reigned for just forty years. The son of Li Cheng Ying, he succeeded his
brother, Li Ping, in 1864. During his minority his father, Tai Wen Kun,
assumed the regency, which lasted till 1873. A man of strong will and
boundless ambition, he used every means, permissible or otherwise, to
further his own ends. Of narrow judgment and of most reactionary views,
he has been the cause of much misfortune to his country. He opposed
every innovation and reform, hated everything that was not Korean, and
instigated the persecution of the Christians, causing many hundreds to
be killed. The young Emperor held entirely different opinions, but all
his attempts to introduce advanced ideas have been checked by the party
of reaction. Hardly had he commenced his reign when he was asked by his
own father to commit suicide. Later on Tai Wen Kun began intriguing
against the Empress, fearing her influence over the Emperor, and he was
so nearly successful in a scheme to murder her that she only escaped
with her life by hiding for a whole year. She was believed to be dead,
and mourning was worn by the whole country. Finally public opinion
became so enraged against this unnatural father-in-law that he was
banished from Korea. His supporters, however, were still numerous enough
to be a cause of trouble, and in 1884 they broke into insurrection, and
the Emperor, in his turn, had to flee, escaping on the shoulders of a
slave. Shortly afterwards, during a state ceremony, a bomb of the most
modern construction exploded, killing one of the ministers and some of
the escort. Tai Wen Kun was not present at this ceremony!
It was in the revolution of 1895 that the Empress lost her life. Her
palace was surrounded by rebels, she was stabbed, and then her body was
burnt in an open space before the palace. The Emperor was more
fortunate. Hidden in a sedan-chair he was taken to the Russian Legation,
where he remained a guest for a prolonged stay. It would, however, be
impossible to give an account of all the intrigues and plotting during
the Emperor's forty years' reign. Poison has been found in the food, the
palace has been set fire to, murderers have been found hidden in it; in
short, it would require a whole chapter to describe the narrow escapes
the Emperor has had. But even what I have said will show that Korean
sovereigns are not always to be envied! Yet after the Japanese war of
1894 the King (for till then he had been only a king, the vassal of
China) declared his land to be independent of Chinese control, and
elevated himself to the rank of emperor. Such are life's ironies.
But if the Emperor's public career has not been very glorious, his
family life has proved even less happy. He lost his wife, a woman of
more than average ability and to whom he was devoted, in a terrible
manner as we have seen. The Crown Prince has always been unsatisfactory
and of no political importance. The second royal prince, who is
unquestionably clever and enterprising, is considered a dangerous
innovator, and so strong is the feeling against him in his father's
palace that he is obliged for the safety of his life to live in America.
The question who will succeed Li Hsi interests everybody in Korea, and
is the occasion of much plotting and intrigue, but I am afraid it is one
of the problems which no one can answer or even guess at!
VII
The home life of any country is always of the deepest interest. Old
memoirs and diaries never fail to fascinate, more especially in the case
of a country almost entirely unknown, whose habits and customs will
surely be so modified as to disappear altogether, and it is therefore
well to preserve the memory of them for the coming generations.
A Korean home, however flimsy it may appear, is a regular stronghold. It
has its own traditions, and its inhabitants form a regular community of
their own. Its rule is patriarchal and its organization entirely
Oriental. Divided into two distinct parts, the front is occupied by the
male, and the inside reserved for the female sex. However small the
house may be, this rule is strictly observed; even though the division
may sometimes be only a sheet of paper, its moral strength is as great
as the ramparts of a castle. Conventions are stronger than stone walls.
In order to enable the reader to form some idea of Korean family life, I
will give a passing notice of some of the habits, customs, and
institutions, such as marriage, education, occupations and recreations,
festivities and funerals.
The condition of women in the Land of the Morning Calm is abominable,
for they are considered as mere slaves, with no privileges or rights
whatever.
In the upper classes the children of the two sexes, as soon as they
reach the age of eight or ten, are separated from each other, the boys
being removed to the front part of the house where the father lives,
whilst the girls are left with their mother at the back.
It is considered very bad form for brothers and sisters to associate
with each other. The inevitable consequence is that family life, as we
understand it, has no existence there.
The Korean regards his wife as a being far below him, and would not
think for a moment of consulting her on anything of consequence.
Although man and wife live under the same roof they are practically
aliens to each other. But strange to say, though women in Korea have no
rights, either social or within their own family circle, they are
outwardly respected and addressed in terms of high esteem.
If we consider that the bride has innumerable duties to observe towards
her consort, while he has none towards her, it seems only natural that
the number of happy unions is strictly limited. But notwithstanding the
abnormal relations that exist between the parents, the children are
brought up by the mother to respect their father deeply. Disrespect
towards the mother is of no consequence, but insubordination to the
father is severely punished. In prison, sickness, or old age, a father
can always rely on the assistance and support of his son. No virtue in
Korea is esteemed more than filial devotion.
A peculiarity of a Korean marriage is that it is a matter of interest to
every one except the parties mostly concerned, who see one another for
the first time at the beginning of the ceremony. The parents and friends
arrange the match, in accordance with their own interests, and if both
parties agree and the bargain is concluded, the formalities are of the
simplest. There is no religious ceremony and no legal contract. Early in
the morning the best man arrives to tie the bridegroom's pigtail in a
knot on the top of his head, and this not only remains for ever as an
outward and visible sign of his condition, but entitles him to be
treated as a man and to enter public life. He may be a mere child, just
over ten years of age, but he has no longer any right to play with his
friends and must choose his associates among old men--octogenarians they
may be. He has all civil rights and is expected to behave accordingly.
If, on the contrary, a man is unable to afford the luxury of a home and
a wife, he may reach the age of fifty, but he must still wear his
pigtail down his back, has none of the advantages of a citizen, and is
expected to play with kites, marbles, and such-like, and any folly he
may commit is excused, as would be the naughtiness of a baby, who is not
responsible for his actions.
The wedding ceremony itself is most simple. There is no going to the
registry office or to church. The whole function consists of a
procession, when the bride and bridegroom are conducted by their
respective relations to a dais; there they are put face to face, and see
each other for the first time, look at each other, bow, and the knot is
tied indissolubly. The mutual surprise sometimes must be rather
unexpected. But, whether agreeable or not, it is considered very bad
taste to show any emotion. Without exchanging a single word, a few
minutes afterwards the young bride is conducted to her home, where she
is cloistered for ever. Social etiquette demands that the bridegroom
shall return to the company of his young bachelor friends for a few
days, which are passed in festivities, if not orgies. A honeymoon is
unknown, and wedding trips have never been instituted. The young wife
becomes more or less a head servant to her mother-in-law, and no visible
change is introduced into the husband's daily routine. If married life
begins in such extraordinary conditions, it remains equally ill-balanced
all through life. The husband has everything, the wife nothing; she has
not even a name. And yet, though legally a nonentity, socially, if
clever, she can attain to a certain position. Unseen, unknown, and
nameless, in a hidden corner of the women's quarter, she can receive her
lady friends, get all the news of the outer world, and send messages by
her slaves. There have been cases when women had even decisive political
influences, and, like spiders, ambushed in corners, spread their nets.
VIII
The main occupation of the Korean is agriculture. It is the ground which
produces everything that is necessary for life, and it is the ground,
also, which is taxed principally to furnish the necessary funds for the
Government. The methods of cultivation are exceedingly primitive, but
the soil itself is so extremely fertile, and the irrigation so good,
that the crops are quite sufficient. The women share in the cultivation
of the fields, besides which they do all the domestic work, which is no
mean task if we take into consideration that many functions performed in
other countries by tradesmen must here be performed by them, such as the
cutting of the flax, the preparing and weaving and the making of it into
garments--so that they are field labourers, manufacturers, weavers,
tailors, and finally washerwomen to their own husbands and households.
It is the same with all the food. The poor women must first grow the
rice and beans, then cut and dry them, pound them, and lastly cook them.
But the principal occupation of the women of Korea is the preparing of
their husbands' suits of clothes. A Korean has generally two suits of
white linen, each of which he wears in turn for a week. These suits are
not sewn, but stuck together, and every week the suit that was worn the
week before must be taken to pieces, washed, and then glazed by beating,
which last occupies almost a whole week.
The recreations of the women are very few, and, in fact, they are
treated as slaves to their husbands. The men, on the contrary, have all
kinds of amusements. The two great national sports are shooting with
bows and arrows, and flying of kites. They are very fond of open-air
gatherings, and arrange most delightful picnics, where they entertain
their friends, and engage professional singers and dancers to amuse
them. These singers and dancers are women who form a separate caste.
Westerners find it difficult to appreciate Korean music, but I could not
help liking its quaint cadence and plaintive melancholy. The songs
mostly treat of historical legends and reminiscences of old days, but
some, of course, are lyric. Korean dancing, on account of its dignity
and calm, is by far the most plastic and rhythmical of all Oriental
worship of Terpsichore.
Among the old customs, birthday festivities occupy the first place,
particularly when a man attains his sixtieth year. On that day he
becomes an object of admiration to the whole community, having been
spared by Fate to such an age. After this day whatever he may say is
listened to with great respect, even if his advice is not always
followed.
But of all the social institutions funerals play the most important
part. These last for days, or weeks, and even sometimes for a whole
month, and mourning is observed for several years. And this observance
is strict in Korea. One may even say that a mourner is buried alive, for
he must cover his face, and, if he meets his friends in the street, he
may not stop to speak to them or shake hands. During my stay in Seoul
one of the late Empress's relations, General Ming, died, and I never
saw a more magnificent pageant than his funeral. The cortege was over a
mile long, and led by paid weepers. As it wound its way along, it was
the most extraordinary conglomeration of riders, dancers, children,
mourners, officials, torch, lantern, and flag bearers, and, in fact, it
seemed to absorb the whole population of Seoul.
Children do not receive too much attention in this far-away country. The
little girls soon share in the housework, and the boys leave their
mothers when they are about six, being sent first to school and then to
the men's quarters, where they are carefully secluded from any kind of
woman's society, even from that of their own sisters.
Any one who is interested in Korean children will have an opportunity of
studying their national characteristics and natural abilities in the
schools, of which there are a great many in Korea. Besides the
old-fashioned Primary Schools, there are the Chinese Classical Schools,
Missionary Schools, and, last but not least, the different National
Schools for Interpreters. There are several English, even more Japanese
and Russian, all of which undoubtedly will be of some use; and there is
even a German School, and, of course, a French Interpreters' School. I
must say I was deeply interested to see the scholars, neatly dressed in
white cotton, sitting with Oriental patience at their desks, and
pronouncing with the greatest assiduity the unpronounceable and to them
unintelligible syllables. I admired the endurance and self-control of
the children. If they are not quick and have not the imaginative
capacity of a Japanese child, they are good, even if not so deep
thinkers as the Chinese.
The houses in Korea are very small and offer but little comfort. Most of
them have not more than two rooms, exclusive of the kitchen.
Three-roomed dwellings are very uncommon, and without exception are most
scantily furnished. The roadside inns naturally are of the most
primitive kind, and visitors are expected to bring their own provisions
and bedding with them.
The staple food consists of rice and a few vegetables; people with some
means eat occasionally a little meat or fish. Milk and butter are
unknown. Beef is difficult to obtain, except in the capital. There is no
mutton, but plenty of dog's flesh.
The principal beverage is made of fermented rice. Koreans, like Chinese,
are fond of their pipes, and smoke a great deal.
Their dress is very ample. To be smart, you must wear two or three pairs
of trousers, as many shirts, and four or five kaftans made of white
linen. Sandals are the principal foot-gear.
Chess is one of their popular games. High and low are alike enthusiasts.
In fact, the Koreans have almost as high a reputation for skill in the
game as the Chinese.
They are also fond of card-playing. Gambling seems to be in the blood of
the Yellow races. There is no country where card-sharpers drive so brisk
a business as in Korea.
In outdoor sports the Korean does not excel. His disinclination to
physical effort is too strong and his nature is altogether too lethargic
for violent exertion. Such mild diversions as kite-flying and archery he
sometimes does indulge in, and, if so, shows no little proficiency.
Game is plentiful, but energy rare, and so we do not find many types of
the shikari of India, but more of the trapper class.
The Koreans are a musical people. Every village has its choir--its
amateur musical society. With them songs are largely used as an
accompaniment to the dance. Here, at last, the Korean awakes.
The theatre proper is not represented in this country, but they have
dramatic performances of a kind.
Recitations are given by a single performer, who himself plays all the
characters of the story. It reminds one somewhat of the Homeric
rhapsodists, or the medieval jongleurs.
IX
The last quarter of the nineteenth century has brought about some
unexpected changes in Korea. The rigid isolation is gradually vanishing.
Not even Chosen is able to conceal from the outer world her hidden and
Hermit Land.
The first breach was made by the United States Navy. Commodore Shufeldt
was the first representative of a Western Power to conclude a treaty
with her. A year later the Anglo-Korean commercial agreement was
ratified. Then the other European Powers came in their turn to establish
diplomatic relations there. In the meantime the prejudice against the
foreigner is losing a good deal of its virulence. The first steps
towards international intercourse had been made.
These relations with foreign countries promise, above all, to be
advantageous to commerce and industry; and considering the comparatively
short period during which this influence has been at work, and the
primitive conditions of locomotion, foreign trade is making unexpected
progress. The receipts of the foreign Customs are steadily increasing,
and whilst the returns of 1893 amounted to 7,986,880 yen, in 1898 they
reached the sum of 24,702,237 yen. The latest statistics show the
Customs revenues as L122,783. The _total_ import of the last year
represented L1,382,381, and the exports L846,034.
Besides the capital, _Seoul_, _Chemulpo_, _Fusan_, _Gen-San_, _Mokpo_,
_Chinampo_, _Masampo_, _Kunsan_, and _Song-ching_ are being opened to
trade. The general commerce is almost exclusively in the hands of
Japanese and Chinese. In this respect Japan has made extraordinary
progress during the last few years. In 1897 her imports amounted to
1,911,851 yen, and those of England were 3,713,907 yen. Four years later
the Japanese trade increased to 2,844,815 and England's dropped to
2,853,866. Since the Commercial Exhibition at Osaka, Japan's trade with
Korea has advanced even more, so that, for instance, cotton goods, once
imported exclusively from Manchester, are now replaced by the fabrics of
Nippon. The latter seem to be in a more advantageous position, for,
considering that the distance between Japan and Korea is inconsiderable
and the wages in these two countries are only one-sixth of those in
English manufacturing towns, European products are experiencing more and
more difficulty in competing with the Japanese in Asia. The shipping
trade, too, is in the hands of Japan, and in the course of last year
3920 vessels with nearly a million tons of cargo anchored in the ports
of Korea. Besides Japan and England, there is America that is seeking a
new market for her exports. Of continental European countries, Germany
is represented by the greatest number of articles, though of small
importance and size, like nails, stove pipes, needles, chemicals, and
aniline dyes. The total imports from Germany at present scarcely
represent a quarter of a million marks.
The Chinese share the local trade with the Japanese. The shopkeeper
belongs to one or other of the neighbouring states. As we observed when
referring to the past state of Korea, her own people possess no
commercial instincts. Their needs are few, and even those are supplied
in their homes. Their clothes are woven and sewn by their wives. The
flax grows in their gardens. Every house has as much ground attached to
it as suffices, more or less, for the wants of the family. More than
that is not required. It is owing mainly to this patriarchal simplicity
that, though the soil of the country is rich, not half of it is under
cultivation.
The manner of tilling the soil is rather primitive. Up to this day
wooden ploughs are used. Threshing is done by ordinary poles.
Agricultural implements are unknown.
In spite of her fertile valleys, favourable climate, and cheap labour,
Korea is not agriculturally developed. Of its products, rice takes the
first place. There is also plenty of wheat, barley, oats, and beans.
The most profitable plant is _gin-sen_, which has already been
described.
The principal wealth of Korea is undoubtedly stored in its mines. The
amount of ore contained in the mountains of the country is prodigious.
There are numerous ancient gold and silver mines, although their working
was prohibited by law. Since the conclusion of the international
treaties some of them have been taken over by foreign companies, and
already, during the last few years, have produced considerable profits.
In 1897 the export in gold amounted to 2,004,049 yen, in 1901 to
4,993,351 yen. But under the present conditions it is impossible to
ascertain the exact amount. The mountains in the north-eastern part of
the country are the richest in gold. The capital invested is mostly
German and Belgian.
In addition to gold and silver, there are copper, iron, and coal mines
in working, but commercial enterprise is rather handicapped by the want
of means of communication.
X
Until recently Korea was not only almost devoid of railways, but had
scarcely any roads. Transport by means of carts is to this day
exceptional--oxen and pack-horses only being employed. Endless strings
of caravans cover the whole length of the land. Seeds, timber, fuel,
metal, and stones--everything is carried by cattle to its destination.
But human labour is even more general and much cheaper than animal
labour. It is still the man's shoulder that carries most of the load and
burden. What a Korean can carry is almost incredible. Besides heredity
it is only through long training that he has acquired such exceptional
strength.
One of the most ancient organizations of Korea is the Pedlars' Guild. It
was founded centuries ago. There are families who for generations have
known no other occupation than carrying the miscellaneous pack from one
part of the country to another. They wander over hills and dales from
morning till night. Like their ancestors they migrate continually. It is
little wonder that they should have known the inner state and life of
the country better than anybody else. They were the carriers of news in
Korea, and represented the Press of their land, and their influence and
power still prevail. Public opinion finds in them its most direct
interpreter. There is no movement, outbreak, or revolt in which they do
not participate. The most important messages are conveyed through the
pedlars, and it is their guild that nourishes the flames of all
rebellions.
In Korea there are several fine rivers. The _Han_, watering the central
provinces of the country, and the _Yalu_ in the north, are the two
principal ones. During a few months of the year both are frozen. Neither
of them is used as a waterway. The traveller who is fond of adventures
hires a fishing-barge, engages a dozen fishermen, and taking with him
some old furniture and provisions, tries to make himself comfortable in
that Noah's ark. Steamers are unknown on the rivers.
Railways are now in a somewhat more advanced stage. Between Chemulpo and
Seoul there is a regular train service, and the short distance of
twenty-six miles can be covered with Western comfort.
Japan is at present engaged in building the great southern line as far
as Fusan. A French company has obtained the concession to build the
northern line. On the other hand, the work of a private company on the
line leading towards Manchuria is making little headway. Still, it is
only a matter of time for Korea to become a network of railways. Then
her harbours will be the natural gates of Eastern Asia. Her bays in the
south are always free from ice, making most excellent ports, and capable
of harbouring any number of ships. Chemulpo, but more particularly
Fusan, the extreme southern point of the peninsula, must necessarily
become one of the termini and one of the principal emporiums of the
whole continent. I do not think that those who look upon it as the
Shanghai of the future are mistaken.
Besides railways, Seoul possesses also an electric tramway and electric
light. Both concerns were planned by American companies, and are said to
be very profitable. The new Mint is also organized on European
principles. The standard money is the Japanese yen; the brass rings used
formerly as small coins are being replaced by the nickel sen. The
various commercial articles are steadily undergoing changes, and
manufactured goods are ousting the homemade products of the small shops.
Each day supplies new things and ideas. Each week marks another step on
the road to progress. The work is slow, being rendered difficult by many
obstacles from within and without, but it cannot now be stopped in its
natural course.
Korea is at present in her first stage of transition. The old system has
collapsed, and a new order must be inaugurated. Most striking to the
stranger are the antagonisms of the present day. Almost everything is in
a state of metamorphosis, and it is curious to notice institutions of
past centuries by the side of recent reforms. Through the ancient city
gate electric cars are passing, and in the vicinity of the gabled pagoda
can be seen the chimney of a factory. Day by day some Western
institutions, customs, and ideas are being adopted. It looks like
gradual advancement.
XI