KOREA--"THE HERMIT NATION."
Poor little Korea! One hardly knows whether to be amused or grieved,
so strangely have comedy and tragedy been blended in her history.
Mr. Griffiths in his very comprehensive book bearing that title,
calls Korea the "Hermit Nation," and the appellation was a fitting
one until within a generation. Since that time she might be
described as a bone of contention, for she has been the cause of
several bloody quarrels.
The position of Korea on the map of Asia very much resembles
Florida's position on the map of North America, and Japan's relative
position is something like that which Cuba bears to Florida.
Separated on the south from Japan by about a hundred miles of water
and joining both China and Russia on the north, it is not strange
that all three of these nations have looked upon her with covetous
eyes and begrudged each other any advantage obtained. The surface of
Korea is quite mountainous, the ranges and valleys extending for the
most part from the northeast to the southwest. Until recently the
country was inaccessible and few of the white race have penetrated
the interior. A few years ago a railroad was built from Seoul
thirty-five miles west to Chemulpo, the nearest seaport. Since then
the Japanese have built a road from Seoul north to Pen Yang, and
southeast to Fusan. The last line, which has been finished less than
a year, is two hundred and seventy-five miles long and connects the
Korean capital with the nearest seaport to Japan. This railroad
is of such great military importance to Japan that she aided the
building to the extent of guaranteeing six per cent interest on
the investment for fifteen years, with the provision that the
cost of the road should not exceed twenty-five million yen. The
Korean government gave the right of way for the road and the free
admission of material imported for its construction and equipment.
The engines and cars are of American style and make, and the road
is standard gauge. It is now so easy to pass through Korea in going
from Japan to Pekin that the tourist should not miss its strange
and interesting sights, but the trip should be made before November.
We took the train at Fusan and made the ride nearly all the way
in daylight, thus having an opportunity to see both the country
and the people. The road crosses three rivers and the water sheds
which separate them, making the construction of the road extremely
difficult. The mountains are bare, and we were informed that they
had been denuded by the natives and the wood used for fuel. The
Koreans sometimes blame the Japanese for the appearance of the
country and attributed it to the invasion three hundred years ago;
an intelligent son of Japan replied that as his country recovered
from earthquake shocks within a few years, the Koreans should have
been able to remove the traces of an invasion in less than three
centuries.
The valleys are fertile but in tillage and in evidences of industry
they do not approach the valleys of Japan. One misses the orchards,
the trees, the vines and the flowers which are ever present in "The
Land of the Rising Sun."
[Illustration: TWO KOREAN FAMILIES]
Rice is the principal crop in the south, while barley and wheat
are more cultivated in the north. Beans and peas are also raised
in large quantities and last year constituted the chief article
of export. Rice, while often the largest export, fell below beans
and peas that year and was closely followed by hides and ginseng.
There are some gold mines, the export of this ore amounting to
nearly fifty thousand dollars last year, but the country has been so
isolated that its mineral wealth has not been exhaustively explored.
The population of Korea is variously estimated at from eight to
fifteen millions. The men are larger than the Japanese and somewhat
lighter in color but not so alert. Like the Japanese they have
rather a scanty beard, but it seems to be more fashionable for the
older men to allow their chin whiskers to grow. In dress the Korean
man is unique. He wears a long white coat of thin cotton reaching to
the knees, with trousers generally of white, very full in the seat
and tied around the ankles. The vest is of red, blue or green if he
is not in mourning, but mourning seems to be a permanent occupation
in Korea. It was explained to us that white is the color used for
mourning and that the mourning period lasts three years. When one of
the royal family dies, all of the people wear mourning for the full
period, and as they have sometimes had three royal funerals within a
decade, white came into general use as a matter of economy.
[Illustration: IN KOREA--GROUP OF NATIVES.]
The hat ordinarily worn is made of horse hair and has a high crown,
and being only about a third as large as our hats, it sits upon the
top of the head without covering it. It has a narrow brim of the
same material and is tied on with strings under the chin. These
hats are generally black, although different colors may be seen upon
the street; sometimes an enormous straw hat is used for mourning.
The unmarried men wear the hair in one long braid like a Chinese
pigtail, but when one marries he combs his hair to the top of his
head and ties it in a stiff top knot which is visible through the
gauze hat. The foot is encased in a sock, padded with cotton, and a
canoe shaped shoe of grass, cloth, leather or wood.
The women, except those of the coolie class, are seldom seen on the
street in the daytime, and the men are not allowed on the street at
night, or were not until western ways began to invade the island.
Even when going out the women wear over their heads a green cape
with scarlet sleeves and draw it across the face in such a way that
little more than the eyes can be seen. The streets of Seoul and of
the towns through which we passed were full of men, many of them
walking about in a leisurely way or standing in groups smoking long
pipes. Mingled with them were coolies carrying immense packs on
their backs or leading ponies, oxen or cows laden with hay, wood or
fagots. We saw more idle men in two days in Korea than we saw in
Japan in a month. While the coolies seem to be quite industrious
and carry astonishing weights, there seems to be a deep-rooted
contempt for labor--even among the middle classes, and a contractor
told us that in the employing of the coolies it was necessary to
pay them every day because a week's compensation would have to be
spent before they would return to work. An incident will serve to
illustrate the feeling in regard to labor of any kind. In making a
purchase we wanted two things tied together with a string. We called
the guide's attention to it; he handed the things to his attendant
and the attendant handed them to the shopkeeper, who did the tying.
We were also informed that the Koreans lack the power of organized
co-operation. Each one works by himself and carries his burden on
forked sticks strapped to his back. In walking he uses what seems
like a staff, but its real purpose is that of a prop for his load
when he stops to rest.
The shopkeepers of Korea have the oriental taste for bargaining to a
marked degree and always ask a great deal more than they expect to
receive, finding, apparently, intellectual recreation in haggling
over the price. In making a few small purchases we were very
much amused at the spirited discussions which took place between
our guide and the merchants. Followed by a crowd of interested
spectators, numbering from twenty to fifty, we moved from shop to
shop. The vendor would announce a price as if his was a one-price
store. The guide would receive the announcement with absolute
contempt and the wordy war would begin. The bystanders took sides
and joined in the fray; the clerks and members of the storekeeper's
family flocked to his aid, while the crowd elbowed each other to get
nearer the scene of action. Usually the guide would start toward
another store before an agreement could be reached, sometimes less
than half of the original price was settled upon, and in the calm
which followed the storm, everyone seemed satisfied. We heard of
instances where one-eighth of the price asked was finally accepted,
but either the merchants with whom we dealt were more reasonable or
our guide yielded too soon.
The Korean houses are entirely different from those of Japan; they
are not so high nor so large but are more warmly built. They are
usually constructed of stone set in mud and have poorly thatched
roofs of straw; occasionally tile is used. Often the earth supplies
a floor except for the little sleeping rooms, which have floors of
stone covered with oiled paper. These rooms are heated by flues
under the floors which conduct the flame and smoke to a chimney
which opens on the side of the house. Leaves, fagots, coarse grass
and all sorts of trash are used for fuel and these stone floors,
heated twice a day, keep the small rooms quite comfortable.
The people sit on the floor as in Japan, except that they sit
cross-legged instead of sitting on the feet, and sleep on mats
spread on the floor at night and stowed away during the day.
While in Seoul we were, through the courtesy of Rev. S. F. Moore,
one of the missionaries, invited to the wedding of two Korean
Christians and after the ceremony had a chance to inspect the house
of the groom's father. It was quite neat and clean, but the houses
generally as seen from the narrow streets are dirty and uninviting.
One wonders where the men keep the long white coats of which they
seem so proud, until he is informed that the wives wash and iron
them at night while the lord of the household sleeps.
Speaking of the marriage, I must as a truthful chronicler record
that the young man whom we saw married (they marry young in Korea
and the marriages are arranged by the parents) had a pleasant
face and that the bride was modest and comely. He wore a dark
red, loose-fitting coat, a wide belt and a black gauze hat of
indescribable shape. The girl wore a green silk waist which, just
below the armpits, joined a very full skirt of red. Her head was
ornamented with two very large rolls of hair which, according to
custom, were borrowed for the occasion. We were informed that the
wedding clothes are often rented and that even the goose, which in
the native ceremony the wife presents to the husband as a symbol
of constancy, is obtained in the same way. As in this case the
Christian ceremony was used, the couple did not pledge themselves
according to the native practice by saying "Black is the hair that
now crowns our heads, yet when it has become as white as the fibers
of the onion root, we shall still be found faithful to each other,"
but as among the non-Christian Koreans the man is allowed to take
a concubine into his home whenever he is able to support one, the
pledge would seem to be a mere formality on his part.
[Illustration: A KOREAN SCENE.]
Seoul, the capital and largest city, is surrounded by a substantial
wall and entered by gates which until recently were shut at night
even though the city long ago outgrew the walls. These gates remind
one of the gates described in the Bible, and they are not lacking in
the beggar who finds the gate a convenient place to make his plea
to the passerby. Aside from two or three broad thoroughfares, the
streets are narrow, crooked and filthy. The open sewers on each side
are filled with refuse matter and reek with foul odors.
There is no general educational system in Korea, and the percentage
of illiteracy is naturally large. The missionary schools are
doing an excellent work and a few of the young men have been sent
to China, Japan and America. During recent years there has been
quite an awakening among the young men, and they are showing an
increased desire to learn about western civilization. So great is
this interest that a newly organized branch of the Young Men's
Christian Association at Seoul has a membership of over five
hundred, four-fifths of whom are not professing Christians but are
drawn to the institution because it gives them a chance to study
western problems and methods. Mr. Wanamaker, the merchant prince of
Philadelphia, has just offered to supply the money necessary for
a permanent Y. M. C. A. building in Seoul, and having addressed a
meeting in the present crowded quarters, I can testify that a new
hall is badly needed.
The Chinese characters are used in writing, but the Koreans have
a spoken language which is quite different. There is no extensive
literature that can be called Korean, although Dr. Allen, for
many years American minister at Seoul, has published, in a volume
entitled "Korea: Facts and Fancies," a number of delightful
folklore stories, which show an appreciation of the love story and
a very clear recognition of the personal virtues as illustrated in
daily life. Dr. Allen's book also contains an interesting chronology
of the principal events, but it is significant of the change wrought
by foreign influence that it only requires twelve pages to record
the things worth mentioning from the beginning of the Christian era
down to 1876, while eighty pages are devoted to the things that have
transpired since.
In examining the pages devoted to the last century one is struck
with the disinclination of the Korean government to accept the
offers of intercourse made by the various nations of Europe
since 1875, and with the number of missionaries who suffered
for religion's sake prior to that date. Persecution, however,
seems to have increased rather than diminished the zeal of the
various denominations, and to-day Korea is regarded as one of the
most promising of the missionary fields. While Confucianism has
influenced Korea, Buddhism never gained such a foothold in this
country as in China and Japan. There are no gorgeous temples here,
and for five hundred years (and until recently) Buddhist priests
were not allowed within the walls of Seoul. There are missionary
stations throughout the country, and at Peng Yang there is a native
congregation of fifteen hundred. At Seoul a modern hospital, built
with money given by Mr. Severance, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been
opened by Dr. Avison, where, besides care for the sick, medical
training is furnished to natives who desire to fit themselves for
this profession. I was assured by Dr. Avison and by missionaries
that young Koreans, both men and women, learn quickly and are
faithful assistants. The medical missionary, being in an excellent
position to show his Christian spirit by helpful service, is doing
much to aid in the propagation of our religion in the Orient. In
this connection I might add that Dr. Allen went to Korea as a
medical missionary and became the emperor's physician. This intimate
relation gave our country a good standing when the doctor afterward
became the American minister. These friendly relations are still
maintained through present Minister Morgan.
The government of Korea is an absolute monarchy and has a reigning
family which has held the throne for about five hundred years.
All authority emanates from the emperor and is exercised through
ministers, governors and subordinate officials, appointed by him.
If one can trust the stories afloat, the government is as corrupt
an organization as can be found on earth. Just who is responsible
is not clearly known, but that offices are sold and all sorts of
extortion practiced there can scarcely be doubt. There is no spirit
of patriotism such as is to be found in Japan, and why should there
be when the government gives so little in return for the burdens
which it imposes?
Changes in the cabinet are of frequent occurrence, there having been
something like sixty within a year.
For a long time Chinese influence was paramount in Korea and the
Chinese government had a resident minister in Seoul who was the
confidential advisor of the royal family. But Chinese influence
ended with Japan's victory in 1894; soon afterward Queen Min, the
wife of the present emperor, was put to death and, the murder being
charged to the Japanese, the emperor took refuge at the Russian
legation. Now that Japan has driven Russia out, she is virtually
in control of the country, although the nominal sovereignty of the
emperor has not been interfered with. Just what form the Japanese
protectorate will take has not yet been decided, or at least
has not yet been announced. Marquis Ito is in Seoul now as the
representative of his government conferring with the emperor and his
ministry.
In the end the protectorate will be whatever Japan desires to have
it, for neither Korea nor Russia nor China is in a position to
question her decision. Besides building railroads through Korea,
the Japanese have established banks and issued a currency for
Korea in place of the copper cash generally used. The government,
recognizing the inconvenience of a currency which had to be kept in
huge boxes and paid out at the rate of a thousand or more to the
dollar, had farmed out the right to coin nickels and these were soon
counterfeited. The counterfeit nickels have been classified as,
first, better than the originals; second, good imitations; third,
poor imitations; and fourth, those that can only be passed on a dark
night.
[Illustration: AMERICAN HOSPITAL AT SEOUL--KOREA]
Japanese soldiers are to be seen everywhere and Japanese settlements
are to be found in all the larger cities. The Koreans, as a rule,
regard the new Japanese invasion with silent distrust and are in
doubt whether the purpose of Japan is simply to protect herself from
future danger at the hands of China and Russia, or whether she is
expecting to colonize Korea with her own people. If Japan purifies
the government and makes it honest; if she establishes schools and
raises the intellectual standard of the people; if she revives the
industries now fallen into decay and introduces new ones; if, in
other words, she exercises her power for the upbuilding of Korea and
for the advancement of the Korean people, she may in time overcome
the prejudice which centuries of hostility have created. But what
nation has ever exercised power in this way? And how can Japan do it
without developing an educated class which will finally challenge
her authority? If she keeps the Koreans in ignorance and poverty,
they will be sullen subjects; if she leads them to higher levels
they will the more quickly demand their independence and be the
better prepared to secure it. Which course will she pursue?[1]
[1] Since the writing of this article Korea has been forced to
accept Japanese sovereignty in international matters, the local
government being in most matters undisturbed.
[Illustration: DOING THE FAMILY WASHING]