[1] Reproductions of such Ptolemaic and Lysimachan coins are to be
found in J. J. Bernouilli, _Die erhaltenen Darstellungen Alexanders
d. Gr._ (Munich, 1905), Tab. VIII.; also in Theodor Schreiber,
"Studien über das Bildniss Alexanders des Gr." in the _Abh. Sachs.
Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften_, Bd. xxi. (1903), Tab. XIII.
[2] For the schemes of Nöldeke and Grimm see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION.
[3] See Bibliography at end.
[4] Since in Arabic also the root [Arabic word] signifies "to have
pity," the Arabs must have at once perceived the force of the new
name. While the foreign word _Rahman_ is, in accordance with its
origin, everywhere in the Koran to be understood as "Merciful," there
is some doubt as to _Rahim_. The close connexion of the two
expressions, it is true, makes it probable that Mahomet only added
the adjective _Rahim_ to the substantive _Rahman_ in order to
strengthen the conception. But the genuine Arab meaning of _Rahim_ is
"gracious," and thus, the old Mahommedan Arab papyri render this word
by [Greek: philanthrôpos].
KORAT, the capital of the provincial division (_Monton_) of Nakawn Racha
Sema, or "the frontier country," in Siam; in 102° 5´ E., 14° 59´ N. Pop.
about 7000, mixed Cambodian and Siamese. It is the headquarters of a
high commissioner and of an army division. It is the terminus of a
railway from Bangkok, 170 m. distant, and the distributing centre for
the whole of the plateau district which forms the eastern part of Siam.
There are copper mines of reputed wealth in the neighbourhood. It is the
centre of a silk-growing district and is the headquarters of the
government sericultural department, instituted in 1904 with the
assistance of Japanese experts for the purpose of improving the quality
of Siamese silk. The government is that of an ordinary provincial
division of Siam. A French vice-consul resides here. Since the founding
of Ayuthia in the 14th century, Korat has been tributary to, or part
of, Siam, with occasional lapses into independence or temporary
subjection to Cambodia. Before that period it was probably part of
Cambodia, as appears from the nature of the ruins still to be seen in
its neighbourhood. In 1896 the last vestige of its tributary condition
vanished with the introduction of the present system of Siamese rural
administration.
KORDOFAN, a country of north-east Africa, forming a _mudiria_ (province)
of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It lies mainly between 12° and 16° W. and
29° and 32½° E., and has an area of about 130,000 sq. m., being bounded
W. by Darfur, N. by the Bayuda steppes, E. by the White Nile mudiria and
S. by the country of the Shilluks and other negro tribes, forming part
of the Upper Nile mudiria.
The greater part of Kordofan consists of undulating plains, riverless,
barren, monotonous, with an average altitude of 1500 ft. Thickets and
small acacias dot the steppes, which, green during the _kharif_ or rainy
season, at other times present a dull brown burnt-up aspect. In the
west, isolated peaks, such as Jebel Abu Senum and Jebel Kordofan, rise
from 150 to 600 ft. above the plain. North-west are the mountain groups
of Kaja and Katul (2000 to 3000 ft.), in the east are the Jebel Daier
and Jebel Tagale (Togale), ragged granitic ranges with precipitous
sides. In the south are flat, fertile and thickly wooded plains, which
give place to jungle at the foot of the hills of Dar Nuba, the district
forming the south-east part of Kordofan. Dar Nuba is well-watered, the
scenery is diversified and pretty, affording a welcome contrast to that
of the rest of the country. Some of the Nuba hills exceed 3000 ft. in
height. The south-western part of the country, a vast and almost level
plain, is known as Dar Homr. A granitic sand with abundance of mica and
feldspar forms the upper stratum throughout the greater part of
Kordofan; but an admixture of clay, which is observable in the north,
becomes strongly marked in the south, where there are also stretches of
black vegetable mould. Beneath there appears to be an unbroken surface
of mica schist. Though there are no perennial rivers, there are
watercourses (_khors_ or _wadis_) in the rainy season; the chief being
the Khor Abu Habl, which traverses the south-central region. In Dar Homr
the Wadi el Ghalla and the Khor Shalango drain towards the Homr affluent
of the Bahr el Ghazal. During the rainy season there is a considerable
body of water in these channels, but owing partly to rapid evaporation
and partly to the porous character of the soil the surface of the
country dries rapidly. The water which has found its way through the
granitic sand flows over the surface of the mica schist and settles in
the hollows, and by sinking wells to the solid rock a supply of water
can generally be obtained. It is estimated that (apart from those in a
few areas where the sand stratum is thin and water is reached at the
depth of a few feet) there are about 900 of these wells. They are narrow
shafts going down usually 30 to 50 ft., but some are over 200 ft. deep.
The water is raised by rope and bucket at the cost of enormous labour,
and in few cases is any available for irrigation. The very cattle are
trained to go a long time without drinking. Entire villages migrate
after the harvest to the neighbourhood of some plentiful well. In a few
localities the surface depressions hold water for the greater part of
the year but there is only one permanent lake--Keilat, which is some
four miles by two. As there is no highland area draining into Kordofan,
the underground reservoirs are dependent on the local rainfall, and a
large number of the wells are dry during many months. The rainy season
lasts from mid-June to the end of September, rain usually falling every
three or four days in brief but violent showers. In general the climate
is healthy except in the rainy season, when large tracts are converted
into swamps and fever is very prevalent. In the _shita_ or cold weather
(October to February inclusive) there is a cold wind from the north. The
seif or hot weather lasts from March to mid-June; the temperature rarely
exceeds 105° F.
The chief constituent of the low scrub which covers the northern part
of the country is the grey gum acacia (_hashob_). In the south the red
gum acacias (_talh_) are abundant. In Dar Hamid, in the N.W. of
Kordofan, date, dom and other palms grow. The basbab or calabash tree,
known in the eastern Sudan as the _tebeldi_ and locally _Homr_, is
fairly common and being naturally hollow the trees collect water,
which the natives regularly tap. Another common source of water supply
is a small kind of water melon which grows wild and is also
cultivated. In the dense jungles of the south are immense creepers,
some of them rubber-vines. The cotton plant is also found. The fauna
includes the elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard,
cheetah, roan-antelope, hartebeeste, kudu and many other kinds of
antelope, wart-hog, hares, quail, partridge, jungle-fowl, bustard and
guinea-fowl. Nearly all the kinds of game mentioned are found chiefly
in the western and southern districts. The ril or addra gazelle found
in N. and N.W. Kordofan are not known elsewhere in the eastern Sudan.
Reptiles, sand-flies and mosquitoes are common. Ostriches are found in
the northern steppes. The chief wealth of the people consists in the
gum obtained from the grey acacias, in oxen, camels and ostrich
feathers. The finest cattle are of the humped variety, the bulls of
the Baggara being trained to the saddle and to carry burdens. There
are large herds of camel, the camel-owning Arabs usually owning also
large numbers of sheep and goats. Dukhn, a species of millet which can
grow in the arid northern districts is there the chief grain crop, its
place in the south being taken by durra. Dukhn is, however, the only
crop cultivated in Dar Homr. From this grain a beer called _merissa_
is brewed. Barley and cotton are cultivated in some districts. A
little gold dust is obtained, but the old gold and other mines in the
Tagale country have been, apparently, worked out. Iron is found in
many districts and is smelted in a few places. In the absence of fuel
the industry is necessarily a small one. There are large beds of
hematite some 60 m. N.W. and the same distance N.E. of El Obeid.
_Inhabitants._--The population of Kordofan was officially estimated in
1903 to be 550,000. The inhabitants are roughly divisible into two
types--Arabs in the plains and Nubas in the hills. Many of the villagers
of the plains are however of very mixed blood--Arab, Egyptian, Turkish,
Levantine and Negro. It is said that some village communities are
descended from the original negro inhabitants. They all speak Arabic.
The most important village tribe is the Gowama, who own most of the
gum-producing country. Other large tribes are the Dar Hamid and the
Bederia--the last-named living round El Obeid. The nomad Arabs are of
two classes, camel owners (_Siat El Ilbil_) and cattle owners
(_Baggara_), the first-named dwelling in the dry northern regions, the
Baggara in southern Kordofan. Of the camel-owning tribes the chief are
the Hamar and the Kabbabish. Many of the Hamar have settled down in
villages. The Baggara are great hunters, and formerly were noted slave
raiders. They possess many horses, but when journeying place their
baggage on their oxen. They use a stabbing spear, small throwing spears,
and a broad-bladed short sword. Some of the richer men possess suits of
chain armour. The principal Baggara tribes are the Hawazma, Meseria,
Kenana, Habbania, and Homr. The Homr are said to have entered Kordofan
from Wadai about the end of the 18th century and to have come from North
Africa. They speak a purer Arabic than the riverain tribes. The Nubas
are split into many tribes, each under a _mek_ or king, who is not
uncommonly of Arab descent. The Nubas have their own language, though
the inhabitants of each hill have usually a different dialect. They are
a primitive race, very black, of small build but distinctive negro
features. They have feuds with one another and with the Baggara. During
the _mahdia_ they maintained their independence. The Nubas appear to
have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the country and are believed to
be the original stock of the Nubians of the Nile Valley (see NUBIA). In
the northern hills are communities of black people with woolly hair but
of non-negro features. They speak Arabic and are called Nuba Arabs. Some
of the southern hills are occupied by Arab-speaking negroes, escaped
slaves and their descendants, who called themselves after the tribe they
formerly served and who have little intercourse with the Nubas.
The capital, El Obeid (q.v.), is centrally situated. On it converge
various trade routes, notably from Darfur and from Dueim, a town on the
White Nile 125 m. above Khartum, which served as port for the province.
Thence was despatched the gum for the Omdurman market. But the railway
from Khartum to El Obeid, via Sennar, built in 1909-1911, crosses the
Nile some 60 m. farther south above Abba Island. Nahud (pop. about
10,000), 165 m. W.S.W. of El Obeid, is a commercial centre which has
sprung into importance since the fall of the dervishes. All the trade
with Darfur passes through the town, the chief commerce being in cattle,
feathers, ivory and cotton goods. Trade is largely in the hands of
Greeks, Syrians, Danagla and Jaalin. Taiara, on the route between El
Obeid and the Nile, was destroyed by the dervishes but has been rebuilt
and is a thriving mart for the gum trade. El Odoaiya or Eddaiya is the
headquarters of the Homr country. It and Baraka in the Muglad district
are on the trade road between Nahud and Shakka in Darfur.
Bara is a small town some 50 m. N.N.E. of Obeid. Talodi and Tendek are
government stations in the Nuba country. The Nubas have no large towns.
They live in villages on the hillsides or summits. The usual habitation
built both by Arabs and Nubas is the tukl, a conical-shaped hut made of
stone, mud, wattle and daub or straw. The Nuba tukls are the better
built. In the chief towns houses are built of mud bricks with flat
roofs.
_History._--Of the early history of Kordofan there is little record. It
never formed an independent state. About the beginning of the 16th
century Funj from Sennar settled in the country; towards the end of that
century Kordofan was conquered by Suleiman Solon, sultan of Darfur.
About 1775 it was conquered by the Funj, and there followed a
considerable immigration of Arab tribes into the country. The Sennari
however suffered a decisive defeat in 1784 and thereafter under Darfur
viceroys the country enjoyed prosperity. In 1821 Kordofan was conquered
by Mahommed Bey the defterdar, son-in-law of Mehemet Ali, pasha of
Egypt. It remained under Egyptian rule till 1882 when Mahommed Ahmed,
the mahdi, raised the country to revolt. It was in Kordofan that Hicks
Pasha and his army, sent to crush the revolt, were annihilated (Nov.
1883). The Baggara of Kordofan from that time onward were the chief
supporters of the mahdi, and his successor, the khalifa Abdullah, was a
Baggara. In Kordofan in 1899 the khalifa met his death, the country
having already passed into the hands of the new Sudan government. The
chief difficulty experienced by the administration was to habituate the
Arabs and Nubas, both naturally warlike, to a state of peace. In
consequence of the anti-slave raiding measures adopted, the Arabs of
Talodi in May 1906 treacherously massacred the mamur of that place and
40 men of the Sudanese regiment. The promptness with which this
disturbance was suppressed averted what otherwise might have been a
serious rising. (See SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_, § "History.")
See _The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan_, edited by Count Gleichen (London,
1905); H. A. MacMichael, _Notes on the History of Kordofan before the
Egyptian Conquest_ (Cairo, 1907); John Petherick, _Egypt, the Sudan,
and Central Africa_ (London, 1861); Ignaz Pallme, _Beschreibung von
Kordofan_ (Stuttgart, 1843; trans. _Travels in Kordofan_, London,
1844); Major H. G. Prout, _General Report on Province of Kordofan_
(Cairo, 1877); Ernst Marno, _Reise in der egypt. Equat. Provinz_
(Vienna, 1879); papers (with maps) by Capt. W. Lloyd in the _Geog.
Journ._ (June 1907 and March 1910); and the bibliography given under
SUDAN: _Anglo-Egyptian_.
KOREA, or COREA (CH'AO HSIEN, DAI HAN). Its mainland portion consists of
a peninsula stretching southwards from Manchuria, with an estimated
length of about 600 m., an extreme breadth of 135 m., and a coast-line
of 1740 m. It extends from 34° 18´ to 43° N., and from 124° 36´ to 130°
47´ E. Its northern boundary is marked by the Tumen and Yalu rivers; the
eastern boundary by the Sea of Japan; the southern boundary by Korea
Strait; and the western boundary by the Yalu and the Yellow Sea. For 11
m. along the Tumen river the north frontier is conterminous with Russia
(Siberia); otherwise Korea has China (Manchuria) on its land frontier.
Nearly the whole surface of the country is mountainous. (For map, see
JAPAN.)
The south and west coasts are fringed by about 200 islands (exclusive of
islets), two-thirds of which are inhabited; 100 of them are from 100 to
2000 ft. in height, and many consist of bold bare masses of volcanic
rock. The most important are Quelpart and the Nan Hau group. The latter,
36 m. from the eastern end of Quelpart, possesses the deep,
well-sheltered and roomy harbour of Port Hamilton, which lies between
the north points of the large and well-cultivated islands of Sun-ho-dan
and So-dan, which have a population of 2000. Aitan, between their
south-east points, completes this noble harbour. The east coast of Korea
is steep and rock-bound, with deep water and a tidal rise and fall of 1
to 2 ft. The west coast is often low and shelving, and abounds in
mud-banks, and the tidal rise and fall is from 20 to 36 ft. Korean
harbours, except two or three which are closed by drift ice for some
weeks in winter, are ice-free. Among them are Port Shestakov, Port
Lazarev, and Wön-san (Gensan), in Broughton Bay;[1] Fusan, Ma-san-po, at
the mouth of the Nak-tong, on the south coast; Mok-po, Chin-nampo, near
the mouth of the Tai-dong; and Chemulpo, near the mouth of the Han, the
port of the capital and the sea terminus of the first Korean railway on
the west coast.
Korea is distinctly mountainous, and has no plains deserving the name.
In the north there are mountain groups with definite centres, the most
notable being Paik-tu San or Pei-shan (8700 ft.) which contains the
sources of the Yalu and Tumen. From these groups a lofty range runs
southwards, dividing the empire into two unequal parts. On its east,
between it and the coast, which it follows at a moderate distance, is a
fertile strip difficult of access, and on the west it throws off so many
lateral ranges and spurs as to break up the country into a chaos of
corrugated and precipitous hills and steep-sided valleys, each with a
rapid perennial stream. Farther south this axial range, which includes
the Diamond Mountain group, falls away towards the sea in treeless spurs
and small and often infertile levels. The northern groups and the
Diamond Mountain are heavily timbered, but the hills are covered mainly
with coarse, sour grass and oak and chestnut scrub. The rivers are
shallow and rocky, and are usually only navigable for a few miles from
the sea. Among the exceptions are the Yalu (Amnok), Tumen, Tai-dong,
Naktong, Mok-po, and Han. The last, rising in Kang-wön-do, 30 m. from
the east coast, cuts Korea nearly in half, reaching the sea on the west
coast near Chemulpo; and, in spite of many serious rapids, is a valuable
highway for commerce for over 150 miles.
_Geology._--The geology of Korea is very imperfectly known.
Crystalline schists occupy a large part of the country, forming all
the higher mountain ranges. They are always strongly folded and it is
in them that the mineral wealth of Korea is situated. Towards the
Manchurian frontier they are covered unconformably by some 1600 ft. of
sandstones, clay-slates and limestones, which contain Cambrian fossils
and are the equivalents of a part of the Sinian system of China.
Carboniferous beds, consisting chiefly of slates, sandstones and
conglomerates, are found in the south-eastern provinces. They contain
a few seams of coal, but the most important coal-bearing deposits of
the country belong to the Tertiary period. Recent eruptive and
volcanic rocks are met with in the interior of Korea and also in the
island of Quelpart. The principal mountain in the latter, Hal-la-san
(or Mount Auckland), according to Chinese stories, was in eruption in
the year 1007. With this possible exception there are no active
volcanoes in Korea, and the region has also been remarkably free from
earthquakes throughout historic times.
_Climate._--The climate is superb for nine months of the year, and the
three months of rain, heat and damp are not injurious to health.
Koreans suffer from malaria, but Europeans and their children are
fairly free from climatic maladies, and enjoy robust health. The
summer mean temperature of Seoul is about 75° F., that of winter about
33°; the average rainfall, 36.3 in. in the year, and of the rainy
season 21.86 in. The rains come in July and August on the west and
north-east coasts, and from April to July on the south coast, the
approximate mean annual rainfall of these localities being 30, 35 and
42 in. respectively. These averages are based on the observations of
seven years only.
_Flora._--The plants and animals await study and classification. Among
the indigenous trees are the _Abies excelsa_, _Abies microsperma_,
_Pinus sinensis_, _Pinus pinea_, three species of oak, five of maple,
lime, birch, juniper, mountain ash, walnut, Spanish chestnut, hazel,
willow, hornbeam, hawthorn, plum, pear, peach, _Rhus vernicifera_, (?)
_Rhus semipinnata_, _Acanthopanax ricinifolia_, _Zelkawa_, _Thuja
orientalis_, _Elaeagnus_, _Sophora Japonica_, &c. Azaleas and
rhododendrons are widely distributed, as well as other flowering
shrubs and creepers, _Ampelopsis Veitchii_ being universal. Liliaceous
plants and cruciferae are numerous. The native fruits, except walnuts
and chestnuts, are worthless. The persimmon attains perfection, and
experiment has proved the suitability of the climate to many foreign
fruits. The indigenous economic plants are few, and are of no
commercial value, excepting wild _ginseng_, bamboo, which is applied
to countless uses, and "tak-pul" (_Hibiscus Manihot_), used in the
manufacture of paper.
_Fauna._--The tiger takes the first place among wild animals. He is of
great size, his skin is magnificent, and he is so widely distributed
as to be a peril to man and beast. Tiger-hunting is a profession with
special privileges. Leopards are numerous, and have even been shot
within the walls of Seoul. There are deer (at least five species),
boars, bears, antelopes, beavers, otters, badgers, tiger-cats, marten,
an inferior sable, striped squirrels, &c. Among birds there are black
eagles, peregrines (largely used in hawking), and, specially protected
by law, turkey bustards, three varieties of pheasants, swans, geese,
common and spectacled teal, mallards, mandarin ducks white and pink
ibis, cranes, storks, egrets, herons, curlews, pigeons, doves,
nightjars, common and blue magpies, rooks, crows, orioles, halcyon and
blue kingfishers, jays, nut-hatches, redstarts, snipe, grey shrikes,
hawks, kites, &c. But, pending further observations, it is not
possible to say which of the smaller birds actually breed in Korea and
which only make it a halting-place in their annual migrations.
_Area and Population._--The estimated area is 82,000 sq. m.--somewhat
under that of Great Britain. The first complete census was taken in
1897, and returned the population in round numbers at 17,000,000,
females being in the majority. It was subsequently, however, estimated
at a maximum of 12,000,000. There is a foreign population of about
65,000, of whom 60,000 are Japanese. It is estimated that little more
than half the arable land is under cultivation, and that the soil could
support an additional 7,000,000. The native population is absolutely
homogeneous. Northern Korea, with its severe climate, is thinly peopled,
while the rich and warm provinces of the south and west are populous. A
large majority of the people are engaged in agriculture. There is little
emigration, except into Russian and Chinese territory, but some Koreans
have emigrated to Hawaii and Mexico.
The capital is the inland city of Seoul, with a population of nearly
200,000. Among other towns, Songdo (Kaisöng), the capital from about 910
to 1392, is a walled city of the first rank, 25 m. N.W. of Seoul, with a
population of 60,000. It possesses the stately remains of the palace of
the Korean kings of the Wang dynasty, is a great centre of the grain
trade and the sole centre of the _ginseng_ manufacture, makes wooden
shoes, coarse pottery and fine matting, and manufactures with sesamum
oil the stout oiled paper for which Korea is famous. Phyöng-yang, a city
on the Tai-dong, had a population of 60,000 before the war of 1894, in
which it was nearly destroyed; but it fast regained its population. It
lies on rocky heights above a region of stoneless alluvium on the east,
and with the largest and richest plain in Korea on the west. It has five
coal-mines within ten miles, and the district is rich in iron, silk,
cotton, and grain. It has easy communication with the sea (its port
being Chin-nampo), and is important historically and commercially.
Auriferous quartz is worked by a foreign company in its neighbourhood.
Near the city is the illustrated standard of land measurement cut by
Ki-tze in 1124 B.C.
With the exceptions of Kang-hwa, Chöng-ju, Tung-nai, Fusan, and Wön-san,
it is very doubtful if any other Korean towns reach a population of
15,000. The provincial capitals and many other cities are walled. Most
of the larger towns are in the warm and fertile southern provinces. One
is very much like another, and nearly all their streets are replicas of
the better alleys of Seoul. The actual antiquities of Korea are dolmens,
sepulchral pottery, and Korean and Japanese fortifications.
_Race._--The origin of the Korean people is unknown. They are of the
Mongol family; their language belongs to the so-called Turanian group,
is polysyllabic, possesses an alphabet of 11 vowels and 14 consonants,
and a script named _En-mun_. Literature of the higher class and official
and upper class correspondence are exclusively in Chinese characters,
but since 1895 official documents have contained an admixture of
_En-mun_. The Koreans are distinct from both Chinese and Japanese in
physiognomy, though dark straight hair, dark oblique eyes, and a tinge
of bronze in the skin are always present. The cheek-bones are high; the
nose inclined to flatness; the mouth thin-lipped and refined among
patricians, and wide and full-lipped among plebeians; the ears are
small, and the brow fairly well developed. The expression indicates
quick intelligence rather than force and mental calibre. The male height
averages 5 ft. 4½ in. The hands and feet are small and well-formed. The
physique is good, and porters carry on journeys from 100 to 200 lb. Men
marry at from 18 to 20 years, girls at 16, and have large families, in
which a strumous taint is nearly universal. Women are secluded and
occupy a very inferior position. The Koreans are rigid monogamists, but
concubinage has a recognized status.
_Production and Industries._ i. _Minerals._--Extensive coal-fields,
producing coal of fair quality, as yet undeveloped, occur in Hwang-hai
Do and elsewhere. Iron is abundant, especially in Phyöng-an Do, and rich
copper ore, silver and galena are found. Crystal is a noted product of
Korea, and talc of good quality is also present. In 1885 the rudest
process of "placer" washing produced an export of gold dust amounting to
£120,000; quartz-mining methods were subsequently introduced, and the
annual declared value of gold produced rose to about £450,000; but much
is believed to have been sent out of the country clandestinely. The
reefs were left untouched till 1897, when an American company, which had
obtained a concession in Phyöng-an Do in 1895, introduced the latest
mining appliances, and raised the declared export of 1898 to £240,047,
believed to represent a yield for that year of £600,000. Russian,
German, English, French and Japanese applicants subsequently obtained
concessions. The _concessionnaires_ regard Korean labour as docile and
intelligent. The privilege of owning mines in Korea was extended to
aliens under the Mining Regulations of 1906.
ii. _Agriculture._--Korean soil consists largely of light sandy loam,
disintegrated lava, and rich, stoneless alluvium, from 3 to 10 ft. deep.
The rainfall is abundant during the necessitous months of the year,
facilities for the irrigation of the rice crop are ample, and drought
and floods are seldom known. Land is held from the proprietors on the
terms of receiving seed from them and returning half the produce, the
landlord paying the taxes. Any Korean can become a landowner by
reclaiming and cultivating unoccupied crown land for three years free of
taxation, after which he pays taxes annually. Good land produces two
crops a year. The implements used are two makes of iron-shod wooden
ploughs; a large shovel, worked by three or five men, one working the
handle, the others jerking the blade by ropes attached to it; a short
sharp-pointed hoe, a bamboo rake, and a wooden barrow, all of rude
construction. Rice is threshed by beating the ears on a log; other
grains, with flails on mud threshing-floors. Winnowing is performed by
throwing up the grain on windy days. Rice is hulled and grain coarsely
ground in stone querns or by water pestles. There are provincial
horse-breeding stations, where pony stallions, from 10 to 12 hands high,
are bred for carrying burdens. Magnificent red bulls are bred by the
farmers for ploughing and other farming operations, and for the
transport of goods. Sheep and goats are bred on the imperial farms, but
only for sacrifice. Small, hairy, black pigs, and fowls, are universal.
The cultivation does not compare in neatness and thoroughness with that
of China and Japan. There are no trustworthy estimates of the yield of
any given measurement of land. The farmers put the average yield of rice
at thirty-fold, and of other grain at twenty-fold. Korea produces all
cereals and root crops except the tropical, along with cotton, tobacco,
a species of the Rhea plant used for making grass-cloth, and the
_Brousonettia papyrifera_. The articles chiefly cultivated are rice,
millet, beans, _ginseng_ (at Songdo), cotton, hemp, oil-seeds, bearded
wheat, oats, barley, sorghum, and sweet and Irish potatoes. Korean
agriculture suffers from infamous roads, the want of the exchange of
seed, and the insecurity of the gains of labour. It occupies about
three-fourths of the population.
iii. _Other Industries._--The industries of Korea, apart from supplying
the actual necessaries of a poor population, are few and rarely
collective. They consist chiefly in the manufacture of sea-salt, of
varied and admirable paper, thin and poor silk, horse-hair crinoline for
hats, fine split bamboo blinds, hats and mats, coarse pottery, hemp
cloth for mourners, brass bowls and grass-cloth. Wön-san and Fusan are
large fishing centres, and salt fish and fish manure are important
exports; but the prolific fishing-grounds are worked chiefly by Japanese
labour and capital. Paper and _ginseng_ are the only manufactured
articles on the list of Korean exports. The arts are nil.
_Commerce._--A commercial treaty was concluded with Japan in 1876, and
treaties with the European countries and the United States of America
were concluded subsequently. An imperial edict of the 20th of May 1904
annulled all Korean treaties with Russia. After the opening of certain
Korean ports to foreign trade, the customs were placed under the
management of European commissioners nominated by Sir Robert Hart from
Peking. The ports and other towns open are Seoul, Chemulpo, Fusan,
Wön-san, Chin-nampo, Mok-po, Kun-san, Ma-san-po, Song-chin, Wiju,
Yong-ampo, and Phyöng-yang. The value of foreign trade of the open ports
has fluctuated considerably, but has shown a tendency to increase on the
whole. For example, in 1884 imports were valued at £170,113 and exports
at £95,377. By 1890 imports had risen to £790,261, and thereafter
fluctuated greatly, standing at only £473,598 in 1893, but at £1,017,238
in 1897, and £1,382,352 in 1901, but under abnormal conditions in 1904
this last amount was nearly doubled. Exports in 1890 were valued at
£591,746; they also fluctuated greatly, falling to £316,072 in 1893, but
standing at £863,828 in 1901, and having a further increase in some
subsequent years. These figures exclude the value of gold dust. The
principal imports are cotton goods, railway materials, mining supplies
and metals, tobacco, kerosene, timber, and clothing. Japanese cotton
yarns are imported to be woven into a strong cloth on Korean hand-looms.
Beans and peas, rice, cowhides, and ginseng are the chief exports, apart
from gold.
_Communications._--Under Japanese auspices a railway from Chemulpo to
Seoul was completed in 1900. This became a branch of the longer line
from Fusan to Seoul (286 m.), the concession for which was granted in
1898. This line was pushed forward rapidly on the outbreak of the
Russo-Japanese War, and the whole was opened early in 1905. A railway
from Seoul to Wiju was planned under French engineers, but the work
was started by the Korean government. This line also, however, was
taken over by the Japanese military authorities, and the first trains
ran through early in 1905, in which year Japan obtained control of the
whole of the Korean internal communications. The main roads centring
in Seoul are seldom fit even for the passage of ox-carts, and the
secondary roads are bad bridle-tracks, frequently degenerating into
"rock ladders." Some improvements, however, have been effected under
Japanese direction. The inland transit of goods is almost entirely on
the backs of bulls carrying from 450 to 600 lb., on ponies carrying
200 lb., and on men carrying from 100 to 150 lb., bringing the average
cost up to a fraction over 8d. per mile per ton. The corvée exists,
with its usual hardships. Bridges are made of posts, carrying a
framework either covered with timber or with pine branches and earth.
They are removed at the beginning of the rainy season, and are not
replaced for three months. The larger rivers are unbridged, but there
are numerous government ferries. The infamous roads and the risks
during the bridgeless season greatly hamper trade. Japanese steamers
ply on the Han between Chemulpo and Seoul.
A postal system, established in 1894-1895, has been gradually
extended. There are postage stamps of four values. The Japanese, under
the agreement of 1905, took over the postal, telegraphic and telephone
services. Korea is connected with the Chinese and Japanese telegraph
systems by a Japanese line from Chemulpo via Seoul to Fusan, and by a
line acquired by the empire between Seoul and Wiju. The state has also
lines from Seoul to the open ports, &c. Korea has regular steam
communication with ports in Japan, the Gulf of Pechili, Shanghai, &c.
Her own mercantile marine is considerable.
_Government._--From 1895, when China renounced her claims to suzerainty,
to 1910 the king (since 1897 emperor) was in theory an independent
sovereign, Japan in 1904 guaranteeing the welfare and dignity of the
imperial house. Under a treaty signed at Seoul on the 17th of November
1905, Japan directed the external relations of Korea, and Japanese
diplomatic and consular representatives took charge of Korean subjects
and interests in foreign countries. Japan undertook the maintenance of
existing treaties between Korea and foreign powers; and Korea agreed
that her future foreign treaties should be concluded through the medium
of Japan. A resident-general represented Japan at Seoul, to direct
diplomatic affairs, the first being the Marquis Ito. Under a further
convention of July 1907, the resident-general's powers were enormously
increased. In administrative reforms the Korean government followed his
guidance; laws could not be enacted nor administrative measures
undertaken without his consent; the appointment and dismissal of high
officials, and the engagement of foreigners in government employ, were
subject to his pleasure. Each department of state has a Japanese
vice-minister, and a large proportion of Japanese officials were
introduced into these departments as well as Japanese chiefs of the
bureaus of police and customs. By a treaty dated August 22nd 1910, which
came into effect seven days later the emperor of Korea made "complete
and permanent cession to the emperor of Japan of all rights of
sovereignty over the whole of Korea." The entire direction of the
administration was then taken over by the Japanese resident-general, who
was given the title of governor-general. The jurisdiction of the
consular courts was abolished but Japan guaranteed the continuance of
the existing Korean tariff for ten years.
_Local Administration._--Korea for administrative purposes is divided
into provinces and prefectures or magistracies. Japanese reforms in
this department have been complete. Each provincial government has a
Japanese secretary, police inspector and clerks. The secretary may
represent the governor in his absence.
_Law._--A criminal code, scarcely equalled for barbarity, though twice
mitigated by royal edict since 1785, remained in force in its main
provisions till 1895. Subsequently, a mixed commission of revision
carried out some good work. Elaborate legal machinery was devised,
though its provisions were constantly violated by the imperial will
and the gross corruption of officials. Five classes of law courts were
established, and provision was made for appeals in both civil and
criminal cases. Abuses in legal administration and in tax-collecting
were the chief grievances which led to local insurrections. Oppression
by the throne and the official and noble classes prevailed
extensively; but the weak protected themselves by the use of the
_Kyei_, or principle of association, which developed among Koreans
into powerful trading gilds, trades-unions, mutual benefit
associations, money-lending gilds, &c. Nearly all traders, porters and
artisans were members of gilds, powerfully bound together and strong
by combined action and mutual helpfulness in time of need. Under the
Japanese régime the judiciary and the executive were rigidly
separated. The law courts, including the court of cassation, three
courts of appeal, eight local courts, and 115 district courts, were
put under Japanese judges, and the codification of the laws was
undertaken. The prison system was also reformed.
_Finance and Money._--Until 1904 the finances of Korea were completely
disorganized; the currency was chaotic, and the budget was an official
formality making little or no attempt at accuracy. By agreement of the
22nd of August 1904, Korea accepted a Japanese financial adviser, and
valuable reforms were quickly entered upon under the direction of the
first Japanese official, Mr T. Megata. He had to contend against
corrupt officialdom, indiscriminate expenditure, and absence of
organization in the collection of revenue, apart from the confusion
with regard to the currency. This last was nominally on a silver
standard. The coins chiefly in use were (i) copper _cash_, which were
strung in hundreds on strings of straw, and, as about 9lb. weight was
equal to one shilling, were excessively cumbrous, but were
nevertheless valued at their face value; (ii) nickel coins, which,
being profitable to mint, were issued in enormous quantities, quickly
depreciated, and were moreover extensively forged. The Dai Ichi Ginko
(First Bank of Japan), which has a branch in Seoul and agencies in
other towns, was made the government central treasury, and its notes
were recognized as legal tender in Korea. The currency of Korea being
thus fixed, the first step was to reorganize the nickel coinage. From
the 1st of August 1905 the old nickels paid into the treasury were
remitted and the issue carefully regulated; so also with the cash,
which was retained as a subsidiary coinage, while a supplementary
coinage was issued of silver 10-sen pieces and bronze 1-sen and
half-sen pieces. To aid the free circulation of money and facilitate
trade, the government grants subsidies for the establishment of
co-operative warehouse companies with bonded warehouses. Regulations
have also been promulgated with respect to promissory notes, which
have long existed in Korea. They took the form of a piece of paper
about an inch broad and five to eight inches long, on which was
written the sum, the date of payment and the name of the payer and
payee, with their seals; the paper was then torn down its length, and
one half given to each party. The debtor was obliged to pay the amount
of the debt to any person who presented the missing half of the bill.
The readiness with which they were accepted led to over-issue, and,
consequently, financial crises. The new regulations require the
amount of the notes to be expressed in yen, not to be payable in old
nickel coins or cash. The notes can only be issued by members of a
note association, a body constituted under government regulations,
whose members must uphold the credit and validity of their notes. The
notes must also be made payable to a definite person and require
endorsement, safeguards which were previously lacking. Administrative
reform was also taken in hand; the large number of superfluous and
badly paid officials was considerably reduced, and the status and
salary of all existing government officials considerably improved. An
endeavour was made to publish an annual budget, in which the revenue
and expenditure should accurately represent the sums actually received
and expended. Regulations were framed for the purpose of establishing
adequate supervision over the revenue and expenditure for the
abolition of irregular taxation and extortions, as well as the
practice of farming out the collection of the revenue to individuals,
and, generally, to adapt the whole collection and expenditure of the
national revenue to modern ideas of public finance. Down to 1910 the
sum expended by Japan on Korean reforms was estimated to approach
fifteen millions sterling. Among reforms not specifically referred to
may be mentioned the improvement of coastwise navigation, the
provision of posts, roads, railways, public buildings, hospitals and
sanitary works, and the official advancement of industries.
_Religion._--Buddhism, which swayed Korea from the 10th to the 14th
century, has been discredited for three centuries, and its priests are
ignorant, immoral and despised. Confucianism is the official cult, and
all officials offer sacrifices and homage at stated seasons in the
Confucian temples. Confucian ethics are the basis of morality and
social order. Ancestor-worship is universal. The popular cult is,
however, the propitiation of demons, a modification of the Shamanism
of northern Asia. The belief in demons, mostly malignant, keeps the
Koreans in constant terror, and much of their substance is spent on
propitiations. Sorceresses and blind sorcerers are the intermediaries.
At the close of the 19th century the fees annually paid to these
persons were estimated at £150,000; there were in Seoul 1000
sorceresses, and very large sums are paid to the male sorcerers and
geomancers.
Putting aside the temporary Christian work of a Jesuit chaplain to the
Japanese Christian General Konishe, in 1594 during the Japanese
invasion, as well as that on a larger scale by students who received
the evangel in the Roman form from Peking in 1792, and had made 4000
converts by the end of 1793, the first serious attempt at the
conversion of Korea was made by the French _Société des Missions
Étrangères_ in 1835. In spite of frequent persecutions, there were
16,500 converts in 1857 and 20,000 in 1866, in which year the French
bishops and priests were martyred by order of the emperor's father,
and several thousand native Christians were beheaded, banished or
imprisoned. This mission in 1900 had about 30 missionaries and 40,000
converts. In 1884 and 1885, toleration being established, Protestant
missionaries of the American Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal
Churches entered Korea, and were followed by a large number of agents
of other denominations. An English bishop, clergy, doctors and nursing
sisters arrived in 1890. Hospitals, orphanages, schools and an
admirable college in Seoul have been founded, along with tri-lingual
(Chinese, Korean and English) printing-presses; religious, historical
and scientific works and much of the Bible have been translated into
_En-mun_, and periodicals of an enlightened nature in the Korean
script are also circulated. The progress of Protestant missions was
very slow for some years, but from 1895 converts multiplied.
_Education._--The "Royal Examinations" in Chinese literature held in
Seoul up to 1894, which were the entrance to official position, being
abolished, the desire for a purely Chinese education diminished. In
Seoul there were established an imperial English school with two
foreign teachers, a reorganized Confucian college, a normal college
under a very efficient foreign principal, Japanese, Chinese, Russian
and French schools, chiefly linguistic, several Korean primary
schools, mission boarding-schools, and the _Pai Chai_ College
connected with the American Methodist Episcopal Church, under imperial
patronage, and subsidized by government, in which a liberal education
of a high class was given and _En-mun_ receives much attention. The
Koreans are expert linguists, and the government made liberal grants
to the linguistic schools. In the primary schools boys learn
arithmetic, and geography and Korean history are taught, with the
outlines of the governmental systems of other civilized countries. The
education department has been entirely reorganized under the Japanese
régime, Japanese models being followed.
_History._--By both Korean and Chinese tradition Ki-tze--a councillor of
the last sovereign of the 3rd Chinese dynasty, a sage, and the reputed
author of parts of the famous Chinese classic, the _Shu-King_--is
represented as entering Korea in 1122 B.C. with several thousand Chinese
emigrants, who made him their king. The peninsula was then peopled by
savages living in caves and subterranean holes. By both learned and
popular belief in Korea Ki-tze is recognized as the founder of Korean
social order, and is greatly reverenced. He called the new kingdom
_Ch'ao-Hsien_, pacified and policed its borders, and introduced laws
and Chinese etiquette and polity. Korean ancient history is far from
satisfying the rigid demands of modern criticism, but it appears that
Ki-tze's dynasty ruled the peninsula until the 4th century B.C., from
which period until the 10th century A.D. civil wars and foreign
aggressions are prominent. Nevertheless, Hiaksai, which with Korai and
Shinra then constituted Korea, was a centre of literary culture in the
4th century, through which the Chinese classics and the art of writing
reached the other two kingdoms. Buddhism, a forceful civilizing element,
reached Hiaksai in A.D. 384, and from it the sutras and images of
northern Buddhism were carried to Japan, as well as Chinese letters and
ethics. Internecine wars were terminated about 913 by Wang the Founder,
who unified the peninsula under the name Korai, made Song-do its
capital, and endowed Buddhism as the state religion. In the 11th century
Korea was stripped of her territory west of the Yalu by a warlike horde
of Tungus stock, since which time her frontiers have been stationary.
The Wang dynasty perished in 1392, an important epoch in the peninsula,
when Ni Taijo, or Litan, the founder of the present dynasty, ascended
the throne, after his country had suffered severely from Jenghiz and
Khublai Khan. He tendered his homage to the first Ming emperor of China,
received from him his investiture as sovereign, and accepted from him
the Chinese calendar and chronology, in itself a declaration of fealty.
He revived the name _Ch'ao-Hsien_, changed the capital from Song-do to
Seoul, organized an administrative system, which with some modifications
continued till 1895, and exists partially still, carried out vigorous
reforms, disestablished Buddhism, made merit in Chinese literary
examinations the basis of appointment to office, made Confucianism the
state religion, abolished human sacrifices and the burying of old men
alive, and introduced that Confucian system of education, polity, and
social order which has dominated Korea for five centuries. Either this
king or an immediate successor introduced the present national costume,
the dress worn by the Chinese before the Manchu conquest. The early
heirs of this vigorous and capable monarch used their power, like him,
for the good of the people; but later decay set in, and Japanese
buccaneers ravaged the coasts, though for two centuries under Chinese
protection Korea was free from actual foreign invasion. In 1592 occurred
the epoch-making invasion of Korea by a Japanese army of 300,000 men, by
order of the great regent Hideyoshi. China came to the rescue with
60,000 men, and six years of a gigantic and bloody war followed, in
which Japan used firearms for the first time against a foreign foe.
Seoul and several of the oldest cities were captured, and in some
instances destroyed, the country was desolated, and the art treasures
and the artists were carried to Japan. The Japanese troops were recalled
in 1598 at Hideyoshi's death. The port and fishing privileges of Fusan
remained in Japanese possession, a heavy tribute was exacted, and until
1790 the Korean king stood in humiliating relations towards Japan. Korea
never recovered from the effects of this invasion, which bequeathed to
all Koreans an intense hatred of the Japanese.
In 1866, 1867, and 1871 French and American punitive expeditions
attacked parts of Korea in which French missionaries and American
adventurers had been put to death, and inflicted much loss of life, but
retired without securing any diplomatic successes, and Korea continued
to preserve her complete isolation. The first indirect step towards
breaking it down had been taken in 1860, when Russia obtained from China
the cession of the Usuri province, thus bringing a European power down
to the Tumen. A large emigration of famine-stricken Koreans and
persecuted Christians into Russian territory followed. The emigrants
were very kindly received, and many of them became thrifty and
prosperous farmers. In 1876 Japan, with the consent of China, wrung a
treaty from Korea by which Fusan was fully opened to Japanese settlement
and trade, and Wön-san (Gensan) and Inchiun (Chemulpo) were opened to
her in 1880. In 1882 China promulgated her "Trade and Frontier
Regulations," and America negotiated a commercial treaty, followed by
Germany and Great Britain in 1883, Italy and Russia in 1884, France in
1886, and Austria in 1892. A "Trade Convention" was also concluded with
Russia. Seoul was opened in 1884 to foreign residence, and the provinces
to foreign travel, and the diplomatic agents of the contracting powers
obtained a recognized status at the capital. These treaties terminated
the absolute isolation which Korea had effectually preserved. During the
negotiations, although under Chinese suzerainty, she was treated with as
an independent state. Between 1897 and 1899, under diplomatic pressure,
a number of ports were opened to foreign trade and residence. From 1882
to 1894 the chief event in the newly opened kingdom was a plot by the
Tai-won-Kun, the father of the emperor, to seize on power, which led to
an attack on the Japanese legation, the members of which were compelled
to fight their way, and that not bloodlessly, to the sea. Japan secured
ample compensation; and the Chinese resident, aided by Chinese troops,
deported the Tai-won-Kun to Tientsin. In 1884 at an official banquet the
leaders of the progressive party assassinated six leading Korean
statesmen, and the intrigues in Korea of the banished or escaped
conspirators created difficulties which were very slow to subside. In
spite of a constant struggle for ascendancy between the queen and the
returned Tai-won-Kun, the next decade was one of quiet. China, always
esteemed in Korea, consolidated her influence under the new conditions
through a powerful resident; prosperity advanced, and certain reforms
were projected by foreign "advisers." In May 1894 a more important
insurrectionary rising than usual led the king to ask armed aid from
China. She landed 2000 troops on the 10th of June, having previously, in
accordance with treaty provisions, notified Japan of her intention. Soon
after this Japan had 12,000 troops in Korea, and occupied the capital
and the treaty ports. Then Japan made three sensible proposals for
Korean reform, to be undertaken jointly by herself and China. China
replied that Korea must be left to reform herself, and that the
withdrawal of the Japanese troops must precede negotiations. Japan
rejected this suggestion, and on the 23rd of July attacked and occupied
the royal palace. After some further negotiations and fights by land and
sea between Japan and China war was declared formally by Japan, and
Korea was for some time the battle-ground of the belligerents. The
Japanese victories resulted for Korea in the solemn renunciation of
Chinese suzerainty by the Korean king, the substitution of Japanese for
Chinese influence, the introduction of many important reforms under
Japanese advisers, and of checks on the absolutism of the throne.
Everything promised well. The finances flourished under the capable
control of Mr (afterwards Sir) M'Leavy Brown, C.M.G. Large and judicious
retrenchments were carried out in most of the government departments. A
measure of judicial and prison reform was granted. Taxation was placed
on an equable basis. The pressure of the trade gilds was relaxed. Postal
and educational systems were introduced. An approach to a constitution
was made. The distinction between patrician and plebeian, domestic
slavery, and beating and slicing to death were abolished. The age for
marriage of both sexes was raised. Chinese literary examinations ceased
to be a passport to office. Classes previously degraded were
enfranchised, and the alliance between two essentially corrupt systems
of government was severed. For about eighteen months all the departments
were practically under Japanese control. On the 8th of October 1895 the
Tai-won-Kun, with Korean troops, aided by Japanese troops under the
orders of Viscount Miura, the Japanese minister, captured the palace,
assassinated the queen, and made a prisoner of the king, who, however,
four months later, escaped to the Russian legation, where he remained
till the spring of 1897. Japanese influence waned. The engagements of
the advisers were not renewed. A strong retrograde movement set in.
Reforms were dropped. The king, with the checks upon his absolutism
removed, reverted to the worst traditions of his dynasty, and the
control and arrangements of finance were upset by Russia.
At the close of 1897 the king assumed the title of emperor, and changed
the official designation of the empire to _Dai Han_--Great Han. By 1898
the imperial will, working under partially new conditions, produced
continual chaos, and by 1900 succeeded in practically overriding all
constitutional restraints. Meanwhile Russian intrigue was constantly
active. At last Japan resorted to arms, and her success against Russia
in the war of 1904-5 enabled her to resume her influence over Korea. On
the 23rd of February 1904 an agreement was determined whereby Japan
resumed her position as administrative adviser to Korea, guaranteed the
integrity of the country, and bound herself to maintain the imperial
house in its position. Her interests were recognized by Russia in the
treaty of peace (September 5, 1905), and by Great Britain in the
Anglo-Japanese agreement of the 12th of August 1905. The Koreans did not
accept the restoration of Japanese influence without demur. In August
1905 disturbances arose owing to an attempt by some merchants to obtain
special assistance from the treasury on the pretext of embarrassment
caused by Japanese financial reforms; these disturbances spread to some
of the provinces, and the Japanese were compelled to make a show of
force. Prolonged negotiations were necessary to the completion of the
treaty of the 17th of November 1905, whereby Japan obtained the control
of Korea's foreign affairs and relations, and the confirmation of
previous agreements, the far-reaching results of which have been
indicated. Nor was opposition to Japanese reforms confined to popular
demonstration. In 1907 a Korean delegacy, headed by Prince Yong, a
member of the imperial family, was sent out to lay before the Hague
conference of that year, and before all the principal governments, a
protest against the treatment of Korea by Japan. While this was of
course fruitless from the Korean point of view, it indicated that the
Japanese must take strong measures to suppress the intrigues of the
Korean court.
At the instigation of the Korean ministry the emperor abdicated on the
19th of July 1907, handing over the crown to his son. Somewhat serious
_émeutes_ followed in Seoul and elsewhere, and the Japanese proposals
for a new convention, increasing the powers of the resident general, had
to be presented to the cabinet under a strong guard. The convention was
signed on the 25th of July. One of the reforms immediately undertaken
was the disbanding of the Korean standing army, which led to an
insurrection and an intermittent guerrilla warfare which, owing to the
nature of the country, was not easy to subdue. Under the direction of
Prince Ito (q.v.) the work of reform was vigorously prosecuted. In July
1909, General Teranchi, Japanese minister of war, became
resident-general, with the mission to bring about annexation. This was
effected peacefully in August 1910, the emperor of Korea by formal
treaty surrendering his country and crown. (See JAPAN.)
AUTHORITIES.--The first Asiatic notice of Korea is by Khordadbeh, an
Arab geographer of the 9th century A.D., in his _Book of Roads and
Provinces_, quoted by Baron Richthofen in his great work on _China_,
p. 575. The earliest European source of information is a narrative by
H. Hamel, a Dutchman, who was shipwrecked on the coast of Quelpart in
1654, and held in captivity in Korea for thirteen years. The amount of
papers on Korea scattered through English, German, French and Russian
magazines, and the proceedings of geographical societies, is very
great, and for the last three centuries Japanese writers have
contributed largely to the sum of general knowledge of the peninsula.
The list which follows includes some of the more recent works which
illustrate the history, manners and customs, and awakening of Korea:
_British Foreign Office Reports on Korean Trade, Annual Series_
(London); _Bibliographie koréanne_ (3 vols., Paris, 1897); Mrs. I. L.
Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (2 vols., London, 1897); M. von
Brandt, _Ostasiatische Fragen_ (Leipzig, 1897); A. E. J. Cavendish and
H. E. Goold Adams, _Korea, and the Sacred White Mountain_ (London,
1894); Stewart Culin, _Korean Games_ (Philadelphia, 1895); Curzon,
_Problems of the Far East_ (London, 1896); Dallet, _Histoire de
l'église de Korée_ (2 vols., Paris, 1874); J. S. Gale, _Korean
Sketches_ (Edinburgh, 1898); W. E. Griffis, _The Hermit Nation_ (8th
and revised edition, New York, 1907); H. Hamel, _Relation du naufrage
d'un vaisseau Halindois, &c., traduite du Flamond par M. Minutoli_
(Paris, 1670); Okoji Hidemoto, _Der Feldzug der Japanir gegen Korea im
Jahre 1597; translated from Japanese by Professor von Pfizmaier_ (2
vols., Vienna, 1875); M. Jametel, "La Korée: ses ressources, son
avenir commercial," _L'Économiste française_ (Paris, July 1881);
Percival Lowell, _Chosön: The Land of the Morning Calm_ (London,
Boston, 1886); L. J. Miln, _Quaint Korea_ (Harper, New York, 1895);
V. de Laguerie, _La Korée indépendante, russe ou japonaise?_ (Paris,
1898); J. Ross, _Korea: Its History, Manners and Customs_ (Paisley,
1880); W. H. Wilkinson, _The Korean Government: Constitutional Changes
in Korea during the period 23rd July 1894--30th June 1896_ (Shanghai,
1896); A. Hamilton, _Korea_ (London, 1903); C. J. D. Taylor, _Koreans
at Home_ (London, 1904); E. Boudaret, _En Corée_ (Paris, 1904);
Laurent-Crémazy, _Le Code pénal de la Corée_ (Paris, 1904); G. T.
Ladd, _In Korea with Marquis Ito_ (London, 1908); Dictionaries and
vocabularies by W. F. Myers (English secretary of Legation at Peking),
the French missionaries, and others, were superseded in 1898 by a
large and learned volume by the Rev J. S. Gale, a Presbyterian
missionary, who devoted some years to the work. On geology, see C.
Gottsche, "Geologische Skizze von Korea," _Sitz. preuss. Akad. Wiss._
(Berlin, Jahrg. 1886, pp. 857-873, Pl. viii.). A summary of this
paper, with a reproduction of the map, is given by L. Pervinquière in
_Rev. sci._ Paris, 5th series, vol. i. (1904), pp. 545-552.
(I. L. B.; O. J. R. H.)