sharply to account by the execution, banish- ment, or imprisonment of many offenders. In such a moment the peculiar astuteness of Yi Yong-ik becomes conspicuous. While he visited any official who was compromised with the full penalties of the law, he himself executed, in his capacity of Minister of Finance, a bluff by which he netted almost half a million yen for the Imperial Treasury at one stroke. Yi Yong-ik arranged to buy the ginseng crop from the gin- seng farmers. This is a Government monopoly, and the price was arranged at eight dollars a pound for sixty-three thousand pounds' weight, dried and undried. When the time came to pay, and he had secured possession of the ginseng, Yi Yong-ik refused to give more than one dollar a pound, alleging that the ginseng growers had misrepre- sented the condition and weight of the consignment. In the meantime the ginseng was sold ; the money was appro- priated, and the balance in the Treasury correspondingly increased. Upon another occasion, at a time when the discount of nickel against yen gold was very low, Yi Yong-ik was instrumental in promoting the presentation of a gift of two million dollars Korean to the Emperor. By careful adjust- ment the value of the exchange, nickel currency as against yen DISHONEST OFFICIALS 107 gold, hardened twenty points the day after the presentation. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to point out that Yi Yong-ik occupied the interval in disposing of the difference to the advantage of his master. A SEOUL GATE CHAPTER IX Education — Arts and graces — Penal code — Marriage and divorce — The rights of concubines — Position of children — Government Until the introduction of foreign methods of education, and the establishment of schools upon modern lines, no very promising manifestation of intellect distinguished the Koreans. Even now, a vague knowledge of the Chinese classics, which, in rare instances only can be considered a familiar acquaintanceship, sums up the acquirements of the cultured classes. The upper classes of both sexes make some pretence of understanding the literature and language of China ; but it is very seldom that the middle classes are able to read more than the mixed Chinese-Korean script of the native Press — in which the grammatical construction is purely Korean. Despite the prevailing ignorance of Chinese, the Mandarin dialect of China is considered the language of polite society. It is the medium of official communication at the Court : the majority of the foreigners in the service of the Govern- ment have also mastered its intricacies. It has been estimated by Professor Homer B. Hulbert, whose elaborate researches in Korean and Chinese philology make him a distinguished authority, that only one per cent, of the women of the upper EDUCATION 109 class, who study Chinese, have any practical knowledge of it. Women of the middle and lower classes are ignorant of Chinese. Again, the proportion of upper class women who can read the Chinese classics is very small. It is probable that, out of an unselected assembly of Koreans, not more than five per cent, would be found who could take up a Chinese work and read it as glibly as a similar gathering of English might be expected to read ordinary Latin prose. In relation to the dit-mun, the common script of Korea, there is, however, no such ignorance ; the upper and middle classes study their native writing with much intelligence. The language of Korea is altogether different from that of China and Japan ; it possesses an alphabet of its own, which at present consists of some twenty-five letters. It has been ascribed by certain Korean annals to the fifteenth century, A.D. 1447, when the King of Korea, resolving to assert his independence by abandoning the use of Chinese writing as the official medium of correspondence, invented an alphabet to suit the special requirements of the vernacular. Con- servatism proved too strong, however, and the new script was gradually relegated to the use of the lower classes, and of women and children. There is an extensive literature in the vernacular. It includes translations from the Chinese and Japanese classics ; historical works on modern and mediaeval Korea, books of travel and hunting, of poetry and correspondence, and a range of fiction, dealing with those phases of human nature that are common to man- kind. Many of these books are regularly studied by Korean women, ignorance of their contents being regarded with disdain by the women of the upper classes, and, in a less pronounced degree, by those of the middle classes. The no KOREA female attendants in the Palace are the readiest students and scholars of the vernacular, their positions at Court requiring them to prepare on-mun copies of Government orders, current news, and general gossip, for Imperial use. Books in native script are readily purchased by all con- ditions of Koreans, and taken out from circulating libraries. Many of the works are written in Chinese and in Korean upon alternate pages for those who can read only one or the other ; those who are quite illiterate learning the more important chapters by ear. A work, with which every woman is supposed to be intimate, is entitled The Three Principles of Conduct, the great divisions being (i) The Treatment of Parents ; (2) The Rearing of a Family ; (3) Housekeeping. Companion books with this volume, and of equal importance to Korean women, are the Five Rules of Conduct and the Five Volumes of Primary Literature, which, in spirit and contents, are almost identical. They deal with the relations between (i) Parent and Child ; (2) King and Subject ; (3) Husband and Wife ; (4) Old and Young ; (5) Friend and Friend. They contain also ex- hortations to virtue and learning. Apart from the direction and scope of female education in Korea, which I have now suggested, the theoretical study of the domestic arts is an invariable accompaniment of the more intricate studies. It is supplemented with much actual experiment. As a consequence, while the education of men of certain rank is confined to the books to which they are but indifferently attentive, a wide range of study exists for women apart from the writings and teachings of the accepted professors and classical authorities. Ornamental elegances, the tricks and traits of our drawing-room minxes, are ignored by the gentler classes, vocal music and dancing PENAL CODE m being the accomplishments of dancing-girls and demi- mondaines. The arts of embroidery, dressmaking, sewing, and weaving absorb their attention until they have gone through the gamut of domestic economy. Occasionally women of the upper class learn to play the kumungo, an instru- ment some five feet long and one foot wide, bearing a faint resemblance to a zither and emitting a melancholy and discordant wail. There is one other stringed weapon, the nageum, but the awful screech of this unhappy viol over- whelms me, even in recollection. The usual and most simple amusement for the middle classes is the gentle, aimless stroll, for the purpose of "look see." Swinging, rope-games, dice, dominoes, and dolls find some favour as distractions. If some little improvement has become noticeable in educational matters under the enlightening influence of the missionaries, great fault must be found with the condition of the law. It is, of course, not always possible to graft upon the legal procedure of one country a system of administration which works well in another. Specific out- bursts of violence, arising from identical causes, assume different complexions when considered from the point of view of those who are proceeding to institute reforms. It may be submitted, further, that a certain element of barbarism in punishment is rendered necessary by the conditions of some countries, imposing a restraint upon a population which would scoff at punishment of a more civilised description. If exception may be taken to the penal code of Korea, it must be remembered that in the Far East the quality of justice is not tempered with mercy. Many punishments are still openly and frankly barbarous, while others are distinguished by their excep- 112 KOREA tional severity. Death by decapitation, mutilation, strangu- lation, or poison is now less frequent than formerly. Until within quite recent years it was the custom of Korean law to make the family of the arch-criminal suffer all his penalties with him. They arc now exempted, and with the reforms introduced during the movement in 1895 some attempt was made to abolish practices opposed to the spirit of progress. The table, which I append, shows the punishments dispensed for certain crimes. Treason, Man . . Decapitated, together with male relatives to the fifth degree. Mother, wife, and daughter poisoned or reduced to slaver}'. Treason, Woman . . Poisoned. Murder, Man . . . Decapitated. Wife poisoned. Murder, Woman . . Strangled or poisoned. Arson, Man .... Strangled or poisoned. Wife poisoned. Arson, Woman . . Poisoned. Theft, Man .... Strangled, decapitated, or banished. Wife re- duced to slavery, confiscation of all property. Desecration of graves Decapitated, together with male relatives to the fifth degree. Mother, wife, and daughter poisoned. Counterfeiting . . . Strangulation or decapitation. Wife poisoned. Under the Korean law, no wife can obtain a legal disso- lution of her marriage. The privilege of divorce rests with the man ; among the upper classes it is uncommon. The wife, however, may leave her husband and accept the pro- tection of some relative, when, unless the husband can dis- prove her charges, he has no redress. Should the wife fail to establish her case against her husband, the cost of the marriage ceremony, a large sum usually, is refunded by her relatives. The law does not force a wife to cohabit with her husband ; nor, so far as it affects the woman, does it take any cognisance of the matter. A man may divorce his wife MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE 113 retaining the custody of the children in every case, upon statutory grounds, and upon the following additional counts : indolence, neglect of the prescribed sacrifices, theft, and JUSTICE IS NOT TEMPERED WITH MERCY shrewishness. There is no appeal against the charges of the husband for women of the upper classes, domestic disturb- ances being considered entirely reprehensible. Much greater latitude prevails among the lower orders, irregular unions of a most benign elasticity being preferred. Concubinage is a recognised institution, and one in which the lower, as well as the higher, classes indulge. The rights of the children of concubines vary according to the moral laxity of the class in which they are born. Among the upper classes they possess no claim against the estate of their progenitors ; entail ignores them, and they may not observe the family sacrifices. In the absence of legitimate issue, a son must be adopted for the purpose of p 114 KOREA inheriting the properties of the family and of attending to the ancestral and funeral rites. Great stress is laid by the upper classes upon purity of descent ; among the middle and lower orders there is more indulgence. Save in the lowest classes, it is usual to maintain a separate establish- ment for each concubine. The fact that arnong the lower classes concubine and wife share the same house is re- sponsible for much of the unhappiness of Korean family life. In every case the position of the children of con- cubines corresponds with the status of the mother. Within recent years, considerable changes have taken place in the Government and in the administration of the law. Under the old system the despotic thesis of divine right was associated with many abuses. Justice was not tempered by mercy, and, in the suppression of crime, it was not always the guilty who suffered. The old system of government was modelled upon the principles of the Ming rule in China. The power of the sovereign was abso- lute in theory and in practice. He was assisted by the three principal officers of State and six administrative boards, to whom, so soon as the country was brought into contact with foreign nations, additional bureaux were added. Modifications in the spirit, or in the letter of the law have taken place from time to time at the instance of reformers. Before the ascendency of the Japanese came about, the principles and character of Korean law presented no very marked deviation from that which had been upheld in China through so many centuries. For a long time the intense conservatism of China reigned in Korea. The authority of the sovereign is more restricted to-day ; but in the hands of a less enlightened monarch it would be just as effective as ever against the interests of the country. Happil}', however GOVERNMENT 15 the era of progressive reform, which illustrated the inaugu- ration of the Empire, continues. The Government is now vested in a Council of State, composed of a Chancellor, six Ministers, five Councillors, and a Chief Secretary. The will of the sovereign is, how- CHILDKEN Of THli LOWER CLASS ever, supreme. The Departments of State are conducted by nine ministers, chief of whom is the Prime Minister, assisted in his Cabinet by the President of the Privy Council, the Ministers of the Household, of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Finance, War, Law, Education, and Agriculture. With improved internal administration many of the abuses which existed under the old system have disappeared. There are still many grievances, and the working of the new machine of State cannot be said to give unalloyed satisfaction. Justice is still hedged about with bribery ; official corruptness admits of the venal purchase of office. Much outcry accompanies the sweeping of the Augean stables ; and, at present, the advantages of the improvements hardly justify the ecstatic jubilation by which their intro- n6 KOREA duction was greeted. It is early yet to prophesy ; but, if the honourable administration of the public departments can be obtained, there is no reason why success should not attend the innovation. The responsibility for the working of the administrative machine, however, rests, in the interval, entirely upon the shoulders of the foreign advisers. It remains to be seen, therefore, if the united services of these distinguished people can prolong in any degree the era of honest government in Korea. CHAPTER X Farmers — Farming and farm animals— Domestic industries — Products — Quality and character of food-stuffs The Koreans are an agricultural people, and most of the national industries are connected with agriculture. More than seventy per cent, of the population are farmers ; the carpenter, the blacksmith, and the stonemason spring directly from this class, combining a knowledge of the forge or work- shop with a life-long experience of husbandry. The school- master is usually the son of a yeoman-farmer ; the fisher- man owns a small holding which his wife tills while he is fishing. The farming classes participate in certain industries of the country ; the wives of the farmers raise the cotton, silk, linen, and grass-cloth of the nation, and they also convert the raw material into the finished fabrics. The sandals, mats, osier and wooden wares which figure so prominently in Korean households, are the work of the farming classes in their leisure moments. The officials, the yamen runners, the merchants, inn-keepers, miners, and junk-men are not of this order, but they are often closely connected with it. The Government exists on the revenue raised from agriculture ; the people live upon the fruits of the soil ; Korean officials govern whole communities given over to agricultural labour. The internal economy of the country ii8 KOREA has been affiliated for centuries to the pursuits and problems of agriculture. Koreans are thus instinctively and intuitively agriculturists, and it is necessarily along these lines that the development of the country should in part progress. It is impossible not to be impressed by a force which works so laboriously, while it takes no rest save that variety which comes with the change of season. The peaceable, plodding farmer of Korea has his counterpart in his bull. The Korean peasant and his weary bull are made for one another. Without his ruminating partner, the work would be imprac- ticable. It drags the heavy plough through the deep mud of the rice-fields, and over the rough surface of the grain lands ; it carries loads of brick and wood to the market, and hauls the unwieldy market cart along the country roads. The two make a magnificent pair ; each is a beast of burden. The brutishness, lack of intelligence, and boorishness of the agricultural labourer in England is not quite reproduced in the Korean. The Korean farmer has of necessity to force himself to be patient. He is content to regard his sphere of utility in this world as one in which man must labour after the fashion of his animals, with no appreciable satis- faction to himself. Originally, if history speaks truly, the farmers of Korea were inclined to be masterful and independent. Indications of this earlier spirit are found nowadays in periodical pro- tests against the extortionate demands of local officials. These disturbances are isolated and infrequent, for, when once their spirits were crushed, the farmers developed into the present mild and inoffensive type. They submit to oppression and to the cruelty of the Yaiiicn ; they endure every form of illegal taxation, and they ruin themselves to pay " squeezes," which exist only through their own humility. FARMERS 119 They dread the assumption of rank and the semblance of authority. Their fear of a disturbance is so great that, although they may murmur against the impositions of the magistrate, they continue to meet his demands. At the present day the farmer of Korea is the ideal child THE KOREAN AND HIS BULL of nature ; superstitious, simple, patient and ignorant. He is the slave of his work, and he moves no further from his village than the nearest market. He has a terrified belief in the existence of demons, spirits and dragons, whose dirty and grotesque counterfeits adorn his thatched hut. There are other characteristic traits in this great section of the national life. Their capacity for work is unlimited; they are seldom idle, and, unlike the mass of their countrymen, they have no sense of repose. As farmers, they have by instinct and tradition certain ideas and principles which are excellent in themselves. To the wayfarer 120 KOREA and stranger the individual farmer is supremely and sur- prisingly hospitable. A foreigner discussing the peculiarities of their scenery, their lands, and the general details of their life with them, is struck by their profound reverence for everything beyond their own understanding, and their amazing sense of the beautiful in nature. The simplicity of their appreciation is delightful. It is easy to believe that they are more susceptible to the charms of flowers and scenery than to that of woman. At rare intervals the farmer indulges in a diversion. Succumbing to the seductions of market day, after the fashion of every other farmer the world has ever known, he returns to the homestead a physical and moral wreck, the drunk and disorderly residuum of many months of dreary abstinence and respectability. At these times he develops a phase of unexpected assertiveness, and forcibly abducts some neighbouring beauty, or beats in the head of a friend by way of enforcing his argument. From every possible point of view he reveals qualities which proclaim him. the simple, if not ideal, child of nature. During the many months of my stay in Korea I spent some days at a wayside farmhouse, the sole accommodation which could be obtained in a mountain village. The slight insight into the mode of life of the farming peasant which was thus gained was replete with interest, charm and novelty. Knowing something of the vicissitudes of farm life, I found the daily work of this small community supremely instructive. Upon many occasions I watched the farmer's family and his neighbours at their work. The implements of these people are rude and few, consisting of a plough, with a movable iron shoe which turns the sods in the reverse direction to our own; a spade, furnished with FARMING AND FARM ANIMALS 121 ropes and dragged by several men ; bamboo flails and rakes, and a small hoe, sharp and heavy, used as occasion may require for reaping, chopping and hoeing, for the rough work of the farm, or the lighter service of the house. A SPADE FUENISHED WITH ROPES During the harvest all available hands muster in the fields. The women cut the crop, the men fasten the sheaves, which the children load into rope panniers, sus- pended upon wooden frames from the backs of bulls. The harvest is threshed without delay, the men emptying the laden baskets upon the open road, and setting to with solemn and uninterrupted vigour. While the men threshed with their flails, and the wind winnowed the grain, six, and sometimes eight, women worked, with their feet, a massive beam, from which an iron or granite pestle hung over a deep granite mortar. This rough and ready contrivance Q 122 KOREA pulverises the grain sufficiently for the coarse cakes which serve in lieu of bread. Beyond the bull and the pig, there are few farm animals in the inland districts. The pony and the donkey are not employed in agricultural work to the same extent as the bull. This latter animal is cared for more humanely than the unfortunate pony, whose good nature is ruined by the execrable harshness with which he is treated. The gross cruelty of the Korean to his pony is the most loathsome fea- ture of the national life. Irrigation is necessary only for the rice, which yields fairly abundant crops throughout Central and Southern Korea. To the north, rice makes way for millet, the great supple- mentary food of Korea. Elsewhere paddy-fields abound, and the people have become adepts in the principles of irrigation and the art of con- serving water. Rice is sown in May, transplanted from the nurseries to the paddy-fields in June, and gathered in October. In times of drought, when it is necessary to tide over the period of distress, the fields are used for barley, oats and rye which, ripening in May and cut in June, allows a supplementary crop to be taken from the fields. The fields are then prepared for the rice. The land is inun- POUNDING GRAIN DOMESTIC INDUSTRY 123 dated ; the peasant and his bull, knee-deep in water, plough the patches. Beans, peas, and potatoes are planted between the furrows of the cornfields, the land being made to pro- duce to its full capacity. The crops are usually excellent. The fields differ from the farms in China, where the farmers,, preferring short Jurrows, grow their crops in small sections. The long furrows of the Korean fields recall Western methods, but here the analogy ends. The spectacle of these well- ordered acres is a revelation of the earnest way in which these down-trodden people combat adversity. In many ways, however, they need assistance and advice. If it were prudent to accom- plish it, I would convert the mission centres of the inland districts into experi- mental farm-stations, and attach a competent demonstrator to each establishment. The Koreans hold rice, their chief cereal, in peculiar honour. They stale that it originated in Ha-ram, in China, at a period now involved in much fable and mystery — 2838 B.C. to 2698 B.C. The name, Syang-nong-si, itself means Marvellous Agriculture. The name was doubtless given at a later time. The first rice was brought to Korea by Ki-ja in 1122 B.C. together with barley and other cereals. Before that time the only grain raised in Korea was millet. CARRYING PRODUCE TO MARKET 124 KOREA There are three kinds of rice in Korea, with a variety of sub-species. First, that which is grown in the ordinary paddy-fields. This is called specifically tap-kok, or paddy- field rice. It is used almost exclusively to make pap, the ordinary boiled rice. Then we have chun-kok or field-rice. This is so-called upland rice. It is drier than the paddy-field rice, and is used largely in making rice flour and in brewing beer. The third kind is grown exclusively on the slopes of mountains, and is a wild rice. It is smaller and harder than the other kinds ; for this reason it is used to provision garrisons. It will withstand the weather. Under favourable circumstances, lowland rice will keep five years, but the mountain rice will remain perfectly sound for quite ten years. Next in importance to rice come the different kinds of pulse, under which heading is included all the leguminous plants, the bean and the pea family. That Korea is well provided with this valuable and nutritious form of food will be seen from the fact that there are thirteen species of round beans, two kinds of long bean, and five varieties of mixed bean. Of all these numerous assortments, the " horse- bean " is by far the most common. It is the bean which forms such a large part of the exports of Korea. It is sup- posed by Koreans to have originated in North-Western China, and derives its name from the fact that it is used very largely for fodder. One variety only may be regarded as indigenous — the black-bean — and it is found nowhere else in Eastern Asia. Of the rest, the origin is doubtful. The horse-bean grows in greatest abundance in Kyong-syang Province and on the island of Quelpart, though of course it is common all over the country. The black-bean flourishes best in Chyol-la Province. The green-bean, oil-bean, and white-cap bean CHARACTER OF FOOD-STUFFS 125 flourish in Kyong-keui Province. The yellow bean is found in Hwang-hai Province ; the South River bean appears in Chyung-chyong Province ; the grandfather-bean (so called because of its wrinkles) grows anywhere, but not in large quantities. The brown-bean and chestnut-bean come from Kang-won Province. It would be difficult to over-estimate the importance of these different species of pulse to the Korean. They furnish the oily and nitrogenous elements which are lacking in rice. As a diet they are strengthening, the nutritious properties of the soil imparting a tone to the system. Preparations of beans are as numerous as the dishes made from flour ; it is impossible to enumerate them. Upon an average, the Koreans eat about one-sixth as much pulse as rice. The price of beans is one-half that of rice ; the price of either article is liable to variations. There are varieties which cost nearly as much as rice. The common name for barley is po-rl ; in poetical par- lance the Koreans call barley The Fifth Moon of Autumn, because it is then that it is harvested. The value of barley to the Korean arises from the fact that it is the first grain to germinate in the spring. It carries the people on until the millet and rice crops are ready. Barley and wheat are extensively raised throughout Korea for the purpose of making wine and beer. In other ways, however, they may be considered almost as important as the different kinds of pulse. The uses of barley are very numerous. Besides being used directly as farinaceous food it becomes malt, medicine, candy, syrup, and furnishes a number of side-dishes. Wheat comes mostly from Pyong-an Province, only small crops of it appearing in the other Provinces. Barley yields spring and autumn crops, but wheat yields 126 KOREA only the winter crop. The poor accept wheat as a substitute for rice, and brew a gruel from it. It is used as a paste ; it figures in the native pharmacopoeia, and in the sacrifices with which the summer solstice is celebrated. Oats, millet, and sorghum are other important cereals in Korea. There are six varieties of millet ; the price of the finer qualities is the same as that obtained for rice. One only of these six varieties was found originally in the country. Sorghum is grown principally in Kyong-syang Province. It grows freely, however, in the south ; but is less used than wheat, millet, or oats in Korea. A curious distinction exists between the sorghum imported from China and the native grain. In China, sorghum is used in making sugar ; when this sugar-producing grain arrives in Korea it is found impossible to extract the sugar. Two of the three kinds of sorghum in Korea are native, the third coming from Central China. Oats become a staple food in the more mountainous regions, where rice is never seen ; it is dressed like rice. From the stalk the Koreans make a famous paper, which is used in the Palaces of the Emperor. It is cultivated in Kang-won, Ham-kyong, and Py5ng-an Provinces. The Korean is omnivorous. Birds of the air, beasts of the field, and fish from the sea, nothing comes amiss to his palate. Dog-meat is in great request at certain seasons ; pork and beef with the blood undrained from the carcase, fowls and game — birds cooked with the lights, giblets, head and claws intact, fish, sun-dried and highly malodorous, all are acceptable to him. Cooking is not always necessary ; a species of small fish is preferred raw, dipped into some piquant sauce. Other dainties are dried sea-weed, shrimps, vermicelli, made by the women from buckwheat flour and CHARACTER OF FOOD-STUFFS 127 white of egg, pine seeds, lily bulbs, honey-water, wheat, barley, millet, rice, maize, wild potatoes, and all vegetables of Western and Eastern gardens ; even now the list is by no means exhausted. Their excesses make them martyrs to indigestion. CHAPTER XI Japan in Korea — Historical associations — In Old Fusan — Political and economic interests — Abuse of paramountcy Southern Korea bears many evidences of the warlike activities and commercial en- terprise of the past generations of Japanese, who, abandon- ing their own island home, sought domicile upon the shores of the neigh- bouring penin- sula. The pre- carious exist- ence of these waifs and strays from an alien state, in the midst of a people whose whole attitude was anti- foreign, did not deter others from coming to her ports. JAPANESE CAVALRY JAPAN IN KOREA 129 This gradual migration from Japan to the Hermit King- dom continued during many centuries, promoting an intercourse between two races which the Government was powerless to frustrate. Japanese historians argue from this settlement in Korea that the State was a vassal of Japan from the second century by right of conquest and appro- priation. The idea, which prevailed through seventeen centuries, was not finally rejected until the Ambassador of the Mikado signed a treaty at Seoul on February 7th, 1897, which recognised Korea as an independent nation. From about the beginning of the Christian era until the fifteenth century, the relations between Japan and Korea were very close. From this period onward Korea, although maintain- ing her attitude of complacent indifference to events outside her own Empire, betrayed signs of weakness in her policy of isolation when menaced with the importunate demands of her rival neighbours, China and Japan. At the two points in her Empire adjacent to the dominions of China and Japan, war and peace alternately prevailed. If, upon occasion, the Koreans went out unsupported to fight their invaders, the leaders more usually united with one of the two rivals against the other. Thus, there was always turmoil throughout the kingdom. In the south, as in the north, the tide of war rolled backwards and forwards, with varying success. From the west, the armies of China appeared and vanished, skirting the Liao-tung Gulf, to plunder and to devastate the peninsula. Fleets from Shan- tung, crossing the Yellow Sea, dropped their anchors in the rivers of the land. The west was threatened by the hordes of China, and the south was harried by ships and men from the east, who pounced upon Fusan and seized the cities of the south. The aggressions of the Japanese R 130 KOREA extinguished any hope the Koreans might still have cherished of preserving the southern frontier of their kingdom intact. Although cordons of armed sentinels and palisades, barriers of mountains and miles of ruined and deserted wastes pro- tected the northern borders against the incursions of the Chinese soldiers to some extent, the south was vulnerable. Fusan was the floodgate through which poured the hostile masses of Japan, an unbroken stream of men, to deluge the land. They invaded Korea as enemies, levying tribute ; they came as allies against China ; they appeared as the embassies of a friendly State and returned enriched to the Court of their Sovereign. Actuated by feelings of mercy, they sent grain-ships to Fusan when famine over- took their neighbours. Between Japan and Fusan there was the continuous passing of ships. Around this outlet, the one gate to the southern half of the kingdom, the spasmodic beginnings of the present important commerce between the two countries grew out of a fretful exchange of commodities. In the years that followed the earlier visitations, Japan became so embarrassed by her own internal troubles, that the Kingdom of Korea was left in that peace and seclusion which, always preferring, it had found so much difficulty in securing. This happy state of things prevailed for two centuries. At the end of this interval, the annual embassy to Japan from the Court of Korea had ceased. The kingdom in general, lulled by visions of perpetual peace, no longer maintained defences. Military preparations were neglected • the army was disorganised; the old fighting spirit of the people died down, and martial exercises disappeared from the training of the militia. Dissipation and profligacy were rife. In the meantime, order having been restored in Japan, JAPAN IN KOREA 131 the thoughts of her soldiers again turned towards fields of conquest and deeds of daring. The vassalship of Korea was recalled ; the King was summoned to renew his allegiance. The answer proving unsatisfactory, prepara- THE GUARD OF THE JAPANESE LEGATION, SEOUI. tions for an invasion were at once begun. The fleet assembled and the ships set sail. The mobility which was to distinguish the Japanese in after years characterised their movements in this campaign. Within eighteen days after their landing at Fusan, the capture of the capital was accomplished and a blow was struck, which enabled the Koreans at last to understand the gravity of their plight. The part, which Fusan played in this war, materially assisted the invading hosts of Japan. A settlement at Fusan, which had been founded long since by the retainers of the Daimio of the island of Tsu-shima, assisted by itinerant traders and deserters from the numerous expeditions which 132 KOREA visited its shores, had grown to such dimensions that when the force was descried off the harbour upon the morning of May 25th, T592, Fusan was already in their possession. This circumstance gave the troops immediate facilities for disembarkation, and, in the subsequent vicissitudes of the next six years' campaign, expedited the progress of the war. The position of Fusan speedily made the place a base of supplies to the army of operation and a repairing yard for the Japanese fleet after their disastrous engagement with the Korean ships, in an attempt to co-operate with the victorious forces, which Konishi and Kuroda had assembled before Pyong-yang. After the conclusion of the first invasion and the Japanese retreat from the north, before the com- bined strength of the Chinese and Koreans on May 22nd, 1593, Fusan became one of the fortified camps upon the coast, where the Japanese armies passed the winter in sight of the shores of their own land. The negotia- tions, which were opened in the following year, and shifted alternately between the camp of the Commander- in-Chief at Fusan and the Courts in China and Japan, failed. Even at this date Japan was anxious to establish her power in. Korea by obtaining possession of the southern provinces. Foiled in this attempt, she i-enewed her attack. Fusan again became the seat of the councils of war, and the base for the second invasion. The operations began with the siege of the Castle of Nan-on, in Chyol-la province, upon the morning of September 21st, 1597. Twelvemonths later, the Japanese were withdrawn from Korea, and the war came to its close. Two hundred years passed before Korea recovered from the desolation of this conflict, which was one in which the loss of three hundred thousand men JAPAN IN KOREA 133 was recorded. Moreover, the Japanese retained Fusan, a perpetual evidence of their victory. This early claim to the southern provinces put forward by the Japanese plainly reveals how long standing is their wish to annex the southern half of Korea. Even in modern times, they have embarked upon one campaign in the interests of Korea, while they are now ready to go to war with Russia on behalf of the same nation that they themselves consistently bully. Their plea of Korea for the Koreans, however, is in curious contrast to their own lawless domina- tion of the coveted territory. Indeed, the interests which the Japanese have developed for themselves throughout these regions do not disclose much consideration for the rights of the natives. The treaty of 1876, which opened Fusan to Japanese settlers, removed the nominal obstacles to that over-sea immigration which had been progressing steadily during several centuries. A wave of Japanese colonisation at once lapped the eastern, western, and southern shores of the Hermit Kingdom. Indications of previous incursions were given by the affinity which existed between the language, manners, and local customs of these newcomers and the indigenous race. The existence of this affinity became a powerful, if im- personal, instrument in abating the opposition of the popu- lation to the settlement. Unable to obtain the secession of the territory which they so much desired, communities of Japanese fringed its borders. They planted themselves wherever there were prospects of trade, until the resources of the land were tapped in all directions, and the control of its commerce was virtually in their hands. As other ports were opened at the persistent instigation of these per- severing traders, however, the settlement of the south 134 KOREA proceeded less rapidly. In view of the changing rela- tions between Korea and the Powers, therefore, the Japanese passed further afield, developing some little industry to their own advantage wherever they went. Trade followed their flag, whether they were within the radius of the treaty ports, or engaged in forcing the hand of the local officials by settling beyond the limitations of their Conventions. The success of these efforts was soon assured. Despite the stipulations of the treaties, and in face of the objections of their own, as well as the Korean, Government, the irrepressible activity of these pioneers of a past generation unconsciously contributed to that supre- macy which the trade of Japan has since achieved in the land of her former enemy. The expansion of Japanese interests in Korea has not been without political design. The integrity of her neigh- bour is bound up with her own existence. The security of Korea emphasises the safety of her own borders; and, as her own Empire has developed into a iirst-class Power, this desire to see the kingdom respected has become more and more the spirit of the policy upon which she has concen- trated her individual action. She has fostered the trade with Korea because it drew together the ties which con- nected the two countries. She has urged the concession of ports, and still more ports, to foreign commerce, because the preponderance of her trade in these open marts sub- stantiates her claim to be the lawful champion of the race. The progress of Korea, since the country came under her supervision, has been more evident than any of the difficulties which have originated out of the disposition of the Japanese to bully and coerce the Koreans. If, upon occasion, the results have suggested that the blind cannot JAPAN IN KOREA 135 lead the blind without disaster, the rarity of mistakes reflects credit upon the judgment which has been dis- played. This combination is, of course, directed against foreigners. Just as Japan is discarding those Western teachers, whose genius and administrative abilities protected her in her days of ignorance, so does she hanker after the time when she alone may guard the interests of Korea, and supply the demands of her markets. At present, however, it is open to question whether the Koreans will have over- come their feelings of irritation against the Japanese by the time that these have become thoroughly progressive in their treatment of the Koreans. The Japanese are more repressive in their methods than they need be. The extraneous evidence of the power of the Japanese irritates the Koreans, increasing the unconquerable aver- sion which has inspired them against the Japanese through centuries, until, of the various races of foreigners in Korea at the present, none are so deservedly detested as those hailing from the Island Empire of the Mikado. Nor is this prejudice remarkable, when it is considered that it is the scum of the Japanese nation that has settled down upon Korea. It is, perhaps, surprising that the animus of the Koreans against the Japanese has not died out with time; but the fault lies entirely with the Japanese themselves. Within recent years so much has occurred to alter the position of Japan and to flatter the vanity of these island people that they have lost their sense of perspective. Puffed up with conceit, they now permit themselves to commit social and administrative excesses of the most detestable character. Their extravagant arrogance blinds them to the absurdities and follies of their actions, making manifest the fact that their gloss of civilisation is the merest veneer. Their conduct 136 KOREA in Korea shows them to be destitute of moral and intellectual fibre. They are debauched in business, and the prevalence of dishonourable practices in public life makes them indifferent to private virtue. Their interpretation of the laws of their settlements, as of their own country, is corrupt. Might is right; the sense of power is tempered neither by reason, justice nor generosity. Their existence from day to day, their habits and their manners, their commercial and social degradation, complete an abomin- able travesty of the civilisation which they profess to have studied. It is intolerable that a Government aspiring to the dignity of a first-class Power should allow its settlements in a friendly and foreign country to be a blot upon its own prestige, and a disgrace to the land that harbours them. There are some twenty-five thousand Japanese in Korea, and the Japanese settlement is the curse of every treaty port in Korea. It is at once the centre of business, and the scene of uproar, riot, and confusion. In the comparative naked- ness of the women, in the noise and violence of the shop- keepers, in the litter of the streets, there is nothing to suggest the delicate culture of Japan. The modesty, cleanliness, and politeness, so characteristic of the Japanese, are conspicuously absent in their settlements in this country. Transformation has taken place with transmigration. The merchant has become a rowdy; the coolie is impudent, violent, and, in general, an outcast more prone to steal than to work. Master and man alike terrorise the Koreans, who go in fear of their lives whenever they have transactions with the Japanese. Before the Chino- Japanese war this spirit had not displayed itself to any great extent in the capital of the Hermit Kingdom. With the successful conclusion of that campaign, how- ABUSE OF PARAMOUNTCY 137 ever, the Japanese became so aggressive in their treat- ment of the people that, had the choice of two evils been possible in view of these events, the Koreans would have preferred the Chinese and a state of dependence to the conditions which were then introduced. The universal admiration aroused by the conduct of the Japanese troops in the North-China campaign of 1900-1901 has added sensibly to the vanity and egoism of these Korean- Japanese. Convinced of their innate superiority, their violence towards the Koreans goes on unchecked. It threatens now to assume unparalleled dimensions. If the relations between the Powers are to continue upon a satisfactory footing in Korea, it will be necessary for the Japanese Government to redress those abuses which foreigners, Japanese, and Koreans alike have combined to denounce. H.M.S. ASTREA CHAPTER XII The commercial prospects of Korea — Openings to trade — Requirements of markets — Lack of British enterprise The trade returns for 1900 exceeded every previous year. During the period covered by the Boxer disturbances, however, the Korean exports to China decreased, and the importation of foreign goods likewise fell off. The stimulus given to the cereal trade, by the interruption of the Man- churian export bean trade from Niu-chwang, and by the demand for food-supplies for the troops in China, more than counterbalanced this temporary decline in direct native exports and direct foreign imports. Cotton goods, however, show an increase of ^^14,297 over the figures of previous years ; but there is a specific falling off in imports of British manufacture and origin, and a specific advance m the more important lines of Japanese goods. I append a small table revealing the comparative prosperity of British and Japanese trade at this date : English, decrease in : Shirtings . . . ^'59,069 Indian Yarn . . £3,0$^ Sheetings and other pieces . Small decrease Japanese, increase in : Shirtings . . /'i,73i Yarn . . /■! 1,329 Sheetings . . /•4o,422 Other piece goods £25,676 In time, the markets of Japan will produce everythins; COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS OF KOREA 139 which at present comes from America in the shape of canned goods, and from Europe, in the form of textiles or food-stuffs. Japanese woven fabrics, and canned foods of inferior quality are driving the wholesale manufacturing houses of England and America from the markets. At present, therefore, the trade of Korea is limited as much by the capacity of the Japanese markets as by the wants of the Korean. In face of the opposition of the Japanese, their determination to retain the Korean markets for themselves, and the absence of effective attempts by Western houses to beat up such trade as may exist, it is difficult to believe that the future will show any material expansion in the capacity of the foreign trade. Nevertheless, Korea provides a fair field for capital. It would be quite possible to improve the condition of foreign trade, if merchants could arrange to protect their interests by establishing their own agencies in the country, under competent and energetic European management. When British merchants depart from their apathetic indifference and organise an exhaustive expert inquiry into the capa- bilities of the Korean trade, their trouble will be quickly rewarded. New markets require new commodities, the demand for which any technical inspection of the require- ments of the people will disclose. Until this examination takes place, however, the stagnation in British trade must continue. Korea offers to British interests an interesting field in which the development of new industries must be conducted upon practical lines. Briefly, the imports in demand are those which are necessary to meet the require ments of an agricultural country whose mining resources are in process of development and whose railway system is as yet in its early stages. The increase in the importation 140 KOREA of mining supplies supports this contention. Bags and ropes for packing, machinery for agricultural and mining purposes, and sewing machines are in greater demand. Railway material is, of course, wanted. The new industries may not be upon a large scale. Primitive methods doubtless will continue for the most part to govern native manu- factures such as grass cloth, straw mats, ropes, &c. Excellent paper has been made since the i-eplacement of the use of native lye by caustic soda and soda-ash, while the innova- tion is one to which the people have taken kindly enough. Again, while the paper industry is capable of expansion, a brisk business in leather could be built up in the country. Hides, which are exported to Japan in their raw state, are abundant, and might be converted into leather so easily on the spot. The straw braid industry contains great possibilities, while the climate of Korea is naturally suited to the growth and treatment of silk. Many things would be necessary to the success of such enterprises. The work must be based upon a knowledge of the country and its language. The manufacturer or the merchant must take the pains to accommodate a direct import trade to the exigencies of the local market. As an example, smaller bales and shorter lengths are requisite in the piece goods. The establishment of sample warehouses at the treaty ports, and in the more important trade-centres of the interior, where bales of shirting, cotton and woollen goods, cases of farming implements, &c., could be opened and sold for cash, would appeal to the natives. This departure would avoid the increase in the prime cost of the ar- ticles necessitated by the existing system of transhipment. At present, goods come from Shanghai to Chi-fu and OPENINGS TO TRADE 141 thence to Chemulpo. They pass then from the importer to the Chinese merchants, and from them to the Korean wholesale buyers ; these resell them in greatly diminished quantities to the pedlars and agents, who retail the goods. It would also be advisable to create consular agencies in Fusan and Won-san. Official representation at present is confined to an underpaid and understaffed Legation in Seoul, and a vice-consulate in Chemulpo. Additional employes should be interchangeable, undertaking either the vice-consular duties of the ports or the secretarial services of the Legation. The bulk of the imports and exports, which pass through the Customs, comes from China and Japan. The means of transport are controlled by Japanese ; the export trade of the country is entirely in their hands. This fact alone should appeal to British shipping interests and to ship-owners. Unfortunately, many years of prosperity have brought about great changes in the spirit of our nation, and we no longer show the enterprise and initiative which formerly distinguished us. This depreciation in the forces of the nation has promoted a corresponding depression in our trade. We are no longer the pioneers of commerce ; nor have we the capacity and courage of our forefathers who fostered those interests of which we are now so neglectful in every quarter of the globe. At the dawn of the twentieth century, it is amazing to find a country, with a total foreign import and export trade exceeding two millions and a half sterling for the year 1901 and two millions and three quarters sterling for the year 1902, whose shores were visited by over ten thousand steam and sailing trading-vessels in the same period, registering an aggregate tonnage of more than two million tons, almost untouched by British merchantmen. 142 KOREA Deplorable as this may be, statistics which Mr. McLeavy Brown has drawn up show that one steamship, chartered by Chinese and floating the British flag, entered Korean waters in 1900 ; that four steamers came in each of the years 1901-2, a return which reveals a steady decline upon the previous years. Since Korea was opened to trade in 1880, British shipping has visited the country in the proportion of 1377 tons to every two years. Despite appeals from our Consuls in Korea to British steamship companies improvement has been impossible ; since no response was evoked by their efforts, and no service has been established. The conse- quence of this is that a valuable opportunity has been allowed to escape, the Japanese profiting by our indifference. The trade of Korea is increasing gradually. A steamer, which could make periodical calls between Shanghai and Won-san, Yokohama and Vladivostock, taking cargo and passengers to the open ports of Korea, and touching at Japan upon the journey back, would return good money upon the venture. British and Chinese merchants would prefer to ship in a British vessel. The old-fashioned traditions of the British mercantile service, as to punctuality and despatch, are not carried out by the steamers of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha and the Osaka Shosen Kaisha, which call at the ports in Korea. It is almost impossible to know when the steamers of these companies will arrive or when they will leave. Little attempt is made to ob- serve their schedule. The condition of the vessels of the latter company accredited to the Korean run is filthy. Moreover, this company is careless of cargo, and quite indifferent to the comforts of its passengers. The Nippon Yusen Kaisha certainly supplies meals in foreign style, but the Osaka Shosen Kaisha provides OPENINGS TO TRADE 143 nothing. Plying between Japan, China and Korea, this company declines to make any arrangements for foreigners in the matter of food or accommodation. One experience is enough. Unfortunately, foreigners are compelled to travel in them, as the steamers of one or other of the two com- panies are usually the sole means of communication between those countries and Korea. There is cargo and passenger traffic for any company that will organise a regular steam- service. The profits might be small at first, since the Japanese prefer to endure their own steamers and to ship under their own flag ; but there are signs that the flourishing condition of the trade of the country would bring ultimate success. The establishment of a steamer-service, if only of one or two steamers, is not the sole hazard by which Japanese competition might be faced. The climate of Korea is peculiarly suited to fruit-culture. If this work were taken in hand, the fruit might be tinned or exported fresh to China, where it would find a ready sale. The fertility of the soil near Won-san and the abundance of fish in the sea off that part of the coast, would make that port a suitable export centre for the creation of a fish and fruit-canning industry under foreign management. Fish and fruit indus- tries of this description in Japan are profitable and very bad. Nevertheless, their output is widely distributed over the Far East. The initiation of these industrial ventures would require some time, for many difficulties oppress foreigners, who are anxious to put capital into Korea. In the end, a modest venture would reap sufficient success to justify the speculation, while the returns would probably permit an immediate expansion of the enterprise. There is no doubt about the fish ; there is no doubt about the fruit ; but whatever investment of an industrial character is made 144 KOREA in Korea, close and high-class technical supervision is the necessary accompaniment. The British merchant in the Far East is the first to condemn his own Minister and to abuse his own Consul, and he is the very last to help himself. It may be, however, that the follies of the Imperial Government, the unreasoning prejudices and foolish blundering of the Foreign Office, have created this apathy. The drifting and vacuous policy of Lord Salisbury made it impossible to avert the decay of our prestige and trade which has set in throughout the Far East. Official returns establish only too completely the unhappy predica- ment in which trade and merchants alike are placed. There is a general decrease in the volume of the one, and there has been no sympathetic activity among those engaged in commercial interests elsewhere to set against it. The deficiency is almost without solution, so long as bounty- fed manufactures, carried in subsidised bottoms, are set against the products of an unassisted trade. Competition is increasing, and foreign manufacturers are themselves now meeting the requirements of the markets of China. There is little prospect in the future of the restoration of our former commercial superiority. Much might be attempted, although it seems almost as if the British merchant were so bent upon his own damnation, that little could be done. The decline of British trade cannot be attributed in any way to the late disturbances in North China, to the decline in the purchasing power of the dollar, or to the temporary rise in the market prices. Japan has become our most formidable competitor. The decrease in our trade is due entirely to the commercial development and rise of Japan, who, together with America, has successfully taken from us markets in which, prior to their appearance, British LACK OF BRITISH ENTERPRISE 145 goods were supreme. The gravity of the situation in which British trade is placed cannot be hghtly regarded. We still lay claim to the carrying trade of the Far East ; but the figures, which support our pre-eminence in this direction are BRICK LAYING EXTRAORDINARY totally unreliable. If the true conditions were made manifest, it would be seen that so far from leading the shipping of the world in the Far East, Great Britain could claim but a small proportion of the freights carried. Although we may own the ships, neither our markets nor our manufactures are associated with their cargoes. It would be well if the public could grasp this feature of the China trade. Members of Parliament, ignorant of the deductions which are necessary before claiming the carrying trade of the Far East — much less of the Yang-tse and of the China coast — as an asset in our commercial prosperity, and a sign of vigour of the first magnitude, do not recognise how unsubstantial is the travesty of affluence which they so constantly applaud. 146 KOREA During 1901, owing to the Boxer disturbance, large numbers of ships owned by natives were transferred to the British flag. The ostensible decrease in the tonnage of British vessels, which entered and cleared affected ports, was therefore less than that of other nationalities. Similarly, there was a small increase in the duties paid under the British flag during the same period, owing to the valuable character of these cargoes. Under ordinary circumstances, the comparatively small decrease in the British tonnage and the increase of more than fifty thousand taels in the pay- ments made to the Imperial Customs at such a moment of unrest, would suggest the stability of our trading interest, and afford no mean standard by which to judge the capacity of the markets. Unfortunately, the two most important counts in the returns, tonnage and duties, are no criterion. It is necessary to inspect closely the individual values of the different articles comprising the total trade. In this way the general depreciation of our manufactures is at once apparent. A comparison of the American, Japanese, and German returns shows which are the commercial activities that are threatening our existence as a factor in the markets of the Far East. If, in the returns, we were shown the relations between the duties paid under each flag, and the tonnage of any particular country, besides the source and destination of its cargo, the true condition of British trade would be revealed at a glance. As it is, until a table is added to the Maritime Report, which will supply this valuable and interesting demonstration, the system of a separate examina- tion is alone to be relied upon. By this method we find that between the years 1891 and 1901 there was a con- sistent falling-off in British exports to the Far East in almost LACK OF BRITISH ENTERPRISE 147 every commodity in which the competition of America, Japan, and Germany was possible. Since 1895, when Japan began to assert herself in the markets of China, those articles which, pre-eminently among the commercial Powers, she can herself supply, have carried everything before them. Ten years ago the British trade in cloths, drills, shirtings, cottons, yarns, and matches had attained magnificent dimensions. In certain particulars, only, our trade was rivalled by the United States of America, whose propinquity gave to them some little advantage in the markets of the Far East. Now, however, the trade has passed altogether into the hands of the Japanese, or is so equally divided between Japan and America, Japan and Germany, that our pristine supremacy has disappeared. CHAPTER XIII British, American, Japanese, French, German, and Belgian interests — Railways and mining fictions — Tabled counterfeited Imports With the exception of Great Britain, the example of the Japanese in Korea has stirred the Western Powers to corresponding activity. Every strange face in Seoul creates a crop of rumours. Until the new-comer proves himself nothing more dangerous than a correspondent, there is quite a flutter in the Ministerial dove-cots. Specu- lation is rife as to his chance of securing the particular concession after which, of course, it is well known he has come from Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. The first place among the holders of concessions is very evenly divided between Japan and America. If the interests of Japan be placed apart, those of America are certainly the most prominent. Germany and Russia are busily creating opportunities for the development of their relations with the industries of the country ; Italy and Belgium have secured a footing ; Great Britain is alone in the indifference with which she regards the markets of Korea. In this chapter I propose to state briefly the exact position occupied in Korea by the manufacturing and industrial interests of foreign countries ; adding a specific BRITISH INTERESTS 149 lable, which, I hope, may attract the attention of British manufacturers to the means by which the Japanese houses contrive to meet the demands of the Korean market. The competition of the Japanese has an advantage in the pro- pinquity of their own manufacturing centres ; a co-operative movement throughout the Japanese settlements against foreign goods is another factor in their supremacy. It may, perhaps, afford British manufacturers some small consolation to know that there are still many articles which defy the imitative faculties of the Japanese. These are, mainly, the products of the Manchester market, which have proved themselves superior to anything which can be placed in competition against them. It has been found, for in- stance, impossible to imitate Manchester dyed goods, nor can Japanese competition affect the popularity of this- particular line. Chinese grass-cloths have, however, cut out Victoria lawns fairly on their merits. The Chinese maufacturer, unhampered by any rise in the cost of pro- duction and transportation, produces a superior fabric, of more enduring quality, at a lower price. Moreover, in spite of the assumed superiority of American over English loco- motives, on the' Japanese railways in Korea the rolling stock produced by British manufacturers has maintained its position. It is pleasing to learn that some pro- portion of the equipment of the old line from Chemulpo to Seoul, and of the new extension to Fusan, have been procured from England. Mr. Bennett, the manager of Messrs. Holme Ringer and Company, the one British house in Korea, with whom the order from the Japanese company was placed, informed me that the steel rails and fish-plates imported would be from Caramel and Company,, the wheels and axles from Vickers, and that orders for a I50 KOREA number of corrugated iron goods sheds had been placed in Wolverhampton. The locomotives were coming from Sheffield. The Japanese company expressly stipulated that the materials should be of British make ; it was only through the extreme dilatoriness of certain British firms in forward- ing catalogues and estimates, that an order, covering a large consignment of iron wire, nails, and galvanised steel tele- graph wire, was placed in America. This dilatoriness operates with the most fatal effect upon the success of British industries. The Emperor of Korea instructed Mr. Bennett to order forty complete telephones, switch- boards, key-boards, and instruments, all intact. Ericson's, of Stockholm, despatched triplicate cable quotations, forward- ing by express shipment triplicate catalogues and photo- graphs, as well as cases containing models of their different styles, with samples of wet and dry cables. One of the two British firms, to whom the order had been submitted, made no reply. The other, after an interval of two months, dictated a letter of inquiry as to the chemical qualities of the soil, and the character of the climatic influences to which the wires, switch-boards, and instruments would be subjected ! A few years ago a demand arose for cheap needles and fish-hooks. The attention of British manufacturers was drawn to the necessity of supplying a needle which could be bent to the shape of a fish-hook. A German manufacturer got wind of the confidential circular which Mr. Bennett had prepared, and forwarded a large assortment of needles and fish-hooks, the needles meeting the specified requirements. The result of this enterprise was that the German firm skimmed the cream of the market. The English needles were so stiff that they snapped at once ; and it is perhaps unnecessary to add that, beyond the few packets opened for BRITISH INTERESTS 151 the preliminary examination, not one single order for these needles has been taken. The position which Great Britain fills in Korea is desti- tute of any great commercial or political significance. Un- intelligible inaction characterises British policy there — as elsewhere. Our sole concession is one of very doubtful value, relating to a gold mine at Eun-san. In the latter part of 1900 a company was formed in London, under the style of the British and Korean Corpora- tion, to acquire the Pritchard Morgan Mining Concession from the original syndicate. In the spring of 1901 Mr. E. T. McCarthy took possession of the property on behalf of Ihe new owners. Mr. McCarthy had had considerable experi- ence as a mine manager. The most careful management was necessary to the success of this concern. The expenses of working were extraordinarily heavy, as, owing to the absence of fuel, coal had to be imported from Japan. A coal seam had been located upon the concession, but nothing was then known as to its suitability for steam purposes. It is im- possible to consider the undertaking very seriously. All surface work was stopped during my residence in Korea, the operations for the past few months having been confined to underground development and prospecting. There was talk of the instalment of a mill. A vein of pyrrhotine, carrying copper for a widlh of 13 ft., was regarded with some interest, but in the absence of machinery nothing of much consequence could be done. Another concern, Anglo-Chinese in its formation, is the Oriental Cigarette and Tobacco Company, Limited. The capital of this venture is registered from Hong-Kong. Since May 1902, the company has been engaged at Chemulpo in the manufacture, from-Richmond and Korean 152 KOREA tobacco, of cigarettes of three kinds. At the present time it possesses machinery capable of a daily output of one million cigarettes. In the days of its infancy, the company was reduced to a somewhat precarious existence — the early weeks of its career producing no returns whatsoever. Now, however, a brighter period has dawned, and an ultimate prosperity is not uncertain. Cash transactions, in the sales of the cigarettes manufactured by the company, began in July 1902, realising by the end of February 1903, ;£i5i5 sterling ; to this must be added credit sales of £8g6 sterling — making a grand total for the first few months of its existence of ;^24ii sterling. A large staff of native workers is permanently employed. Aside from this company and the mining corporation, British industrial activity is confined almost exclusively to the agency which Mr. Bennett so ably controls in Chemulpo, of which a branch is now established in the capilal, and the Station Hotel which Mr. Emberley conducts at Seoul. Mr. Jordan, the British Minister in Korea, did request in June 1903, a concession for a gold mine five miles square in Hvvang-hai Province. Apart from this, the apathy of the British merchant cannot be regarded as singular when business houses in London direct catalogues, intended for delivery at Chemulpo, to the British Vice-Consul, Korea, Africa. Nor, by the way, is Korea a part of China. Mr. Emberley has established a comfortable and very pros- perous hotel in the capital, while at Chemulpo Mr. Bennett has opened out whatever British trade exists in Korea. British interests are safe enough in his hands, and if merchants will act in co-operation with him, it might still be possible to create good business, in spite of the com- petition and imitation of the Japanese. In this respect BRITISH INTERESTS 153 British traders are not unreasonably expected to observe the custom, prevaiHng among all Chinese merchants, of giving Korean firms an extended credit. Foreign banks in the Far East charge seven or eight per cent, per annum, and the native banks ten to fourteen per cent., which represents a very considerable advance upon home rates. In the opinion of Mr. Bennett, who is, without doubt, one of the most astute business men in the Far East, no little improve- ment would be shown in the Customs return of British imports, if the manufacturers at home would ship goods to Korea on consignment to firms, whose standing and bank guarantees were above suspicion, charging thereon only home rates of interest. An American company, engaged extensively in business with Korea, never draws against shipments, by that means deriving considerable advantage over its competitors. I commend this suggestion to the attention of the British shipper, particularly as trade in Korea is largely dependent upon the rice crop. In the train of a bad harvest comes a reduction of prices. Importers, then, who have ordered stocks beforehand, find themselves placed in a quandary. Their stocks are left upon their hands — it may be for a year, or even longer — and they are confronted with the necessity of meeting the excessive rates of interest current in the Far East. If the manufacturer could meet the merchant by allowing a rate of interest, similar to that prevailing at home, to be charged, the im- porter of British goods would be less disinclined to indent ahead. Under existing circumstances the merchant must take the risk of ordering in the spring for autumn delivery, and vice-versa; on the other hand, China and Japan, being within a few days' distance of Korea, the importer prefers to await the fulfilment of the rice crop, when, as occasion u 154 KOREA requires, he can cable to Shanghai, Osaka, or elsewhere for whatever may be desired. Attached to the English Colony in Korea, which numbers one hundred and forty-one, there is the usual complement of clergy and nursing sisters, under the supervision of Bishop Corfe, the chief of the English Mission in Seoul. Miss Cooke, a distinguished lady doctor and a kind friend to the British Colony, is settled in Seoul. A number of Englishmen are employed in the Korean Customs ; their services contributing so much to the splendid institution which Mr. McLeavy Brown has created, that one and all are above criticism. Mr. McLeavy Brown would be the first to acknowledge how much the willing assistance of his staff has contributed to his success. The importance of the American trade in Korea is un- deniable. It is composite in its character, carefully con- sidered, protected by the influence of the Minister, supported by the energies of the American missionaries, and controlled by two firms, whose knowledge of the wants of Korea is just forty-eight hours ahead of the realisation of that want by the Korean. This is, I take it, just as things should be. The signs of American activity, in the capital alone, are evident upon every side. The Seoul Electric Car Company, the Seoul Electric Light Company, and the Seoul (Fresh Spring) Water Company have been created by American enterprise, backed up by the " liveness" and 'cuteness of the two concessionaires, whom I have just mentioned, and pushed along by little diplomatic attentions upon the part of the American Minister. The Seoul-Chemulpo Railway Concession was also secured by an American, Mr. Morse, the agent of the American Trading Company, and subse- quently sold to the Japanese company in whom the rights AMERICAN INTERESTS 155 of the concession are now vested. The charter of the National Bank of Korea has also been awarded to these Americans, and it is now in process of creation. The only mine in Korea which pays is owned by an American syndi- THE CONSULTING-ROOM OP MISS COOKE cate ; and, by the way, Dr. Allen, the American Minister, possesses an intelligible comprehension of the Korean tongue. There is a large American colony in Korea, totalling in all two hundred and forty. One hundred live in Seoul ; sixty-five are employed upon the American Mine at Un-san ; thirty-four live at Pyong-yang. Five are in the service of the Korean Government ; ten are associated with the railway ; the famous two are engaged in business and the remainder comprise the staffs of the Legation and Consulate, and a medley of missionaries. American trade with Korea embraces kerosene, flour, mining machinery, railway and 156 KOREA mining supplies, household goods and agricultural imple- ments, clothing and provisions, drills, sheetings, cotton goods, and cotton yarn. The American mine at Un-san employs seventeen Japanese and one hundred and thirty- three Chinese, one hundred Europeans, of whom thirty-five are American, and four thousand natives, whose wages range from 8c/. to is. 2d. daily. The private company that has acquired this concession works five separate mines with enormous success ; four mills, two of forty stamps and two of twenty stamps, are of long standing. An additional mill of eighty stamps is of more recent construction. During 1901 gold to the amount of ;^i5o,ooo was exported by the com- pany, while in the year following this sum was very vastly exceeded. The area of the concession is eight hundred square miles. The future alone can disclose whether Korea is to be absorbed by the Japanese. At present, the Japanese population in Korea exceeds twenty thousand, the actual estimate falling short of twenty-five thousand. The Japanese control the railway between Chemulpo and Seoul, as well as the important trunk line to Fusan, an under- taking now in course of construction and under the immediate supervision of the Japanese Government. The new company has since absorbed the parent line from Seoul to Chemulpo. The capital of this company is twenty-five million yen, ;^2,5oo,ooo, which is to be raised in annual instalments of five million yen, counting from the time when one-tenth of the first instalment of five million yen was found. As a matter of fact, the preliminary turning of the first sods took place at Fusan on September 21st, and at Yong-tong-po on August 2otb, in the summer of 1901. From that moment, the Japanese Government made itself JAPANESE INTERESTS 157 responsible for the payment of the debenture bonds, and guaranteed six per cent, upon the company's subscribed capital for a period of fifteen years.* Each share is of the value of ^5, the money to be called up as required, each call being at the rate of ten shillings per share. The whole of the 400,000 shares, which was the original allotment, was at once taken up, Japanese and Koreans alone being eligible as shareholders. The estimated cost of the line is ;£90oo per mile. Work has been completed as far as Syu-won, a distance of twenty-six miles, over which section trains are already running. Construction is, of course, being rapidly pushed forward, and working parties are engaged at a number of places along the line of route. The length of the Seoul-Fusan Railway will be 287 miles. It is confidently expected that the under- taking will be completed within six years. There will be some forty stations, including the terminal depots, and it is, perhaps optimistically, estimated that the scheduled time for the journey from Fusan to Seoul will be twelve hours, which is an average of twenty-four miles an hour, including stops, the actual rate of speed being approximately some thirty miles an hour. The present working speed of the Seoul-Chemulpo railway requires a little less than two hours to make the journey between Seoul and Chemulpo, a distance of twenty-five miles, from which it will be seen that considerable improvement must take place if the distance between Seoul and Fusan is to be accomplished within twelve hours. * The Japanese Government, on December 22nd, 1903, decided to find the capital necessary for the immediate completion of the railway. An additional million sterling has been allotted for this purpose, and the line will be finished within the course of 1904. 158 KOREA In the first few miles of the journey, the trunk line to Fusan will run over the metals of the Seoul-Chemulpo rail- way. The start will be from the station outside the south gate of the capital ; the second stop will be Yong-san, and the third No-dol. At the next station, Yong-tong-po, the railway leaves the line of the Seoul-Chemulpo branch to run due south to Si-heung, where it bears slightly eastward until reaching An-yang and Syu-won, some twenty-six miles distant from Seoul. At this point the railway resumes its southerly direction and passes through Tai-hoang-kyo, O-san-tong, and Chin-eui, where it crosses the border of the Kyong-keui Pro- vince into Chyung-chyong Province, and reaches the town of Pyong-tak. The line then runs near the coast, proceeding due south to Tun-po, where it will touch tide water, and, bearing due south, reaches On-yang, sixty-nine miles from Seoul. It then proceeds in a south-easterly direction to Chyon-eui, and once again turning directly south crosses the famous Keum River and enters the important town of Kong-chyu. From Kong-chyu, which is ninety-six miles from Seoul, and by its fortunate possession of facilities for water transit, is destined to become an important distributing centre, the line follows its southward course towards Sin-gyo, where an important branch line will be constructed towards the south-west to connect Kang-kyong, the chief commercial centre of the province, with the main system. It is also probable that a further extension of the line from Sin-gyo towards the south-west will be projected, in order to make communication with Mokpo, the coast port through which passes the grain trade of Chyol-laand Kyong-syang Provinces. The town of Sin-gyo marks one hundred and twenty- five miles from Seoul ; beyond Sin-gyo, the south-westerly direction, which the line is now following, changes by an JAPANESE INTERESTS 159 abrupt sweep to the east, where, after passing through Ryon- san, a western spur of the great mountain chain of the peninsula is crossed, and the town of Chin-san entered. Still running east to Keum-san, the valley of the southern branch of the Yang River is traversed in its upper waters, until, after following the river in a north-easterly direction for some little distance, the road takes advantage of a gap in the mountains, through which the Yang River breaks, to cross the stream and turn due east to touch Yang-san, coming to a pause one hundred and forty-one miles from Seoul in Yong-dong. From Yong-dong the railway moves forward north-east to Whan-gan, one hundred and fifty- three miles from Seoul, the place lying close within the mountain range but a few miles distant from the Chyu-pung Pass — to cross which will call for more than ordinary engineering skill. Leaving the pass and running slightly south of east, the railway proceeds towards the Nak-tong River, through Keum-san, crossing the stream at Wai-koan, a few miles north-east of Tai-ku, a town of historical importance some two hundred miles from Seoul. The railway then follows the valley of the Nak-tong, and passes to the east of the river, through Hyon-pung, Chyang-pyong, Ryong-san, Syok-kyo-chyon, Ryang-san, Mun-chyon, Tong- lai, where the Nak-tong River is again met. The direction from Tai-ku is south-east all the way to Fusan, whence the line runs beside the river. At Kwi-po it strikes across to the native town of Old Fusan, thence running round the Bay to its terminus in the port. This railway, which provides for extensive reclamation works in the harbour of Fusan, has become already an economic factor of very great importance. More particularly is this manifest when it is remembered that the i6o KOREA country through which the line passes is known as the granary of Korea. Developments of a substantial character must follow the completion of this undertaking, the position of Japan in Korea receiving more emphatic confirmation from this work than from anything by which her previous domination of the country has been demonstrated. It will promote the speedy development of the rich agricultural and mining resources of Southern Korea, and as these new areas become accessible by means of the railway, it is difficult to see how the influx of Japanese immigrants and settlers to the southern half of the kingdom can be avoided. Indeed, a very serious situation for the Korean Government has already arisen, since by far the greatest number of the men, engaged upon the construction of the Seoul-Fusan Railway, have signified their intention of be- coming permanent settlers in the country. In the case of these new settlers, the company has granted from the land, which it controls on either side of the line, a small plot to each family for the purposes of settlement. While the man works upon the line, his family erect a house and open up the ground. Whether or no the action of the company can be justified to the extent which has already taken place, the policy has resulted in the establishment of a continuous series of Japanese settlements extending through the heart of Southern Korea from Seoul to Fusan. From time to time the Japanese Government itself has attempted to stem the torrent of Japanese migration to Korea. But the success of the colonies already settled there has made it a delicate and a difficult task — one which, in the future, the Japanese Government may be expected to leave alone. The railway once open, the still greater stimulus which will be imparted to agriculture in the southern half of FRENCH INTERESTS i6i (he kingdom, will appeal to many thousands of other would-be settlers. Whatever objection the Korean Government may offer to this invasion, it is quite certain that with the very heart of the agricultural districts laid bare, Korea must be prepared to see a rapid increase in her already large Japanese population. In a great part the increase is already an accomplished fact. The influence of Japan is already supreme in Korea. It is paramount in the Palace ; and it is upheld by settlements in every part of the country. In the capital itself there is a flourishing colony of four thousand adults. She has established her own police force ; created her own post-office, telephone, cable and wireless telegraph system. She has opened mines — her principal mine is at Chik-san — and has introduced many social and political reforms, besides being the greatest economic factor in the trade of the kingdom. Little development has distinguished the concessions secured by the French in Korea. A railway concession was abandoned a few years ago ; and an existing charter, cover- ing certain mining rights, has almost expired. M. Colin de Plancy, the amiable and energetic French Minister in Korea, has, however, succeeded in re-arranging the terms of the abandoned concession. In addition to this, in June 1903, he applied for a new gold-mining concession in Chyung-chyong Province. The concession, which has been revived, was granted so far back as 1896; but it was forfeited long since, and only recently revoked. By the old agreement a French syndicate. La Compagnie de Fines-Lille, received a charter to construct a line of railway between Seoul and Wi-ju, the important frontier port at the mouth of the Yalu. The construction of this line, which will form, together with the Seoul-Fusan railway, the X i62 KOREA main trunk line of the kingdom, will no longer be the private speculation of a French syndicate, the Imperial Govern- ment itself having undertaken to make the road. Two years ago the French Minister succeeded in reviving the interest of the Korean Government in the scheme, and secured an undertaking that the services of French engineers only should be employed, and that the materials for the new work should be supplied by French houses. In continuation of this most excellent piece of diplomacy, M. CoHn de Plancy was instrumental, at a little later date, in bringing about the creation of the North- Western Railway Bureau, of which the First Secretary of the French Legation, M. G. Lefevre, was made managing director, with Yi Yong-ik as its President. M. de Lapeyriere became the chief consulting engineer to the railway ; M. Bourdaret, and a small army of French engineers, master mechanics, over- seers, and skilled workmen were placed upon the pay-sheets of the company. The Korean Government made itself responsible for the annual disbursement of one hundred thousand yen (;^io,ooo) on this railway, and construction began in the spring of 1902, Operations were suspended, however, owing to the preva- lence of the rainy season. Work was resum^ed again in the autumn and, again, after a short spell of activity, stopped. Lack of the necessary funds is doubtless the reason ; yet, nevertheless, the Korean Government refused an offer for the right to construct the line from a Russian financier. This preliminary stage of the line traverses districts famous for their mineral and agricultural resources, and connects the present capital, Seoul, with two former seats of Central Government, Song-do and Pyong-yang, even now rich and populous towns. It is intended to complete the FRENCH INTERESTS 163 line to Song-do at once, pushing forward towards Wi-ju, in the hope of connecting with the Trans-Siberian system, when the Government is able to find the funds. The dis- tance between Seoul and Song-do by the line of railway is eighty kilometres. In round figures the cost of construc- tion is placed at about j^26o,ooo ; the traffic receipts are valued at ;£i2,ooo, ^10,000 of which will be contributed by passenger traffic. The annual working expenses are placed at ^8000 ; and it is " hoped " that the Seoul-Song-do line will be opened to general traffic within two years. The figures are altogether French and airy. A survey of the line between Seoul and Song-do shows to some extent the nature of the work which awaits the French engineers. Gradients will be about 21 feet to the mile ; embankment-building and excavation give 13,000 cubic metres to the kilometre ; twenty-six per cent, of the line will be curved, the radius of the most acute bend being some 200 metres ; twenty-five moderately large bridges, one hundred and fifty small bridges and culverts will figure in construction. The Im-chin River will be crossed, at first, by ferry; in the end, however, a bridge, five hundred feet in length, will span this break in the line. The gauge of the road would be 1.43 m. ; the ties will be 2.50 m. long, 30 m. in width, 1.25 m. thick. There will be 1.70 kilometres for the purpose of side-tracking, and an off-line, 1.30 kilometres long, will branch to Han-chu, on the Han River. Between Seoul and Song-do there will be six stations and four signal points ; the rolling stock will consist of five locomotives of the Mallet type, five combined first and second class and eight third class coaches, five luggage cars, and twenty-five freight cars. This comprises the general requirements of the pro- 1 64 KOREA posed line, evolved out of an abandoned concession by the astuteness and activity of the French Minister. The line will proceed from outside the West Gate of Seoul, where the terminus will be 48.50 m. above the sea level, towards Yang-wha-chin, crossing the A-o-ya Pass at 59.50 m. Descending to the valley of the Han River, and 17 m. above tide- water, the line traverses the district of Han-ju, and the western county of Ko-yang, leaving the Han valley 31 kilometres from Seoul. The line then crosses the Kyp-wha valley, at an elevation of 15 m., and at 42 kilo- metres from Seoul crosses a tributary of the Im-chin River at Mun-san-po. Fifty-one kilometres from Seoul the railway will meet the Im-chin River ferry, where passengers and freight, under the existing provisional arrangements, will be transferred to a second train upon the remote side of the river. The line then crosses the Chang-dan district, and moving up the Valley of Song-do enters the Song-do terminus at an elevation of 40 m. The distance by rail is somewhat shorter than by road, and unexpectedly few obstacles have been met with in the course of construction. A rough survey has been made north from Song-do, from which point the railvvay will run due west to Hai-chu, then due north to Pyong-yang through Sin-chyon and An-ak. Beyond this point to Wi-ju no survey has been attempted. It is questionable, however, if the French line promises such satisfactory returns as those which may be expected from the southern railway. When the two lines have been completed and Fusan is in direct communication with the Siberian Railway, some definite expansion in the northern areas of the kingdom may be anticipated, and the railway will be in a position to compete with the junks of the Yalu. But, apart from the border trade, there is little settled RAILWAYS AND MINING FICTIONS 165 industry which may be relied on to contribute traffic to the carrying capacity of this line ; nor is it likely that the mines, whose concessions maybe said to border the line of railway, will accept it as a medium of transportation so long as they are able to make use of the existing facilities for water transit, with which the American and English mines are served. Of course, it cannot be predicted what mining and agricultural developments may take place in the northern regions of Korea. Gold and coal, copper and iron are known to exist. The development of this mineral wealth may open up the country, and the presence of the mines will create a demand for the local production of certain varieties of food- stuffs. These channels of revenue to the railway are highly problematical. In the absence of any specific value, which may be attached to the prospects of the French line, a com- parison between the relative importance of the two under- takings confirms the superiority of the Japanese concession upon every count. The strategic, as well as the com- mercial, significance of the southern trunk line must impress the Koreans with its very positive qualities. There are some eighty French subjects in Korea, of whom forty are French priests and one a bishop. Three are associated with the North-Western Railway Bureau ; two are in the Korean Customs ; two have been given employment in the Imperial Mines, and one has become legal adviser to the Imperial Government. One is attached to the French School; one manages, most admirably and successfully, the Imperial Korean Post Office. Two are working in the Korean Arsenal, and three assist in the management of the Hotel du Palais. The members of the French colony have been lately increased by the addition of a number of French engineers, who have fallen upon the 1 66 KOREA Korean Government in the hope of finding employment with the Railway Bureau. These transitory visitors are not included in my figures. The German colony is small and insignificant. German interests, however, have been given the concession of a rail- way line from Seoul to Won-san. A mine, controlled by a German syndicate, and located at Tong-ko-kai, has been abandoned with the loss of the many thousand pounds which had been laid out upon machinery and mining material in general. Germans possess no other con- cessions. There is an important firm in Chemulpo, and this house has established a branch in Seoul. A distinguishing feature of the business is that there are Germans in both the Seoul and Chemulpo offices who are thoroughly familiar with the Korean language. This, as the country develops, will not be without effect ; and the fact seems to illustrate very admirably the methodical system upon which German commerce in the Far East is built up. The Court band has been entrusted to the training of a German professor. The effect is very solemn, and perhaps discloses the necessity for the introduction of a German physician to the Imperial Household. This counterblast to the position, which a singular power of sympathy and great professional ability has won for Miss Cooke, is of recent accomplishment. This English lady doctor has been for many years physician-in-ordinary to the Imperial House- hold, and enjoys the complete confidence of the Court. Miss Cooke is the only foreigner who has succeeded in overcoming native prejudice and suspicion entirely. The battle of concessions is as keen in Korea as in China. The latest Power to interest itself in the exploitation of the mineral deposits of Korea is Belgium, hitherto without BELGIAN INTERESTS 167 special concern in the development of the mining interests of the kingdom. Now, however, Belgium has come for- ward, and it is understood that a concession, nine hundred square It* in extent, has been granted to its nationals. The Belgians have undertaken to lend the Korean Govern- ment 4,000,000 yen, receiving in exchange the lease of the mines for twenty-five years. The concession is situated at Ta-bak Mountain, at the point where the Chyung-chyong, Kyong-syang and Kang-won Provinces meet. At this moment it is impossible to state the value of this new con- cession ; but the Belgians are shrewd, close-fisted people. It is doubtful, therefore, if their venture will be as unfortunate as our own, or the German, has been. Adverting to the foreign trade of Korea again, foreign mer- chants possess a very definite grievance against the Japanese manufacturing houses who cater for the Korean markets. After the closest investigation, I venture to assert there are but few of the so-called foreign-made articles, exposed to sale in the shops of the Japanese settlements in any of the open ports in Korea, that are not most shameless imitations. For the most part they are concocted in Japan, and embel- lished with the necessary designs and trade marks, with some imperceptible modification. The illegality of this practice is incontrovertible. In the absence of any super- vision upon the part of the Korean Customs, or by repre- sentatives of merchants affected by these tricks, it is difficult to see how they may be avoided. I add a table, showing the various articles counterfeited by Japanese manufacturers with which I am personally familiar, and which are on sale under false descriptions. In each instance the imitation comes from Japan. * Ten li equal three English miles. j68 KOREA America : Kerosene, Standard Oil Co. Californian wines, hock, and Richmond Gem cigarettes. Armour's canned meats. Californian canned fruit. claret. Eagle Brand Milk. Drugs. Great Britain: Soap, Pears. Matches, Bryant and May's. Sauces, Lea and Perrin. Needles and cottons. Alkalies, Brunner, Mond, and Company. Jams, Crosse and Blackwell. Turkey Reds, John^Orr-Ewing and Company. France : Wines, claret and hock. Photographic materials. Germany: Quinine, Messrs. C. A. Boeh- Needles. ringer's. Pianos, Berlin. Hardware. Sweden : Matches. Butter. Holland : Liqueurs and spirits. Denmark : Butter. India : Cotton fabrics and yarns. Switzerland : Swiss milk, Nestle's. COUNTERFEITED IMPORTS 169 Japanese kerosene oil comes over in cans which exactly reproduce the pattern of the Standard Oil Company. John Orr-Ewing and Company's Turkey reds, in breadths of 27 in. and 40 yds. long, and colour fast, become 27 in. in breadth, 37^^ yds. in length, the colour is not fast, the material shrinks and the weight is 5 lbs. deficient. The trade mark of the firm, "Parrot Brand," with a picture of the bird, is the most perfect imitation imaginable. Imitations of Nestle's milk, Bryant and May's matches, Boehringer's quinine, and many other articles have been repeatedly denounced by the firms. A RAILWAY SIDING CHAPTER XIV Some account of the treaty ports ; Won-san, Fusan, Mok-po — Character of export and import trade — Local industries The oldest of the settlements in Korea is the port of Won-san, situated upon the eastern shores of the kingdom, half-way between Fusan and Vladivostock. The picturesqueness of its setting makes the spacious harbour of this bustling treaty port a graceful conclusion to any tour which has had for its object the inspection of the scenic loveHness of the Diamond Mountains. There is little indeed to disturb the placid enjoyment of life amid the pine-clad bluffs and frowning headlands which surround the broad waters of the bay. The fact of passing from the seclusion of wild valleys and rugged heights, sheltering only the monasteries of Buddha, into the lively atmosphere of a treaty port does not destroy the illusions which any stay in the lofty regions of these Twelve Thousand Peaks necessarily fosters. Within wooded cliffs, which hang above a fringe of silver sand, looking out over a harbour forty square miles in extent, where mountains encompass every quarter of the horizon, and rocky islets, verdant with vegetation, stud a sapphire sea, there lies a spot where the fleets of the world might swing at anchor with perfect safety, in perfect isola- WON SAN 171 tion. It is certainly a wonderful harbour ; and worthy of the commotion caused at intervals by the desire of Russia to secure possession of the prize. The superb advantages with which it is endowed make it an object of solicitude to the Powers. If possession of this harbour were coupled with the occupation of Vladivostock and Port Arthur, the control of those northern seas would rest with the Russian fleet. Otherwise, it is a peaceful place to be the centre of so much political turmoil. Won-san, the treaty port, is situated in the south-west corner of the harbour. The northern arm of the harbour is known as Port Lazare£f; the south-eastern portion is Broughton Bay, the name which is usually given to the entire harbour. Captain W. R. Broughton, the English navigator, first entered it on October 4, 1797, in his sloop-of-war of 16 guns. Providence. Port Lazareff is about sixteen miles from Won-san, in a westerly direction across the bay, at the mouth of the Dun river. It is the point which Russia was credited with the intention of securing for the terminus of her Trans-Siberian Railway. There are two entrances into Broughton Bay, one giving direct admission into Port Lazareff. Russian men-of-war make the most of this advantage in visiting the harbour, for it enables them to enter without revealing their presence to the authorities upon shore. Upon one occasion, when I was visiting the neighbourhood, I surprised parties from two Russian men-of-war engaged in surveying the hills and taking soundings of the anchorages ; their presence was quite unsuspected by the Japanese Consul or by the Com- missioner of Customs. The bay is well protected by chains of mountains, its physical perfections in this respect rendering it of peculiar 172 KOREA value as a naval base. The channel into the harbour is broad, deep, and free from all encumbrances. Numerous islands are so situated about the mouth that every approach could be strongly protected. Besides being easy of access, there is an average depth of about nine fathoms upon a firm bottom. The water is free from ice in winter, notwith- standing the severity of the cold in this region. Inex- haustible supplies of spring water can be obtained ; and, in the proper season, the shooting and fishing afford very varied sport. These are, however, but the accessories to a harbour, which, if it were fortified and converted into a first-class naval station, would be the equal of Vladivostock and superior to every other station in the Far East. It is far in advance of anything which the Powers have seized in China. Between Hong Kong and Dalny, the commercial harbour of Port Arthur, which Russia has endeavoured to improve since it belonged to China, there is no anchorage which could be so readily and inexpensively adapted to the require- ments of a first-class naval station of a first-class naval Power. At present, Won-san harbour is visited only by the squadrons which Russia and Japan maintain in this water. Athough there is a flourishing Japanese settlement upon shore, no Japanese gun-boat is detached as yet for guardship duties. At Fusan and Chemulpo, however, the practice of detailing ships for port duties is carefully observed, Japan losing few opportunities to impress upon her neighbour in particular, and the world in general, the significance of her interests in Korea. Won-san was opened to Japanese trade in 1880, becoming a general foreign settlement on November 3rd, three years later. Although its subsequent development is due entirely WON SAN 173 to the industry of the Japanese, and their undoubted com- mercial sagacity, its imports of foreign trade in recent years have contributed to the position which it now takes in the commercial progress of the country. The economic expan- sion of the port, however, has been promoted by the business resulting from the immigration of Japanese settlers and the doubling of the native population. Materials for clothing,, cotton goods, grass-cloth, and silk are pre-eminent in the local requirements. A comparison of the annual returns discloses a steady advance in its prosperity, the paramount influence, which the Japanese exercise over its welfare, restricting foreign trade to those articles which cannot be imported from Japan. Business has just doubled in six years ; but the increase in the import trade is not in favour of British goods. The imposition of the tariff, which pre- vails in European Russia, at Vladivostock, accounted for the general advance in foreign imports at Won-san during 1901. In the following year, 1902, the imports were again heavier than the exports, the figures being : Imports, ;^i9i,535, and exports, ;^io2,205. The local government of the port is conducted upon Japanese lines. The streets are broad, well gravelled, and fringed with an irregular border of trees. After the foul and narrow lanes of the Korean town, through which it is necessary to pick one's way before entering the settlement, their appearance is cheerful and attractive. Won-san, the native town which has given its name to the port, is two miles from the heart of the settlement, and comprises a quaint medley of thatched and tiled houses, crowded together in narrow and noisome alleys. The main road from Seoul to the frontier, one of the six great roads of the country, lies through the centre of the town. The 174 KOREA clusters of hovels, upon both sides of this excellent high- way, suggest that the eligible sites are only those which abut upon this spacious thoroughfare. Glimpses of the bay are visible through gaps in the houses. The smell of the sea is lost in the fumes of drying fish and decaying garbage, which hang heavily in the atmosphere, impregnating every- thing and penetrating everywhere, save to the wind-swept heights which encircle the bay. A population of 15,000 huddles in these groups of thatched shops and tumble-down houses. The native town ceases abruptly about a mile from the settlement. Fields of vegetables border the road. The strip of beach upon which the town is placed, is black with patches of fish spread to the sun, littered with fishing nets, and en- cumbered with crazy fishing-boats and junks. After a little it disappears around cliffs, whose crests are fragrant with pine and fir trees. Tortuous valleys, giving glimpses of pros- perous villages set in their midst against a background of majestic peaks and ridges of hills, well-timbered headlands and promontories upon which are set the houses of the missionaries, combine, with the broad waters of the bay and the vista of the open sea beyond, to form a series of picturesque and supremely attractive views. There are nearly three thousand Japanese in residence at Won-san, a few Chinese merchants, and a small foreign community, in- cluding the Commissioner of Customs and Mrs. Wakefield, and the Customs staff. The rest are evangelists of no great importance. The climate of Won-san is dry and healthy. The heat is tempered by sea breezes and the nights are cool. The mean temperature for the summer is seventy-three degrees, and for the winter twenty-nine degrees ; the rainfall is forty- WON SAN 175 four inches, a little greater than that upon the west coast. Snow falls to a depth of four feet, covering the mountains from October until May. The port is, however, rather cooler than Chemulpo in summer and a little warmer in winter, the dryness of the atmosphere considerably modify- ing the cold. The splendour of an autumn sky continues throughout the winter, when the principal shooting is to be obtained. Much historical interest attaches to many of the more beautiful spots in the vicinity. From this neighbourhood sprang the kings of Ancient Ko-ryO ; and again, it gave birth to the reigning house of Cho-syon, for, in the monastery of Sok-wan, twenty-two miles distant, A Tai-cho, the first king of the present dynasty, was educated and lived. The monastery itself, with its temples, was erected by the King to mark the spot where, 509 years ago, he received that supernatural summons to rule, in virtue of which his descendants now occupy the throne. In the seclusion of this beautiful spot, the early years of A Tai-cho were passed in meditation, study, and preparation for his future kingship. Many of the magnificent trees, which embower the temples and rise in stately dignity from the grand mountain clefts, in which the monastery is situated, are reputed to have been planted by his hands. In a building apart, into which no one is allowed to enter, save the monk in whose keeping the relics are placed, his regalia and robes of State are preserved to this day. Won-san is situated in the southern corner of the pro- vince of Ham-kyong. A considerable portion of its trade is carried on with the closely adjoining divisions of Pyong-an and Kang-won, the three provinces forming the northern half of the kingdom ; their population is variously estimated 176 KOREA at between three and five millions. Mountains predominate in these districts. A bewildering tangle of wooded hills and bleak peaks meets the eye,' jumbling and jostling one another in every direction until nothing is seen but broken mountains and ridges cleft into a thousand little valleys. More especially is this the case in Ham-kyongand Kang-won ; in Pyong-an the valleys broaden out and the hills become lower and less frequent, giving place to the Ta-dong River, and many wide spaces for agricultural purposes. Among these broken ranges in the neighbourhood of Won-san, and towards the interior, there is much sport. Sable, ermine, and otter are trapped in Northern Ham-kyong ; tigers, leopards, bears, wolves and foxes are rare in fact, plentiful in fiction. Wild boar, deer and hares are not uncommon ; pheasants are less numerous than formerly. Snipe appear in August, duck in September, geese and wild fowl in the ■winter on the marshes and lagoons. There is much game upon the land, and there is much sport in the sea. Whales, shark, seal, salmon, and innumerable small species wait to be caught, the products of sea and land combining to make the place a sportsman's paradise. The approach to the treaty port of Fusan is through a bay strewn with green islands and encompassed by high ■cliffs. A narrow path, skirting the shore and running over the cliffs, leads presently to Old Fusan, a walled city of great antiquity, situated at the end of a stretch of ten miles of sea, which forms one of the arms of the bay. New Fusan is like every other Korean treaty port. The smells of the Japanese settlement were worse, however, very much worse, as I well remember, than any which rose from the sewers and slimy alleys of the old town. Old Fusan stands alone, at the head of the bay, looking down from its ruined and crumbling FlISAN 177 walls across the waste of water, musing in decrepit isolation upon departed glories. New Fusan, the foreign quarter, is very noisy, very dirty, and uncomfortable. The Japanese shopkeepers make little attempt to provide for other aliens ; the wretched hotel demurs at receiving them. The place is IN NEW FUSAN thoroughly Japanese, prosperous, active, and enduring. It is the focus of the tumble-down steamers which run between the ports of Korea and Japan, venturing even to Taku, Port Arthur and Vladivostock. Upon all sides there is the appear- ance of industry and trade, inseparable from any Japanese community. In conjunction with the Seoul-Fusan Railway a vast scheme of harbour reclamation is in progress. This will provide suitable sites for godowns, in which the port is sadly deficient. The making of roads, the installation of electric light, and the construction of large waterworks are the objects which have already received the attention of the 178 KOREA Japanese authorities. There is a Japanese Consul -General in Fusan, who administers Japanese law to some fourteen thousand of his fellow countrymen. Half of this number is comprised in the floating population, whose sole business is fishing. The valuable fisheries lying off the coast and in the adjacent archipelago return an annual yield of ten million herring and half a million cod. Altogether, the bustle and confusion of the place supports its claim to be the most im- portant of the treaty ports of Korea, in spite of the neglect with which British merchants treat it. The actual Japanese population of the Fusan settlement in 1901 was seven thousand and fourteen, an increase of more than one thousand upon the returns of the previous year — six thousand and four. Since then there has been a further increase, and the population at the present time falls little short of nine thousand. The activity of the Japanese in the open ports of Korea does not correspond in any way to the size of the port. Whatever may be the local conditions, there is no falling-off in their untiring enterprise. If the port has been established ten or twenty years, or only one, their commercial vigour is the same. After the settlements of Won-san, Fusan, and Chemulpo, a visit to the port of Mok-po, declared open in the autumn of 1897, fails to elicit much which is new or important. Mok-po is very small. To those who are in- terested in the subject, it gives an excellent example of the cool, resolute manner in which the Japanese build up a very flourishing settlement upon the foundations of an unpre- possessing native village. The pioneers of the ports in Korea, it is natural that they should select the best available sites for their own quarter. At Mok-po, repeating a system which was adopted in the case of Fusan, Won-san, and MOK PO 179 Chemulpo, the Japanese settlement commands the one situation which is adaptable for commercial purposes. The approaches to Mok-po lie through a network of island and rock-strewn channels, the largest of which is some six hundred yards wide. The harbour is the embouchure of the River Ru-yong-san, the main water-way of the province, some ninety miles long. It can accommodate forty vessels of large tonnage. The best passage is through Lyne Sound, but easy access is given, from the south, by Washington Gulf. The width of the harbour is a little less than two miles, with a depth at low water of eleven fathoms, rising to nineteen on a full tide. At ebb tide the current averages five knots an hour ; during the spring tides this velocity increases, adding to the disadvantages offered by an indifferent holding-ground. Mok-po is situated in the south-western corner of the Province of Chyol-la, sometimes called the granary of Korea. The port takes its name from a large island, which faces it on the north, and forms the entrance to the river. It is picturesque and stands sufficiently high to break the monotony of the surrounding country. Rough and barren to look upon, it possesses the nucleus of what will become an important settlement as trade increases. The buildings of the Japanese Consulate and the Customs House are the most imposing structures at present in the place. The British Consulate, a mass of rock, unadorned, bluff, bare and bleak, is the most desolate and depressing. A vista of mud flats does not add to the beauty of this spot. A well-built sea-wall, behind which some acres of marshy shore have been reclaimed, indicates the spirit in which the Japanese set to work to improve their concessions. A composite trade centres at Mok-po, exceeding one i8o KOREA hundred thousand pounds in value. Foreign imports stand for quite eighty thousand of this total. It is, perhaps, needless to add that no British shipping has entered the harbour within the six years of its existence. German and American steamers have nevertheless brought cargoes to Mok-po ; Japanese steamers touch regularly. The trade is that of a native market, whose demands can be furnished from Japan ; it is, of course, beneath the notice of the British exporter. Piece goods, Jap- anese and Ameri- can cigarettes, matches, yarn, ar- ticles which the humbler classes now use and for which, owing to the rapidly increasing native population of this south-western Province, there will be greater demand in the future, make up the trade. It may be that this port, despised by the British merchant, as are all the ports of Korea, will some day head the centres of commerce of the kingdom. Even now it attracts foreign goods from Japan, America, and Germany. There are many channels through which British wares, cheap, enduring, practical and suitable to prevailing condi- tions could filter to the advantage of the British merchant. Cereals are raised in large quantities, straw-matting, grass- cloth, paper and fans are the other native manufactures. A vein of bituminous coal has been struck within a short dis- PA1.ACE GATEWAY LOCAL INDUSTRIES i8i tance of the port. In two industries — the making of paper and the weaving of grass-cloth — there are opportunities for expansion, which any enterprising and intelligent agent could promote by introducing cheap chemicals and inex- pensive mechanical appliances. In the paper-making trade alone there is a rich harvest to be garnered by the firm who will choose to devote time, energy and patience to the creation of a business in alkalies. Already the basis of a remunerative connection exists among the villages devoted to this labour. CHAPTER XV Treaty Ports (continued) — Wi-ju — Syon-chyon-po — Chin-am- po — Pyong-yang — Kun-san — Syongchin The ports which remain to be mentioned, have not yet attained a commercial importance entitling them to any great consideration. They afford, however, a signal illustra- tion of the enterprising spirit in which the Koreans have met the demands made upon them, and, as the interests of the country increase, the natural expansion of the inland trade will enhance their value. Hitherto, Southern Korea has been better served in the matter of open ports than the northern half of the kingdom. With the addition to the list of treaty ports of Syong-chin, upon the north-eastern coast, and Chin-am-po (with Pyong-yang, an old-time capital of Korea, and ranking to-day as the third city of the Empire, in close proximity), upon the western coast, greater facilities have been accorded to the commercial development of the almost unknown markets of Northern Korea. In view, however, of the trade in the southern provinces of the kingdom, the port of Kun- san was created on the west coast simultaneously with the opening of Syong-chin in 1899 upon the north-east shore. This port lies between Chemulpo and Mok-po, at the mouth of the Keum River, the natural boundary between the two provinces, Chyol-la and Chyung-Chyong. WI JU 183 It is, nevertheless, to the north and north-east regions that foreign commerce must look for that impetus to industrial activity, which comes from the opening of new markets. A most important trade-centre already exists in Wi-ju, at the mouth of the Yalu river. This town requires to be opened ; in the meantime, its position upon the border of Manchuria attracts a varied and valuable direct trade. Moreover, if Wi-ju were brought under the administration and control of the Maritime Customs of Korea, and included among those ports which have already been declared, a greater restraint could be put upon the smugglers, who have made it a centre of communication in their illicit trade. At this moment it is difficult to say whether Wi-ju may be quite properly included among the treaty ports. If official assurances can be safely accepted, the Government of Korea decided on August 22nd, 1903, to declare Wi-ju an open port, at the same time placing a Customs house at Yong-an-po. The difference between the two is hardly greater than that separating Pyong-yang from Chin-am-po. Unfortunately, this decision is by no means definite, although a few days later, on September 4th, an announcement to the same effect was made by the Foreign Office at Seoul to the foreign representatives. This official ratification of its previous decision would carry conviction if the policy of the Korean Cabinet were less vacillating, and the opposition of the Russian Minister less strenuous. The Russian Minister objects in an equal degree to the opening of Yong-an-po, and, since M. Colin de Plancy, the French Minister, is supporting his Russian colleague, M. Pavloff, in opposition to the opening of Wi-ju, future developments may prove M. Pavloff to have with- drawn his objections against Wi-ju in order that he can 1 84 KOREA concentrate them upon Yong-an-po. Unfortunately for Russian interests, British policy in Korea favours the opening of both ports, an action in which Mr. Jordan, the British Minister in Seoul, is cordially supported by many of his colleagues. The action of the British Government in respect of these ports on the Yalu is quite encouraging, and it is equally satisfactory to see that Mr. Jordan has maintained his attitude with admirable consistency. The demand of the British Government was presented to his Majesty at a special audience on July 14th, 1903. It evoked at once the opposition of the Russians, whose objections were com- municated ofiicially to the Korean Government when, a few days later, the British Minister sent a despatch to the Foreign Office to inquire upon what date Wi-ju would become an open port. Meanwhile, the Japanese Minister reiterated the request of the British Government, which, at the same time, was supported by an identical demand from the Chinese Foreign Office, through the Korean Minister in Pekin. For a few days matters remained stationary, the situation becoming a little involved by the resignation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yi To-chai, upon the plea of ill-health. The Emperor refused the resignation, and on August 9th the British Minister sent an urgent despatch, which demanded the opening of Wi-ju within seven days. A few days later a decision, favourable to the request of the British Minister, was delivered, and it remains to be seen whether permanent effect will be given to it. Meanwhile, as the readiest means of giving effect to the new dignity of the port, a small posse of Japanese police has been sent to Wi-ju to protect the settlement. Syon-chyon-po, the youngest of the open ports, is in its SYON CHYON PO 185 very early days. It is situated about forty miles to the south of Wi-ju. Its future prosperity is uncertain, but from its position, midway between Chin-am-po and Wi-ju, it should become an important port of call for native CHKMULPO shipping. At present Syon-chyon-po is administered from Chin-am-po, but the lines of its future settlement have been planned, and it will doubtless develop into a thriving Japanese colony. F'or the moment there is little trade. The Ta-dong River, at the estuary of which Chin-am-po lies, is one of the most important and picturesque streams in the country. It drains the southern and south-eastern divisions of Pyong-an Province ; upon its banks, sixty- seven miles from the sea, is Pyong-yang, the early capital and oldest city of the Empire. Around Pyong-yang still lingers a host of romantic associations, historical and legendary. Towns and villages are found upon the banks of the Ta-dong ; there is much rugged beauty in the scenery, and the water-shed has landmarks of great physical and historical importance. The velocity of the i86 KOREA river current during the spring tides averages three and a quarter knots. During the ebb, over against the Chin- am-po bank, there is an increase of two knots caused by a projecting point upon the opposite shore of the river. The formation of the Ta-dong inlet is irregular ; many indenta- tions, which mark the outline of the anchorage, become mud flats at low water. Prior to the selection of Chin-am-po as a treaty port, the native village consisted of a few straggling huts and a population of less than one thousand. Now, however, the old order has given way to the new. The mud flats have been reclaimed and so many improve- ments have taken place in the general conditions of the port that a bright future may be confidently predicted for it. Chin-am-po, the settlement, is situated upon the northern shore of the Ta-dong inlet, about fifteen miles from its entrance in the extreme south-west of Pyong-an Province. The port was opened to foreign trade in October 1897. During the few years of its existence as an open port, Chin-am-po has made no little progress. At the present time it gives promise of becoming an exceedingly important commercial centre. The increase of the foreign trade and the flourishing condition of the native market have attracted the attention of the Japanese, who have already made a con- siderable settlement in the port. Estimates of the native population vary from fifteen to forty thousand, the smaller figure being nearer the mark. The trade compares favour- ably, in point of value and bulk, with that of ports of equal capacity, similarly situated. Its development is somewhat restricted, the two great forces contributing to its material economy being the impetus which has been given to local agricultural resources, and the mining industry. When the PYONG YANG 187 concessions of the American and British Mining Companies at Un-san and Eun-san were granted, Chin-am-po became the port of shipment for much of their traffic. The commercial possibiHties of the region, which Hes between the Ta-dong River and the water-shed of the Yalu, are in the earUest stages of development. Much might be predicted of the returns which these new fields would yield to intelligent exploitation. Cut off from the eastern division of the kingdom by ranges of mountains, and extending from Po-reup-san, near Chin-am-po, in the south, to the moun- tain fastnesses of the northern frontiers of the Empire, is a stretch of country in part uninhabited. It is frequented by bands of Korean robbers and Chinese bandits ; the centre of much native mining and the scene of perpetual border warfare. The haunt of the wild beast, barren and almost im- penetrable, it is practically untouched by Western civilisation. Its groves of pines and firs, and acres of woods, recall the time when Northern Korea was one vast forest. Until quite lately there were but two open ports for the service of this region, Chin-am-po and Pyong-yang. The third, Syon-chyon- po, in its northern extremity, is still closed to Europeans. Gold and coal, iron and copper, are among its natural resources. The soil is productive ; and the moment is ripe for the initiation of industrial enterprises. Moreover, commercial prosperity would introduce a more pacific note into the condition of these lone lands. Pyong-yang lies upon the borders of an extensive anthra- cite and bituminous coal district. The outcroppings are plainly traceable, although at present not indicative of any very serviceable quality of fuel. Coal, however, is not the least of the minerals, nor are the resources of the soil con- fined to the production of beans. Stone quarrying and the 1 88 KOREA timber industry flourish in the province. The authentic records of Pyong-yang go back some three thousand years, the creation of the city coinciding with that of the Kingdom of Israel. Saul, David, and Solomon were the contem- poraries of Ki-ja and his successors. In more modern times the most stirring events recorded are the massacre of the crew of the "General Sherman," in 1866, and the long chapter of vicissitudes which befell the city during the Chino-Japanese campaign. The ravages of war and the devastation of pes- tilence in 1895 left a deserted and ruined city. Nevertheless, as if to remind the inhabitants of the former dignity of their town, the tide of its fortunes turned, and some measure of prosperity returned. In the interval, trade revived ; a small foreign community now lives within the walls, and it is hoped that the days of evil omen are as distant as are the times when this old-world capital first enclosed herself within protecting walls. Commercially and industrially it has advanced enormously ; and, as a sign of the times, may be mentioned the fact that the native community has founded a private English Language school. Pyong-yang is associated so intimately with Chin-am-po that the two are inseparably united in any survey of the fortunes of either. Nevertheless, the continuation of Pyong-yang as an open port is uncertain, the Korean Government having expressed the intention of closing the port if they are compelled to throw open Wi-ju. The British, American and Japanese representatives have resolutely opposed this suggestion. The port of Kun-san, which was thrown open in May 1899, to foreign settlement and general trade, taps channels in the main identical with those which supply Mok-po. Dependi;vg to a great extent upon the agricultural resources KUN SAN 189 of the provinces of Chyol-la and Chyung-chyong, its trade is confined to the exportation of cereals, such as rice, wheat, and beans ; of grass-cloth, paper, and bamboo articles ; and of varieties of fish and seaweed. When the railway between Seoul and Fusan is completed, the development of the agri- cultural resources of these areas will re-act upon the fortunes of this port. It is, however, quietly thriving in the interval, content to play a prominent rdle in the coast trade rather than to figure as a port of call, in any exchange of com- modities with China and Japan. In early days, the port itself was well known as the export station for revenue rice, when the Government revenues were paid in grain. The practice has not been maintained in more recent years. In Kun-san there is an increasing colony of Japanese, a large native population, and a small Chinese community. The import trade, however, is confined to Japanese manufactures, in- cluding, broadly, those counterfeits of foreign goods — Man- chester shirtings, Chinese lawns, Indian yarns, American kerosene and English and Swedish matches — in the produc- tion of which our lively imitators have attained an unusual standard of perfection. The most isolated of all the open ports is Syong-chin, upon the north-eastern coast, in the province of Ham-kyong, about one hundred and twenty miles from Won-san. It was opened in May 1899 ; the trade, principally with Won-san, and carried on by Japanese, is unimportant. There is a field for expansion, as gold, copper, and coal exist within a short distance of the town. There are also white granite quarries in the neighbourhood. The off- shore sea-fishing supports a colony of Japanese ; large numbers of cattle are raised for the market in the province, and the country around is under cultivation for beans. The I90 KOREA export trade is in beans, hides, and fish ; the imports include kerosene, matches, and cotton goods. There is no direct native trade with Japan. The present condition of Syong- chin suggests that it was once a fortified town of import- ance. There are the ruins of a high protecting wall, surmounted with watch-towers and battlements. Time, poverty and neglect are responsible for its present im- poverished condition. There is a small native population. The anchorage is little more than an open roadstead. It is easy of access, deep, and has an excellent holding. Vessels drawing ten feet can lie within a short distance of the shore. Fogs and high winds prevail in spring, but, upon the whole, the climate is more temperate at all seasons than Won-san. The port lies near the 41st parallel, facing nearly north- east, midway between Won-san and Vladivostock. The pre- vailing wind, winter and summer, blows from the south-west. It is only in times of atmospheric disturbance, an infrequent condition in these latitudes, that a north-east blow renders the anchorage unsafe, and compels vessels to shift their moorings to the north-east end of the bay, where the Sarako headland gives them shelter. Water to the depth of five fathoms obtains within 200 yards of the shore. The rise and fall of spring tides is about two feet. No obstacles present themselves to the building of a landing- stage and boat harbour. When the port was opened, a few huts represented the native town. Since then about 250 houses have been erected, and more are being built. At no distant date it is probable that Syong-chin will displace the neighbouring Im-myong as the market place. The foreign community is represented by a Japanese Consul and staff, Japanese police force and postal staff. SYONG CHIN 191 schoolmaster, shipping agent and workmen. A British doctor and his family, belonging to the Canadian Mission, reside there. The only foreign house erected within the settlement limits is that occupied by the Japanese Consul. CHAPTER XVI Russian interests — Russia and Japan — Ma-san-po — Ching-kai- wan — Yong-an-po Russian industrial activity in Korea may be regarded as a cloak for political schemes. Since the time that the Emperor became the protected guest of the Russian Lega- tion, the influence of Russia in Korea has been more definite in quality. Assisted by French capital, a Russian company has started recently a cattle ranch and sheep-run at A-ya-chin, on the coast of Kang-won Province, with a view to the establishment of a canning factory, which is now in process of construction. In addition to this, she has set up a glass factory at Seoul, a proceeding which throws no light upon her motives. She has promoted the Pacific Whale Fishing Company, which, plying its trade off the coast of Korea, collects very valuable information of unsurveyed bays and unsounded anchorages, water-holes, coal-deposits, and currents — and occasionally catches a whale. It possesses twelve vessels. Russia controls no railway line in Korea, although she is interested in the line which the French are building ; no gold mine, but a geographical exploration party of naval officers has been topographically examining the region of the Yalu River for some years. She has been accorded certain rights in Ma-san-po ; she is endeavouring RUSSIAN INTERESTS 193 to secure the concession of a site suitable for a naval station, and through virtue of a lumber felling concession on the Yalu, she has located herself at Yong-an-po. In May 1903, too, a commercial commission travelled from Seoul to Wi-ju, overland. As rapidly as circumstances permit, Russia is connecting her Manchurian telegraphic system with the trunk lines of Korea, and telegraphic communication is in course of con- struction between Mukden and Wi-ju, Vladivostock and Won-san. The action of Russia in this respect has en- countered very great opposition from Korea. When the Korean Cabinet declined to grant permission for the erection of the poles, for which the Russian engineers had not waited, M. Pavloff, the Russian Minister, delicately hinted that the removal of the poles would be regarded as an unfriendly act, and one liable to create unpleasantness between the two Governments. The Korean Government, however, were not frightened into drawing back, and for some months past the local officials have been occupied in cutting down whatever poles the Russians might erect. Russia, also, proposes to rebuild the telegraph line from Pekin to Seoul via Wi-ju, while further, it is her avowed intention to construct from Mukden a branch of her railway to An-tung on the Yalu River. Russia has been associated, also, with the Korean army, the Russian military authorities having lent a number of drill-instructors to the Korean service. They have now been withdrawn. The management of the residence, in which apartments are found for the guests of the Imperial Court, has been entrusted to a Russian lady. Miss Sontag. There are very few Russian residents in Seoul. Those who live there comprise the immediate personnel of the Legation, the 2 B 194 KOREA Legation guards, priests of the Greek Church, and some sprinkling of the shop-keeping element. The colony is small, but contrives, with the aid of a port guardship at Chemulpo and constant visits from the Pacific Squadron, when per- formances are given by the band from the guard-ship for the delectation of the Imperial Court, to support the majesty and dignity of the Russian Government with much impressive display. Proposals have been recently made to establish consulates in the open ports of the Empire — the Consulate from the capital is now established at Chemulpo ; to increase the services of the steamers of the Manchurian Railway between the open ports of Korea and Manchuria, and to found a branch of the Russo-Chinese Bank at Chemulpo. It is intended, too, that the Russian Pacific Squadron shall use the Korean harbours more frequently as ports of call. For some years Russia has been gradually feeling her way in Korea. Prior to 1885 there were over twenty thousand Koreans settled in her Far Eastern possessions, while in 1888 Russia concluded a Commercial Convention with Korea, which opened the Korean land frontier to Russian traders. In 1893 telegraphic communication between Russia and Korea was arranged, when, just as the Russian policy towards Korea perhaps was beginning to shape itself, war between China and Japan was declared. Whatever conclusions may have been anticipated as the i-esults of such a war, there can be no doubt that its effect upon the actual destinies of Russia and Japan in the Far East was far-reaching. The policy of Russia towards China underwent a change, while the ultimate possession of Korea became equally the objective of Japan as of the greater Power. Russia, however, could not afford to profit at the moment by the downfall of China, and RUSSIA AND JAPAN 195 Japan was not strong enough to hold the Liao-tung Peninsula nor bold enough to seize Korea. Nevertheless, driven out of the Liao-tung by the action of Russia, France and Germany, Japan might still have secured for herself complete material and political ascendency over Korea. In time, if such had been her policy, she could have made manifest, too, her occupation of the kingdom and equipped herself with an argument, the parallel of that possessed by Great Britain in Egypt, and by Russia in Manchuria. Un- happily, while Russia with masterly deliberation was moving steadily forward in her subjugation of Manchuria, Japan, whole-hearted but ignorant of the pitfalls of colonial ex- pansion, was creating endless difficulties for herself in Korea, besides serious complications with the Powers outside the scenes of her activities. Before she had realised the poten- tialities of her position, she had committed herself to a design by which she hoped to secure the King and Queen and to direct herself the reins of government. But her coup d'etat was to recoil disastrously, and at once, upon her own head. The Queen fell a victim to the plot, and although the King was imprisoned, he, together with the Crown Prince, contrived in a little time to find refuge in the Russian Legation. The escape of the King only emphasised the failure of Japan, and despite her subsequent treaties with Russia, in respect of Korea, the balance of power in the Far East as between Russia and Japan has never quite recovered from the blow which Japan adminis- tered herself to her own prestige upon this occasion. Japan still wields material influence of a high order in Korea. But, within the paramount position which she fills, there is the rift caused by the spread of the antagonistic and insidious influence of her great opponent. Curiously 196 KOREA enough, the position which Russia holds to-day is not nearly as assertive as that which she occupied in 1896, yet there is little doubt that her influence is more commanding, if less conspicuously aggressive. Japan has turned aside upon occasion from the political issues to develop her com- mercial interests. Russia, again, has pursued unswerving the policy which revealed with the fall of China the fact that Manchuria was within her grasp and that Korea was its entail. The action of Russia upon the Yalu River at the present time, her action in respect of Won-san in the past, are each animated by this motiv. Russia regards Korea as the com- pletion of her dominions in the Far East, while Japan looks upon the little kingdom as the corollary to that expansion which is essential to the existence of the Island Empire. Russia in Manchuria and Korea, with her shadow projected over China, would mean a sentence of perpetual restriction and shrinkage for Japan. But, similarly, Russia from her position at Vladivostock and Port Arthur must regard the occupation of Korea by Japan as a wedge with its point projected towards the centre of her Manchurian communi- cations. Just as, therefore, the fear of a Russian descent upon Korea has excited Japan, the necessity for such action has brought the crisis in the relations between Japan and Russia so perceptibly nearer. Private agreements and secret overtures have paved the way for the deuoueinent which long since was disclosed. When Russia endeavoured to requisition the harbour of Ma-san-po for the requirements of her Pacific Squadron, an indication was afforded that Russian activity in Korea would be concealed no longer. Ma-san-po has since become an open port, the Government of Japan at once formulating ingenious objections to the > < o 198 KOREA Russian scheme at the same time that they threatened the Government of Korea with threats of immediate reprisals. But prior to the conditions laid down by Russia in the Ma-san-po Convention of 1900 with the Korean Government, this magnificent harbour had already attracted the attention of the Japanese and Chinese settlers. By force of circum- stances, therefore, the place became an open port, the local authorities being powerless to check the influx of foreigners and the creation of a foreign zone around the harbour. That M. Pavloff, the clever Russian diplomatic representative in Seoul, succeeded in bringing about any agreement at all is remarkable, taking into account the panic-stricken state to which the Imperial Government was reduced by Japanese intimidation. The secret convention between the Russian and Korean Governments, entered into during 1900, pre- served the independence of the harbour, and, failing to con- firm Russia in the definite occupation of Ma-san-po, provided that none of the land about Ma-san-po harbour or its approaches should be permanently ceded or sold to any foreign Power. The same conditions applied to the island of Keu-chai, situated in the mouth of the harbour. This cur- tailment of the ambitions of Russian policy, in this particular direction, due, of course, to the energetic action of Japan, did not make the position of Russia in Ma-san-po in any sense secure. Japan, even then upon the eve of her declara- tion, would have gone to war with Russia, if that Power had attempted to maintain an isolated and complete domination of this harbour and its approaches against her wishes. There is nothing in the present condition of Ma-san-po which suggests that it may become a centre of Russian influence in Southern Korea. The Japanese demanded, even before the incident had quite blown over, a large tract MA SAN PO 199 of land at Ma-san-po for the purposes of making a settle- ment there. In addition to this, the quarter, marked off for foreign settlements, has been almost wholly appropriated by the Japanese, who have erected shops and houses of some importance to the extent of several hundred, upon the more suitable sites. Japanese postal and telegraphic offices have been opened in Ma-san-po, and an uncomfortable hostelry disturbs the rest of the weary. A large permanent staff of Japanese police has been detached for duty in Ma-san-po, and the next feature in the development of affairs will be the detailing of a port guardship and the usual infantry garrison to protect the Japanese settlement. These acts imply a permanent lease and constitute the methods by which the Japanese propose to invalidate the Russo- Korean Convention. The aim of Japanese policy in Ma-san-po is to discount as far as possible the rights of the Russians, and to deprive their existence in the harbour of any special significance. The Russians accept the position with extreme philosophy and indifference. If they wished to do so, they might raise protest after protest against the intrusive character of Japanese action in the areas affected by the clauses of the Agreement of 1900. Twelve months ago the foreign population of Ma-san-po consisted of two hundred and thirty Japanese, forty-one Chinese, eighteen Russians, and two Germans. These figures include male and female heads of population, but no children. The actual strength of the Russian colony in this harbour was eight men, ten women, three children ; of the Japanese only seventy-eight were females. There is little import and export traffic. The nearness of Fusan, which is only six hours distant, makes it unnecessary to trade direct with the settlement. Japanese steamers from 200 KOREA Fusan call daily, local produce being brought round by native junks. There is a large fishing industry off the harbour ; it is, however, quite controlled by Japanese fisher- men from Fusan. The principal industry on shore is the construction of the settlement, some little agriculture, and no little gossip. Since the failure of her efforts to secure Ma-san-po, Russia has endeavoured to obtain the lease of Ching-kai- wan, sometimes called Chin-hai or Shin-hai, a bay situated in the extreme south of the Korean peninsula, as a naval station. The position of this harbour is exactly midway between Vladivostock and Port Arthur. Owing to its geographical situation, the presence of Russia in sole possession of Ching-kai-wan would be certain to give rise to even greater demonstrations of hostility from the people and Government of Japan than did the Ma-san-po incident. Nam-pu, which it was then Russia's object to secure, is about twenty miles outside the limits of the treaty port of Ma-san-po. While the Japanese Government could not prevent Russia from obtaining a coaling-station for the Russian Steamship Company within the boundaries of the foreign settlement of Ma-san-po, she most strenuously protested against a grant of land for Russian naval purposes twenty miles away. Japan likewise resists the establishment of a Russian naval depot at Ching-kai-wan, where there is no treaty port, and to which, were the " lease " confirmed, only Russia would have a right of access. Ching-kai-wan is within a few hours' steam of that Port Hamilton which Great Britain was induced to relinquish, upon the understanding between Russia and China that Russia would not seek to acquire territory in Korea. The excuse, since put forward by Russia for the flagrant violation YONG AN PO 20 1 of this compact, is that it was a bargain made with China, and not with us. There is another, and still more extra- ordinary feature in connection with this affair, which Li Hung Chang confided to a diplomatic representative of a foreign Power, at Pekin, some years ago. The Chinese statesman admitted that the contract between China and Russia contained a private stipulation that it should be good for ten years only. In other words. Great Britain was led to withdraw from Port Hamilton on the pretence that Russia would never trespass on Korean soil, although there was a secret understanding between China and Russia at the time, that this arrangement should only be in force for one decade. Although the position of affairs in regard to the action of Russia at Yong-an-po is of recent prominence, the question goes back in reality to the autumn of 1896, when a Russian merchant in Vladivostock, M. Briinner by name, obtained from the Korean Government the right of felling lumber and planting trees on the banks of the Yalu and Tumen Rivers, as well as on the island of Ul-lyang, for twenty years. The concession was to be forfeited unless work was begun in five years. As the close of the period drew near, the Russian agent in Seoul applied for an ex- tension of three years. At the moment it was reported in Seoul that this request of M. Pavloff had been refused, but it transpired subsequently that an agreement had been drawn up to the following effect between the superin- tendent, appointed by the Korean Government to oversee the matters, and the inspector in charge of the interests of of the company in Yong-an-po : I. The said district in Yong-an-po shall be rented to the Russian company. 2 c 202 KOREA 2. The boundaries of the said district shall be defined by the Russian Minister and the Minister in charge of the Foreign Office of the Korean Government. 3. The Russian company shall pay a land-tax to the Korean Government. 4. If the owners of tombs within this district wish to remove them, the expense of removal shall be borne by the Russian company. 5. If the company wish to utilise wood which Koreans have cut and are bringing down the river, it must reimburse the owners with a fair and proper price. 6. The Russian company shall not raise any stock within this district except what is to be used therein. 7. Korean offenders within this district shall be dealt with by the Korean courts. Russian offenders shall be dealt with by Russian civil officers. These contracts were signed on July 20th, 1903, by the Korean official Cho Sung-hyup and the Russian Inspector Bojisco. Meanwhile, however, in May 1903, prior to the decision of the Korean Government in the matter, the prefect of Wi-ju reported the concentration of Russian troops at An-tung for the purpose of crossing the Yalu. A few days later, a detached party of forty of these men crossed the stream, halting on a small island in mid-river to discard their uniforms, so that they might enter Yong-an-po in private clothes. From Yong-an-po they moved to Yong-chycin, near Wi-ju, where, accompanied by one hundred Chinese and eighty Koreans, they founded a lumber settlement, buying seventeen houses, with twelve acres of land at- tached, in the name of two of their Korean employes. The presence of the colony was at once objected to by the H Z W a, u a w g 204 KOREA Korean Government, who threatened M. Pavloff with the rupture of relations if the settlement were not at once withdrawn. M. Pavloff, however, defended the existence of the lumber camp under powers obtained from the Forest Concession of 1896, which, in actuality, had not been re-affirmed at the moment. Early in the next month, June, the magistrate at Yong-chyon reported that another party of Russians had arrived at Yong-an-po, including in all three Russian women, thirty-six men, two hundred Chinese, and many horses. These were reinforced in July by three women and sixty men, for the most part carrying rifles and swords, and who, also, at once bought houses and land. The action of these people has assumed a specific direction. A few, as though anxious to give colour to their existence as a lumber settlement and in defiance of orders from the Korean local officials, while quite exceeding the clauses of the concession proper, persisted in felling trees on the areas of a prohibited reserve. Meantime the re- mainder of the party, by no means idle, began the con- struction of a bund on the Yalu extending over a distance of twenty-one miles, a light railway being laid down for the purpose. In addition to this work developments of a more permanent character were taken in hand ; stone buildings appeared, a factory was constructed, and extensive defensive measures adopted. To confirm these indications of Russian occupation of the Yalu i-eaches, a body of seventy soldiers crossed the river at Cho-san, a second party of eighty men coming over at Pyok-tong. The Russians then proceeded to bring these various scattered " lumber " settlements into communication, for this purpose erecting a telegraph line between Wi-ju and Yong-an-po. This line, however, the Koreans at once cut down, whereupon the Russians began to lay a submarine cable from Yong-an-po round the coast YONG AN PO 205 and up the Yalu River to An-tung in place of the hne across country from Yongan-po to Manchuria. Since the cable projects were important and, together with the settle- ment at Yong-an-po, much in need of protection, Russia proposed to draft a force of three hundred soldiers into the place. At this date, towards the end of August, the settlement at Yong-an-po had grown into sixty houses with a civil Russian population of seventy citizens. By this time, how- ever, the Japanese Minister at Seoul, Mr. Hayashi, had received the text of the proposed contract between the Korean Government and the Russian Lumber Company. Thereupon, on August 25th, he delivered an ultimatum to the Korean Government. On the same day the Russian Minister went to the Foreign Office and urged that the lease of Yong-an-po be granted. In spite of his urgent appeal, the Minister declared it to be impossible. On the 27th the Russian Minister went again to the Foreign Office at noon, and remained till seven in the evening, but the Minister was ill and did not put in an appearance. The Russian Minister then stated that he would have nothing more to do with the Foreign Minister, but would appeal directly to the Emperor. In his despatch Mr. Hayashi wi'ote that if the Korean Government were to sign such a lease with the Russian Government, Japan would con- sider such an, act as a direct violation of the treaty between herself and Korea. In this event Japan would consider that diplomatic relations between the two countries were suspended, and she would regard herself free to act for herself in her own interests on the assumption that the whole of the Korean territories had been opened to the world. The spirited action of the Japanese Minister was not lost upon the Korean Government, who at once issued orders to the prefect of Yong-an-po to restrain the Russians from 2o6 KOREA further encroachment. The efforts of the local officials were, however, of little avail, and by the middle of September, in addition to the colony at Yong-an-po, the settlement at Yong-chyon had increased to one hundred and twenty- eight Chinese huts, with thirteen hundred Chinese, seventy Russians, and twenty tents. Complaints of the high-handed action of the Russians in appropriating the property of the Koreans to their own needs began to arrive in Seoul, and on Septeml^er 13th came the information that a telegraph line had again been laid between Yong-an-po and the lumber concession on the Yalu. Coupled with the intelligence of this renewed activity was additional, and much more dis- quieting, information. The Russians had constructed on the elevated ground about the Tu-ryu Harbour a high watch-tower, and were preparing emplacements for three batteries of field artillery. Meanwhile, however, as a counter demonstration to the movement of a company of five hundred Russians under two officers, on October 23rd, who had crossed the Tumen River into Korean territory by night, a Japanese warship dropped anchor in the estuary of the Yalu, in close proximity to Yong-an-po. I make no apology to my readers for giving in this detailed fashion the history of this little Russian concession. As a chapter of contemporary history I cannot think that my words are of any value, but there are doubtless many who, like myself, prefer to begin in the beginning, and so slowly trace through the developments of any question. In respect of Russian action on the Yalu, therefore, I have endeavoured to do this. Note. — An-tung is known also as Sha-ho ; the Yalu River is known also as the Am-nok River. CHAPTER XVII By the wayside — A journey inland to Tong-ko-kai — Inland beauties The world of politics in Seoul had become of a sudden so profoundly dull, that, ignoring the advice of the weather- wise inhabitants of the capital, I packed my kit, and hiring ponies, interpreters and servants, moved from the chief walled city of the Empire into the wild regions of the interior. My journey lay towards Tong-ko-kai, the German mines, several days' journey from Seoul. Life, in the capital, is not destitute of that monotony which charac- terises the Land of the Morning Radiance. But beyond the precincts of the Imperial Palaces, out of sight and hearing of the countless little coteries of Europeans, the contrast between the moving, soft-robed, gentle masses of people who congregate within her gates, and the mountain reaches and valleys of the open country is refreshing. For the moment the pleasure of such an experience ranks high among the joys which life holds. Save in the first few li from the capital, we abandoned the beaten tracks, travelling along quiet byways and mountain paths, turning aside at fancy to climb a peak or to take a swim in the cool, deep waters of some secluded pool at night, and morning, and at our noonday halt. In the pleasant 208 KOREA shades of these cool mountains and sunlit valleys the people live in unrebuked simplicity. They offered the loan of charcoal stoves or retailed eggs, chickens and rice to my servants. At the moment of my bath, yoviths and youngsters gambolled with me in the stream. It is said that the Koreans are far from clean, a statement they belied upon many occasions by the freedom and en- joyment with which they in- dulged in these dips. Foreigners had not pene- trated along the route which my friend and I were following to the German mines, and even the ubiquitous evangelist had not penetrated to these peasant homes. The mountains and rivers had no names ; the settlements were small ; inns did not exist. Everywhere was contentment, peace, and infinite repose. Nature stood revealed to us in primaeval grandeur, and it was impossible not to enjoy the calm of the valleys, the rugged beauty of the mountain crests, the picturesque wildness of the scenery. BEYOND THE CAl'ITAL 2 D 2IO KOREA As the days passed the general character of the country- remained unaltered. The manifold and complex tints in the bush, the differing aspects of each succeeding height^ the alternating complexion of the valleys, dissipated the monotony, engendered by the never changing features of the picture — the trees and mountains, hillside hamlets and mountain torrents, precipitous passes and windy plateaux. Moving thus slowly through the mountain passes, a wonder- ful panorama silently disclosed itself. Hills were piled one upon another, gradually merging into chains of mountains, the crests of which, two and three thousand feet in height, stood out clearly defined against an azure sky, their rock- bound faces covered with birch, beech, oak and pine. The valleys below these mountain chains were long and narrow,, cool and cultivated. A hillside torrent dashed through them, tumbling noisily over massive boulders, gradually- fretting a new course for itself in the lava strata. Countless insects buzzed in the still air ; frogs croaked in the marsh meadows ; the impudent magpie and the plebeian crow choked and chattered indignantly among the branches of the trees. Cock-pheasants started from the thick cover of the low-lying hills, the dogs pointed the nests of the sitting hens, and does called to their calves among the young bushes. A calm and happy nature revealed itself spontaneously in these fragrant places, undisturbed, luxurious, and unre- strained. The road was rough. Here and there, in keeping with the wild and rugged beauty of the scene, it became the narrow track of the Australasian " backs," congested with bushes, broken by holes and stones, almost impassable until the coolies made a way. Across the clattering crystal of the gushing torrent a rustic bridge was flung, the merest makeshift, three feet in INLAND BEAUTIES • 211 width, with a flooring of earth and bush, which bent and swayed upon slender poles, beneath the slightest burden. Some streams were unbridged, and the diminutive ponies splashed through them, gladly cooling their sweating flanks as their drivers waded or carried one another to the distant bank. Wild ferns, butterflies, and flowers revelled in these unkempt gardens. The red dog-hly and purple iris glowed against the foliage of the shrubs and bushes. Gigantic butterflies eclipsed the glories of the rainbow ; their gorgeous tints blending into harmony with the more subdued plumage of the cranes and storks that floated lazily across the inun- dated spaces of the paddy-fields. Other birds, with dove- grey, pink, or yellow breasts and black pinions, fished in the streams with raucous cries. The most amazing tints, recalling some of Turner's later pictures, gladdened the eye in these delightful valleys. In the depths of the valleys the mountain torrents flowed more idly, and 'the stream mean- dered in a thousand directions. Upon either bank, its volume was diverted to the needs of some adjacent rice- field. In these paddy-patches green and tender shoots were just sprouting above a few inches of clear water. Here and there, fields of wheat bordered these water- soaked stretches ; oats, corn, barley, tobacco, cotton, beans and millet were scattered about the sides and plains of the mountain valleys in a fashion which proclaimed the fertility of the soil. Everything throve, however, and the industry of the workers in the fields was manifested at every turn of the road. Their ingenuity in making the most of available land recalled the valleys which run down to the fiords of Norway, where, as_in Korea, patches of cultivated ground are visible at the snow level. Here, in these beautiful valleys, perhaps 212 KOREA a thousand or fifteen hundred feet up the mountain side, acres of golden crops will be growing in the warm and happy seclusion of some sheltered hollow. At the turn of the winding track, bordered by the paddy- fields or acres of golden barley, oats and tobacco, lies a village. It is but a cluster of some dozen straw-thatched hovels, dirty and unprepossessing, but infinitely quaint and picturesque. The walls of' the houses are crumbling and stayed up with beams and massive timbers ; the latticed windows are papered, the doorways low. A hole in the wall serves the purposes of a chimney ; a dog is sleeping in the porch ; a pig squeaks, secured with a cord through the ears to a peg in the wall. Cocks and hens are anywhere and everywhere, the family latrine — an open trough, foul and nauseous, used without disgust by all members of the family save the older women-folk, stands upon the verandah. Somewhere, near the outer limits of the small settlement, an erection of poles and straw matting distinguishes the village cesspool, the contents of which are spread over the fields in the proper season. A glimpse into a house, as one rides through the village shows a man combing his long hair, a woman beating her husband's clothes or ironing with a bowl heated with char- coal ; many naked children, the progeny of child-wives, scarce out of their teens. For the moment the village seems devoid of life. As the clatter of the cavalcade re- sounds, a child, feeding itself from a basin of rice, emerges from a window ; a man tumbles to his feet yawning noisily. Women, with infants hanging at their breasts or bearing children strapped to their backs in dirty clothes, the usual naked band of well-developed breast and unwashed back, shov,fiiig, crowd into the streets. All eye the newcomers INLAND BEAUTIES 213 with indifferent curiosity, until we wish them a plenteous rain — " May the rain come soon, good people." Then they bend their heads respectfully at the salutation, and instantly COUNTRY CARTS become bright and smiling. Winsome kiddies, muddy and naked, offer us flowers, and bowls of water from the streams upon which their elders have settled. As the road threaded through the mountains, long valleys, widely and richly cultivated, the yellow lustre of the golden crops blazing in the sunlight, lay below. Granite peaks towered upwards, their rugged faces scored by time and tempest, their ragged outlines screened with firs and birch. The still air was laden with the aromatic scent of the pine-woods ; the sky was clear and blue. In the distance, snow-white clouds hung in diaphanous festoons about a curve in the mountains. The rough contour broke 214 KOREA where the heights were bleakest and most barren. A twist in the broad valley which our road traversed limited the prospect, but the direction lay beneath the shadows of those distant peaks, and the perspective already compensated for the precipitous climb. , Indeed, from a few // beyond Chyok-syong, a magistracy of the fourth class, where the houses are roofed with thick slabs of slate supported by heavy beams, where the streets are clean, and where road and river alike make a detour, the views by the wayside became increasingly impressive. P'or mile upon mile we saw no wayfarers. The villages were widely distant ; fertile valleys gave place to green-black gorges, without cultivation, peaceful, grandly beautiful, and uninhabitable. The perfect stillness and the wonderful mag- nificence of the panorama held one spell-bound. There was no change in the character of the scenery until, riding slowly forward, the road dropped from the comfortable shade of a mountain temple into the blazing sunshine of the plain. Pushing forward, the rice and cornfields receded, giving place to the ranges, whose lofty peaks, dressed with their mantling clouds, had been already dimly discerned. Through- out the journey of the next two days the road rose and fell, winding in a steady gradient across the mountain sides. The march to Tong-ko-kai was laborious, and one day, when within easy distance of the concession i« a tiny hamlet, the colour of the slate and granite boulders, nestling among waving bushes, almost unconscious of the outer world and hardly alive to its own existence, an ideal spot in which to pitch the evening camp was found. It was early in the afternoon, but the road • ahead looked rough and stony. Our horses were fatigued, the ford had been trouble- some and we were wet, cold and hungry. Within the bush INLAND BEAUTIES 215 the shadows were deepening. No one knew the site of the next village nor the precise direction in which we were moving, so we halted. That night we snuggled down with our faces to the cliffs. Our horses were tethered in a patch of corn, and the kit, the servants, interpreters and grooms lay in one confused and hungry tangle round us. Within sound of the deep roar of the river we slept peacefully. Indeed, I am not certain that this one hour when, invigorated by a swim in some mountain pool, refreshed by a slight repast, we rocked in our camp beds, smoking and chatting, looking into the cool black depths of the canopy above us, was not the best that the day held. There was some- thing intensely restful in those long, silent watches. The mighty stillness of the surrounding heights of itself gave a repose, to which the night winds, the murmurs of the running water and our own physical fatigue, insensibly added. It was pleasant to hear the ponies eating ; to watch the stars come out, the moon rise ; to listen to the bull-frog in the water weeds and the echoes of the song of a peasant, rising and falling among the peaks of the high mountains, until, at length, all sounds had passed away and the great world around us, above us, and below, lay at peace. A PITCHED BATTLE CHAPTER XVIII The German mines — Mineralogy and methods of mining — A bear hunt — With gun and rifle Nature has been active in these regions. There is much limestone and slate formation, some basaltic upheavals, lava boulders, and chain upon chain of granite peaks. To the west of Tong-ko-kai there is the crater of an extinct volcano, but the lava strata in the vicinity of the concession are almost completely eroded. The basin of the concession is well watered, cultivated, and populous in places. It is surrounded by ranges three, four and five thousand feet in height. Korea is very mountainous in the north and hilly in the south. The watershed between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea extends north and south, nearly parallel to the east coast. In a sense this line of mountain ranges is the backbone of the peninsula ; the eastern side of the main watershed is narrow and abrupt, while the western is more extended and contains low plains, favourable to agri- culture. The general altitude of the peaks varies between five and six thousand feet. A few isolated points in the extreme north are believed to be higher. The principal mining districts are situated along the courses of the main and the minor watersheds. The famous miningdistrictsof Kang-kyoi, Kap-san,andTeh-chang-chin,at THE GERMAN MINES 217 present in the occupation of native workmen, occur upon the plateau formed by the junction of the range, which constitutes the northern frontier of the province of Pyong-an, with the main watershed of the country. The British mines at Eun-san are situated in country pierced by the north- western antilles of the main watershed. The position of the German mines bears a similar relation to the great natural division of the country, upon its eastern side. Many useful minerals are distributed over Korea — gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, coal — but that which yields the richest harvest is gold. The value of the gold exported from Korea during 1901 increased from ;^363,305 in 1900 to ;^509,738. A further increase marks 1902, the value of the gold exported being ^^5 16,961. These figures give only the value declared at the Customs. Large amounts are annually smuggled out of the country. The presence of gold has been known from the earliest times. Knochenhauer, a German geologist, has declared it to exist in every river in the kingdom. Hitherto, alluvial gold has been the principal yield to native workers. The miners followed the object of their search up the mountain side until they struck veins and lodes, whence much of the alluvial gold was derived. The chief auriferous districts are in the northern half of the country ; in which sphere lie the American mine at Un-san, the British mine at Eun-san, and the German mine at Tong-ko-kai. The original source of Korean gold may be found in the quartz veins, which, in the case of the American mines, is alleged to give exceptionally rich returns. The alluvial deposits, brought down from the veins in the mountain- ridges, have been freely worked by Koreans ; and when more scientifically treated the yield is satisfactory. The 2 E 2i8 KOREA schotter sediments, in the case of the Tong-ko-kai mines, attained a maximum of seventy-five feet in depth, a thickness of sedimentary matter some fifty feet in ex- cess of the usual formation. The concession was granted in 1898. Under it powers were given to a German com- pany to select a place twenty miles long and thirteen miles wide, within two years from the date of signing the contract, for the purpose of working all minerals during a space of twenty-five years, with an annual pay- ment to the Korean Government of twenty-five per cent, on the net profits. The revenues received from these con- tracts belong to the Imperial Household, passing directly into the private purse of the Sovereign. In the case of the English syndicate, the percentage was compounded for a sum of ;^20,ooo and an annual payment of a further ;£2000. The site, which the Germans selected for their concession, was, at the moment when they assumed control over the areas, the centre of extensive alluvial workings. The native miners strongly objected to the innovation, and prepared to resist the rights of the German company by force. In the end, however, their hostility was overcome by granting them twelve months' additional occupation of their works and, when Herr Bauer assumed charge as administrative engineer, opposition was already at an end. The district is covered with the remains of old workings in the schotter of the river-bed ; they are also to be found in a few places in the quartz upon the mountain side. In the absence of the requisite machinery, work upon the concession was necessarily disorganised. Eventually the concession was abandoned, close investigation failing to disclose its posses- sion of any very remunerative qualities. At the time of its METHODS OF MINING 219 withdrawal, the company employed nine Europeans, thirteen Japanese and Chinese, and some three hundred Koreans. Korean mining is very elementary. The usual methods are " placer " and " crushing " and a process of treatment by fire. A vertical shaft is sunk, with narrow steps cut into its sides, to the level of the reef ; the bottom of the shaft is then packed with wood, which is ignited and kept burning for several days. The heated rock becomes very friable and yields readily to the crude implements of the miners.. There is great competition to secure the bottom pitch in these shafts ; the more intrepid rarely delay their descent until the working has cooled. The quartz is sometimes rubbed to powder and the gold washed out, or it is crushed between huge boulders, washed, re-crushed and panned again. The gold is then picked out. Until lately there were no places where the gold was tested by other than the most antiquated methods. Such sanguine hopes have been raised as to the results of the mining in Korea, that it would be as well if the public accepted all statements in regard to these investments with great caution. The results of the development of the various mining concessions, now in progress, will be awaited with much interest, and will, it is to be hoped, form a reliable test of the mining possibilities of the country. The returns from the American mines encourage the belief that these possibilities have not been over-estimated ; but it has yet to be proved that mining operations can be profitably carried on with Western methods and appliances. The deposits in which gold is found in Korea are irregular, and by no means continuous. To a Korean miner this is of small importance. His outfit costs at the most a few shillings, and his belongings are easily transported to any ' 220 KOREA distance as circumstances demand. A different order of things is essential to a successful installation of Western machinery, and the public require some proof that there is, within workable distance, a sufficient quantity of ore to yield a fair profit on their investments. This has yet to be proved in the case of the British mine ; in respect of the German concession, the business resulted in a fiasco. That these mining enterprises should be successful is desirable in the interests of both natives and foreigners. They afford steady employment at a fair wage to thousands of Koreans, at least, part of whose earnings is expended in the purchase of foreign goods. It is perhaps, however, not altogether unfortunate that the Korean Government is averse, at present, to grant further concessions. During our halt at Tong-ko-kai, one day was spent in climbing the mighty peaks to lofty spots where, at a height of some thousands of feet, native prospectors were driving into the granite facing of the mountain in an effort to strike the main reef. Another day was passed in a hunt across the crests of the ranges after bear and deer. At daybreak, a little after 4 A.M. upon the morning of this excursion, Herr Bauer escorted us to a prospector's hut in the damp recesses of a distant valley, where our beaters, gun-carriers, and hunter- guides had been ordered to rendezvous for a bear hunt. Alas ! the Korean cannot bestir himself ! His late rising on this occasion delayed our departure from the hut two hours. The sun had risen when the expedition moved off a motley retinue of professional hunters and beaters accom- panying us to the gorge, wherein lay the bear. Hunters and beaters attached themselves to each of us, and we pro- ceeded across the mountain, pursuing a narrow and broken track, which cleft the bare summit of the highest ridges A BEAR HUNT 221 We climbed and scrambled up and down and in and out of many sheltered and well-timbered gorges, until the hunters warned us that we were approaching our stations. The beaters disappeared, making a detour of some //, to beat up the many crooked twists and turns which the drive took. Hours passed while we, hot, hungry, and athirst, lay hidden in the rank bush awaiting a sight of the quarry. For the first hour no sound broke the serenity of the valley ; presently, however, the cries of the beaters came to us, wafted from below or floating lazily from the surrounding heights. At first only a distant moaning, like the sobbing of a storm among the trees of a forest, broke upon our ears. The strange sounds created much restlessness among the wild wood-pigeons, the cooing doves, and the cheery, chattering magpies. Red-breasted storks rose with disdain- ful elegance from the shallows of the trickling stream and soared towards other pools. The mists of night rolled awav from the valley ; the dew disappeared from the matted undergrowth ; the sun mounted ; the day grew warmer. The blood coursed through our veins as we peered hither and thither, scanning the opposite face of the valley with the keenest vigilance. The beaters were ascending. The harsh cries of their raucous voices broke upon the air. The air vibrated with eerie noises ; a spasmodic howling arose from the depths of the valley, where an isolated beater lashed himself into a fever of vociferous discord. Hoarse shouts boomed above us, and echoed against the crags of the gorge. On either side of us, the valley re- sounded to the labours of the beaters, who, gaining the extreme crests, had now descended, driving everything before them. They approached rapidly, joined by the native hunters, who had now taken up positions upon the 222 KOREA rocks which overlooked the place where we were hiding. Our own moment had arrived. Each man fingered his rifle, peering forward as the concluding effort of the beaters burst forth in a hurricane of clamour. We looked and waited, until the conclusion was forced upon us that the bear had already long since broken through the lines of his pursuers. Hunting in general is considered a servile occupation by the Koreans, and the pursuit of the deer, the bear, and the tiger is not a favourite sport among the young bloods of the kingdom. Nobles, except those who belong to a few impoverished families in the extreme northern provinces, and who are reduced to the pastime to supplement their resources, never indulge in it. It is, nevertheless, free to all. There are no game laws, no proscription of arms, and few preserves. There is no interdicted season in any part of the country. The one creature which it is forbidden to destroy is the falcon, whose life is protected by most stringent enactments. The hunting-grounds are almost solely confined to the mountainous districts, and the hunters are a class apart throughout the country. They shift their grounds rapidly and constantly in search of game, living at the expense of any village where they may temporarily lodge in return for the protection from wild animals which their prowess assures to the local population. Their chief weapon is the flint-lock, imported from Japan. The barrel is inlaid with silver, and bound with thin silver bands or strips of tin. This weapon is loaded with iron bullets similar in size to those contained in a seven-pound shrapnel shell. The charge is ignited from a coil of plaited straw- cord, which is kept alight during the progress of the hunt. The stock is short and light. When the gun is fired the WITH GUN AND RIFLE 223 butt of this curious and antique weapon rests against the cheek-bone. The faces of many of the hunters, who accom- panied us, were scarred below the right eye. Their dress is characteristic, and they are further distin- guished by their boldness, fearlessness, and independent bearing. They adopt, as a uniform, a blue canvas shirt, to which is added a blue or green cotton turban, which is coiled twice through the hair, the torn, frayed end hanging over the forehead. Coloured beads are entwined in this head-dress, and a necklace of similar beads encircles the throat. Chains of seed-beans hang across the breast, to which are fastened the many ingenious contrivances of their calling. The hunters imitate the sounds of various birds and animals very cleverly, particularly those of a pheasant calling to his hen and a doe crying to her calves. The pheasant-call is made from a disc of iron about the size of a sixpenny piece. It resembles the stone of an apricot and is pierced. The decoy used for deer is made from a split bamboo stalk. Bird-hunters never shoot their quarry upon the wing. They disguise themselves in skins or feathers, bringing down their game from some well-concealed coign of vantage. Deer are hunted during June and July. The hunters form into small parties, and beat up the mountains for several days until their prey is within gunshot. The horns are sold to the native physicians, or exported to China and Japan. When in pursuit of the bear, hunters are more than usually careful to delay firing until the effect of their shot is certain. Good prices are fetched by the various parts of a bear. In addition to the proceeds from the pelt, the flesh, fat, sinews and gall of a bear, supposed to possess certain medicinal properties, sell for their weight 224 KOREA in silver. The one royal quadruped associated with Korea, as the white elephant is with Siam, the dromedary with Egypt, the bison with the United States, is the tiger. Unlike the Indian species, that delights in the tropical A SUMMER PLEASAUNCE jungles, this animal is found in Korea in the snow and forests of the north, and as far as the fiftieth parallel. In the mind of the Korean, the tiger is the symbol of_fierceness, an emblem of martial pomp and glory. The tiger hunters affect to despise their noble game, and upon occasions they even attack them single-handed with a lance or short sword, assisted by trained dogs. Tigers are sometimes caught in pits, covered with earth and bushes, and filled with slakes. In this condition it is easy to kill them. The hunters eat the meat, selling the skin and bones. Tiger hunters are exceptionally courageous. Their services are requisitioned by their Government upon WITH GUN AND RIFLE 225 occasion in the defence of the Empire. Armed with match- lock, spear and sword, they defeated the French, under Admiral Roze, in 1866, and heroically resisted the advance of the Americans in 1871. In 1901 they were assembled to protect the northern frontier from the incursions of Man- churian bandits. 2 F CHAPTER XIX The monks and monasteries of the Diamond Mountains — The Temple of Eternal Rest — ^The Temple of the Tree of Buddha — Buddhism Game abounds in the region between the German mines and the Diamond Mountains, and as we moved slowly forward to the famous Monastery of Chang-an, many short halts were made in search of birds and deer. Unfor- tunately, the deer evaded us and it became impossible to put up the pheasants out of the dense growth in the bushes in which they found cover. We had, however, some sport among the wood-pigeon. Korean hunters accompanied us some little distance upon our journey, leaving our caravan when our ways diverged. Beyond the Hai-yong River their track lay to the west into the heart of the mountains ; our own continued north-east. The hardships, experienced in travelling through Korea, were exemplified by the difficulties of our progress. They were intensified, however, by our ignorance of the precise trail, which it was necessary to follow across the heights from Tong-ko-kai to the mountain retreat of the pious monks. The inhabitants of the village of To-chi-dol warned our grooms of the difficulty of taking horses across the Tan-bal-yang Pass, the one barrier, which remained unsur- THE DIAMOND MOUNTAINS 227 mounted, between the outside world and the quiet repose of the first monastery in the Keum-kang-san. Until we en- forced our orders with sticks the manipus were inclined to give up the enterprise. Their opposition was momentary ; the transition from a somewhat angry mood into their usual condition of un- ruffled composure and high spirits was instantane- ous. With un- tiring energy and patience they en- couraged their diminutive ponies to climb the boul- ders ; to twist and wriggle between the clumps of tangled bushes and masses of rock which beset the path, and to scramble across the steeps. We followed a dried-up water- course at the level of the valley, making the ascent gradually. The climb was severe, and became so steep that the pack- saddles slipped off the backs of the ponies. It occupied our eight animals some four hours, testing the endurance of pony and groom, alike the product of the hills, stout of limb and strong of wind. ;The descent from the spirit shrine, in a gap on the crest cd the i^ange, was less toilsome. The grooms plaited ropes of. green. creepers, plucked from. the bush, and strung them THE ABBOT OF CHANG-AN-SA 228 KOREA round the packs. Walking behind the ponies, they held to these cords, thus supporting the animals and preventing the loads and clumsy saddles from reversing the process of the previous scramble. Nevertheless, our path was littered with fragments of our baggage. The contrivance was successful, however, and in the main the little steeds picked their way with an easy accuracy through the cool green woods. The mountain side was fragrant with innumerable plants, the bush a tangle of magnificent ferns, trees, and shrubs. Oaks, hawthorn, chestnut, birch and pines grew in crowded splendour ; the wild rose, the freckled lily, and a purple orchid embroidered the moss. Beyond the hollows of the hilly woodlands, the crumpled backs of the jagged mountains reared themselves skyward, their proud crests lost in the clouds, soaring silently to a height of five thousand feet. Below in the valley, a wall of granite mountains set up an impenetrable barrier before a noisy river, which until the advent of the rainy season becomes the merest trickle of silver in a lone expanse of river-bed. Our way lay across the river-bed and thence into the centre of the mountains, a journey of one more day, to The Temple of Eternal Rest. After crossing the Tan-bal-yang Pass we delayed, resting at Kal-kan-i. Starting at daybreak upon the next morning we moved through the Kak-pi Pass as the sun touched the tops of the mountains, which shut in the narrow valley, across which lay the last stage of the journey. We were nearing the last home of many distressed pilgrims. In a cleft among the mountains the deep curved roofs of many temples might be seen. The air was tremulous with the pleasant jangling of bells, and from a wayside shrine the sweet fumes of incense mingled with the scent of the pines. The calm and seclusion of this THE TEMPLE OF ETERNAL REST 229 spiritual retreat was in itself soothing ; as one passed beneath the red gate, that indicates royal patronage, the placid gentleness of the scene was an allurement to the consolation and protection offered by this Buddhistic asylum. There are thirty-four monasteries, and monastic shrines in the Keum-kang-san, and they are tended by three hundred monks and sixty nuns. Chang-an is the oldest, and has been in existence for some generations. In 515 A.D., during the reign of Po-pheung, a king of Silla, it was restored by two monks, Yul-sa and Chin-kyo. Other monasteries, akin to this in their romantic setting and picturesque seclu- sion, are Pyo-un, which, together with Chang-an is situated upon the western slopes, Yu-chom and Sin-gaupon the eastern slopes. These, with thirty others of less importance, excite the most profound interest and enthusiasm among the Koreans, many of whom repeatedly brave the difficulties and fatigues of travel in the Diamond Mountains to visit them. The four chief monasteries are served by one hundred and seventy monks and thirty nuns. The main temple of Chang-an is a large building, forty-eight feet in height, of the type to which travellers in the East soon become accus- tomed. The wooden structure is rectangular with two roofs, deep, curved and richly carved eaves, the heavy tiled roofs being supported upon teak pillars three feet in circumference. The diamond-cut panels of the doors, which serve as windows, are ornamented with gold, and the lofty ceiling is carved and wrought in rich designs, lavishly gilded and highly coloured in blue, red, green and gold. Granite steps give access to the temples ; the main beams and supports of the whole edifice resting upon huge circular slabs of this stone. On the inner walls of this building there are scenes .230 KOREA from the life of Gautama, the apostle of the Buddhistic creed. A gilded image figures as the centre of a golden group of seven past and future godheads, incarnations of the One and sublime Sakya-muni, whose future re- appearance is anticipated by the faithful. Brass incense- burners, candlesticks, and a manuscript book of masses in Chinese and Korean characters, resting upon a faded cover of soiled and dusty brocade, furnish the front of the altar. Before this high altar, wonderfully impressive and inspiring in the dim religious light of the vast interior, a priest spends certain hours of the day and night in profound obeisance, intoning, chanting and gabbling monotonously and with constant genuflections, the words Na-mu Ami Tabid. This expression is a phonetic rendering of certain Thibetan words, the meaning of which the Abbot himself was unable to ex- plain ; when transcribed in Chinese characters it appears equally unintelligible. Other temples in this particular monastery are dedicated to The Abode of Virtue, The Four Sages, and The Ten Judges. Within these edifices Sakya-muni and his disciples sit in different attitudes of ineffable abstraction, contem- plating gruesome pictures of demons, animals, and the torments awarded in after-life to the wicked. Many of the buildings of Chang-an have been restored within recent years. The work has been completed long since, and the spacious courtyards are now well kept. The temples are clean and spotless, the whole monastery bearing witness to the care with which it is maintained. Besides the more important temples, there are many smaller shrines, set within some forest nook ; a stage for the more important religious observances, bell and tablet houses, stables for the ponies of the numerous visitors a TEMPLE OF THE TREE OF BUDDHA 231 nunnery and a refectory for the Abbot and monks. There are, in addition, cells for the priests and quarters for the servants. Accommodation is found for the widows, orphans, and the destitute ; for the lame, the halt, and the blind ; for the aged and forlorn, to whom the monks grant shelter and protection. Besides the Abbot, there were in the monastery some twenty other men, monks, priests and neophytes, and ten nuns of various ages, ranging from girl hood to wrinkled wisdom. The establishment derives its revenues from the rent and proceeds of the Church lands, donations from pilgrims and guests, occasional benefactions from the wealthy, and the collections made by the mendicant monks. These latter chant the litanies of Buddha from house to house, and travel throughout the Empire, finding food and lodging by the wayside, to collect the scanty contributions which their solicitations evoke. The four great monasteries are pre- sided over by a member of the community, who is ■elected annually to the office. Unless his conduct gives rise to dissatisfaction, he is maintained in authority, usually until his death, or transference to some other centre of Buddhistic activity. The practices and observances, in ithese monasteries of the Diamond Mountains, conform to the principles of the religion of Buddha, as nearly as do the customs and manners of our own Church to the varied tenets of Christianity throughout the world. I confess myself sorely puzzled to discover any sub- stratum of. truth in the charges of gross profligacy and irreverence which the agent of an American Missionary Society brings against the monasteries of the Keum-kang- san. Personally, after spending many weeks in the calm .seclusion of this monastic region, I prefer to recall the 232 KOREA kindliness of the monks — their real Christian charity — to the poor and afflicted, to the hungry and sore distressed, as to all who come to them in times of misery and evil. If many of them learn the litanies of their liturgy by heart, if they lack scholarship, if they do not know the meaning of much upon which they spend so many weary hours of their lives, are not these slight things when weighed against their pro- foundhumanity,their gentleness toeverything which breathes, their benevolence to the old and destitute, their exceeding humility, their wonderful toleration, the quietness and extreme simplicity of their lives, and the humanitarian nature of their interests ? The Monastery of Yu-chom is all peace and quietude. It lies, shut off from all contact with the outer world, within a deep, tree-clad valley of the eastern ranges. It is self- contained, and its whole existence is wrapped up in the mysteries of that faith to whose services it is dedicated. There is no booming torrent, such as that which vibrates and thunders through the Chang-an-sa gorge ; a subdued babble alone rises from the water, which wells from some rocks deep in the recesses of the prevailing bush. Its appearance is strangely solemn, and it exerts over the daily lives of the coterie of monks, assembled within its walls an influence that conduces to their extreme asceticism. The atmosphere of repose and seclusion, in which a soul dis- tressed finds so much comfort, broods over the whole community. The most imposing of the thirty-four Buddhist re- treats within the Diamond Mountains is Yu-chom-sa. It may be approached from the western side of the Keum-kang-san by climbing the rocky path of the Chang-an-sa gorge, and crossing the watershed through TEMPLE OF THE TREE OF BUDDHA 233 the An-man-chai Pass, 4215 feet in height. The descent is made by a rough and picturesque track through deep THE ABBOT OF YU-CHOM-SA woods to the cluster of temples upon the eastern face of the range. Another way, which, after a short detour from Chang-an-sa, is an easier route, lies over the Pu-ti-chong 2 G 234 KOREA Pass, 3700 feet in height ; after winding through some miles of forest, it drops directly upon a track, which leads to the gates of the monastery. Each road starts from Chang-an-sa, and the crossing of the mountains must be undertaken by all who wish to visit the monasteries upon the eastern slopes. The journey in either direction can be accomplished within eight hours ; the difficulties of the bed of the Chang-an-sa torrent render this route impassable to horses, &c. Lightly-loaded ponies can be taken across the Pu-ti-chong. The hire of coolies is recommended and one Korean dollar for each man is the tariff. The temples of Yu-chom-sa are very similar to those at Chang-an-sa. They are, however, more numerous and more richly endowed. Before the steps of the main temple there is a small granite pagoda', whose graceful proportions give an element of dignity to the spacious courtyard upon which the principal temples of the monastery abut. The altar of this temple is adorned by a singular piece of wood- carving. Upon the roots of an upturned tree sit or stand fifty-three diminutive figures of Buddha. The monks tell an old-world legend of this strange structure. Many centuries ago, fifty-three priests, who had journeyed from India to Korea to introduce the precepts of Buddha into this ancient Ian d, sat down by a well beneath a spreading tree. Three dragons presently emerged from the depths of the well and attacked the fifty-three, calling to their aid the wind-dragon, who thereupon uprooted the tree. As the fight proceeded, the priests managed to place an image of Buddha upon each root of the tree, converting the whole into an altar, under whose influence the dragons were forced back into their cavernous depths, when huge rocks were piled into the well to shut them up. The monks then BUDDHISM 235 founded the monastery, building the main temple above the remains of the vanquished dragons. Upon each side of the fantastic altar-piece there is a carved design of lotusleaves several feet in width and height ; at the feet of an immense image of the divine Buddha, golden and bejewelled, which graces the centre of the shrine, are several magnificent bronze bowls of vast size, weight, and antiquity. Blue and red silk-gauze draperies, serving the purpose of a screen, hang from the massive beams in the roof. The figures seen in Korean temples are reproduced in Buddhist temples throughout Asia, the supreme and central form being that of Sakya-muni or Buddha. In the sculpture and artistic development of this, the central figure of their pantheon, there is little, if any, deviation from the conven- tional traditions of India, Siam, Thibet, and Mongolia. The sage is crouching on his knees with the souls of his feet turned upward to the face ; the palms and fingers of his hands pressed together ; the eyes are slightly oblique, and the lobes of the ears somewhat bulbous. The throne consists of the open calyx of a lotus flower, the symbol of eternity. The splendour of the figures in the Temple of the Tree of Buddha is noticeable ; and the lustre of the heavy gilding gleams from about the altar into the dimness and uncertain light of the vast chamber like the rays of some spiritual fire. Devotional exercises never cease in this House of the Ever-Supreme Lord, the services and constant offering of prayer being taken in turn by the officiating priests. At these moments, when the lonely figure of the priest is seen pleading with the Ever-Supreme Lord, in his most sacred Temple and before his most sacred shrine, for the grace of forgiveness, the scene is one of the most extraordinary solemnity. As the chant rises and falls in 236 KOREA the great spaces of the hall and the swaying figure rocks in the despair of his passionate self-abandonment the sympathies and emotions are strangely stirred. The stages of the services are marked by blows upon a bell which the priest holds before him, the while he casts himself upon his face and kneels before the resplendent Buddha. The chief celebrations of the day and night in Yu- chom-sa are accompanied by the booming of the great bronze bell — an elaborate casting of the fourteenth century — and by the beating of a large circular drum many feet in circumference. Both instruments stand in their own towers in the courtyard. During the minor services, the genu- flections of the priests are accompanied by the jarring notes of the small brass bells, which they strike repeatedly with deer-horns. A magnificent figure of Buddha sits in the Temple of the Lotus Blossom, in an attitude of impassive benignity behind a screen of glass, looking solemnly upon the devotions and pious exercises of his faithful attendants. This altar is recessed, the entire shrine being protected by plates of glass, and the offerings of rice, which are pre- sented to the altar for benediction, stand without the screen. Among other temples and shrines at Yu-chom-sa there are the House of Everlasting Life, the Temple of the Water Month, the Temple of People who come from the West. There are fifty monks in Yu-chom-sa twelve nuns, and eight boys who have not yet been admitted to the order. Many of the boys in these mon- asteries are quite young. Some have been handed over by their parents in extreme infancy, while others have been received out of the wide charity of the Buddhists, and dedicated to the service of the monasteries. These boys BUDDHISM 237 appear intelligent. They are taught little beyond the different chants and litanies, with the words of which they soon become familiar. The boys are clean and well fed ; but the monks, if equally clean, are more YU-CHOM-SA sparing in their diet. Their frugal repast consists of rice and varieties of minced vegetables, cakes of pine nuts glued together with honey, and other cakes of popped rice and honey. The extreme richness of the dishes soon palls upon the palate. While managing to exist, signs of emaciation are noticeable in their bodies and faces. Among the nuns who are attracted to these different monasteries, there are many who have entered the cloister from religious motives, and a few who, alone in the world, find it a convenient spot in which to pass their lives. Neither class, however, encroaches upon the religious and devotional functions of 238 KOREA the monks, but lives entirely apart, existing altogether in a world of their own making. The forms of religion which prevail in Korea to-day are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shamanism. Statements of ancient Chinese and Japanese writers, and the early Jesuit missionaries, tend to prove that the worship of spirits and demons has been the basis of national belief since the earliest times. The god of the hills is even now the most popular deity. Worship of the spirits of heaven and earth, of the invisible powers of the air, of nature, of the morning star, of the guardian genii of the hills and rivers, and of the soil and grain, has been so long practised that, in spite of the influences of Confucianism, and the many centuries in which Buddhism has existed in the land, the actual worship of the great mass of the people has undergone little material alteration. However widespread this leaning of the lower classes towards demonolatry may be, the philosophy of Confucius has been from the fifteenth century the official and fashionable cult in Korea. In its middle period, it attained to that point when a religion, which at first was fostered by the few and has spread gradually until it became absorbed by the people, feels itself firmly established, and emphasises its ascendency by the bigotry of its assertions, its intolerance, and, crowning triumph of all usurping tenets, by the virulence of its persecution. Confucianism now overspreads the whole peninsula. From the fourth to the fourteenth century, when the religion of the Enlightened One prevailed, it was studied and practised only by the learned classes. Buddhism predominated throughout the southern half of the peninsula, and only partially leavened the northern division of the Empire, where it was unable to combat the teachings of Con- BUDDHISM 23? fucius. Throughout its development, however, Buddhism has exercised a potent influence in Korean affairs, which continued until the close of the last dynasty. The power of the bonzes at one time controlled the Court and nullified AN ALTAR-PIECE the decrees of the monarch. During its pristine supremacy it became the strongest and most formidable factor in the education of the country. It wielded unlimited and un- restricted power, while it guided the political and social re- volutions of the period. Great respect is still shown to the tenets of Buddhism in Korea. New monasteries and temples- are in process of construction — the Buddhist priests of Japan and Korea making common cause against the activities of Western missionaries. The Emperor has also shown himself interested in the propagation of this faith, and, with Lady Om, he has given large sums to the restoration of certain dilapidated temples without the city. All things- 240 KOREA considered, Buddhism has left such a mark upon the history of the little kingdom that, although the purely ethical character of the teachings of Confucius be acknowledged, Korea must be classed among the Buddhist countries of the earth. CHAPTER XX The Abomination of desolation — Across Korea — The east coast — Fishing and filth The peace, piety, and sublime earnestness of the monks of the monasteries of Yu-chom and Chang-an is in starthng contrast to the state of things at Shin-ki-sa. The magni- ficence of Yu-chom-sa, and the charitable benevolence of Chang-an-sa, engender a mood of sympathetic apprecia- tion and toleration towards those, whose lives are dedicated to the service of Buddha, in these isolated retreats of the Diamond Mountains. The spectacle presented by the monastery at the north-eastern base of the Keum-kang-san, however, reveals the existence of certain evils which happily do not disfigure the more important Buddhist centres in this region. It is not time which alone has brought about the disorder; nor would the material decay be so lamentable if the dignity and charm of a picturesque ruin were not lacking. The tone of the monks here is totally different. Everything is neglected, and every one is in- different to the needs of the temples. A litter of broken tiles lies about the buildings ; dirt and dust, the natural consequences of carelessness and neglect, disgrace them within. The spirit of reverence is wanting. The scene is changed. 2 H 242 KOREA Shin-ki is a small monastery. Perhaps its temples have never been comparable with the shrines of Yu-chom-sa in grace and beauty. Nothing, however, can excuse the disorder and neglect of its court-yards, and the sloven- liness of the temple service. There seems to be nothing in common between this and those other monasteries, which rest within the heart of the ranges. One looks in vain for the courtly dignity of the aged Abbot of Yu-chom-sa, whose humanitarian spirit was so impressive. The principles of consideration, politeness, and devotion that govern his conduct are sadly lacking in the Abbot, the priests, and monks attached to Shin-ki-sa. The contrast is indeed great. The most painful emotions are excited by the decline which has taken place in the prosperity of the temples. Anger and sorrow fill the soul. As one gazes beyond the temples into the peace and beauty of the valley below, it is as if one were looking across from a place of abomination into another and a better world. The colourless skeleton of the past alone remains, and one longs for the power to restore the fabric to its former self. In its setting the monastery has caught something of the spirit of nature. If there is any compensating element in its decadence, it is found in the wild beauty of the lugged mountains, which tower above it from across the valley. Beyond their granite faces lie the trials and tribulations of the outer world ; once enclosed within their grey embrace the little ironies of life disappear. The hours are cool and undisturbed. Primeval forests adorn the deep gullies of the ranges ; a flood of colour comes from the open spaces where wild flowers are growing and the tints of the woodland foliage disclose an endless variety of green. In the centre of a patch, cleared of its undergrowth and DESOLATION H3 approached by a path winding through deep woods, is Mum-sa-ani. This retreat is given over to the twenty nuns who are associated with Shin-ki-sa. I know nothing of their hves, but from the state of their temples, and the SHIN-Kl-SA roughness and disorder of their surroundings, it did not appear to me that they, any more than the sixty priests, monks, and boys of the lower monastery, find the tenets of Buddha very elevating, or derive much satisfaction from the surrounding scenery. The history of our days in the more important monas- teries of the Diamond Mountains was uneventful. The anxious care and solicitude of the monks for the welfare of their guests was hourly manifested, and some kindly attention was shown to us at every possible opportunity. Cool and lofty quarters were allotted for our entertainment ; the resources of the monastery were placed at our disposal. The Abbot of Chang-an-sa prepared draughts of honey-water and cakes 244- KOREA of pine-seeds for our refreshment. Every morning supplies of honey, rice, and flour, and small bundles of fresh vege- tables were brought to the table ; throughout the day nothing was left undone, which, in the minds of these simple men, would be conducive to our comfort. A deep pool in the tumbling mountain-stream was reserved for our use, and when, in the fresh air of the morning, and again when the cool winds of the evening had tempered the heat of the day, we went to bathe, the Abbot, upon his own initiative, arranged that we should be left in undisturbed possession of the water-hole. The Temple, which we occupied during our stay at Chang-an-sa, contained The Altar of the Three Buddhas. The building was spacious and impressive. A wide verandah surrounded it, teak pillars supported a massive roof ; scrolls and allegorical pictures, illustrating incidents in the life of Buddha, decorated the wall. Layers of oiled paper carpeted the floor ; an altar cloth of silk, richly embroidered, small mats, bronze incense bowls and brass candelabra, embel- lished the altar, in the centre of which was a large gilt image of the Three Buddhas. Every evening at sunset, the monks who officiated in this Temple placed bowls of rice, honey, and pine-seed cakes upon the altar, and lighted the small lamps and candles which illuminated it. Prayers were not always said, nor were the services always the same, the numbers of the monks varying nightly accord- ing to the character of the special office. When the services concluded, there were many who found something to attract them in our small encampment. The;y gathered round the kitchen ; they assisted the interpreter to cook, and tasted his dishes. They handled with amazement the cooking utensils of a camp-kitchen, the cutlery of a traveller's table. Occasion- ACROSS KOREA 245 ally, as their increasing familiarity brought about some small degree of intimacy between us, the monks would display their beads and alms-bowls for our inspection, requesting our acceptance of copies of their books in return THE ABBOT AND MONKS OF CHANG-AN-SA for photographs of their temples. The intricacies of a camera delighted them, the appearance of a sporting rifle created consternation in their breasts, and they were never tired of swinging in my camp-bed. Before the camp at Chang-an-sa was shifted to Yu-chom-sa, a fast friendship, engendered by many kindly acts and the uninterrupted expression of a thoughtful consideration for our needs, sprung up between the monks and ourselves. They consulted us about their ailments, which usually took the shape of an acute attack of indi- gestion or a form of intermittent dysentery. My medicines were limited to some quinine pills and a bottle of fruit salts; 246 KOREA they accepted either prescription with gratitude and much melancholy philosophy. But although they remained always the same well-disposed visitors to our camp, I noted that they did not frequently present themselves as candidates for treatment again. When the moment came for our departure, many small gifts were pressed upon us. For a long time, too, it seemed as if it would be impossible to obtain an account of our indebtedness to the monastery. In the end the persuasion of the interpreter prevailed. When we added to the reckoning a few dollars for the funds of the monastery, the expressions of gratitude and appreciation, to which our little gift gave rise, made it almost possible to believe that the kindness and hospitality shown had been all on our side. Our quarters at Yu-chom-sa were in no sense inferior, and none the less delightful in their situation, to those which we left behind at Chang-an-sa. The guest-house in Yu-chom-sa affords views of the mountain torrent as it dashes through the boulder-strewn, tree-clad slopes of the valley. At Chang-an-sa we camped beneath the protecting eaves of the spacious verandah which surrounds the Temple of The Three Buddhas, avoiding whenever possible any general use of the sacred edifice. In the case of Yu-chom-sa, this diffidence was unnecessary ; the building placed at our disposal being that usually set aside for the requirements of those persons of official position who might be visiting the monastery. The apartments were clean, comfortable, and bright. They were hung with tablets, upon which had been inscribed the names and dignities of previous visitors. High walls enclosed the buildings, and massive gates preserved the compound from unexpected intrusion. The life in these encampments is one of ideal ACROSS KOREA 247 peace and happiness. It was possible to work undisturbed and unprovoked by any harrowing influences. Indeed, there was no suggestion of any other existence. We lived in the seclusion of a sanctuary, where mortal misgivings had not penetrated, and where the tribulations, which oppress mankind, were unknown. Beyond Shin-ki-sa, a journey of fifteen //, a well- made road leads east north-east to the coast, which it touches at Syong-chik. The sight and scent of the sea, after the exhausting discomforts of Shin-ki-sa, was peculiarly welcome. Between Yu-chom-sa and Shin-ki-sa the country is intersected with marshes and rice-fields. The difficulties of marching through these bogs and mud-holes greatly impeded the horses. The road by the coast, if rough and stony in places, is at least free from these obstacles, affording a tortuous, but none the less pleasant, course. Wending across basaltic slopes, ascending their smooth surfaces by a series of roughly-hewn steps, it drops to a level of burnished sand. A sweep inland to the west and south-west avoids the rugged spurs of a neighbouring range. The sea licks the white sand with gentle murmurs and the slight breeze scarcely ripples the blue surface, the constant variations, which the golden sands and glittering sea, the open valleys and green hills present, adding to the charm and freshness of the journey. The feeling of isola- tion, inseparable from travel in regions where the sense of freedom is shut out by a world of enclosing mountains, is at once lost in contact with the ocean and the ships that go down to it. Far out, in the great expanse of the peaceful sea, were fishing-boats, grey junks, hull down upon the horizon, their brown sails bellying spasmodically in the fitful gusts of the breeze. In the shallows off-shore men, brown 248 KOREA and naked, dragged for herring and sprat while their children gathered crabs, diving after their victims in the deep pools with screams of delight. Around the hovels, in all these clusters of small villages by the waves, men slept in the blazing sunshine. While their lords reposed, the women mended the rents in the nets, or busied themselves in constructing crude traps, with the aid of which their husbands contrived to catch fish. The aspect of these villages upon the beach was not inviting ; and they did not compare favourably with any of the inland villages through which we had passed. They were dirty, tumble-down, and untidy; the appearance of the people suggested great personal uncleanliness. The air was laden with the smell of fish drying in the sun — of itself a pleasant perfume, smacking of the salt of the sea — but here so mingled with the odours of decaying offal, piles of rubbish, and varieties of fish and seaweed in different stages of decom- position that the condensed effluvium was sickening. The people, however, were neither curious nor unkindly ; for the great part they were indiffei'cnt, offering baskets of fresh eggs, fish, and chickens readily for sale. The beach by these villages was black with rows of fish, drying, upon the white sand, in the most primitive fashion. The art of smoking fish is unknown, and the careless manner in which the curing is done proves that the treatment has neither principle nor system. Dogs lay upon these rows of fish, fowls fed undisturbed off them, and, in many places, men slept peacefully with a number of them heaped together to serve as pillows for their weary heads. Where such neglect prevails, it is perhaps not unnatural that much of the disease among the Koreans should be attributed to the dried fish which they eat so greedily. FISHING AND FILTH 249 The trade in salted and sun-dried fish is extensive and finds its way all over the kingdom ; an overland traffic of considerable importance exists with the capital. Strings or stacks of dried fish are to be seen in every village. Pack ponies, and coolies laden with loads of dried fish, are met upon every road in the kingdom. The pedestrian who " humps his own swag " almost always carries a small stock with him. The parallel industry to the business of curing fish is the operation of making salt from sea-water, a pursuit which is conducted in a manner equally rough and casual. In both of these industries there is a crying need for simple technical instruction, as well as for capital, the lack of which hinders the work from achieving any particular success. There is so much fish in the sea along the coast, that, if the catches were properly treated, the beginning of a prosperous export trade could be readily laid. At the present only a bare sufficiency is secured, the days of prosperity not yet having begun to dawn. The industry is completely paralysed by the exactions of the officials ; the fishermen, like the peasants, knowing only too well that an immunity from the demands of the Yainen is found only in a condition of extreme poverty. Many fishing villages were passed through in the journey from the Diamond Mountains. Each seemed to reflect the other, the sole difference between them lying in their size, the number of fishing-boats drawn up on the beach, the strength and density of their smells. The poverty and squalor of these hamlets was astonishing. The people seemed without spirit, content to live an idle, slatternly existence in sleeping, yawning, and eating by turns. Despite offers of payment, it was impossible to secure their services in a day's fishing, although they generally admitted that the 250 KOREA boats, nets, and lines were not otherwise engaged. As the outcome of this spirit of indifference among the natives, Japanese fishermen are rapidly securing for themselves the fishing-grounds off the coast. Unless these dreary, medita- tive, and dirty people arouse themselves soon, the business of fishing in their own waters will have passed altogether from their hands. The Japanese catch fish at all seasons ; the Koreans at one only — when it suits them. They have consequently a diminishing influence in a trade so ex- ceedingly profitable that some ten thousand Japanese fishing-boats subsist by it. The filthy condition of the villages renders any stay in them perilous. It is wiser to camp beyond them in the open. It was my misfortune to stay in several, but in the village of Wha-ding, seventy-five // from Won-san, the virulence and variety of the insects surpassed all my ex- perience in Australia, America, Africa, or Asia. Fleas were everywhere ; they floated through the atmosphere, much as the north-west winds of New Zealand and the hot winds of Africa drive particles of fine sand through the air. In this case, however, nothing remained without its thin penetrating covering of fleas. One night in Wha-ding stands out as the most awful of these experiences. It was impossible to stand ; it was impossible to sit ; sleep was out of the question. We shook our clothes ; we bathed and washed and powdered. Every effort was a torture, and each precaution increased the ironies of the situation. To add to the plagues of this accursed place, we were deafened by the ear-splitting in- cantations of a sorcerer, who had been hired by the pro- prietor of the village inn to exorcise a devil that had bewitched him. We wondered, afterwards, whether this accounted for the damnable activity among the vermin. <: y 3 < < 252 KOREA After a futile attempt to come to terms with the magician by bribery and corruption through the medium of ray interpreter, it was arranged that one of the grooms should represent the evil spirit. He passed out into the desolation of the night and howled plaintively, while we, having collected the elders and the necromancer, solemnly fired our revolvers into the darkness at the departing spirit. Unfortunately, we did not convince the wizard that the devil had been expelled. It was not until, losing my temper and my reason together, I dropped his gongs and cymbals down a well, depositing him in it after them, that we were rid of the agonies of this additional nuisance. WITHOUT THE WALLS OF SEOUL CHAPTER XXI Drought — Starvation — Inland Disturbances — Rainfall and disease It is difficult for us in England to understand how far- reaching may be the evils, resulting from the complete failure of the rainfall, in countries where the population relies upon it for their daily bread. A brief mention, in the Press, of the lateness of the monsoon gives no sign of the anxiety with which many millions of people are regarding the approaching harvest. Water means life to the rice- fields, and a drought imphes, not alone the failure of a staple crop, but famine, with disorder and starvation, disease and death, as its accompaniments. A drought in the rice-fields makes a holocaust of the people in the winter. The forces of law and order at the disposal of the Govern- ment of India place some restraint upon the populace. In the Far East, where the civil administration is incom- 254 KOREA petent to deal with the exigencies of the situation, and the systematic dispensation of relief is unknown, the decima- tion of the population and the complete upheaval of the social fabric follows closely upon the break-down in nature. Indirectly, too, the consequences of famine in India prove this. An even more emphatic evidence of the effects of a drought, where the population live upon the rice crop, is afforded by the appalling loss of life and the grave eruption of disorder, which took place in Korea as the conse- quence of the famine in 1901. Widespread ruin overtook the country ; the inland districts were thronged with mobs of desperate people. Persons, normally peace-loving and law-abiding, banded together to harass the country-side, in the hope of extorting sufficient food to keep their families and themselves from starvation. Hunger drove whole com- munities from the villages to the towns, where no provision for their welfare existed. Anarchy prevailed throughout the country, the dire needs of the population goading them to desperation. A horde of beggars invaded the capital. Deeds of violence made the streets of Seoul unsafe after darkness, and bandits carried on their depredations openly in the Metropolitan Province. From a peaceful and happy land of sunshine and repose, Korea was transformed, in a few months, into a wilderness of misery, poverty, and unrest. The measures for relief were quite inadequate, and although rice was imported, large numbers of the people, lacking the money with which to buy it, starved to death. The absence of an efficient organisation in the face of this further disaster increased the confusion. Before any arrangements could be made lor their relief, several DROUGHT 255 thousands had died. More than 20,000 destitute people were discovered in Seoul, out of a population of rather less than 200,000. Reports from the provincial centres disclosed a relapse into a state of absolute savagery in many rural THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEK, SEOUL districts. Famine, pestilence, and death stalked abroad in Korea for months, and many, who escaped starvation, lost their lives subsequently in the great wave of disease which swept over the land. It is impossible to believe that the famine would have assumed its late proportions had the Government of Korea maintained its embargo against the exportation of cereals from the country. There can be no doubt that the with- drawal of this prohibition contributed to the scarceness of the food-stuffs which were procurable by the people, when their straits were most severe. Mortality returns from the 256 KOREA areas devastated by the famine prove that the welfare of more than one million persons was affected. The action of Japan, therefore, in insisting upon the suspension of the prohibition in order that the interests of some half-dozen Japanese rice merchants might not suffer, deserves the utmost condemnation. The primary responsibility for this great loss of life rests entirely with the Japanese Government. In terrorising the Government of Korea into an act, the consequences of which brought death to one million people, the Japanese Government committed themselves to a policy which traversed alike the dictates of reason and common sense, and outraged every principle of humanity. The impartial observer must hold Korea guilt- less in this matter. It is, indeed, deplorable that the vehement opposition of the Korean Government was not respected. Nevertheless, the incident is valuable, as an illustration of the objectionable attitude which distinguishes the Government of Japan in its relations with Korea. At the beginning of the drought the inhabitants of Seoul believed that the Rain God was incensed. The Emperor and his Court offered expiatory sacrifices upon three occa- sions. As the rains were still withheld a period of penance was proclaimed, in which prayers and fastings were or- dained, the populace ceasing from every form of labour and relapsing into a condition of supreme idleness. Unhappily, while the great mass of the people refrained from work, the Emperor continued to employ many hundreds of labourers upon the construction of the new Palace buildings. This proceeding was held by the superstitious subjects of His Majesty to account for the singular inclemency of the Rain Demon, and some anxiety was felt in the capital lest the usual calm of the city should be broken by riots. These STARVATION 257 horrors were spared to Seoul, however, by the fortuitous visitation of a passing shower. Men and women resumed their toil, rejoicing in the behef that the evil influences had been overcome. It was, however, but a brief respite only that was granted. In a short time the drought prevailed throughout the land, drying up the rice-fields, scorching the pastures, and withering the crops. Under this baneful visitation, the circumstances of the people became very straitened. Hundreds were reduced to feeding off the wild roots and grass of the wayside, and isolated cases of cannibalism were reported. The exceptional character of the drought lends interest to the hydrometrical records for Chemulpo from 1887 to the middle of 1901, which were forwarded to the bureau by the correspondent of the Physical Observatory, St. Petersburg. The rain-fall given is for the years 1887 to 1900, inclusive, and the first half of 1901 ; the snow-fall is reduced to the proportion of water which the melted snow would make. Professor H. Hulbert has pointed out, how- ever, that in estimating what is or what is not a proper amount of rain, it is necessary to know in what season of the year the rain has fallen. Thirty inches of rain in November would be of less value to the rice-fields than half that amount if it fell in June. In the cultivation of rice, rain must fall at the proper time. Otherwise it is valueless, and, although adding to the actual measurement of the fall, a very considerable deluge, under these condi- tions, would be of no material advantage to agricultural interests. 2 K 258 KOREA HYDROMETKICAL RECORD YEARS RAINFALL SNOWFALL TOTAL FOG RAIN SNOW inches 1887 30.86 2.00 32.86 13d 3h igd i7h 4d 2h 1888 20.91 2.15 23.06 i4d 5h i2d 6h 3d 3h 1889 28.18 o.gi 29.09 25d i3h 25d 5h 5d gh 1890 47.00 1.06 48.06 i2d i8h 27d loh od 64h i8gi 41.04 1.66 41.70 13d 5h 3od 2oh 3d 7h 1892 34-04 1.20 35-24 i5d 2oh i6d loh 4d 6h 1893 50.64 3.55 54.19 3id 5h 36d 6h 8d iih 1894 31.81 0.64 32-45 33d i8h 2id 9h id 8h 1895 31.88 2 -06 33.94 32d 7h 2gd iih 6d ijh 1896 31.08 5-15 36.23 5id 7h 27d oh 2d oh 1897 48.35 3.23 51-58 24d 5h 3id i7h 4d i8h 1898 37.80 4.73 42-53 3id i4h 29d igh 5d i5h 1899 25.07 2.05 27.12 i8d igh id 3h 1900 29.14 0.83 29-97 2id 2h od 2oh 1 901 7.09 0.06 7-15 7d 5h 3d 7h 2d oh I give, also, the rainfall during the years 1898-1901, at the period when a plenteous rain is of supreme importance to the rice industry : Year June July August Total 1898 4-5 lO.O II.O 25-5 1899 8-5 7.5 6.7 22.7 1900 2.0 6.2 4.5 12.7 I90I 0-3 2.7 I.I 4.1 In a rice-growing country such as this is, it is essential that an adequate supply of rain should fall during the three summer months to allow of the seed-rice being trans- planted and to ensure the maturing of the grain. In 1901, owing to the lack of water, the bulk of the seed-rice was never transplanted at ail. It simply withered away. It is, of course, inevitable that one of the immediate RAINFALL AND DISEASE 259 results of famine should be a general increase of mortality throughout the country. The impoverished condition, to which so many thousands of Koreans were reduced, weakened their constitutions so seriously that, in many cases, even those who were fortunate enough to escape starvation found their powers fatally impaired. There were many whose inanition and general debility, resulting from their deprivations, had rendered them peculiarly susceptible to disease. More particularly was this the case in the inland districts. Under normal conditions, malaria is, perhaps, the most common disease in Korea. It prevails in all parts of the country, but it is specifically localised in sections where there are numerous rice-fields. Small-pox is nearly always present, breaking out in epidemic form every few years. Nearly all adults, and most children over ten years, will be found to have had it. Leprosy is fairly prevalent in the southern provinces, but it spreads very slowly. While this disease presents all the characteristics described in the text-books, the almost imperceptible increase, which dis tinguishes its existence in Korea, is strong presumptive evidence that it is non-infectious. The great enemy of health is the tubercle bacillus. The want of ventilation, the absence of sanitation, and the smallness of the houses, foster this little germ. Tubercular and joint diseases are common ; also fistula, hare-lip, dis- eases of the eye, throat and ear. The most common disease of the eye is cataract ; of the ear, suppuration of the middle drum, in the great majority of cases the result of small-pox in childhood. Cases of nasal polypi are also very numerous. Hysteria is fairly common, while epilepsy and paralysis are among other nervous disorders which are encountered. 26o KOREA Indigestion is almost a national curse, the habit of eating rapidly large quantities of boiled rice and raw fish pro- moting this scourge. Toothache is less frequent than in other countries; diphtheria and typhoid are very rare, and scarlet fever scarcely exists. Typhus, malarial remittent fever, and relapsing fever are not uncommon. Venereal disease is about as general as it used to be in England. In short, there is a preponderance of diseases which result from filthy habits, as also of those produced by the indifferent qualities of the food, and the small and over- crowded houses. Most of the diseases common to humanity present themselves for treatment in Korea. AN IMPERIAL SUMMKR HOUSK I- reeled to nmrlc the spot where the corpse of the late Queen was burned by the Japanese. A BRIDGE SCENE IN SEOUL CHAPTER XXII The missionary question — Ethics of Christianity — Cant and commerce — The necessity for restraint The history of missionary enterprise in Korea abounds in illustrations of the remarkable manner in which French missionaries may be relied upon to offer up their lives for their country. It may be cynical to say so, yet there is much reason to believe that the Roman Catholic priests in the Far East of to-day are the agents provocateurs of their Government. They promote anarchy and outrage, even encompassing their own deaths, whenever the interests of their country demand it. From the beginnings of Chris- tianity in China they have wooed the glory of martyrdom, and they have repeated the process in Korea. Christianity made its way into Korea about 1777, by the 262 KOREA chance arrival of a packet of translations in Chinese of the works of the Jesuits in Pekin. From this small beginning the ideas spread, until the King's Preceptor was compelled to fulminate a public document against this new belief. Finding this insufficient, examples were made of prominent enthusiasts. Many were tortured ; and others condemned to perpetual exile. Persecution continued until 1787 ; but the work of proselytism proceeded, despite the injurious attentions which converts received from the public executioners. The first attempt of a foreign missionary to enter Korea was made in 1791. It was not until three years later, how- ever, that any Western evangelist succeeded in evading the vigilance of the border sentinels. Where one came others naturally followed, undeterred by the violent deaths which so many of these intrepid Christians had suffered. While the French missionaries were prosecuting their perilous labours, in the face of the undisguised hostility of the great proportion of the people, and losing their lives as the price of this work, the walls of isolation which Korea had built around herself were gradually sapped. Ships from France, Russia and Great Britain touched her shores during their explorations and trading ventures in the Yellow Sea. Under the association of ideas which sprang from the appearance of these strange ships, the Koreans grew accustomed to the notion that their world was not limited by the resources of their own country and the more distant territories of China. However, judging the sailors who fell into their hands by the standards of the French priests, who had set every law in the land at defiance, they at once killed them. This practice continued until 1866, when word reached the Admiral of a French squadron at Tientsin of the slaughter THE MISSIONARY QUESTION 263 of his compatriots in Korea. Upon receipt of the news, an expedition was prepared, of itself an early manifestation of that policy by which the French Government is inspired in its dealings with missionaries and missionary questions in countries, the development of whose geographical or industrial peculiarities may be turned to advantage. For many centuries the land was without any accepted religious doctrine. Buddhism, which existed for one thousand years before the present dynasty came to the throne, had fallen into disfavour ; the tenets of Confucius did not completely satisfy the minds of the upper classes, and Shamanism was the worship of the more primitive masses. The moment was ripe for the introduction of a more practical philosophy, and in time, as the gospel of Christianity spread, opposition to the great creed of humani- tarianism lessened. Toleration of the many phases of ■Western belief is now general, the Korean finding in the profession of Christianity an easy means of evading the exactions of the officials. Nevertheless, the diffusion of Christianity is not unattended with bloodshed and disaster. Apart from this drawback to the propagation of Christian beliefs in Korea, it may be doubted whether the methods of the various missionary bodies bear the impress of that spirit of charity which should illustrate their teaching. Without impugning the individual attainments of any of the many missionary groups who administer to the needs of the Koreans, I find it difficult to affirm that the principles of self-abnegation so manifest in the lives of the Roman Catholic priests and the workers of the Church of England Mission, are equally in evidence in the comfortable exist- ence which is led by the well-paid attaches of the American Mission Boards. The French priests live in abject poverty ; 264 KOREA striving to identify themselves with the conditions of their flock, they accept neither holiday nor reward as compensa- tion for their services. In this bare comparison of the principles of ministration, I do not wish, at the moment, to venture into the domain of controversy, but merely to convey some impression of the competing systems of procedure. The Church of England Mission, which has become known as the English Mission, under the. direction of Bishop Corfe has adopted a system of communism. The expenses of board, lodging, clothing, laundry and fuel are met from a common fund, quarterly re- mitted from the Mission Treasurer to the responsible head of each Mission House. In proportion to the number of residents, the expenditure is returnable upon a pro rata calculation of about £']o per head per annum. This estimate includes the cost of the male staff. The propor- tionate rate of expenditure in respect of the lady workers of the English Mission is one-third of this annual disbursement less. The depots of the Mission are situated at Seoul, Chemulpo, Mok-po, and Kang-wha ; in addition to the stations in Korea, a chaplaincy is maintained in New-chwang. The chief centre of activity of this Mission is upon the island of Kang-wha. The task of im- proving the condition of the very poor, by means of educa- tion, kindness and patience, proceeds quietly at Chemulpo and Seoul too, where particular attention is given to the welfare of the sick. At one time, there were important dis- pensary and hospital institutes in these places, the medical establishment at Chemulpo, however, is now abandoned. The members of this Mission endure no little privation in the primitive simplicity cf then- surroundings. Their ETHICS OF CHRISTIANITY 265 services, on the other hand, display much unnecessary pomp ; and the white, full-skirted cassock with rough hempen girdle, which they wear in public and private, emphasises their ritualistic tendencies, and is, to my mind, somewhat of an affectation. Nevertheless, in their daily practice, those associated with the Church of England Mission in Korea set before themselves that standard of idealism in missionary enterprise which is represented by the unnecessary sacrifices, the sublime heroism, and forti- tude distinguishing the priests of the Roman Catholic Church, a standard, I am compelled to admit, that other missions in the Far East — American, English, Scotch, and Irish — appear incapable of realising. The American missionary in the Far East is a CLirious creature. He represents a union of devices which have made him a factor of considerable commercial importance. American missionaries in Korea were formerly closely asso- ciated with the more important export houses in the leading industrial centres of America. Owing to diplomatic repre- sentation this practical demonstration of Western superi- ority is no longer openly indulged. In Seoul, however, an American missionary inconsiderately receives paymg guests, causing a manifest loss of business to the Station Hotel ; in Won-san, another exploits his orchard. As a class they are necessarily newspaper correspondents and profes- sional photographers; upon rare occasions — and here I refer especially to a small coterie of American missionaries in Seoul — they are the scholarly students of the history, manners, customs and language of the country in which they happen to be placed. The American missionary has a salary which frequently ex- ceeds ;^20o a year, and is invariably pleasantly supplemented 2 I, 266 KOREA by additional allowances. Houses and servants are pro- vided free, or grants are made for house rent ; there is a provision for the education of the children, and an annual capitation payment is made for each child. As a class, American missionaries have large families, who live in com- parative idleness and luxury. In Korea, they own the most attractive and commodious houses in the foreign settle- ments, and appear to me to extract from their surroundings the maximum of profit for the minimum of labour. I do not know whether it is with the permission of the executive officers of the American Mission Boards that their represen- tatives combine commerce with their mission to the heathen. When a missionary devotes no httle portion of his time to literary labours, to the care of an insurance agency, to the needs of a fruit farm, or to the manifold exigencies of casual commerce, it seems to me that the interests of those who sit in darkness must suffer. American mission agents have made Korea their peculiar field. Converts, who prattle of Christianity in a marked American accent, are among the features of the capital in the twentieth century. Mission centres, which have been created in a number of places, now show signs of prosperity. They enlist no little practical sympathy and support from the native population. The self-supporting character of much of the missionary work in Korea bears out the spirit of toleration which distinguishes the attitude of the people towards the propaganda. It is not to be supposed that the work of the missionaries is agreeable to all shades of native opinion. Riots and bloodshed disfigure the path of prose- lytism, the credulity of the natives entailing heavy sacrifices of life. The disturbances which have thus marked the spread of Christianity in Korea, notably in the anti-Christian rising in THE NECESSITY FOR RESTRAINT 267 Quelpart, a few months ago, are due to the jealousy with which the heathen mass of the population regard the pro- tection from official rapacity, enjoyed by those who accept The Light. In the case of Quelpart, this feeling of animosity, and the immunity from taxation which the French priests gave to their following, created an intolerable position. Anarchy swept over the island, and some six hundred believers were put summarily to death. Whatever may be the compen- sating advantages of this martyrdom, the reckless and profli- gate sacrifice of life, which missionary indiscretion in the Far East has promoted, is an outrage upon modern civilisation. We have passed through one terrible anti-Christian upheaval in China, and, if we wish to avoid another such manifesta- tion, it is necessary to superintend all forms of missionary enterprise more closely. This, however, can be done only by legislative supervision, imposing restraint in the direction which recent events have indicated. It is imperative that certain measures should be adopted in missionary work which will ensure the safety of the individual zealot, and be agreeable to the general comfort of the community. It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that such reforms must be radical. The violence of missionary enterprise during recent years has been altogether unbridled. The great activity of the different societies, resulting from their un- restricted liberty, has recoiled most fatally upon the more indefatigable, as well as upon the heads of many wholly innocent of any unwarrantable religious persecution. The time has come, therefore, when vigorous restrictions should chasten this vigorous, polemical proselytism. The practice of scattering missionaries broadcast over the interior of these Far Eastern countries should not continue ; the assent 268 KOREA of the local Consul and a representative council of the Foreign Ministers should be required in every case. More- over, it would be wiser, if, under no conceivable circum- TIIF. STREETS ARE MAGNIFICENT stances, single women were permitted to proselytise beyond the carefully prescribed treaty limits of the different settlements. Again, missionaries with families, as well as single women, should not be allowed to live beyond the areas of these neutral zones. These resti^aints upon missionary labours of course would be resented. If the total number of lives which have been lost in Korea, China, and Japan, by the interference of Western missionaries, were published, their vast aggregate would reveal to the unthinking masses of the public how urgent is the need for strong action. Such restraint is morally justifiable by the appalling massacres with which THE NECESSITY FOR RESTRAINT 269 the world is now familiar. The blind perseverance of the missionary has frequently brought about the simultaneous baptism and crucifixion of the convert. What more does the fanatical enthusiast wish than that some one should be thus doubly glorified by his means ? The increasing death- roll among masters and pupils supplies the only necessary argument for immediate rectification of the entire system of missionary enterprise. CHAPTER XXIII Inland journeying — Ponies, servants, interpreters, food and accommodation — What to take and how to take it — Up the Han River, frolic and leisure Travelling in the inland regions of Korea is not the most comfortable pastime which can be devised, although it has many attractions. The lively bustle of the roads gradually gives place to the passing panorama of the scenery, which presents in constant variation a landscape of much natural beauty, with hills and meadows, bush-clad mountains and rice-fields, rivers, lakes, and raging torrents as prominent features. The shifting camp soon leaves the outposts of civilisation behind. This slow passing into the wilderness gives a subtle charm to the journey. Each turn of the track emphasises the desolation of the ever-changing scene. The wide expanse of plains and valleys makes way for the depths of wild and gloomy forests, where the ragged mountain-paths are slippery and dangerous. The ozone of a new life pervades the air. There is no doubt that such moments seem, for the time, the most perfect existence imaginable. Freedom is untrammelled by a care ; the world for the day is comprised within a space as great as can be seen. Upon the morrow, its limitation is only a little more remote. The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the INLAND JOURNEYING 271 game in the bushes, supply the provender of the camp. Villages provide rice, vegetables and eggs, the hill-side springs give water, the rivers permit bathing. The air is pure, and the whole aspect of life is beautiful and joyous. At the end of a trying day, one, perhaps, marred by an accident to an animal, trouble with the native servants, rain, fog, or the difficulties of the track, there is the evening camp. Those hours of rest and idleness, when the horses are fed and groomed, the packs unswung, the camp-beds slung beneath the mosquito curtains, and the evening meal prepared, are full of a supreme sensation of contentment. I have always loved these moments of peace, accepting what they brought as the best that life held for me at the time. At such an hour the refinements of civilisation and the restrictions of convention seem puerile enough. More- over, there is much material benefit to be derived from such an undertaking. The trials and difficulties develop stability of character; the risks and dangers promote resource and self-reliance. There is much to be learnt from this contact with a human nature differing so radically from the prescribed types and patterns of the Western standard. There is something new in every phase of the experience. If it be only an impression, such as I have endeavoured to trace in these few lines, it is one which hngers in the mind long after other memories have faded. Preparation for an inland journey of any extent takes a considerable time; ponies have to be hired, servants en- gaged, and interpreters secured. It is better personally to examine the pack ponies which are to carry the loads. Koreans treat their animals shamefully, and the mission- aries make no efforts to lighten the lot of these unhappy beasts. In consequence of the carelessness with which the 272 KOREA ponies are treated by their Korean masters, the poor Uttle brutes suffer from back-sores larger and more dreadful than anything I have seen in any other part of the globe. If the Koreans could be taught the rudiments of horse-mastership and a more humane principle of loading and packing their rough saddles, as well as some practical veterinary know- ledge, the lot of the unlucky little pony of the capital might be softened. But the spectacle of broken knees, raw necks, bleeding backs, and sore heels which these poor animals present, as they pass in quick succession along the streets of Seoul, is revolting. The American missionaries boast so much of their good deeds that it seems strange that they should neglect such a crying evil as this. There is, I presume, no credit to be " gotten " from alleviating the sufferings of a mere, broken-down, Korean pack pony. Large numbers of the pack ponies of Korea come from Quelpart. They are diminutive in size, little larger than the Shetland breed, and rather smaller than the Welsh pony. They are usually stallions, given to fighting and kicking amongst themselves, and reputed savage. Their wildness is aggravated through a daily irritation by the rough surfaces of their pack saddles of the inflamed swellings on their backs. They endure longer marches and shorter food allowances than almost any other species of horse ; they are quick in their gait, very strong, and wiUing, good feeders, and reveal extraordinary obstinacy, tenacity, and patience. Much of the pleasure in my travels in Korea, however, was entirely spoilt by the abominable neglectwith which thenative grooms treated their charges. Their dreadful condition goaded one to fury, and almost daily I remonstrated with one or other of the grooms for gross cruelty. My remarks had not the smallest effect, however, save that they wore me out. INLAND JOURNEYING 273 and in the end I abandoned my expeditions to avoid the horrors of such spectacles. The Korean is quite callous to the sufferings of his animals. He will feed them well, and he will willingly disturb himself at night to prepare their food ; but he will not allow ulcerated and running wounds to in- terfere with the daily work of the poor beasts. This is com- prehensible ; but he will not, upon his own initiative, even endeavour to bridge the sore by the tricky placing of a pad. However bad the gathering may be, on goes the load, the agony of the poor pony manifesting itself in a flourish of kicks, bites, and squeals. In demonstration of this extreme callousness I may mention this incident. Once, outside Won-san, I saw a Korean seat himself upon the side of a stone, and leisurely proceed to rain blows upon the head of a dog which he was holding, until the poor thing collapsed insensible. He then beat it about the ribs, and put the body on the embers of a fire. We were several hundred yards off when this attracted my notice ; but I chased the brute across two paddy stretches, until the heavy going compelled me to abandon it. At a later time I noticed that the grooms were most careful to dress the backs of the horses at our different halts, and also to endeavour to prevent the pack saddles from rubbing the wounds, prompted, I have no doubt, to this most desirable kindliness by the lesson which they had read between the lines upon the occasion of the dog incident. The character of the native followers who accompany these journeys is a matter of great importance to the future welfare of the traveller. The proprietor of the Station Hotel, Seoul, secured me an excellent boy. Shortly after entering my service, an American missionary, who had been 2 j\i 274 KOREA hankering after the lad for some time before he was brought to me, suborned him. He deserted me upon the eve of my second expedition. This trick is seldom perpetrated east of Suez between Europeans with native servants ; it is one of the few unwritten laws of the East and observed everywhere. I reported the matter to the American Minister, Dr. Allen, but the missionary kept the boy. Servants, grooms, and a coolie of a sort, are all necessary upon these expeditions ; one groom to each horse is a wise allowance. Koreans like to send three horses to two men ; however, my division is the better. Europeans re- quire a body-servant, who will look after the personal effects of his master, and wait at table. An interpreter, who can speak Chinese and some European language, either German, French, or English, is invaluable. It is safer in each case to take men who are not converts. A coolie is useful and gives a little variety to the beasts of burden ; he carries the camera, water-bottles, and small impedimenta of the hour. A chef is not really necessary — my interpreter voluntarily served as cook. The interpreter in any journey inland should be mounted ; it saves considerable friction if the personal servants be allowed to ride on the baggage ponies. Interpreters receive from thirty to forty dollars a month ; personal servants from eight to twenty dollars a month ; coolies from eight to ten dollars a month. The hire for the horses, with whom the grooms are included, is a dollar a day, half the amount paid down in advance upon the day of starting. All calculations are made in Korean currency. The entire staff, except the horses and grooms, is fed by the traveller. The interpreter takes charge of the accounts. He will, if ordered, take down the Chinese and Korean names of the villages, streams, lakes, valleys, plains, mountains and FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION 275 roads which are passed. This is useful ; the map of Korea is most hopelessly out of date, and by forwarding these names to the Geographical Society some little good is accomplished. The interpreter will pay the coolies, grooms, and other servants in debased currency,, and charge the account in Mexican dollars, making a profit of seventy-five per cent. ; he is greedy and tenacious to the interests of his pocket, and he will suggest that he requires a servant. For this remark he should be flogged. He will muddle his accounts whenever he can ; he will lose receipts if he can find no other way of squeezing. He is apparently an innocent, transparently honest, and devoted to the principles of sobriety and virtue — unless there is an opportunity to go the usual path. Under every condition he should be watched. The Korean does not approach the Chinaman as a body- servant ; he has neither initiative nor the capacity for the work, while he combines intemperance, immorality, and laziness in varying degrees. The master usually ends by waiting upon his man. There is, however, an antidote for this state of things. If sufficient point be put into the argument, and the demonstration be further enforced by an occasional kick, as circumstances may require, it is possible to convert a first-class, sun-loving wastrel into a willing, if un- intelligent, servant. Under any 1 conditions, his dishonesty will be incorrigible. It is never necessary to take any large stock of provisions when travelling in Korea. Eggs, fowl, fresh fish, fruit, matches, tobacco, vegetables, and crushed rice flour can be procured at any village in large quantities. The inhabitants will perhaps declare that there are no such things in the village ; that they are miserably poor. The village usually bears the stamp of its condition pretty plainly, and I found 276 KOREA that where this occurred the most effectual remedy was to call up the oldest man visible, to offer him a cigarette, to calm him down, and then to give the interpreter some money and to send off the pair of them. Once this system failed in a flea-infested hole on the west coast, where the village inn had no stables, and I really thought there were no fowls ; of a sudden, as though satirising the expression of regret of several villagers, two fowls fluttered over a wall into the road. The meeting broke up in confusion. The grooms, the servants and the interpreter at once tackled the mob, laying about them with their whips ; little damage was done, but considerable commotion ensued, and stables, fowls and eggs were at once forthcoming and as promptly paid for. Inregard to payments made to thevillagers,it is aswell to make certain that the grooms pay for the horses' accommodation ; if they can avoid it they will do so, and a memory of this lingering in the mind of the inn-keeper, makes him shut his doors when the next foreigner is passing. But, in a general way, if everything is paid for, anything is procurable — even crockery and charcoal stoves, at a pinch, when the diffi- culties of the precipitous track have played unusual havoc in the china basket. In the routine of the march, it is pleasant to camp beyond the village for the noonday halt ; near the river, if the weather permits bathing. The food can be prepared in the sunlight under some trees. This picnic halt gives an agree- able change from the native inn, over which the missionaries wail perpetually ; it is, indeed, always to be avoided. I was several times in Korean inns, driven in by some sudden and temporary downpour, which cut off my retreat. The evening camp made me independent of them in general ; every evening the interpreter found the cleanest-looking private FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION 277 house and bargained with its proprietor to let two rooms for the time of my visit. The arrangement was never refused, nor was I ever subjected to rudeness or to any insult upon these occasions. The family would freely help my servants, and when the grooms had removed themselves and their horses to the inn stables, no one was disturbed. The boy prepared breakfast in the morning. The space allotted to us was always ample for my camp-bed, kit, and mosquito curtains. It opened, as a rule, upon the court- yard, around which the house is built. There was plenty of air, as one side was open ; the flooring was of thick timbers, raised from the ground. If the weather proved inclement the place afforded warmth and shelter. Moreover, this system has much to commend it on the score of cleanli- ness ; the price paid by me, half a dollar, for the rooms was of course usually double the price which had been arranged. Occasionally while travelling, when these private houses were unprocurable, other makeshifts had to be adopted, an open encampment or the official quarters at the Yamen. This latter place was inconvenient, and we always accepted anything of a private nature rather than venture into the Yamen or the inn. Many nights were passed upon the verandahs of these houses, with a private room leading from it at the back, in case it became necessary. Our beds were pitched as much in the open as possible, the silent beauty of the night hours quite justifying the measure. Many nights I undressed upon the edge of the street, my camp-bed pitched beneath a verandah, a peaceful and inoffensive crowd of Koreans smoking and watching me a few feet off. I would get into my sleeping-suit, roll into my camp-bed, and close the mosquito curtains, upon which the crowd would quietly disperse. As publicity was unavoidable, and 278 KOREA it was useless to object, it was easier to accept the situation than to struggle with the curiosity of the spectators. It is always well to dispense with everything which can be discarded. A camp-bed well off the ground and more strongly made than those of the usual American pattern, is essential ; a field kit canvas valise, the Wolseley pattern, containing a pocket at either end, with a cork mattress, is also indispensable. It will carry all personal effects. Flannel shirts, towels, socks and the like, including a book or two, writing materials, mackintosh sheets, mosquito curtains, and insect-powder are all which need to be in- cluded. Fresh mint is useful against fleas if thrown about near the sleeping things in little heaps. It is an invaluable remedy and usually effective, though, by the way, I found the fleas and bugs in the houses of New York and Philadelphia infinitely less amenable to such treatment than any I came across in Korea during my stay there. A camera, a colonial saddle, Zeiss glasses, a shot-gun, a sporting-rifle, a revolver, a hunting-knife, and a large vulcanite water-bottle are necessary. A supply of sparklets is to be recommended ; these articles, with a coil of rope, balls of string, jam, cocoa, tea, sugar, alcohol, potted meats, tinned fruits, and biscuits, enamelled ware eating and cooking things, with a few toilet accessories, completed my materials. It is good policy to take a small hamper of wines and luxuries, in case the opportunity occurs of extending hospitality to an official or some other travelling European. They are very serviceable among the officials. Native tobacco is light, mild, and easily smokable. I carried a pouch of it invariably. Canvas valises of the service type are better than any kind of a box. With this arrangement there are no corners or sharp edges to hurt UP THE HAN RIVER 279 the horses, and as a load, too, they do not make such hard, unyielding objects against the side of a horse as any leather, tin, or wooden contrivance. My bed and field-kit just balanced upon one pony ; my provisions and servants' baggage fitted another. There was one spare pony. The interpreter and myself rode ; the servants were mounted upon the baggage animals, the coolie walked. At one time, when I was travelling with a German friend, our retinue was exceedingly numerous ; we each had our personal establishment and a combined staff for the expedition. This, however, is not quite the way to rough it. It was, moreover, comparatively expensive and a bother, inasmuch that so large a cavalcade required no little managing. There was, however, something luxurious and enjoyable in that procession across Korea, although it is not the plan to be adopted in general. There was little further to be accomplished by me in Korea. My journey overland had taken me from Fusan to Seoul, and again from Seoul to Won-san, my examination of the inland and coast centres of mining and industry was concluded : the beauties of the Diamond Mountains, with their Buddhist monasteries, had been studied. At the end of these labours, I was weary and ill at ease ; moreover the time was approaching when my long journey overland from Seoul, the ancient capital of Korea, to Vladivostock, the seat of Russian authority upon the Pacific coast, would have to be begun. The heat in Seoul had been most oppressive, when one day Mr. Gubbins, the British Minister, suggested a short spell of rest and recuperation upon an island a few miles up the Han River. Before nightfall, my staff and I were floating, with the turn of the tide, up the estuary of the river. Sea breezes blew over the mighty 2 8o KOREA expanse of the smoothly gliding waters, and the burden of weariness which had been depressing me, lightened under the influence of these gusty winds and the freshening air from the harbour. The change from the hot and stuffy surroundings of the capital, where the crowds had ceased to be attractive and domestic bothers, arising from the pi-e- paration for my Vladivostock journey, had begun to jar upon the nerves, was most entrancing. When the moon burst out from behind a blackened canopy of cloud, as we sailed easily against the rapid current of the river, the rugged outline of the cliffs across the waters proved the reality of the transformation. During the small hours of the night I lay awake, playing with the bubbles and froth of the water in sweet contentment. I resolved to dally for a few days upon the small islands in the stream, halting in the heat of the sun and moving forward at night or in the twilight, when sea-birds could be killed for the pot and fish dragged from their cool depths for the breakfast dish. How delightful were the plunges into that swift current ; and how often they were taken in the cool shade of some island backwater ! Care and anxiety dropped away in those days of idle frolic, giving the mind, worn by the strain of many months of travel and the hardships of two campaigns, opportunity to recover its vigour. Then came some pleasant weeks in the island monastery, where, from a Buddhist haunt, perched high upon a lofty peak on Kang-wha, mile upon mile of smiling scenery lay open to inspection from my chamber window. The salt water estuary of the Han is tempestuous and deep, given over to much shipping and small craft. The river itself does not begin for twenty miles above the tide- water mouth, the intervening stretch of water belonging D < W H Q Z o > m 2 N 282 KOREA more correctly to the sea. Above Chemulpo, where the full force of the Han current is hardly felt, the velocity of the stream is quite five knots an hour. Where the breadth of the river narrows the rapidity of the flow ON THE HAN KIVEK increases. At a point, where the river makes a sudden sweep round some overhanging bluffs, which confront each other from opposite banks, the heavy volume of water thus tumbling down becomes a swirling, boisterous mill-race, as it twists and foams through its tortuous channels into another tide-swollen reach. The place of meeting between the sea and the river current shows itself in a line of choppy water, neither rough nor smooth, The water is always bubbling and always breaking at this point, in a manner poetically suggestive of the spirits of the restless deep. The Han river gives access to Seoul. In the days before the railway, the choice of route to the capital lay between UP THE HAN RIVER 283 spending a night aground upon one of the many shifting sand-banks in the river or the risks of a belated journey overland, with pack ponies and the delights of a sand-bath in the Little Sahara. There were many who found the " all land " way preferable to the " land and water system," to which many groundings and much wading reduced the experiment of travelling by junk or steam-launch in those days. Now, however, the iron horse rules the road. WASHING CLOTHES IN A DRAIN CHAPTER XXIV Kang-wha, brief history of the island — A monastic retreat, an ideal rest — Nocturnal visitors — Midnight masses — Return to the capital — Preparations for a great journey — Riots and confusion Kang-wha, the island to which I was sailing in these easy stages, Hes in the north-east quarter of the gulf, formed by the right angle which the coast makes before taking that northerly sweep which carries it, with a curve, to the mouth of the Yalu River. On the south and south-west, Kang- wha is exposed to the open sea ; on the north, the island is separated from the mainland by the Han estuary ; and on the east a narrow strait, scarce two hundred yards wide through which boats, journeying from Chemulpo to Seoul must travel, severs the island from the mainland. KANG-WHA 2S5 The geographical features of the island include four clearly-defiried ranges of mountains, with peaks attaining to an altitude of some two thousand feet. Broad and fertile valleys, running from east to west, separate these ranges, the agricultural industry of the population being conducted in their open spaces. The villages and farmsteads, in which the farming population dwell, are folded away in little hollows along the sides of the valleys, securing shelter and protection from the severity of the winter. Many hundred acres of the flats, which form the approaches to these valleys from the coast, have been reclaimed from the sea during the last two centuries, the erection of sea dykes of consider- able length and immense strength having proceeded apace. But for these heavy earthworks, what is now a flourishing agricultural area would be nothing but a sea of mud washed by every spring tide. The continuous encroachment of the sea threatened at one time the extinction of all the low- lying level land. Kang-wha, with its curious monasteries and high pro- tecting battlements, now reduced to picturesque decay, played a prominent part in the early history of Korea. It has repelled invasion, and afforded sanctuary to the Royal Family and the Government in days of trouble ; the bold- ness of its position has made it the first outpost to be attacked and the most important to be defended. Twice in the thirteenth century the capital was removed to Kang-wha under stress of foreign invasion. With the exception of the terrible Japanese invasion under Hideyoshi in 1592, and the Chino-Japanese War in 1894-95, Kang-wha has felt the full force of nearly every foreign expedition which has dis- turbed the peace of the country during the past eight centuries, notably those of the Mongols in the thirteenth, of 286 KOREA the Manchus in the seventeenth centuries, of the French in 1866, and of the Americans in 1871. Furthermore, Kang- wha was the scene of the affair between Koreans and Japanese which led to the conclusion of the first treaty between Korea and Japan in 1876. The actual signing of that instrument, the first of the series which has thrown open Korea to the world, took place in Kang-wha city. The predecessor of the present Emperor of Korea was born in Kang-wha in 1831, living in retirement in the capital city until he was called to the throne in 1849. Upon occasion, Kang-wha has been deemed a suitable place of exile for dethroned monarchs, inconvenient scions of Royalty, and disgraced Ministers. At two points in the narrow strait upon the east are ferries to carry passengers to the mainland. Kang-song, where the stream makes an abrupt turn between low cliffs, is the scene of the American expedition of 1871 ; near the southern entrance of the strait, and close to the ferry, are the forts which repelled the American storming-party. The famous rapids and whirlpool of Son-dol-mok, whose evil reputation is the terror of the coast, are close by. There are numerous forts dotted round the coast of the island, re- calling the Martello towers of Great Britain. They were not all erected at one time ; the majority of them date only from the close of the seventeenth century, having been raised in the early years of Suk-chong. The rampart upon the eastern shore, which frowns down upon the straits and river below, was erected in 1253. Ko-chong, of the Ko-ryo dynasty, fled before the Mongol invasion of that date, re- moving his Court and capital from Song-do to Kang-wha. Kak-kot-chi, where there is a second ferry, is a few miles beyond Kang-song. At the point where the ferry plies, KANG-WHA 287 the hill of Mun-su rises twelve hundred feet high from the water's edge. From a junk a short distance from the shore it appears to block the straits, so closely do the cliffs of Kang-wha gather to the mainland. This little place became the headquarters of the French expeditionary force in 1866. The capital of the island, Kang-wha city, is a battle- mented citadel, with walls fifteen It in circumference, and four pavilioned city gates. It is a garrison town, beautiful in its combination of green vistas and ancient, crumbling walls. The Chino-Japanese War, so fatal to many of the old institutions of Korea, diminished the ancient glory of Kang-wha. For two hundred and sixty years prior to this campaign, Kang-wha ranked with Song-do, Kang-chyu, Syu-won and Chyon-chyon as one of the O-to, or Five Citadels, upon which the safety of the Empire depended. It controlled a garrison of ten thousand troops ; the various officials numbered nearly one thousand. The change in the destiny of the kingdom brought a turn in the fortunes of the island, and it is now administered by an official of little importance. It is still, however, the seat of govern- ment for a widely scattered region, and the centre of trade and industry for some thirty thousand people. Agriculture is the staple industry; stone-quarrying and mat-making are other means by which the population exists. At the waters-side there are salt-pans ; a certain amount of fishing, a little pottery-making, smelting, the weaving of coarse linen, to which work the wives of the farmers devote themselves, complete the occupation of the inhabitants. One pursuit, horse-breeding, for which Kang-wha was once famous, is now completely abandoned. There are nine monasteries under the government of 2 88 KOREA the island. Seven are situated upon the island ; the chief of these is the fortified monastery of Chung-deung, the Temple of Histories, the sometime pillar of defence of the Kingdom, thirty // south of Kang-wha, famous as the scene of the reverse suffered by the French troops in 1866. Mun-su-sa, standing upon the mainland opposite, is in- cluded in this little colony of Buddhistic retreats, as is another, upon the island of Ma-eum-to, called Po-mun-sa, famous for the wildness of its scenery and for a natural rock temple in the side of the hill upon which it stands. The monks of Chung-deung-sa enjoyed military rank until quite recently. They were regarded as soldiers in times of national distress ; they received Government allowances, food, and arms, in order to maintain them in a state of efficiency. Buddhism has lost much of its hold upon the islanders, although it existed before 1266. There is a branch of the English Mission (Seoul) in Kang-wha, under the administration of the Rev. Mark Napier Troliope, whose notes upon this island were presented in a paper which their author read before the local branch of the Royal Asiatic Society during my stay in Korea. They materially assisted me to collect the interesting data from which these few paragraphs have been compiled. I stayed five weeks in Kang-wha monastery, preparing the skeleton of this present volume. Having gone there for a week at the outside, I found the quiet and solitude of the spot such a sanctuary from trouble, and such a panacea to the nerves, that I was loath to abandon it. After a few da3'S in the cramped confinement of the native junk which had conveyed me from Chemulpo, delaying much en route, it was pleasant to stretch my limbs again upon the shore. Landing one morning at daybreak, I fell upon the unsus- A MONASTIC RETREAT 289 pecting guardian of the English Mission, Father Trollope, and moved off at a later hour in the day across country to the monastery. The monks were not at all disturbed by my intrusion. Although strangers are not such frequent visitors to this monastery as to those in the Diamond Mountains, their presence excites no comment, and they are allovi'ed to go their way with that kindly indifference to their existence which is, under the circumstances, the height of courtesy. The Chief Abbot was informed of my arrival, and, after a little explanation, ordered a very airy building to be prepared for my reception. It was well raised from the ground, and, situated just below the main courtyard, afforded a magnificent view of the entire domain. In the distance I could see the farm-lands of the island and the sparkle of the sunlight upon the water ; more within the picture, and quite near to my new home, were two wells, a running stream, and a stretch of moun- tain slopes, cool, fragrant, and overgrown with scrub and bush. Temples revealed themselves in a sea of foliage, through which the drifting breezes played soft music. At one end of this Hall of Entertainment were placed the cooking and eating paraphernalia, in the middle my camp- bed, and, overlooking the landscape, an improvised writing table with ray books and papers. There was no element of unrest in the setting of my little camp. Every morning the Chief Abbot welcomed me to the glories of another day ; in the evening we, through the medium of my interpreter, talked together upon an amazing variety of subjects — Buddha and Christ, this world and the next, Paris, London America. Duties in the monastery would prevent these new friends from coming on certain nights ; but they always forewarned me of their absence, never disturbing 2 o 290 KOREA me at my work, never taking me by surprise. The sense of consideration and courtesy which their kindly hospitality displayed was manifested in countless ways. The small return which it was possible to make quite shamed me before them. Frequently, at midnight, when my lights were burning, the Abbot would walk across from his own apartments and force me to bed with many smiles and much gentle pressure, covering my manuscript with his hands and nodding towards my camp-bed. There was no screen to the front of my building, so it was always possible for them to observe the stranger within their gates. This inspection was most quietly carried on ; indeed, if I turned to the open courtyard, those who, perhaps, had been noting the structure of my camp-bed, or the contents of iny valise, hanging to air upon a stout rope, flitted away like ghosts. I was left, as 1 wished, in peaceful contemplation of my work and the splendour of the scenery around me. Catering arrangements were quite simple during my stay in this monastery. Rice and eggs and fowls were procurable from the villages beyond the walls of the temple, and rice-flour or vegetables could be procured from the butterman of the monastery. It was my plan to take breakfast about ten o'clock in the morning, and to dine about six o'clock in the evening. Between these hours was my time for writing, and I was always fully occupied. Before breakfast I walked abroad or prepared my notes of the work for the day ; after dinner I received my callers, arranging anything of interest in my notes when they were gone. Usually I witnessed the midnight gathering of the monks, listening, with pleasure, to the booming of the great bell of the monastery and the accompanying peals of smaller bells of less melodious volume and much shriller 290 KOREA me at my work, never taking me by surprise. The sense of consideration and courtesy which their kindly hospitahty displayed was manifested in countless ways. The small return which it was possible to make quite shamed me before them. Frequently, at midnight, when my lights were burning, the Abbot would walk across from his own apartments and force me to bed with many smiles and much gentle pressure, covering my manuscript with his hands and nodding towards my camp-bed. There was no screen to the front of my building, so it was always possible for them to observe the stranger within their gates. This inspection was most quietly carried on ; indeed, if I turned to the open courtyard, those who, perhaps, had been noting the structure of my camp-bed, or the contents of iny valise, hanging to air upon a stout rope, flitted away like ghosts. I was left, as I wished, in peaceful contemplation of my work and the splendour of the scenery around me. Catering arrangements were quite simple during my stay in this monastery. Rice and eggs and fowls were procurable from the villages beyond the walls of the temple, and rice-flour or vegetables could be procured from the butterman of the monastery. It was my plan to take breakfast about ten o'clock in the morning, and to dine about six o'clock in the evening. Between these hours was my time for writing, and I was always fully occupied. Before breakfast I walked abroad or prepared my notes of the work for the day ; after dinner I received my callers, arranging anything of interest in my notes when they were gone. Usually I witnessed the midnight gathering of the monks, listening, with pleasure, to the booming of the great bell of the monastery and the accompanying peals of smaller bells of less melodious volume and much shriller < > H Ifi W in b< O > < 292 KOREA tone. The vibration in the air, as these wonderful noises broke upon it, filled the high woods with melody and the deep valleys with haunted strains as of spirit-music. After the midnight mass, when the echoes had died away, the delight of the moment was supreme. In utter weariness and most absolute contentment I stretched myself to slumber beneath the protecting draperies of the mosquito- curtains, within the vaulted spaciousness of my Hall of Entertainment. Visitors to Chung-deung-sa were frequent during my stay, some attracted by the reported presence of a foreigner, others by their very genuine wish to sacrifice to the All- Blessed-One. Two Korean ladies of position arrived in the course of one morning to plead for the intercession of Buddha in their burden of domestic misery and unhappi- ness. Presenting the Korean equivalent for ten shillings to the funds of the monastery, they arranged with the Abbot for the celebration of a nocturnal mass in the Temple of the Great Heroes. " During the afternoon the priests pre- pared the temple in which the celebration was to be held ; elaborate screens of Korean pictorial design were carried into the temple from the cell of the Chief Abbot ; large quantities of the finest rice were boiled. High, conical piles of sweetmeats and sacrificial cakes were placed in large copper dishes before the main altar, where the three figures of Buddha sat in their usual attitude of divine meditation. In front of each figure stood a carved, gilded tablet, twelve inches high, exactly opposite to which the food was placed, with bowls of burning incense at intervals between the dishes. Lighted candles, in long sticks, were placed at either end of the altar; above it, in the centre serving as a lamp and hanging from a long gilded chain MIDNIGHT MASSES 293 was suspended a bowl of white jade, in which lay the smoking end of a lighted wick. Numerous side altars were similarly decorated. The furniture of the temple comprised a big drum, a heavy, cracked bell, cast in the thirteenth century, and a pair of cymbals. There were five monks; the two women sat, mute, upon the left of the Abbot. The four priests arranged themselves upon the right — one to the bell, one to the drum, and two to the pair of cymbals, in the playing of which they took turns. Upon each side of the temple, recessed right and left of the main altar, were mural representations of the Ten Judges. Save for the altar illuminafions, the effect of which was to render the interior even gloomier and more eerie than usual, the building was in darkness. The service began with the customary calling for Buddha. The Abbot tapped upon a bamboo cane ; every one leant forward, their faces pressed down, and their foreheads resting upon the floor. The palms of their hands were extended beyond their heads in an attitude of reverence and humility. This prostration was accompanied by the intoning of a Thibetan chant, to the accompaniment of a brass gong, struck with a horn handle by the Abbot himself. Further prostrations followed upon the part of the entire assemblage, the women joining in this part of the service. For the most part they squatted silently and reverently in their corner of the temple. As the different services concluded the Abbot shifted the offerings before the main altar to their appointed stations before the smaller shrines, when the prayers proceeded afresh. Protracted overtures were made to the picture of the Ten Judges, before which the service apparently became fully choral. One priest danced amazing and grotesque steps, strangely 294 KOREA reminiscent of a Kaffir war-dance, the sole of one foot striking the floor to the accompaniment of a clash of cymbals as the other leapt into the air. Another priest played upon the cracked bell, and a third kept up a dull, monotonous thumping on the drum. The sole idea of the priests, as conveyed to my mind by their celebration, seemed to be the breaking up of the solemn silence of the night by the most amazing medley of noises. At intervals, in the course of the unmusical colloquy between the drums, the cymbals, and the big bell, the monks chanted their dirges, which were, in turn, punctuated by the dislocated tapping of the Abbot's brass bell and wooden knocker. It was deafening, the most penetrating discord of which I have ever been the unfortunate auditor. With the con- clusion of the exercises upon the cymbals, which were beaten together in a wide, circular sweep of the arms, then tossed aloft, caught, and clanged together after the fashion of the South African native with his spear and shield, the performing priest returned to the companion who relieved him. His more immediate activities over, he stood aside laughing and talking with his colleagues in a voice which quite drowned the chants in which his companions were engaged. Then, panting with his late exertions, he pro- ceeded to fan himself with the most perfect unconcern, finally examining the hem of his jacket for lice ; his search repaying him, he returned to his seat upon the floor and lifted up his voice with the others. After the sacrifices and prayers had been offered before the main altar and those upon the right and left, extra tables of fruit, apples, dates, nuts, cakes and incense, together with the previous dishes of rice, cakes, incense and bread, were spread before a MIDNIGHT MASSES 295 small shrine placed in front of the screen. Rice was piled into a bowl, and, while the other monks were laughing and chattering among themselves in the temple itself during the progress of the sacrifice, the two women approached the shrine and made obeisance three times, then touching each dish with their fingers, bowed again and retired to their corner. At the same time three priests, breaking from the group that were talking by the doors of the building, sat down in the centre of the temple upon their praying-mats, seven oi" eight feet from the shrine. While one chanted Korean prayers from a roll of paper, another struck and rang the brass bell repeatedly, and the third hammered the gong. Throughout this part of the service the others chatted volubly, until they, too, joined in a chorus and paean of thanksgiving, breaking off from that to chant, in low, suppressed tones, a not unimpressive litany. Repetitions of the services I have described continued all night. Sometimes there was more noise, sometimes less, occasionally there was none, the tired, quavering voices of the sleepy priests tremulously chanting the requisite number of litanies. The women, who sat with wide-opened eyes, watched with interest and were satisfied. The priests seemed bored. Personally I was tired, dazed and stunned by the uproar. During the progress of this strange service, I was struck by the utter absence of that devotional fervour which was so characteristic of the priests in the principal monasteries of the Diamond Mountains. The ceremony presently shifted from the Temple of the Great Heroes to the spacious courtyard in front of it. Here, when numerous fires had been lighted, the Abbot and three priests, together with the two Korean women, moved in procession. Their march was accompanied by 296 KOREA the striking of many gongs and bells. The monks offered prayers round heaps of pine branches, which had been thrown together and lighted at the different spots. Chants and prayers were repeated, and the same clashing of instru- ments went on as before. It was not until a heavy rain descended that the worshippers returned to the seclusion of the temple. I felt, somehow, quite grateful to that shower of rain. In the morning, my interpreter told me that this pro- gress in the courtyard formed a part of services which accompanied the offering of special prayers for rain. It would be a curious coincidence if this were so. Next day, at the hour of my breakfast, there was some desire to continue the celebration. My head was still aching with the jarring discord of the bells, gongs, and cymbals of the previous entertainment, and at the sight of the preparations my appetite vanished. Breakfast became impossible ; I relinquished it to pray for peace. Happily this blessing was granted me ; and it was decided to hold no further service — the rain, I presume, having appeared — and to devour the sacrifices. All that day the monks and their two guests ate the offerings. It was therefore a day of undisturbed quiet, and as my prayer also had been granted, each was satisfied, and we were a happy family. My little holiday passed all too quickly. One day I found myself preparing very sorrowfullj' to return to Seoul. This accomplished, the news of my intended journey was quickly bruited abroad by my servants. During these days curio-dealers crowded the compound of the Station Hotel, where, made very comfortable by the kindly forethought of Mr. and Mrs. Emberley, I was still living. There is little enough to buy in Seoul : quaint, brass cooking-utensils ; iron, inlaid with silver ; tobacco boxes, jade cups, fans 2^8 KOREA screens, and scrolls. My purchases were few ; the native furniture, massive presses, and cabinets faced with copper plates, and small tea-tables, attracting me more than any- thing else. The Emperor had already sent a present of silk and fans to my hotel, and, with these few remaining articles, my stock of Korean relics was completed. The dealers were importunate, and crowded into the private apartments of the hotel like bleating sheep into a pen. Remonstrances were in vain, and I found the specific cure for their pestiferous attentions to be administered best in the shape of a little vigorous kicking. They took the cuffing with much good humour, and retired to the courtyard, where, at intervals in the day, a plaintive voice would be heard calling upon His Highness to inspect the treasures of his slave. His Highness, however, had concluded his inspection. The atmosphere in these hot days in Seoul was very bad ; the air was heavy with malodorous vapour ; the days were muggy and the nights damp. The steaming heat of the capital emphasised the wisdom of an immediate departure, and 1 hastened my exodus, touched up with a little ague and a troublesome throat. The endless business of obtaining servants, guides, and horses was repeated, until at last the day of my removal was arranged and the hour of actual departure fixed. The prospect was alluring — a journey from Seoul to Vladivostock, through a wild and desolate region, nearly eight hundred miles in length, lay before me. Much of it was unexplored. It was the chance of a lifetime, and, in thus embarking upon it, I was very happy. My last farewells were said ; my last calls had been paid — the kindly hospitality of Seoul is not forgotten. The day had come at last, the horses were pawing in the court- RIOTS AND CONFUSION 299 yard. My effects, my guns, and camp-bed, my tent and stores, were packed and roped. The horses had been loaded ; the hotel account had been settled, when my interpreter quietly told me that my servants had struck for ten dollars Mexican — one sovereign — monthly increase in the wages of each. Mr. Emberley stood out against the transaction ; I offered to compound with half ; they were obdurate. It seemed to me that a crisis was impending. I was too tired and too cross to remonstrate. I raised my offer to eight dollars ; it was refused — the servants were dismissed. Uproar broke out in the courtyard, which Mr. Emberley pacified by inducing the boys to accept my last offer — a rise of eight dollars Mexican. My head- servant, the brother of my interpreter, repudiated the arrangement, but the significance of this increase had assumed great importance. It was necessary to be firm. I think now that it was unwise to have entertained any change at all in the standard of payment. Upon the question of the additional two dollars I stood firm ; nothing more would be given. The interpreter approached me to intimate that if his brother did not go he also would stay behind. I looked at him for a moment, at last under- standing the plot, and struck him. He ran into the court- yard and yelled that he was dead — that he had been murdered. The grooms in charge of the horses gathered round him with loud cries of sympathy. Mr. Emberley called them to him and explained the position of affairs. I strode into the compound. The head groom came up to me, demanding an increase of thirty dollars, Korean currency, upon the terms which he had already accepted ; he wanted, further, three-quarters of the contract price to be paid in advance ; one quarter was the original stipulation. 300 KOREA I refused the thirty dollars, and thrashed him with my whip. The end of my journey for the moment had come, with a vengeance. The head groom stormed and cursed and ran raving in and out of the crowd. He then came for me with a huge boulder, and, as I let out upon his temple, the riot began. My baggage was thrown off the horses and stones flew through the air. I hit and slashed at my assailants and for a few minutes became the centre of a very nasty situation. Servants and grooms, my interpreter, and a few of the spectators went at it keenly while the fight continued. In the end, Mr. Emberley cleared his courtyard and recovered my kit ; but I was cut a little upon the head and my right hand showed a cornpound fracture — native heads are bad things to hammer. Postponement was now more than ever essential ; ray fears about my health were realised. By nightfall upon the day of this outbreak signs of sickness had developed ; the pain had increased in my hand and arm ; my head was aching ; my throat was in- flamed. I was advised to leave at once for Japan ; upon the next day I sailed, proposing to go to Yokohama and thence to Vladivostock, starting the expedition from the Russian fortress. However, by the time my steamer arrived at Japan, I was in the clutch of enteric fever. Further travel was out of the question, and when they moved me from an hotel in Yokohama to a cabin upon a Japanese steamer, which was to carry me to England, in my m.ind I had bidden farewell to the countries of this world, for the doctor told me that I was dying. APPENDIX I SCHEDULE OF TRAIN SERVICE Leave Day Arrive Port Arthur / ^" ^^^^^ 1 Moscow Dalny iThursdayJ 13 days, z hours, 42 minutes Through trains from Moscow arrive at Dalny and Port Arthur on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The train comprises first- and second-class cars and dining-car. The cost of the journey is almost prohibitive if compared with ocean steamer charges. The train service is very unreliable and subject to many in- terruptions. The steamers of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company are scheduled to make the connection with Korea upon arrival of the train. Time required, from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The estimate of the length of time occupied by the journey between Korea and Japan upon the completion of the Seoul-Fusan Railway is forty-four hours. Chemulpo or Seoul to Fusan . . 10 hours Fusan to Moji by sea . . . . 4 „ Moji to Kobe . . . 15 „ Kobe to Tokio ... 15 ., 302 KOREA X Q W PL, Pi < w K H O Z 2 p Q <; w Pi o « O i/i H a; o z u a, O W H H <; Q w a; w H z w o z S en J ■< d. O z Ki P H W c C 1 s c t^ U-) m IS N W CO 00 in 10 i-T (s in M III 1 ^1 1 1 If "^ 1 in o^ c* in c 1 2^1 1 1 l|l 1 1 M ro 00 •n 00 -3 Jh ffi 1 -i 1 1 1 f=l * 1 vo in 00 vo ro vO p4 S rt 73 a f^ (H 00 m m rn 0^ lO « u-j 00 vD 1 1 1 i-^^o vn N IS -o, ro ro in IS 00 "KIM "c^-S 1 CO 00 c 00 -:^ l> 1 ° 1 ?llll 1 1 r^ 0" ro ro 00 q CM Hi 1 2 1 " II 511 1 inO !>. 6 3 E U E y5 f2 CO l>- CTi N u-1 w CO 1 1 rn I 1 ro ^ 4^ 1 1 - 1 1 of fo 00 in M CO in m -70 00 (S 1 **- J2 z5| "^ 1 1 " 1 g 1 ^ " m in roUD in ^ CuO c 1 tn C H UD in N 1 ^^1 1 1 5^1 1 " M -t- a\ H- PO in 00 r^oo*" M —1 00 VO M D 5- in I^KII 1 S'l 1 ^ t-l M in !>. -^ in vO in bo oi ■ a ^" ■ .J2 S § S e.S g ^-si^rt H 2 rt s APPENDIX 303 ffi H O z ft! Q < W c O H ft! O Ph z w ■«■ a, ^ O .5 W I K S H 1 ^ I Q ftS w < fti w w >: H Z w o z I— ( K J O Z ft! :3 w 0^ c i4 ei V 73 Num- ber of Tons Vessels 00 r^ 1 ;^ 1 1 1 1 ::- 1 M in m 1 1 M 1 IS 1 1 1 1 bo CO 00 IS II IcS 1 II N M H N 1 1 ^" 1 1 1 ??l 1 1 I 0. S es in C f2 0> M 1 ^- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -eg; in fo vo en q z^;S: 1 ai 1 1 i» 1 1 1 m 00 bn c C/0 c: H 1 ^ 1 1 l£-| i 1 W 00 in in 1^1 1 °^" 1 1 15 1 1 1 N in M 'rt 1 c h 00 PO u-1 1 S' 1 1 1 1 ::- 1 1 * vO y3 00 06" 10 in rn ro 0^ 1^ vo" PO 1 8 1 1 1 1 S, 1 1 P, ro ro 00 in 1 t^ n 0^ CO 0^ M ^ 1 00 M 1 1 1 ro 1 1 ^ c^ -t- y5"oo M H 00 H| 1 :;^l 11^ 1 1 s in in t^ 00 00 lO M E British Korean Chinese French German Italian Japanese . Norwegian Russian United States Total . „ igoi Average, five years, i8g8- igo2 O 304 <: KOREA 3 1- in cnoo CTi — ro O C^ O tN. cr> cj^ in w OO ■7 K " S l_r "1 E o ^ Z ^ > ^■^1 !>. OO -^J- t^ U-J l>. I -^ o IT) PO O f^ t^ in uO UO I !:rl ^1 \%\ I I I I "5 I I d> c f^ I rv. ro OO O Q) QJ C/} fH C o5 j3 rt ■S 2 S g Bi 03 t!l o Uh O ;s Az « D ctl 03 •" O 0) I > OO « ta o >,v n bn rf u a o «J u ? o I-I n (fl K en t3 U3 rt R J3 rt ffl UJ « 1=1 (UT3 w n rt w bfi a ri ?J 0^ fti ■" CO to -« a] CD -t-' t— [ CO ^ ^ 22 15.173 78,439 Yen 98.364 445.963 626,965 708,561 456,632 472.850 110,968 74,829 3.844,956 1. 3,676,794 3.044.244 2.995,132 7.521,750 6.039,376 Increasing annually with greater transport facilities. APPENDIX VI CUSTOMS REVENUE Year Amount Exchange Currency Sterling 1902 .... 1901 .... 1900 .... 1899 .... i8g8 .... Average, five years . Yen 1,204,776 1.325.414 1,097,095 902,955 1,000,451 122,783 135,303 109,710 90,296 101,087 s. d. 2 0\ 2 o\ 2 2 2 Oi — 111,836 — 3o8 KOREA APPENDIX VII GOLD EXPORT TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES Yf.ar Amount Currency Sterling Exchange igo2 ...... igoi igoo .... 1899 . 1898 . . . Yen 5,064,106 4,993,351 3,633,050 2,933.382 2,375.725 L 516,961 509.738 363,305 293,338 240,047 s. d. 2 OJ 2 oj 2 2 2 oJ From Value 1902 1901 1900 Chemulpo Fusan Won-san .... Chin-am-po Mok-po Yen 2,538,101 104,915 1,361,580 1,053,800 5,710 Yen 2,556,095 122,968 1,668,245 646,043 Yen 1,927,665 121,809 1,425,576 158,000 5,064,106 4,993.351 3,633,050 To Value 1902 1901 1900 China .... Japan .... Total .... Yen 59,805 5,004,300 Yen 136,150 4,857,201 Yen 567,670 3,065,380 5,064,106 4,993,351 3.633,050 Exchange sterling, 2S. o\d. — is. od\. — 2s. od. APPENDIX 309 APPENDIX VIII TABLE OF MINERALS Gold. Ham-kyong. Pyong-an. Hwang-hai. Kyong-keui. Kang-won. Chyung-chyong. Chyol-la. Kyong-syang. Silver. Ham-kyong. Silver and Lead. Ham-kyong. Kang-won. Kyong keui. Chyung-chyong. Kyong-syang. Chyol-la. Pyong-an. Tin. Chyol-la. Iron Ores, Magnetite and LiMONITE. Ham-kyong. Hwang-hai. Kyong-keui. Chyung-chyong. Chyol-la. Kyong-syang. Mercury. Kyong-syang. Ham-kyong. Mangan. Kyong-syang. Coal. Pyong-an. Kyong-syang. Ham-kyong. Kyong-keui. Kang-won. The preceding minerals are yielded by the different provinces. Dvona Jkit,!\ « .^^BTt V :iSl Oiyang-aoFv Sir Jajnes Hall Grouj)^ 37" lib" i35^ "ih' A r ( n i 1? ' P-^r'- Ha.-'. I lien • » MAP OF KOREA PREPARED BY ANGUS HAMILTON IOO4I Scale of lifiles w to ao 40 so «> J5:6 Gun 11 OiyavrJi Quelpart 1. 1 127" l.cntMt..J^ Ea st 1^8' fran London !•' IWairta^nn. fwotr^. SiPv^par^^t^^X Stanfbf^t GtogI Estabf, London. INDEX. A Tai-cho, 175 Agriculture Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Allen, Dr., 155 America : Interests in Korea, 154-156 Trade with Korea, 139, 144, 146, 147 Am-nok River, see Ya-lu An-ak, 164 An-man-chai Pass, 233 An-tung, 29, 193, 206a An-yang, 158 A-o-ya Pass, 164 Banks : Dai Ichi Ginko, 28, 103-105 Russo-Chinese, 28, 194 Bauer, Herr, 218, 220 Belgian interests in Korea, 166-167 Bojisco, 202 Bourdaret, M., 162 Boxer disturbances, 138, 146 Broughton, Captain W. R., 5, 171 Broughton Bay, 6, 171-172 Brown, J. McLeavy : Sketch of, 81-87; Work of, 20, 32, 154 ; Yi Yong-ik, Relations with, 60-61, 87 Bruce, Admiral, 86 Briinner, M. , 201 Buddhism, 231, 235-240, 263, 288, 292-296 Cazalis, M„ 90-91 Chang-dan, 164 Chang-ot, the, 38, 44 Chemulpo, 11, 29, 30, 32, 104, 141, 166, 182, 264 ; Description of, 15-23 Chi-fu, 32, 140 Chik-san, 161 China : Conservatism of, 10-12, 114 Korea : Early Relations with, 10, 129-130 ; Settlements in, 16-18, 108-110; Trade with, 126, 141 Chin-am-po, description of, 182, 185-187, 188 Chin-eui, 158 Ching-kai-wan (Shin-hai, or Chin- hai), 200 Chino- Japanese War, reference to, 10, 29, 31, 136 Chin-san, 159 Cho Pyong-sik, 104 Cho Sung-hyup, 202 Cho-san, 204 Christianity, 261-269 Chun-kok, 124 Chyang-pyong, 159 Chyok-syong, description of, 214 Chyol-la, 124, 158, 179, 182 Chyon-eui, 158 Chyung-chyong, 4, 6, 125, 158, 161, 182 Chyu-pung Pass, 159 Clemencet, M. E., 31 Communications Department, expen- diture of, 98 Companies : American, ig, 154 English, 151-152 French, 8g, 161 Russian, 192, 200 seq Concubinage, laws relating to, 113- 114 Confucianism, 23S-240, 263 Cooke, Miss, 154, 166 Corf^, Bishop, 154, 264 Corruption, Government, 105-107 Cotton trade, 138-139 Currency, debased, 92-3, 101-103 312 KOREA Customs, Imperial Korean Maritime : Establishment of, 20-21 Hypothecation of, 60-61, 89-93 Mr. McLeavy Brown, Chief Commissioner of, 81-89 Revenue from, 307 Dalny, 19 de Lapeyriere, M., 162 de Plaricy, Colin, 90, 94, 161, 162, 183 de Speyer, M. , 94 Dress, Seoul, in, 35-40 Drought, effects of, 253-257 Dugelet, 7 Dun River, 171 Durock, 7 Education Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Education in Korea, 27-8, 65, 108 III Emberley, Mr., 152, 296, 299 Emperor of Korea, the : Character of, 62-69 Mr. McLeavy Brown, attitude towards, 87-89 Power of, 59, 114-115 Religion of, 239 England, see Great Britain Eun-san, 187, 217 Farming, methods of, 120-123 Finance Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Food-stuffs in Korea, character of, 124-127 Foreign Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Forest Concession, the, 201 seg France : Interests of, in Korea, 161-166 Policy of, in Korea, 61, gi-92, 95-6, 183-4 Fusan, 16, 30, 32, 104, 141 ; Early Japanese incursions into, 129-132 ; Description of, 176-178 Fusan, Old, 159, 176-177 Germany : Interests of, in Korea, 166 Trade with Korea, 146, 147 Gisaing, 52 seq Gold, export returns, 308 Mining, 217-220 Government corruption, 105-107 Great Britain : Interests of, in Korea, 149-154 Policy of, in Korea, 91, 95-96. 184 Great Britain {continued) : Settlement in Korea, 18 Trade in the East, lack of enter- prise, 141-147 Gubbins, J. G., 87, 88, 90, 95 Hai-chu, 164 Hai-yong River, 226 Hall, Basil, 6 Ham-kyong, 9, 126, 175, 176, 189 Han River, 21, 163, 164, 280-283 Han-chu, 163 Han-ju, 164 Ha-ram, 123 Hart, Sir Robert, 20, 81 Hayashi, Mr., 205 Hermit Kingdom, the, 41, 43 Hideyoshi, 49, 285 Home Department, expenditure, 98, 99 Hulbert, Prof. H. B. , 108 Hwang-hai, 123 Hyon-pung, 159 Im-chin River, 163, 164 Im-myung, 190 Industries : Domestic, iiy seq, 121-123, 180- 181 Fishing and fish-drying, 247-249 Mining, 217-220 Salt making from sea-water, 249 Irrigation, 122 Island, Round, 21 Roze, 21 Japan : Dai Ichi Ginko instituted, 103-105 Early relations between Korea ana, I, 4, 49, 128-134 Foreign goods counterfeited by, 167-169 Interests of, in Korea, 156-161, 172-173 Korean currency, action regard- ing, 102-103 Policy of, in Korea, 134-137 Russia, attitude towards, 194-200 Settlements in Korea, 16-18, 136- 137, 160-161 Trade with Korea, 138-139, 141, 144, 146 Jordan, Mr. 152, 184 Kak-kot-chi, 286 Kak-pi Pass, 228 Kal-kan-i, 228 Kang, Lady, 68 Kang-kyoi, 216 Kang-kyong, 15S INDEX 313 Kang-song, 286 Kang-wha, 284-296 Kang-won, 8, 125, 126, 175, 176 Kap-san, 216 Keu-chai, 198 Keum River, 158, 1S2 Keum-kang-san, 227, 229, 232 Keum-san, 159 Ki-ja, 123 Kim Yueng-lehun, 68 Knochenhauer, 217 Kobe, 32 Ko-chong, 286 Kong-chyu, 158 Konishi, 132 Korea : Character of people, 117-120, 222; Court of, 55 seq., 70-80 ; Cus- toms and dress of the people, 35-41 ; Dancing, 56-58 ; Deve- lopment and progress of,io-i5 ; Disease in, 259-260 ; Early ex- plorers of, 2-7 ; Filth of people, 249-250 ; Food, 126-127 > Geo- graphy of, i-io, 13-14, 143 ; Government, lo-ii, 96, 105, 114-116; Hunting in, 222-226 ; Language of, 108 -no ; Origin of people, 41-42 ; Postal system, 30-32 ; Slavery in, 49-52 ; Super- stition, 7-10, 251-252, 256-257 ; Telegraphiccommunication,26, 28-30 ; Trade and shipping, 20- 23, 138-147, 302-306 ; Travel- ling in, 270-280 American interests in, 154-156 Belgian interests in, 166-167 British interests in, 149-154 ; Policy in, 91, 95, 184 ; Settle- ments in, 18 China and, early relations be- tween, 10, 129-130 ; Influence of, in, 42 ; Settlements in, 16- 18 ; Trade between, 141 French influence in, 61 ; interests in, 161-166 ; Policy in, 91-92, 95, 183-184 German interests in, 166 Japanese, incursions and early relations with, 49, 128-134 > Influence, 134-137 ; Interests in, 156-161, 172-173 ; Policy in, 134-135 ; Settlements in, 18, 136-137, 160-161 Russian influence in, 61 ; Interests in, 171, 172, 192-206; Policy in, 91, 94, 183-184 Ko-ryo, 175 Ko-yang, 164 Kumungo, the, in Kun-san, description of, 182, 188-189 Kuroda, 132 Kwi-po, 159 Kyong-keui, 125, 158 Kyong-syang, 124, 126, 158 Kyo-wha, 164 La Perouse, 7 Law Department, expenditure, 98, 100 Law, marriage and divorce, of, 112- 114 Penal, 111-112 Lazareli, 7 Lefevre, M. G., 162 Li Hung Chang, 201 Liao-tung Gulf, 129 Peninsula, 195 Lyne Sound, 179 Ma-eum-to Island, 288 Manchuria, Russian policy towards, 195, 196, 205 Man-sak-dong, 16 Man-san-po, 192, 196-200 Matunine, M. , 94 Min Yeung-ik, 61 Minerals, Korean, 14, 165, 187, 189, 217-220 Table of, 309 Mines, British, 217 German, 217 seq Mining, Korean methods of, 219-220 Missionaries : American, 265-267 ; Church of England, 264-265, 288 ; French, 261-264 Mok-po, 32, 104, 158, 264 ; Descrip- tion of, 178-181 Monasteries : Chang-an-sa, 226, 229- 230,233,234,243,244-246; Chung- deung, 288 ; Kang-wha, 287-288, 289-296 ; Mun-su-sa, 288 ; Pyo-un, 229 ; Shin-ki-sa, 241-242 ; Sin-ga, 229 ; Sok-wan, 175 ; Yu-chom-sa, 229, 232-237, 241, 246-247 Mountains : Diamond, 8, 170 seq, 226 seq, 242 ; Korean, description of, 13-14 ; Nam-san, 25 ; Peuk-an, 25 : Superstitions regarding, 8-10 Mukden, 193 Mum-sa-am, 243 Mun-chyon, 159 Mun-san-po, 164 Mun-su, hill of, 287 Nagasaki, 28, 32 Nageum, the, in Nak-tong River, 159 . Nam-pu, 200 2 R 314 KOREA Niu-chwang, 138 No-dol, 158 Om, Lady, 61, 65-69, 87, 239 On-mun, 109, no On-yang, 158 Oppert, 6 O-san-tong, 158 Paik-tu-san, 13 Pavloff, M., 94, 183, 193, 198 Pedlars' Guild, 105 Pellisier, 7 Police Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Po-mun-sa, 288 Ponifs, Korean, 271-273 Po-pheung, King, 229 Po-ri, 125 Port Arthur, 19, 32, 171, 172, 196 Hamilton, 200-201 Lazareff, 171 Postal Union, 30, 31 Prince Jerome's Gulf, 6 Productions, farm, 122-127, 143 Pu-ti-chong Pass, 233, 234 Pyok-tong, 204 Pyong-an, 125, 126, 175, 176, 217 Pyong-tak, 158 Pyong-yang, 29, 132, 155, 162, 164 ; Description of, 182, 185, 187-188 QuELPART, 2, 6, 124, 267 Railways : Seoul-Chemulpo, 156, 157, 158 ; Seoul-Fusan, 19, 156-160, 177 ; Trans-Siberian, 19, 163, 171 Rainfall, 257-259 Revenue, sources of, 96-101, 307 Rice crop, importance of, 153-154 Russia : Interests in Korea, 171, 172, 192-206 ; Japan, attitude to- wards, 194-200; Policy in Korea, 61, 91, 94-96. 183-184 ; Policy in Manchuria, 195, 196 ; Yong-an-po, appropriation of, 201-206 Ru-yong-san River, 179 Ryang-san, 159 Ryong-san, 159 Ryon-san, 159 Sang-uo, the, 49-50 Schwartz, 7 Seoul, 16, 103, 104, 141, 264 ; Descrip- tion of, 24-42 Shamanism, 238 Shang-hai, 31, 32, 140, 142 Shantung, 18, 129 Shibusawa, Baron, 103 Shimonosaki, 10 Shipping, Chemulpo, 19-23 ; Sche- duled returns of, 302-304 Sho-ho, see An-tung Shufeldt, Admiral, 16 Si-heung, 158 Sin-chyon, 164 Sin-gyo, 158 Slavery, Korean, 49-52 Son-dol-mok Rapids, 286 Song-do, 163, 163 Steamship Companies : Nippon Yusen Kaisha, 32, 142 ; Osaka Shosen Kaisha, 32, 142-3 Suk-chong, 286 Syn-won, 158 Syok-kyo-chyon, 159 Syon-chyon-po, 184-185, 187 Syong-chik, 247 Syong-chin, 182 Ta-bak Mountains, 167 Ta-dong River, 185-186 Tai Won Kun, 65 Tai-hoang-kyo, 158 Tai-ku, 159 Taku, 32 Tan-bal-yang Pass, 226 Tap-kok, 124 Taxation, 96-97 Teh-chang-chin, 216 Temples, Buddhist, 235, 236, 288, 292-295 Tiger, the Korean, 224 Tokio, 19 Tong-ko-kai, 166, 207, 217 set/. Tong-lai, 159 Trade : Chemulpo, of 20-23 ; Exports and imports, value of, 21-23 ; Scheduled return of articles, 305-306 : Native produce, sche- duled return of, 307 Train service, schedule of, 301 TroUope, Rev. Mark Napier, 288 Tsu-shima, 29, 131 Tumen River, 201, 106 Tun-po, 158 Ul-lyang, 2or Unkoffsky, 7 Un-san, 155, 156, 187, 217 Vi.ADivosTOCK, 32, 142, 171, 172, 193, 196 INDEX 315 Wai-koan, 159 War Department, expenditure of, 98, 100 Washington Gulf, 179 Wei-hai-wei, British demonstration at, 61 Wha-ding, 250 Whan-gan, 159 Wi-ju, 13, 29, 161, 163, 193, 202 ; Description and opening of, 183-184 Women, Korean : Character of, 48 ; Condition of, 41, 43-58 ; Education of, 108- III Won-san, 30, 32, 141, 142, 143, 193 ; Description of, 170-176 Ya-lu River, 161, 201, 206 » Yameit, 117, 118, 249 Yang River, 159 Yang-san, 159 Yang-tse, 145 Yang-wha-chin, 164 Yi Cha-sun, 54 Yi Yong-ik : Character of, 62 ; Customs loan, attitude regarding, 90 ; Dai Ichi Ginko, opposition to, 104-105; Mr. McLeavy-Brown, relations with, 60-61, 87 ; Transactions o^ 106-107 Yokohama, 142 Yong-an-po, 183, 184 ; Russian appro- priation of, 193, 201-206 Yong-chyon, 202, 204, 206 Yong-dong, 159 Yong-san, 158 Yong-tong-po, 156, 158 Printed by Ballantvne, Hanson 6* Co. London