THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, 1903

Homer B. Hulbert A.M., F.R.G.S.,

editor.

Printed at the Methodist Publishing House, Seoul

No. 1 (JANUARY)

A NOTABLE PAPER ON SEOUL            ..                                    1

REVIEW REV. GEO. HEBER JONES....                                      8

“ALL’ S WELL THAT ENDS WELL”                                   10

A LEAF FROM KOREAN ASTROLOGY              .                          13

FROM FUSAN TO WONSAN                                            18

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

EDITORIAL COMMENT                                                                  22

NEWS CALENDAR                                                            25

HISTORY OF KOREA                                                        33

No. 2 (FEBRUARY)

THE KOREAN NEW YEAR..…                                          49

THE KOREAN PHYSICAL TYPE                                                    55

FROM FUSAN TO WONSAN........................................    59

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

A LEAF FROM KOREAN ASTROLOGY             .....                      65

ODDS AND ENDS

A Novel Mail Delivery...............................................                        68

Fortune’ s Formula          ...                                                               69

A Moral from Go-bang.........................................................             70

A Costly Drug......................................................................              70

A Brave Governor......................................................                       71

EDITORIAL COMMENT..................................................   73

NEWS CALENDAR......................................................................   74

KOREAN HISTORY.........................................................   81[page 2]

No. 3 (MARCH)

THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP.                                            97

FROM FUSAN TO WONSAN                                          101

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

THE BRIDGES AND WELLS OF SEOUL....................     104

ODDS AND ENDS

The Heavenly Pig...................................................                         110

Vaccination.............................................................                          111

A Hungry Spirit.................................................                   111

Milk Supply.............................................................                          112

A Buddhist Relic.................................................                 112

Mr. Three Questions..........................................                 113

The Tell-tale Grain............................................                   113       

QUESTION AND ANSWER......................................                      114

EDITORIAL COMMENT................................................     115

NEWS CALENDAR ..................................................                      121

KOREAN HISTORY..................................................                       129

No. 4 (APRIL)

THE KOREA MUDANG AND PANSU .........................    145

HOW CHIN OUT-WITTED THE DEVILS............                           149

THE HUN-MIN CHONG-EUM......................................     154

ODDS AND ENDS

The Tug of War........................................................                         159

Disarmament...........................................................                         160

QUESTION AND ANSWER .....................................                      160

EDITORIAL COMMENT................................................     163

REVIEW.........................................................................     165

NOTE..............................................................................    166[page 3]

NEWS CALENDAR                                                          167

KOREAN HISTORY.............................................                           177

No. 5 (MAY)

THE PRIVILEGES OF THE CAPITAL..................                          193

MUDANG AND PANSU.......................................                           203

THE HUN-MIN CHONG-EOM                                        208

HEN vs CENTIPEDE............................................                          213

EDITORIAL COMMENT......................................                            217

ACROSS SIBERIA BY RAIL .................................                         218

NEWS CALENDAR...............................................                          222

KOREAN HISTORY...............................................                         225

No. 6 (JUNE)

NOTE ON CH’OE CH’I-WUN.................................                        241

THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF SEOUL

T. Sidehara                                                                         247

ACROSS SIBERIA BY RAIL                                             253

MUDANG AND PANSU              ;                                                   257

ODDS AND ENDS

Making of a River                                                                260

As good as Wireless Telegraphy..........................               261

Looking Backwards........................................                    261

The Centipede.......................................................              261

Why they went blind.........................................                  262

Thorn Fence Island                                                              262

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Birth, Marriage, Death.........................................               263

Entered in to Rest................................................               264[page 4]

Foreigners and Native Diseases..........................              265

Weju...................................................................                 266

NEWS CALENDAR....................................................                     267

KOREAN HISTORY..................................................                      273

No. 7 (JULY)

KOREAN AND FORMOSAN......................................      289

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN .......................       294

MUDANG AND PANSU...............................................      301

ACROSS SIBERIA BY RAIL .......................................      305

THE COMING CONFERENCE, Dr. Vinton.................     310

EDITORIAL COMMENT......................................                            311

NEWS CALENDAR.....................................................      313

KOREAN HISTORY.............................................               321

No. 8 (AUGUST)

THE PEDDLARS’ GUILD..............................................    337

MUDANG AND PANSU..............................................       342

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN.................................           347

ACROSS SIBERIA BY RAIL........................................     349

OBITUARY - George Mitchell......................................      356

ODDS AND ENDS

Kwanak Mountain...................................................                         357

A Very Practical Joke.............................................                         357

Sharp Eyes............................................................                          358

Costly Arrows.......................................................               358

NEWS CALENDAR........................................................   359

KOREAN HISTORY.......................................................    369[page 5]

No. 9 (SEPTEMBER)

MUDANG AND PANSU...............................................      385

THE TAIKU DISPENSARY..........................................     389

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN..........................     394

REVIEW                         ............................                        398

ODDS AND ENDS

Good Cutlery......................................................                 400

Archery Under Difficulties                                                              401

The Crying Seed ................................................                402

Dragon Gate Mountain......................................                 403

Fisherman’s Luck..............................................                 403

Well up in Literature ........................................                   404

The Boats of Sung-jin.............................                            405

Cure for Canker Sores on the Tongue................               406

A new kind of Faith Cure...................................                 406

EDITORIAL COMMENT .............................................      406

NEWS CALENDAR.......................................................    409

KOREAN HISTORY......................................................     417

No. 10 (OCTOBER)

A KOREAN POEM. F. S. Miller....................................      433

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN ...............................            438

THE FORTRESS OF PUK-HAN ...................................   444

ODDS AND ENDS        

The Secret Armor.............................................                  451

Presence of Mind..............................................                 452

EDITORIAL COMMENT................................................    453

NEWS CALENDAR.......................................................    455

KOREAN HISTORY                                                         465[page 6]

No. 11 (NOVEMBER)

BANISHMENT  .........................................                                      481

A TIGER HUNTER’S REVENGE ........                            487

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN .......................       492

ODDS AND ENDS

A Square Meal ...................................................                497

Lying Bull Mountain .........................................                   498

Mountain Dew...................................................                 499

EDITORIAL COMMENT.....................................................             499

NEWS CALENDAR.......................................................    501

KOREAN HISTORY......................................................     513

No. 12 (DECEMBER)

ONE NIGHT WITH THE KOREANS IN

HAWAII ............................................................                  529

BANISHMENT..................................................                  532

KOREAN RELATIONS WITH JAPAN.............                  537

ODDS  AND  ENDS

A Rash Execution ........................................................................ 544

Cross Examination....................................................................... 545

Places of Execution.......................................................................545

A Headless Ghost............................................................    545

EDITORIAL   COMMENT.......................................................546

NOW OR NEVER.........................................................     547

OBITUARY NOTICE                                                          553

NEWS CALENDAR.................................................................... 554

Korean History                                          561

Index

Volume 3, 1903.

A Brave Governor (anecdote) 71

A Buddhist Relic 112

A Costly Drag (anecdote) 70

Across Siberia by Rail 218, 253, 305, 349

A Hungry Spirit (folk-tale) 111

A Korean Poem. Rev. F. S. Miller 433

A Moral from Gobang (anecdote) 70

A New Faith Cure 406

A Notable Paper on Seoul (review) 1

A Novel Mail Delivery (story) 68

Archery under Difficulties (anecdote) 401

Armor, The Secret (folk-tale)  451

As Good as Wireless Telegraphy (anecdote) 261

A Square Meal (story) 497

Astrology, A Leaf from Korean 13, 65

A Tiger Hunter's Revenge (folk-tale) 487

A Very Practical Joke (anecdote) 357

Banishment 481, 529

Bank, A Korean Government 217

Boats of Sfing-jin 405

Bridges and Wells of Seoul 104

Buddhist Relic, A 112

Budget for 1903 173

Cemetery, The Foreign 507

Centipede, The 261

Ch’oe Chi-wun 241

Conference, The Coming, Dr. C. C. Vinton 310

Costly Arrows (anecdote) 358

Crying Seed, The (story) 402

Cure for Canker-sore (folk-tale) 406

Disarmament (anecdote) 160

Dragon Gate Mountain (folk-tale) 403

Editorial Comment 22, 73, 115, 163, 217, 253, 311, 406, 463, 499, 547,

Faith Cure, A New (folk-tale) 406

Fisherman's Luck (anecdote).. 403

Foreign Cemetery, The 507

Fortress of Puk-han. O Sung-geun 444

Formosan, Korean and 289

Fortune's Formula (folk-tale) 69

From Fusan to Wonsan by Pack-pony. Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall 18, 59, 101

Good Cutlery (folk-tale) 400

Heavenly Pig, The (folk- tale) 110

Hen versus Centipede (folk-tale) 213

History of Korea 33, 81, 129, 177, 225, 273, 369, 417, 465, 513, 561

How Chin outwitted the Devils (folk-tale) 149

Hun-min Chong-eum, The 154, 208

Hungry Spirit, A (folk-tale) 111

Japan, Korean Relations With 294, 347, 394, 438, 492

Japanese Occupation of Seoul in 1592. Prof; T. Sidehara 247

Korean and Formosan 289

Korean History 33, 81, 129, 177, 225, 273, 321, 369, 417, 465, 413, 561

Korean Relations with Japan 294, 347, 394, 438, 492

Korean Folk Tales (Review) 8

Kwan-ak Mountain 357

Looking Backward (anecdote) 261

Lying Bull Mountain (folk-tale) 498

Mail Delivery, A novel (folk tale) 68

Making of a River (folk tale) 260

Meteorological Report. Dr. Pokrovsky 32, 80, 128, 176, 224, 262, 320, 368, 416, 464, 512, 560

Milk Supply (folk tale) 112

Mortuary Notice 264, 530

Mountain Dew (anecdote) 499

Mr. “Three Question” 113

Mudang and Pansu 145, 203, 257, 301, 342, 385

News Calendar 25, 74, 121, 167, 222, 267, 313, 359, 409, 455, 501, 554

New Year, The Korean 49

Note on Ch'oe Chi-wun 241

Peddlars Guild, the 337

Physical Type, The Korean 55

Poem, A Korean, Rev. F. S. Miller 433

Practical Joke, A (folk tale) 357

Presence of Mind (anecdote) 452

Privileges of the Capital 193

Puk-han, Fortress of, O Sung-geun 444

Question and Answer 114, 160

Railway, The Seoul Fusan 460

Relations with Japan. Korean 294, 347, 394, 438, 492, 535

Relic, a Buddhist 11

Revenge, A Tiger hunter's 487

Reviews 1, 8, 165, 398

Roman Catholic troubles in the north 22, 22r, 25, 73, 77, 115, 121

Royal Asiatic Society Papers1, 8.

Seoul, A Notable Paper on 1

Seoul-Chemulpo Tennis Tournament 414

Sharp Eyes (folk tale) 358

Square Meal, A (anecdote) 497

Taiku Dispensary, The 389

Tell-tale Grain, A (anecdote) 113

Tennis Tournament, Seoul-Chemulpo 414

Test of Friendship, The 97

The Boats of Sung-jin 405

The Bridges and Wells of Seoul 140

The Budget for 1903 173

The Centipede 261

The Coming Conference Dr. C.C. Vinton 310

The Crying Seed (folk tale) 402

The Foreign Cemetery 507

The Fortress of Puk-han, O Seung geun 444

The Heavenly Pig (folk tale) 110

The Hun-min Chong-eum 154, 208

The Japanese occupation of Seoul in 1593, Prof T. Sidehara 247

The Korean Mudang and Pansu 145, 203, 257, 301, 342, 385

The Korean New Year 49

The Korean Physical Type 55

The Peddlar 's Guild 337

The Privileges of the Capital 193

The Secret Armor (folk tale) 451

The Taiku Dispensary 389

The Tell-tale Grain (anecdote) 113

The Test of Friendship (story) 97

The Tug of War 159

Thorn Fence Island 262

Three Questions, Mr 113

Travel from Fusan to Wunsan Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall 18, 59, 101

Tug of War, The 159

Vaccination (anecdote) 111

Well up in Literature (folk-tale) 404

Why they Went Blind (folk tale) 262

Yong-am-p'o 367, 407

Young Men's Christian Association 461

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, January 1903

A Notable Paper on Seoul                                                 1

Review Rev. Geo. Heber Jones                           8

“All’ S Well That Ends Well”                                  10

A Leaf from Korean Astrology                                13

From Fusan to Wonsan                                          18

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

Editorial Comment                                                 22

News Calendar                                                       25

History of Korea                                                                  33

[page 1]

A Notable Paper on Seoul.

Volume II, Part 2, of the Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society has appeared during the past month. It contains a paper on Han-yang (Seoul) by Rev. J. S. Gale, B. A., accompanied by a map of the city.

After giving a list of the Korean works referred to in the preparation of the paper, Mr. Gale gives us a most interesting and exhaustive historical survey of this city from 18 B. C. down to recent years, describing the main events of the founding of the city and its alternate occupation by Ko-guryu and Pak-che, until Silla took the Peninsula, its elevation to the honor of being the South Capital of Koryu, its further elevation to its present status or Capital of Korea and its subsequent vicissitudes. Many of the traditions clustering about the city and various historical places are given in most entertaining form and we get a clear view of the enormous antiquity of the place. Special attention is given to the events connected with the building of the various palaces and other public buildings.

After the historical summary follows a valuable list of points of interest in Seoul, each being accompanied by a numerical index to the map so that the places can be definitely located by the reader. Eighteen kungs or palaces are specifically mentioned; then a large number of other places, such. as the city gates, the altars, the temples, the bridges and the different divisions of the city. We are also told the different [page 2] localities in which various articles are sold or manufactured. Some curious instances are given in which prophecies about the city are said to have been fulfilled.

This very valuable paper closes with a translation of a description of Seoul given by a Special Ambassador to Korea in 1487, named Tong-wul. It is certain that this is the most valuable “find” that has been made for many a day in Korea, for it gives us a clear and full account of things as they actually appeared four hundred years ago in Seoul. It shows what changes have been made and what things have remained unchanged. Looking from the top of Sam-gak-san he observed “Myriads of pine trees cover the country.” This is hardly true today. His description of Peking Pass as it was four centuries ago would not have to be changed by a syllable to describe its condition ten years ago. In saying that the tiles on the gates and smaller palaces are like those on public offices in China. he doubtless referred to the colored tiles, not a few of which can he seen about Seoul even yet. He says “The Streets are straight, without crook or turn.” He must have kept to the big street, or else time has worked marvels of change. Pork must have been a favorite dish in China, for the envoy says he saw an old Korean eat pork for the first time, “and he ate it as though in a dream.” An ambrosial feast, surely. Reading this remarkable account we marvel how a country and its people could have changed so little in four centuries. Then, as now, ponies were used to carry burdens, coolies carried goods on their backs and women carried bundles on their heads. Not an inch of progress, in the matter of transportation, during four centuries!

A complete description of all the interesting points in Seoul would fill a thick volume, but Mr. Gale seems to have selected the points of greatest importance and has treated them in a most entertaining and instructive manner.

With the permission of your readers we will give a few additional notes on Seoul which are of secondary importance and yet may be of interest to some of the readers of the Review.

Notes on Seoul.

Seoul contains forty-nine pang (坊) or wards. The central part of Seoul contains eight, the eastern part twelve, the [page 3] southern part eleven, the western part eight and the northern part ten. These include the district outside the South and West gates and the suburbs along the electric road nearly to Yong-san.

Each pang or “ward” is composed of several tong (洞) or neighborhoods.  This word tong means literally a valley or ravine. In ancient times people preferred to build their villages among the foothills of some mountain, on the top of which they had their fortress. When news came that the wild peoples were about to attack them they could easily run up into their fortress and be safe. So the term valley or ravine came to be synonomous with village, and when a town grew to the proportions of a city each little valley or water-course was called a tong. In time even this distinction wore off and a tong came to mean simply a small division of a town. And yet this designation is preserved in its original significance in many of the divisions of Seoul. For instance Chang-dong means “Long Valley” and applies to a single long street running up a water-course to the side of Nam-san. Whedong means “Joined Vallev”  and it is composed of two water-courses coming down from Nam-san and joining to form a single stream.

Chung-dong, in which most of the foreign legations are found, consists of a single valley, though it has somewhat overflowed these bounds. It is so named, because of Queen Chung, the wife of the founder of this dynasty whose tomb stood for a short time where the present palace stands. We often hear this neighborhood called Ching-ni-kol which is merely a corruption of the word Chung-neung-kol or Chung’s Tomb Valley. In this word the kol is the native Korean for the Chinese derivative tong (洞)

Sang-dong is the district where the present German Consulate stands. The origin of this name is a rather peculiar one.  Four hundred years ago that district was called O-gung-kol, or Five Palace District, because it contained five residences that were so large as to be almost palatial. But one of them was haunted by a fearful ghost who, in the shape of a general, armed cap-a-pie, would go riding through the gate at midnight on a fiery charger at full speed. No one dared live in the house, and it was quite deserted. One day a Mr. [page 4] Sang came up from the country to try the national examination. He was poor arid had to put up at an inferior inn, in the vicinity of this haunted house. Early in the evening he heard some men quarrelling and went out to learn the cause of it. He found them disputing as to whether there really was a ghost in the silent mansion across the way.

Mr. Sang hastened to the man who was nominally in charge of the haunted place and asked if he might sleep there. Permission was given and with his single servant he entered the silent courts and opened up one of the rooms. His servant swept it clean and made it ready for his master’s occupancy and then bolted. He did not care to experiment.

Sang sat down beside his lighted candle and began to study his characters. Midnight came and yet he did not retire. About one o’clock he heard a masterful voice at the gate shouting. “Earth-box, Earth-box, open the gate” Then from a point directly beneath where he sat came a muffled voice in answer. “You can’t come in to-night, for Prime Minister Sang is here.” Then he heard the sound of trampling feet receding in the distance and he knew that he would see no ghost that night. But why had the voice called him Prime Minister Sang? He was no prime minister. His highest ambition had never soared beyond a modest magistracy in his native province. He must know more about this curious affair, so he determined to consult the oracle himself.

“Earth-box, Earth-box.” be called out in commanding tones.

“Who is it that calls?” answered the voice from below.

“Tell me who you are and how you come to be called ‘Earth-box.’“

“Well, years ago some children who lived in this house were playing in the yard. They made a rough box of clay and placed in it a rude effigy of a man. They tore from the front gate the colored picture of the general which was placed there to frighten away spirits. With these pieces of paper they lined the earthen box and then buried the whole beneath the floor of the room where you now are. This was too good an opportunity for any wandering imp to lose, so I came in and occupied the effigy as my home. And the spirit [page 5] of the General, for the same reason, rides his phantom horse into the compound each night.”

Sang’s curiosity led him no further. He blew out the candle and lay down to sleep. In the morning he called in a carpenter and a coolie and unearthed the “Earth-box” and destroyed both it and its contents. The spell was broken and no ghost ever appeared again. Sang’s ownership of the mansion was never questioned and the whole neighborhood rejoiced that the spirits had been exorcised.

Some time after this Sang was going along the road near Mo-wha-kwan where the Independent Arch now stands. It was raining in torrents. As he passed the old arch, that is now removed, he heard a voice calling him from above. He looked up and saw an old man sitting on the very top of the gate.

“Look,” said he, “look back at your house.” Sang did so and at that instant a flash of lighting was seen to fall exactly where his house stood. He hurried back to it expecting to find it in flames but instead he found that the bolt of lightning had entered the ground in the center of his yard leaving a great hole ten feet wide and of unknown depth. This slowly filled with water and Sang stoned it up and made a well of it. This well can be seen today just beside the road leading up to the German Consulate. Most people have forgotten how this well originated but there are still old men who call it the “Lightning Well.”

When the king heard of all these wonderful doings he called in Sang and gave him a high position which eventually meant the prime-ministership. From that time the district where Sang lived was called Sang-dong.

Pak-tong is also called. Pak suk-kol or “Wide Stone Neighborhood.” This is because the street was paved with wide flat stones. These stones have since been removed or covered up, but the name still remains in part.

 Sa-dong takes its name from the fact that it was anciently the site of a celebrated monastery, so it is now called “Monastery Neighborhood.” A part of Sa-dang is called Tap-Kol or Pagoda Place.

Chan-dong or “Law Neighborhood” is so called because formerly it was the site of a medical bureau called Chon euigam or “Medical Law Office”[page 6]

Yun-dong, also called, Yun-mot-kol, as the name signifies means “Lotus Neighborhood.” A very wealthy man named Yang once lived there and he had a large and beautiful lotus pond which eventually gave the name to the neighborhood.

 Chu dong, or Chu-ja-gol, “Type Neighborhood,” received its name from the fact that this was the place where the makers of wooden printing type lived.

P’il-dong means “Brush-pen Neighborhood’’ because that was the place where the pen making industry was carried on. Meuk-tong, or Muk-chu-gol. meaning “Ink Neighborhood.” The meuk is the Chinese sound while the muk is the Korean sound. It is a curious case of the double pronunciation of a Chinese character. Of course the Korean muk came from the Chinese meuk but why the same neighborhood should be called Meuk-tong and Muk chu gol is a curiosity.  The story goes that in that neighborhood lived a man who could write Chinese characters very finely. He used a piece of linen (chu) to write on instead of paper, and after writing he would wash the linen out, as one would wash a slate. So the stream running by his house was always dyed black with the ink; hence the name.

Sa-dong (differing from the “Monastery Neighborhood,” Sa-dong, in that the a in the latter is short while in the former it is long) or Sa-jik-kol, “Land-spirit-altar Neighborhood,” is so named because of the altar which is situated there.

Eun-hang-dong or “Ginko Neighborhood takes its name from an enormous ginko tree which used to grow there, but has since been destroyed.

Yuk-kak-tong means “Six-corner-house Neighborhood.” Formerly a prince had a palace there whose roof was so constructed that it was called six-cornered. This does not mean hexagonal, but a particular description would take us too far into the technicalities of Korean architecture.

Won-dong, “Garden Neighborhood,” takes its name from the fact that near that place is a royal garden or Won.

Kyo-dong was originally called Hyang-kyo-gol which means “Country School Neighborhood.” This was its name during Koryu days, but after this dynasty began and Han Yang was no more “Country” but “Capital,” the name was retained in part, the “Country” being dropped. [page 7]

At the time when the great political parties arose in Korea, about 1550 A. D., there were but two parties, the Tong-in, and the Su-in, “East men” and “West men,” Each faction dug a lotus pond for itself, a Yun-mot. The “East men” had theirs in the present Yun-dong and the “West men” had theirs outside the West gate aboat half way to the arch. Both these ponds still exist. It is said that the waters of these ponds would rise and fall in unison with the fortunes of their respective sides. When the “East men” were in power their pond would be full and the other one nearly empty; and vicc versa. Later the Nam-in or “South men” party had a pond outside the South gate and the Puk-in or “North men” party had one somewhere, but its exact position we do not know.

Cha-kol “Purification Neighborhood,” is not so called from the special abstemiousness of its’ denizens but because in former times it was a favorite haunt of Mudang or female fortune-tellers. These were often called upon to offer prayers for the dead, a thing that is done today only by Buddhist monks. This act is called 재올닌다 and is used only in reference to petitions for the dead. The base of this word is 재 or cha which is defined as purification as by fasting. This was in preparation for the act of worship. So the neighborhood was called Cha-dong.

T’a-.pyung-dong, just inside the south gate, is so called because it was the site of a reception hall where Chinese ambassadors were entertained; the hall being called T’a-pyung gwan or “Great Peaceful Hall”

Ku-bok-kol or “Tortoise Neighborhood.” In Koryu days a great monastery stood here. In the inclosure stood the stone figure of a dog. It was not called a dog, for a dog is a low-grade animal, but it was called a tortoise, as a euphemism. This stone figure still stands there and forms one of the oldest relics to be found in Seoul.

Sang-Sa-dang-gol= “Life Tablet-house Neighborhood.” When the Chinese generals Yi Yu-song and Yang Ho came to Korea and helped Korea overcome the Japanese at the time of the great invasion in 1592, the Koreans secured portraits of these two men and placed them in a shrine. This is customary only after the death of the person to be honored. [page 8] But in this exceptional case it was done while the generals were still living. For this reason it is called the “Life Tablet-house” or “Still Living Tablet-house.” A stone tablet was also erected. Both the tablet house and the stone are still to be seen in Sang-sa-dang-gol.

[page 8]

Review.

Korean Folk Tales.

The current number of the Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society contains a paper by Prof. H. B. Hulbert, F. R. G. S., on Korean Folk Tales, which is of permanent value. In this department of scientific study in Korea Prof. Hulbert is an acknowledged authority and in this paper he has presented us with a vast fund of information concerning the common folk-lore of the Korean people. Our only regret is that the necessary limits to his paper compelled him to pass by with only a reference, in places, to some of the treasures which lie hid in this inviting field of investigation

As an introduction to the subject Prof. Hulbert indicates the scope of folk-lore and its position in Korea. He then gives us the following classification of Korean folk-tales, viz.: Confucian, Buddhistic, Shamanistic, legendary, mythical and general. This classification is an accurate and acceptable one and fairly covers the subject. It recognises the existence of the two schools of scholarship in Korea, Confucian and Buddhist, and we are given a very interesting account of the antagonisms and conflicts which have marked their history.

Following this general introduction comes an interesting characterization of the romance literature of Korea. To one familiar with this literature the force of the remark that “while these stories are many in number they are built on a surprisingly small number of models,” is apparent. But this lack of variety in plot and movement in tales of fiction is a feature of all literatures in their infancy. [page 9]

In dealing with the Shamanistic class of folk-tale, each paragraph of the paper before us is only an index to a whole chapter of very interesting and valuable material. Innumerable stories of the Fox-woman, Br’er Rabbit, Old Man Frog, and the Pheasant, are floating about, replete with accounts of local life, customs and superstitions; many of them pointed sharply with a very apparent moral.

Prof. Hulbert tells us that there is a great difference between occidental and oriental myths. “Greek mythology is telescopic; the Korean is microscopic.” This is very true and yet I think it will be admitted that one is as valuable, in the final analysis, as the other. Does it not require as strong an exercise of fancy to invent a reason to explain why bedbugs are flat, and sparrows leap, and magpies strut; for the small waist of the ant, the black spot on the louse, the eyeless worm and the side-gait of the crab, as it does to explain solar phenomena by the myth of Phoebus Apollo or to imagine the cirrus clouds to be flocks of sheep in the sky?  Possibly it is only a question of environment and the projection of fancy, rather than a question of the power of fancy. The Greek with his outdoor pastoral life became familiar with sun and moon and cirrus clouds – the telescopic world; while the Korean in his more confined and indoor life had his fancy drawn out to the familiar scenes of such life, bugs, etc., or as the reader has so happily expressed it – the microscopic world.  But after all, Phoebus Apollo and “heavenly flocks of sheep” carry us into the domain of Greek poetry, and when we turn from pure folk-lore into the world of Korean poetry we find the fancy soaring into a more attractive world. Instead of the side-gaited muddy crab, we have the lordly flight of the wild goose: instead of the narrow-waisted ant and the black spotted louse we have the rainbow-colored butterfly dancing amid a wild rout of flowers.

In conclusion it may be well to note that only a portion of the mass of stories to which Prof. Hulbert points are published. Many of them are still preserved only in the manuscript works of famous literati, while a much larger number of them are handed down from generation to generation by oral tradition. The Royal Asiatic Society will do a valuable work in inducing students to gather up from the con-[page 10] versation of their Korean friends as many of these stories as possible.

We are grateful to Prof. Hulbert for this very valuable contribution to our knowledge of things Korean. Written in faultless style, the paper is progressive in its handling of the theme, and maintains the interest of all who read it from start to finish.

Geo. HEBER. Jones.

“All’s Well that Ends Well.”

The only true and reliable account of the origin of the An-ju branch of the great Kim family in Korea! It began in penury and ended in oppulence; it began in obscurity and ended in the white light of Royal favor.

Kim of An-ju, some centuries ago, was “only great in that strange spell—a name” and even that name was in evidence mainly on pawn-tickets.  Finally things got so bad that he was driven to that (shall we say last?) resort of the indigent Korean gentleman, the I. O. U. As he had never done things by halves, except to half starve, he went to a distant relative in a near-by town, or a near relative in a distant town, it matters not, and asked him if he had a matter of ten thousand cash about him. Now ten thousand cash in those days was equal to ten million in these degenerate times. The size of the request fairly staggered the relative, but it was made so blandly and with such infantile certainty of an affirmative answer that he had not the heart to say no. So Kim departed with a pony-load of the wherewithal.

As he was approaching the ferry by which he had to cross the Nak-tong River and looked down upon the valley from the top of the hill, he saw two persons on the bank of the river acting in the most unaccountable manner. One was a man and the other a woman. First the man would rush toward the water’s edge as if to cast himself in, but the woman would run after him and catch him by the skirts of his turumagi and pull him back. Then after a little blind pantomime (for Kim was too far away to hear the colloquy) the [page 11] woman would try to throw herself in, only to be rescued by the man.

Kim’s curiosity impelled him to the river’s bank, where he inquired what it was all about. It appeared that the man was an ajun or yamen-runner of the neighboring prefecture, suddenly called upon to render his accounts. Was not this enough to daunt the soul of almost any ajun? He was in arrears ten thousand cash and was trying to end his life by suicide, but his wife seemed to have other plans for him. Having dragged him from the brink she would threaten to commit suicide herself if he did not desist, and then he would have to drag her from the brink.

The reader will instantly surmise that Kim handed over his money to the grateful pair; for, unlike Newton’s (or some one else’s) law of gravitation, Korean altruism in fiction varies directly with the square of the distance—from the fact. They thanked him profusely and begged to know his name. He said it was Kim, but where he lived he would not tell.

So home he went and worried along as before. About this time he used to receive visits from a mysterious guest, it was a monk, who would tell nothing about himself, but who would come at night and sit till the small hours of the morning talking to Kim. This created something of a scandal but Kim was such a good Confucianist that people supposed he was immune to Buddhist heresy.

His hour came, and calling his son he said, “I am about to die. Do not inter my body until you have inquired of the hermit monk where my body should rest. He will show you a propitious place. This is the word he left with me when last we met.” Then Kim turned to the wall and died.

In obedience to his command the son shouldered the body and tramped northward over the mountains to the town of Yang-geun where the hermit was said to live. High up on a mountain he found the recluse sitting in holy meditation. He greeted the son impassively and pointed far down the valley to where the roof of a magnificent building appeared above the tree tops.

“Your father must be buried on the site of that edifice.” The astonished young man carefully deposited his burden on the ground, wiped his brow and heaved a sigh of despair. It [page 12] was hard enough to bring that burden all the way from An-ju without being told that he would have to buy a magnificent building and tear it down before he could lay has father’s ashes to rest. The hermit had been mocking him No? Then how was the impossible to be accomplished.

 The hermit motioned him to follow, leaving the body on the ground. Night was falling and by the time they reached the high wall of the yard which surrounded the building, it was quite dark.

“Now get on my back and look over the wall. It may be something will come of  it.” The voung man had no sooner gotten his face even with the top than the hermit grave him a mighty heave which threw him completely over the wall and landed him in a mass of shrubbery. Something had “come of it” with a vengeance. He would now be caught for a thief and beaten, perhaps to death. So he lay still a while trying to think of some plan of escape.

As he lay there he saw a woman emerge from the building and ascend a sort of altar made of handsomely carved stone.  She knealt and began to pray that she might find the man who had been so good to her and her husband. His name was Kim and he lived near An-ju. At this the young man sat up in wonder. He had heard his father tell the story often and he began to see some light through the dark methods of the hermit.

Just then one of the house guards spied him. He was seized and bound. They dragged him before the master of the house.

“Who are you, and what do you here?”

“I am a Kim of An-ju and I have brought my father’s body to bury it in Yang-geun.”

“Kim of An-ju! Is there more than one family of Kims then?”

“No we are the only one.”

“At last our search is finished. And so your father is dead, Let us go and see his face.”

They went together at dead of night and found the Hermit quietly sitting by the body. It was the face they sought. They told the young man that since that kind act of his father [page 13] they had prospered and that they had laid aside half of all their gains for him and his heirs.

So the grave was dug on the site of that house and Kim’s son reaped a rich reward for his father’s former kindness. And many a Kim today points back to that humble thatched cottage in An-ju and says with pride;—

“I am an An-ju Kim.”

A Leaf from Korean Astrology.

Third Part.

The next division of the book which we are discussing deals with the methods of driving out the imps of sickness from the human body. 

Now the human body is subject to two kinds of disease, one of which is natural and can be cured by medicine, and the other occult and caused by the presence of an evil spirit. In their ignorance men have tried to cure both kinds by medicine, but this is foolish. The Hermit Chang laid down the rules for exorcising the evil spirits of disease, and he wisely said that if the exorcism did not succeed it was a sign that the disease was one to be cured by medicine!

Different diseases are likely to break out on special days of the month, and this division of the book tells what diseases may be expected on certain days, and which spirit is the cause. Whichever one it is, the work must be begun by writing the name of the imp on a piece of paper, together with the point of the compass from which he comes, wrapping five cash in this paper and throwing that whole to the imp.

If the disease comes on the 1st, 3rd, 4^th, 5^th, 8^th, 16^th, 17^th, 19^th, 21^st, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 27th, or 30th of the moon, yellow paper must be used in exorcising the imp. On any other day white paper is to be used.

Then follows a table of the diseases which maybe expected on the different days of the moon.

First day. The South-east, “wood” imp, which was formerly the spirit of a man who died by accident away from [page 14] home, controls this day. There will be headache, chills, loss of appetite. The cash wrapped in paper must be taken forty paces toward the south-east and thrown.

Second day. The South-east imp, formerly the spirit of an aged female relative Controls this day. Headache, nausea, fever, weakness. Go thirty paces south-east and throw the paper.

Third day. The North imp, formerly the spirit of a relative who lived in the north. Headache, chills, great discomfort, loss of appetite. Go twenty paces north and throw the paper.

Fourth day. The North-east imp, formerly the spirit of a man who came to visit at the house. Headache, nausea, body “heavy.” Go fifty paces north-east and throw the paper.

Fifth day. North-east imp, from some walled town to the north east. Nausea, chills. Go fifty paces north-east and cast the paper.

Sixth day. East “wood” imp, formerly the spirit of a yellow-headed man. Body heavy, aching all over, the mind clouded. Go forty paces east and cast the paper.

Seventh day. Southeast, “earth “ imp, formerly an aged man. Chills, nausea, legs and arms “heavy.” Go thirty paces south-east and throw the paper.

Eighth day. North-east, “earth” spirit, formerly the spirit of a woman. Knees ache, chills, weakness. Go northeast twenty paces and cast the paper.

 Ninth day. South imp, formerly the spirit of a female relative. Nausea, weakness, whole body in pain. Go thirty paces south and throw the paper.

Tenth day. East imp, formerly the spirit of a man who died away from home. Fever, chills, head-ache, body and limbs aching, mind clouded. Go east forty paces and throw paper.

Eleventh day. North imp, formerly spirit of an injured woman. Acidity of stomach, no appetite. Go north forty paces and throw paper.

Twelfth day. North-east imp, false spirit, counterfeit spirit. Nausea, fever, hands and feet cold. Go northeast thirty paces and throw paper. [page 15]

Thirteenth day. Northeast imp, formerly spirit of a young man. Indigestion, dysentery, loss of appetite. Go north-east fifty paces and throw paper.

Fourteenth day. East “house.” imp. Indigestion, hands and feet cold, no appetite. Go east thirty paces and throw paper.

Fifteenth day. South imp, “water and fire” spirit. Fever, chills, nausea, loss of appetite. Go south thirty paces and throw paper.

This will show the general style of exorcism, in which we find that indigestion or dyspepsia is in every case the underlying evil, and that a good dose of castor-oil would “exorcise” it without difficulty. For the 16th, is a S. W. imp, spirit of a relative 17th, West imp, spirit of young woman; 18th. S. W. imp, spirit of a poisoned man;  19th, N. W. imp, spirit of injured woman; 20th, N. E. imp, “house” spirit; 21st, N. E. imp, spirit of young relative; 22nd, N, E. imp, house spirit; 23rd, South imp, spirit of man who died away from house, diagnosis insomnia; 24th, S. W. imp, spirit of a matricide; 25th, West imp, “gold” spirit, an aged imp; 26th N. W. imp, spirit of a portrait painter’s house, diagnosis vertigo; 27th, East imp, spirit of a man who died by drowning; 28th, North imp, spirit of dead girl; 29th, S. E. imp, “Earth” spirit; 30th. East imp, “mountain” spirit, of a young man.

In summing up this division we see first that it is of Buddhist origin, having been given by a Buddhist hermit; second that the imps are all spirits of people or animals that have died; third that very commonly it is the spirit of a dead relative, showing how this subject and that of geomancy are connected, since the health and happiness of an entire clan may depend upon whether a member of the clan is properly buried or not; fourth that the hermit was wise in confining himself to diseases that pass away of themselves in a day or so if nature is allowed to do its work!

 The next division of the book deals with another method of curing disease, if the method given in the last section is unsuccessful. It is done by consulting the Yuk-kap (六甲) or cycle of sixty years, which is supposed to form the limit of an  ordinary life-time. Each year is represented by two characters. The first of the two characters is called kan (干) [page 16] or stem, and the second of the two is called chi (支). There are ten of the kan repeated in order six times and twelve of the chi repeated five times, thus making sixty combinations.

If a man follows the directions for the days of the month and still does not recover, he must then consult the ten kan and if he still is ill he must consult the twelve chi. Now not only are the years designated by the Yuk-kap, but the months, the days of the month and the hours of the day are also designated by it. As there are sixty names in the cycle and only twelve mouths in a year it takes about five years to cover a full cycle of months, though the intercallary month causes a discrepancy. As there are thirty days in some months and twenty-nine in others it takes about two months to fill one day cycle, but the irregularity in the number of days in a month causes a discrepancy. As there are twelve hours in a day according to Korean count, it takes five days to fill a full hour cycle. A man does not consult the month or hour cycle, but only the day cycle. It is always done at night. The ten kan are甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 已,庚,辛. 壬, 癸, and the twelve chi are 子, 丑, 寅,卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未.申,酉,戌,and 亥.

It the disease begins on the 甲 or 乙 (Kap or Eul), day it is caused by the imp Keui-ch’un-po.* Wrap eight cash in blue paper, go forty-nine paces east, call the imp’s name three times and throw the paper toward the east.

庚 or 辛, Kyung or Sin, day’s illness is caused by the imp Mang-bun-ch’u. Wrap nine cash in white paper, call imp’s name four times. Go west thirteen paces and throw the paper.

壬 or 癸 Im or Kye, day’s illness is caused by the imp Eui-mu-sang, Wrap six cash in red paper, call imp’s name once, go north eighteen paces and throw the paper.

This finishes the ten Kan, since they are taken in pairs. Then we take up the twelve Chi which are to be consulted if the preceding treatment has not proved effective. This is done as follows:

子, Cha, day’s illness breaks out because some one has

* As the native character only is given we cannot translate this. It evidently is composed of Chinese words. [page 17]

come to the house from the north or, because the south-east corner of the house has been repaired. The imp’s name is Ch’un juk. Make four bowls of gluten rice, add salt and sauce, prepare one cup of wine, draw the picture of four horses on a piece of paper, go north nineteen paces, call the imp’s name three times, and throw, the food, wine and paper to the north.

丑, Ch’uk, day’s illness comes because, although the man has lately moved his residence in a propitious direction,* he has repaired it on the west side, and so the spirit of New Year’s Eve has punished him. Or it may be because money or food has been brought to the house from the east. The imp’s name is Ch’un-gang. Make seven bowls of gluten rice, add salt and sauce; prepare one cup of wine, draw a picture of seven horses on a piece of paper, go west ten paces, call the imp’s name three times, and throw the rice, wine and paper.

寅; In, day’s sickness arises because, though he has moved his place of living in a good direction, something has been brought from the south-east. Or it may be because wood from a very old tree has been brought to the kitchen and thus offended the kitchen spirit. The imp’s name is Tong-noe. Prepare seven bowls of millet, salt and sauce, one cup of wine, seven horses on a piece of paper, go north forty-nine paces and call the imp three times and throw the food, wine and paper.

This is continued through the twelve different chi, but as they are all nearly alike we need not give them in detail. Some of the other causes for disease are worth mentioning, namely the mending of a well to the south, the bringing of different colored cloth, the mending of a gate, the mending of a stable or kitchen. The different kinds of food presented or thrown, to the spirit are gluten rice, millet, sorghum and white rice. In every case the picture of horses on the paper is essential.

The next division of the book tells us briefly what are the fortunate directions in different years. For instance in im-in year the N. W. by. W. direction; and if a man wishes, for

* There are special times and special directions only in which a man can move [page 18]

instance, to move in the year he must buy a house N. W. by W. of his present dwelling.

Then we are told what evil spirits dominate particular months of the year. For instance the first, fifth and ninth moons are haunted by the N. N. E. imp, the second, sixth and tenth moons by the N. W. by W. imp, the third, seventh and eleventh moons by S. S. W. imp, the fourth, eighth and twelfth moons by the S. E. by E, imp.

Then follows a description of the Sam-cha (三 災) or three calamities.

The way to evade these misfortunes is rather complicated. On the morning of each birthday, when the calamity is due to arrive, the man must sweep his yard, spread a mat on the ground, place on a table three bowls of white rice, three plates of gluten rice bread, three cups of pure wine, bow nine times, spread three sheets of thick white paper over another table, wrap in each sheet one measure of white rice, hang them all over the room door. Three years later this rice must be taken down, cooked and cast away for the spirit. Also during the first moon of the year when calamity is scheduled to arrive he must draw the picture of three hawks and paste them up in his room with their bills all pointing toward the door. When the year of respite from calamity comes he must pull these pictures down.

From Fusan to Wonsan by Pack-pony.

Second Paper.

Before leaving Taiku we received a gracious call from the Governor of the Province. It was a surprise to us and a little embarrassing for had we known that he was to call we would have paid him our respects first. However he carried it off in a most genial way and impressed us all as a genuine gentleman. His unexpected visit took our hostess so much by surprise that she had nothing ready, suitable to offer him to eat. There was only a pudding in the larder that would [page 19] be presentable. This was produced and was discussed with evident satisfaction by the Governor who, while doubtless up to the business of governing, is not up to the etiquette of the western afternoon tea. What difference when he and we all, enjoyed it? Before leaving we returned his call and had the pleasure of leaving at his office a copy of the New Testament in the native character.

We made a late start at nine o’clock Monday morning, our next objective being the ancient city of Kyong-ju, founded in the days of Julius Caesar. We had exchanged our horses for others, from Seoul, They were smaller than the ones we had used but equally efficient. Coming up from Fusan we had paid twenty-six cents, Korean money, for each ten li, per horse. Now a similar service was contracted for at twenty cents per ten li.

Our road lay due east. It was not so wide as the main road up from Fusan had been. The country assumed a more mountainous aspect and the valleys we traversed were narrower. We made only seventy li that day, over a road which had lately been badly infested with robbers; in fact the following morning we were told by a native Christian that his house had been attacked that very night, but he had succeeded in defending it. That morning we came to an important junction, where roads from Seoul, Taiku and Kyong-ju meet. It is a great market place. A short time before we passed, the robbers had seized this place and mulcted every one who passed, and taxed or confiscated all goods.

In the middle of the afternoon we saw the first signs of our approach to Kyong-ju. We were on a broad plain, twenty-five li from the city. To our right a few hundred yards away we saw a series of high mounds standing in the open plain. They were thirty-four in number and although there is no particular order in their arrangement we noticed that they diminished in size from west to east, a distance of half a mile. The largest must have been about fifty feet high. The story goes that when a Chinese Emperor ordered the king of Silla to send him the magic “golden measure,” the king had these mounds built, and under one of them hid the sacred heirloom of the realm. One of the mounds seemed to be double, and from a few of them solitary but full-grown trees were growing. [page 20]

Turning again toward Kyong-ju we saw straight ahead of us the mountains from which is mined the crystal for which Kyong-ju is famous and much of which is cut and finished in that town.

At sunset we approached the city which lies in a long narrow valley quite destitute of trees. We crossed the little stream which flows down this valley from north to south. It could easily be forded except in the rainy season, but we crossed by a bridge and approached the south gate of town. The wall which is about twelve feet high presents a curious appearance on account of the enormous stones of which it is in part built. These, at some former period, must have formed the foundations of great palaces or public buildings in the days of Silla’s greatness but are now found in the walls alongside of much smaller stones which fill in the interstices. The city stands about half a mile square and almost all the private buildings are thatched. There is a considerable suburban population stretching along down the valley for the better part of a mile. The main streets are about twenty feet wide and very winding. The city boasts of no long, straight street like the Great Bell street of Seoul.

Just within the gate, and to one side, we saw the site of what must have been a very large building. All that remain are the huge stone bases of the pillars which upheld the roof. There is a row of seven or eight of these stones just appearing above the surface of the ground. Near these there stands a stone pedestal that may have once held a sun-dial. Toward the center of the city are the ruins of the ancient palaces, a few remnants of which arrest the attention. The place is overgrown with enormous trees and of course no one is allowed to build there. Though the entire space within the walls is not filled with houses the latter are crowded close together. Outside the south gate the suburbs of which we spoke extend down the valley to the great bell which hangs in a pavilion by itself, now some distance from the town. We do not know whether this was formerly included within the limits of the city, but it seems probable. The bell itself, which is above ten feet high, is in good condition, though the Chinese characters on it are badly worn and nearly undecipherable. We went under the bell and looked up into its huge dome. Tapping [page 21] it with the handle of a pocket-knife a beautifully clear sound was produced. To me this bell seemed much larger than the one in Seoul. It is tolled every day and it gives forth a rich deep tone, worthy or its ancient lineage. Twelve hundred years have not impaired its voice though now it speaks only to a provincial town instead of to the proud capital of a kingdom which in its prime was possessed of no mean civilization even when compared with most of the European powers of that day.

Near the bell are five or six high mounds that are called the Phoenix eggs. The story goes that when Silla was waning and the soothsayers declared that a Phoenix bird, the guardian of the city, was about to fly away, an attempt was made to keep it from going by making these mounds to resemble eggs and so give the bird domestic reasons for reconsidering her decision. The inducement was hardly sufficient it seems, for Silla soon after fell into the hands of Koryu. These egg mounds are now overgrown with trees. Back of these, to the south and east are the enormous mounds which mark the tombs of the Kings of Silla. These mounds were nearly if not quite seventy-five feet high and so steep that their grassy sides could not be scaled except where a path leads up to the top. We ascended one of them and saw a great number of others stretching away to the south. There are some thirty-six or seven in all. From the top we looked away to the south-east and in the distance saw the “astrologers’ tower.” a circular stone edifice perhaps twenty-feet high at present. It is supposed to have been formerly an astronomical or astrological observatory. Each one of these kings’ graves has its clan name. The commonest are the names Kim and Pak. for most of the Kings of Silla were from one or other of these two families. If the time should ever come when it would be possible to examine the contents of one of these mounds much light would probably be cast upon the civilization of ancient Silla, but of course any attempt at excavation would result in an immediate riot. Only a part of the kings of Silla were interred; the rest were cremated and their ashes were thrown into the Japan Sea, to the east.

We spent Sunday in Kyong-ju, my companion, Mr. A. preaching to a little group of native Christians in a neat chapel [page 22] outside the South gate. Meanwhile our horsemen seized the opportunity to get their horses shod!

Early Monday morning we started out, crossing the city and going out the East gate, where we found considerable suburbs. At a point about two miles outside the gate we saw to our left, half a mile away near the hills, a large pagoda the top of which had fallen, but apparently four or five stories still remain.

Our general direction was north-east and after making one hundred li we came out upon the shore of the loud-sounding sea Kyong-ju is only about forty li from the sea by the nearest road, but we had approached it an angle, which made it further. We found a beautiful sandy beach on which the tide rises only a couple of feet. Here was the magistracy of Chung-ha the magisterial buildings standing back somewhat from the shore, which was occupied by a thriving fishing-village.

We were now to begin a long journey along the eastern coast of Korea northward to Wonsan. It will be well to preface the account of it by saying that the main water-shed of Korea lies near the eastern coast and consequently the roads are sure to be a succession of passes. It is constantly up and down, with tiresome iteration. The proximity of the watershed precludes the possibility of any considerable streams. There is hardly one, all the way to Wonsan, that cannot be easily forded. Eastern Korea presents a very different appearance from the western part of the peninsula. One would imagine that it would be much better timbered, but as a fact there are still fewer trees there than on the more thickly populated western coast.

Editorial Comment.

There can be nothing but regret in being compelled to record difficulties between different branches of the Christian Church in this or any other land. We have been silent in regard to them for many months but they have reached such a pass that further silence would be a failure of our duty to [page 23] the public, which has a right to expect information on all really important points. We have no comment whatever to make on this matter except to say that the evidence placed before us is not circumstantial but direct, documentary and under the hand and seal of those implicated. A few facts stand out prominently in regard to this trouble: (1) that the acts were really committed;  (2) that it is not definitely known whether the Roman Catholic priests in that district were cognizant of them at the time; (3) that, when the Roman Catholic authorities in Seoul were interviewed, assurance was given that the matter would be investigated; (4) that the Roman Catholic priests in the affected district have never been asked whether they would attempt to control the lawless element which has been guilty of the offences.

The Roman Catholics have confessedly adopted the policy of preventing the arrest of their adherents by the civil authorities in Whang-ha province but that the priests are cognizant of the lawless acts of some of the Roman Catholic followers cannot be believed. We could not believe it unless the most positive and irrefragable proof was adduced, and such has not yet been forthcoming. The reason why we believe this is the attitude these same priests in Whang-ha province have formerly taken in regard to such troubles. One of them is Father Wilhelm, known as Hong Sin-bu by the Koreans, and the other is a priest who is known as Kwak Sin-bu. It was only two or three years ago that Father Wilhelm in conversation with the missionary in charge of work in Whang-ha Province said in effect as follows, “Difficulties of one kind or another are almost sure to come up between our respective followings. You will hear evil things of us and we will hear evil things of you. Now the best way to do is, when trouble arises, to immediately communicate with each other and everything can be straightened out at once.” This was his attitude.

 At about the same time the other priest said to the same missionary, in effect, as follows, “Some time ago there was some trouble between our people and the Protestants. I thought the Protestants were in the wrong but when I looked into the matter I found that we were entirely in the wrong, and I was deeply impressed with the Christian forbearance of [page 24] the Protestant Christians in that case” It is impossible for us to believe that men who talk like this would give their countenance to acts that have been committed, and we fully believe that when the matter is thoroughly known steps will be immediately taken to rectify the mistake and do full justice to those who have been so very badly treated. This we fully believe: at the same time it would seem strange that foreigners cognizant with the language and living in the affected districts could be so grossly deceived by their own followers. We very much question whether the policy of resisting the civil officers will be of any benefit to any religious organization, for the Korean people are of that temperament that when they are relieved in any measure from the pressure of civil law they run to such extremes that the resulting evils are greater than those which it is intended to avoid. It has been so with every attempt at reform since the year 1880. It is rational to suppose that when the trouble broke out in Whang-ha province, if the Protestant missionaries had bent all their energies to securing a full discussion of the matter with the Roman Catholic priests the resultant evils would have been avoided. But this in no way excuses the Roman Catholics for their brutal treatment of Protestant converts. In the trial which is to be instituted in Seoul it will be interesting to see what excuse will be given for demanding money from Protestants for the building of Roman Catholic churches and for beating them nearly to death because they refused.

The events of the past month in connection with Yi Yong-ik remind us of one of the crises in the career of Richelieu the great French prelate, played in miniature. There was the same overwhelming opposition, the same momentary acquiescence of the Emperor to these demands, and the same sudden complete and startling revulsion of sentiment which brings him back on the flood tide. The main difference between the two cases is that while Richelieu recovered his preeminence through his own unaided efforts and his personal power, Yi Yong-ik did it through foreign interferance. [page 25]

News Calendar.

Serious difficulties have arisen in Whang-ha Province between Roman Catholic adherents and members of Protestant churches. These difficulties are strikingly similar to those which have been attracting so much attention in China. It is a matter of such importance to the people of Korea as a whole, as well as to the Korean Government, that it demands and must receive a thorough discussion. As will be seen, the following account is based on unimpeachable evidence, namely documents written by Roman Catholic adherents and stamped with their official seal. The originals of these, not copies of then, are in our hands and we have in them sufficient evidence to substantiate the evidence given by the Koreans, who have been the object of most remarkable treatment in the North. This evidence was collected by Rev. W. B. Hunt in person, on the spot. The facts are as follows:—

On the evening of Sept. 23rd four Roman Catholic Koreaus went to the house of a Protestant Christian, member of the Presbyterian Church, named Chung Ki-ho, and told him that the R. C. Whe-jang, or Church Leader, and five others wished to see him. He suspected foul play but feared he would be beaten unless he complied. So he went with them. Three other Christians of the town of Cha-ryung were also summoned at the same time. The meeting took place at the house of a Roman Catholic where there were six leading men and a large number of others in the court.         

These Protestant Christians were informed that the Romanists were building a church but had not enough money, and therefore the Protestant Christians should help out by giving money. Each of the four Protestants declined to contribute. Wine was brought out and offered them but they declined to drink. The leader of the six Romanists thereupon began to abuse the Protestants and threatened that he would burn down the whole end of the town where the Christians lived. Han Chi-sun the spokesman of the Christians replied that this would not be necessary; that the Romanists were in force and could simply seize the Christian’s grain and use it to build the church. Thereupon the crowd of Romanists fell upon the Christians and beat them for about half an hour, binding one of them who tried to escape. For a short time there was comparative quiet and the Christians thought they could endure what petty persecutions were attempted by the Romanists; but soon after came up the case of a Christian in a neighboring village whose grain was seized by a Romanist. He entered suit against the Romanist before the Magistrate and the latter ordered the arrest of the offender The police-man, detailed to effect the arrest was himself a Catholic and instead of [page 26] obeying the Magistrate he arrested the Christian and took him before the Romanist leaders where an attempt was made to brow-beat him out of prosecuting the man.

Thereupon three of the Christians, who had been beaten shortly before, went up to the governor at Ha-ju and laid the two cases before him. The governor sent policemen to arrest the six Romanists who had been guilty of the offence of beating four Christians for not giving money to build a Catholic church. The six men were arrested. On their way to Ha-ju in custody they were met at Pa-nim Ferry by a large body of Romanists who overpowered the policemen and set the prisoners free.

The governor had said that if his policemen were tampered with he would send down a body of soldiers to enforce bis orders, but this has not been done as yet.

A man by the name of Kim Su-nyung who is neither a Romanist nor a Protestant accompanied the party of Romanists who went to liberate the six arrested Romanists. He says that he did not hear clearly what was said to the policemen nor did be examine the papers presented but he heard the others say that the Romanist church leader at Pa-nim had come out with an official document. from Kwak Sin-bu (the French Catholic Priest) ordering the release of the prisoners and the arrest of the policemen, who were to be taken to Cha-ryung, the county-seat. It appears that there were three Priests who met in Cha-ryung and determined upon the release of the prisoners. One of the priests was Father Wilhelm, so the Koreans said.

Mr. Hunt says of these priests, “I am loth to think anything but that these men do not know what is going on here. I think it must be that they are only tools.” Rev. S. A. Moffett. D.D., of Pyeng-yang, in transmitting this evidence to the U. S Legation in Seoul remarks, “Personally I have had evidence from hundreds of Koreans which proves that many of these French priests connive at such things and are guilty of the grossest acts of injustice. The present bearing of the case this, that if the Korean government cannot stop such proceedings in one section, we shall soon have the same thing wherever a body of Romanists considers itself strong enough to drive out and destroy a group of protestants, and there will be no end to the trouble which will follow for however much we strive to have our people submit and keep the peace, many repetitions of this sort of thing will bring on an unendurable situation, and they will not submit.”

On October 20th the Romanists entered the houses of four Christians to seize them but they had concealed themselves.

Most of the Christians are business men but knowing that they cannot carry on their business without a fight they are refraining.

On October 20 one of the Christians went to the boat-landing on business, was seized by the Romanists and beaten nearly to death, until he paid 200 nyang to his captors. He however won a case before the magistrate when a Romanist sued him for a debt that he had already paid once.  Mr, Hunt says of these people: “I do not called know what day I may be called upon to witness the seizure of our Christians by the [page 27] Romanists. They are fearful, but are standing for the right against terrible odds. Physically they cannot endure it much longer. Their money gone, their means of livelihood gone and their homes and lives in constant danger is telling upon them severely.”

Together with these statements there are put in evidence four documents. The first a demand from the Romanists upon one Ch’oe Chong-sin to pay 100 nyang and upon Whang Tuk-yung to pay 50 nyang toward the erection of a Romanist church. This is signed by a Romanist leader and sealed with their official seal.

The second is a demand upon Han Chi-son for the payment of 200 nyang for the same purpose. Signed and sealed like the first.

The third is a demand upon five Christians to pay, including four that had been previously arrested and maltreated.

The fourth is a warrant for the arrest of Yi Chi-bok, stamped with the seal of the Romanist leader. In form and wording it is precisely similar to the genuine warrants issued by the government for the arrest of a suspected criminal. Under this warrant Yi Chi-bok was arrested and bound, but on the entreaty of the bystanders he was unbound and taken to another village to be tried before a Church leader. They demanded money, which he refused to pay. They stripped him and prepared to beat him but a friend in the crowd offered to pay the money if they would let the Christian go. By receiving this they virtually acknowledged that all they were after was money.

A later statement from the same source and equally attested shows that there are several different cases of oppression involved, and that with each case the Romanists have become bolder, more overbearing and more lawless, until now they are carrying things with high hand, arresting men, beating them, stopping the arrest of their own adherents, imprisoning the police and placing the whole country in fear and dread of them.

A case in evidence is that of a Protestant Christian Yi Sung-hyuk whose cow suddenly died, but not with any signs of the cattle disease. Under threat of beating the Romanists forced him to sign a guarantee that he would pay for any cattle in the place that should die of this disease, which is very infectious. Soon after this a cow died of the distemper and he was called upon to pay for it. He had not the money The Romanists then beat him till he was senseless and then left him. His wife took him to the Protestant school-house. That night he regained consciousness but the next day he was again unconscious and supposed to be dying. The village elder, himself a Romanist who had watched the beating, ordered the injured man to be carried to the village of the men who had beaten him, which is according to Korean custom. It was done, he being carried by the Romanists in a chair. This was not done at the suggestion of the Christians, but the Romanists seemed to feel that they had gone a little too far. Some days later the injured man so far recovered as to be able to return home. His wife lodged a complaint with the prefect and the man whose cow had died and for whose sake the Christian had been beaten was ordered im- [page 28] prisoned till the injured man should entirely recover. Soon after the Christians heard a rumor that they were to be arrested and they gathered at the school-house to discuss what they should do. While they were there the Romanists came in force and read off the names of men who were wanted at the Catholic church. Some were then bound and others were taken unbound. They were taken before four Romanist leaders and were ordered to pay the price of the cow and of other things as well. They refused to do it. They were then roughly treated, one of them being severely beaten and then bound and stakes put between his leg bones to pry them apart and break them, the most cruel form of torture known in Korea. The village elder interfered and begged the bound man to comply, but he still refused Thereupon the elder himself raised the money and paid it over. So the man was [page 29] released, hut the Romanist leader said that the priest had said they should repay the Protestants in kind for the indignity of having had to carry a wounded Christian in a chair: so they compelled this victim, who could scarcely stand, to carry a chair a third of a mile, the village elder supplying drinks for the Romanist crowd.

The testimony above given comes not merely from Christians but from village people, village officials, Romanists themselves, and those living among Romanists. The testimony of a village elder, himself a Romanist, is that the Christians have done nothing unlawful but that the Romanists have carried on lawless proceedings. The magistrate and governor also decided cases in this tenor but the Catholic leaders have gone to Ha-ju to brow-beat the governor into acquiescence.

On the seventh or eighth inst. the Foreign Office received from the Governor of Whang-ha Province a communication concerning this trouble, asserting that the provincial police had been prevented from performing their duties by bodies of Roman Catholics, that the police were seized, beaten and otherwise maltreated, that the Roman Catholic adherents asserted that they are not Korean citizens, that all government is in abeyance on this account and that consequently the Government should secure the removal of the foreign priests who foment these troubles, and thus secure a condition of peace again.

A second communication was sent about the fifteenth from the same source recounting the attacks, which had been made upon the Christians in that province, one stating that the situation was getting more and more critical, that the Christians were being robbed right and left and that strenuous measures must he adopted to put a stop to this-condition of anarchy.

Mr. Mirsel of Chemulpo has furnished us this notice of the earth-quake shock on the 5th inst. The day began with a heavy fall of snow which ceased at 4.00 A. M. At 6.00 A. M. observed a light earthquake. The course of the vibration was from east to west. Though light the vibration was distinctly felt. It lasted from ten to fourteen seconds. It had a long, slight, wavy motion. Weather at the time dark and overcast; heavy nimbus. Wind S. E., force 3. Barometer 767.0; thermometer —3.00. Temperature of air —4.00; Hygrometer —5-00. Nimbus 10.

H. H. Fox, Esq., of the British Consulate in Chemulpo, has been transferred to China, his place being taken by Arthur Hyde Lay, Esq.

Dr. Smith. a hunter of some reputation, came to Korea in November, very sceptical as to the existence of tigers in this country. He went south to Mokpo and in company with Korean hunters penetrated the mountains in that neighborhood and emerged therefrom with three of the beasts. As he was climbing among the rocks at one point he looked over a great boulder and saw a female tiger lying on the ground while her two cubs played about her. She appeared to be asleep. Dr. Smith drew back and got out his camera, much to the disgust of his Korean companion. He secured a good photograph of his victim and then ended her career with a couple of rifle shots. The cubs escaped.

[page 30]

From The Native Papers.

Yi Yong-ik on his arrival at Port Arthur immediately telegraphed to Saigon for 15000 bags of rice to be delivered in Chemulpo at the earliest possible date. Having received from the Emperor assurances that a strong guard would he provided for him, he returned to Chemulpo on a Russian vessel, arriving on the thirteenth inst, the same day that the rice arrived. He was there met by a guard of fifteen soldiers and came up to Seoul the same day. He visited the palace on the fourteenth and was received in audience by the Emperor. All opposition seems for the time to have been withdrawn.

The contract of Prof. N. Birnkoff, of the Imperial Russian Language School, has been renewed for a period of three years.

On Dec. 22 fifty-four Koreans took passage with their families for the Hawaiian Islands to engage in work on the sugar plantations. No contract is made with these men before leaving Korea. They are not required to promise to stay any specified length of time but in case they leave within a reasonable time they will have to pay their return passage out of their earnings. They are to work ten hours a day but not on Sundays. All children will be put in schools, as education is compulsory. The Koreans are encouraged to take their wives and families with them. Encouragement will be given them along religious lines and opportunities will be given for Christian instruction. On the whole it would seem that this is a good opportunity for work, and Koreans who go to Hawaii will learn valuable lessons. The hours of labor are short compared with those of Korean farmers or coolies, and there seems to be little doubt that they will be prosperous and contented.

It is with great regret that we note that Prof. G. R. Frampton of the Imperial English School, is suffering from an attack of small-pox. We wish him a speedy recovery.

A large Chinese silk merchant in Seoul has been issuing a sort of bank-note, or rather firm-note, as is done in China.  The denomination of these notes is 50000 cash or twenty Korean dollars. Many Koreans have handled them and some Japanese merchants as well. About the middle of the month the Foreign Office issued an order forbidding the use of these note by Koreans. The government takes the ground that no one has a right to issue notes for circulation in Korea without its consent. When the Dai Ichi Ginko came to pay over to the Finance Department the Y 150000 which the government had borrowed it was delivered in the new issue of bank-notes. The Finance Department refused to receive them but the Japanese authorities replied that as the Korean government had given permission for the issue of these notes the Finance Department should not refuse to accept them. Thereupon the Finance Department communicated with the Foreign Office saying that as the Finance Department has control of the finances of the country the Foreign Office had no right to grant the permission for the issue of the special japanese bank-notes. The Foreign Office answered, denying that it had ever given permission for the issuance.

[page 31]

There are 370 prisoners in the various prisons in Seoul.

During the past year 707 children were vaccinated by the government commission.

Korea is to have an exhibit in the Osaka Industrial Exhibition. The articles already sent for this purpose are white rice, common rice, gluten rice, early rice, late rice, red beans, green beans, black beans, horse beans, large green beans, millet, gluten millet, wheat, autumn barley, spring barley, buck-wheat, raw silk, silk and linen mixed fabrics, upland gluten rice, Job’s tears (croix lachryma) blue beans, silk fabrics, grass cloth, linen, cotton, mosquito netting, embroidered screens, bamboo pen holders, brass dinner sets, brass wash bowls, cuspidores, sacrificial sets, spoons, chopsticks, covered bowls, braziers. Censers, ash-trays, wine cups, vases, stone jars and vases, iron kettles, pipes, tobacco boxes, magnetic iron, marble, lamps, jade caskets, writing materials, stone pen holders, clouded tobacco boxes, combs, pipe stems, pens, mats, paper, ink, tables, shoes, pinenuts, dried persimmons, chestnuts, ibes, ling, dried clams, furs, seaweed, fish-roe and straw hats.

About the sixth inst, the police of Seoul arrested a robber in the city and through his confession succeeded in seizing nineteen more. They were well dressed and gentlemanly looking fellows but were desperate criminals all. Their arms were seized as well. It was an important capture and the policemen who effected it were given a reward of $40.

Kim Seung-gyu has been appointed Korean Minister to Japan.

Song Keun-su, former prime minister, died on the 30th December.

Twenty-tour men were graduated from the Government normal School on the 13th inst.

Mr. F. Rononi of the Chemulpo Customs staff. who is about to start for Italy on furlough, was one of the very first foreigners to come to Korea. He arrived in June 1883. Of the original twenty who came at that time only four remain, namely Messrs. Stripling, Laporte, Morsel and Borioni. Mr. Borioni was the first man to introduce bicycles into Korea. We learn from other sources that jinrickshas have been introduced in Chemulpo. It has always been a cause for wonder that this vehicle was introduced into Seoul before it was used in Chemulpo. In the old days when Harry’s Hotel flourished and Mr. Cooper was the magnate of Chemulpo we dimly remember that there were two superannuated rickshas in Chemulpo: and when a party of Americans arrived at that port on the glorious Fourth, 1886 and landed on the rough rocks, like the Pilgrims at Plymouth, the two ladies in the company appropriated these vehicles, though Mr. Cooper sadly shook his head. After two miles, the ladies were glad to discard the rickshas and take to pack saddles. Since then the kuruma has been little used in Chemulpo until very recently.

The premises of the native daily paper called the Cha-guk sin-mun, written  entirely in the native character, was destroyed by fire about three years ago. A wealthy Korean named Cch’ee Kang has now put $20,000 to rebuild and put the paper on a solid basis.

[page 33]

Korean History.

Two of the Korean generals ventured to offer him some advice, saying that it was now the rainy season and the roads were very bad, and that it might be well to wait until his army could move with greater ease and with better hopes of success. But he laughed and said, “I once took 3000 men and put to flight 100,000 Mongols. I care no more for these Japanese than I do for mosquitoes or ants.” And so his troops floundered on through the mud until they stood before P’yung-yang on the nineteenth of the eighth moon. And lo! the gates were wide open. The Chinese troops marched straight up through the town to the governor’s residence, firing their guns and calling on the enemy to appear. But not a Japanese was to be seen. When the whole of the Chinese force had entered the city and the streets were full, the Japanese, who lay hidden in every house, poured a sudden and destructive fire into their ranks. The Chinese, huddled together in small companies were shot down like rabbits. Gen. Sa Yu, the second in command of the Chinese, was killed and the boastful Gen. Cho Seung-hun mounted his horse and fled the city, followed by as many of his soldiers as could extricate themselves. Rain began to fall and the roads were deep with mud. The Japanese followed the fugitives, and the valley was strewed with the bodies of the slain. Out of 5000 men who entered the city only two thousand escaped. Gen. Cho fled two hundred li to An-ju before he stopped. He there gave out that as there had been much rain and the roads were heavy he was at a disadvantage in attacking, and when his second Gen Sa Yu, fell he saw that nothing could be done, and so had ordered a retreat.

 And now a new element in this seething caldron of war rose to the surface. It was an independent movement on the part of the Buddhist monks throughout the country. Hyu Chung, known throughout the eight provinces as “The great[page 34] teacher of So-san,” was a man of great natural ability as well as of great learning. His pupils were numbered by the thousands and were found in every province. He called together two thousand of them and appeared before the king at Eui-ju and said, ‘‘We are of the common people but we are all the king’s servants and two thousand of us have come to die for Your Majesty.” The king was much pleased by this demonstration of loyalty and made Hyu Chung a Priest General, and told him to go into camp at Pup-heung Monastery. He did so, and from that point sent out a call to all the monasteries in the land. In Chul-la Province was a warrior monk Ch’oe Yung, and at Diamond Mountain another named Yu Chung. These came with over a thousand followers and went into camp a few miles to the east of P’yung-yang. They had no intention of engaging in actual battle but they acted as spies, took charge of the commissariat and made themselves generally useful. During battle they stood behind the troops and shouted encouragement. Yu Chung, trusting to his priestly garb, went into P’yung-yang to see the Japanese generals. Being ushered into the presence of Kato who had now joined the main army after his detour into Ham-gyung Province, the monk found himself surrounded by flashing weapons. But he was not in the least daunted, and looked about him with a smiling face. Kato addressed him good-naturedly and asked, “What do you consider the greatest treasure in your land?” Without a moment’s hesitation the monk answered “Your head,” which piece of subtle flattery made the Japanese general laugh long and loud.

Besides these there were other movements of a loyal nature throughout the country. At Wha-sun in Chul-la Province there was a little band of men under Ch’oe Kyung-whe whose banner represented a falcon in flight. Also in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province a celebrated scholar Cho Hon collected a large band of men, but his efforts were frustrated by the cowardice and jealousy of the governor of the province who imprisoned the parents of many of his followers and so compelled them to desert.

Yi Wun-ik, the governor of P’yung-an Province and Yi Pin, one of the provincial generals, made a fortified camp at Sun-an, sixty li to the west of P’yung-yang. At the same [page 35] time generals Kim Eung-Su and Pak Myung-hyun, with a force of 10,000 men, made a line of fortified camps along the west side of the town of P’yung-yang. Kim Ok-ch’u with a naval force guarded the ford of the Ta-dong. These forces advanced simultaneously and attacked the Japanese, cutting off all stragglers. Suddenly the Japanese army made a sally from the city and the Koreans were dispersed. When they again rendezvoused at their respective camps it was found that Gen. Kim Eung-su and his troops were nowhere to be found. As it happened he was very near the wall of the town when the sortie occurred and he was cut off from retreat. But in the dusk of approaching night he was not discovered by the Japanese. A story is told of a curious adventure which he had that night. One of the Japanese generals in the town had found a beautiful dancing girl and had compelled her to share his quarters. On this eventful evening she asked him to let her go to the wall and see if she could find some one who would carry a message to her brother. Permission was given and she hastened to the wall and there called softly, “Where is my brother?” Gen. Kim, as we have seen was immediately beneath the wall and he answered, “Who is it that calls?” “Will you not help me escape from the Japanese,” she pleaded. He immediately consented to help her and, taking his life in his hands, he speedily scaled the wall and accompanied her toward the Japanese general’s quarters. Her captor was a terrible creature, so the story goes, who always slept sitting bolt upright at a table with his eyes wide open and holding a long sword in each hand. His face was fiery red. Gen. Kim, conducted by the dancing girl, came upon him unawares and smote off his head at a stroke, but even after the head fell the terrible figure rose and hurled one of the swords with such tremendous force that it struck through one of the house-posts. The Korean general concealed the head beneath his garments and fled, with the girl at his heels. But now for the first time he seemed to become aware of the extreme hazard of his position and fearing that he would not be able to get by the guard, if accompanied by the girl, his gallantry suddenly forsook him and he turned and smote off her head as well. Thus unencumbered lie succeeded in making his escape. [page 36]

We must here digress again to describe the final conflict that put an end to Japanese advances in the province of Chul-la. A general, Cho Hon, in company with a monk warrior, Yung Kyn, advanced on the important town of Ch’ung-ju, then occupied by a strong Japanese garrison. They approached the west gate and stormed it with stones and arrows. In a short time the Japanese were compelled to retire and the Koreans began to swarm into the town, vowing to make a complete slaughter of the hated enemy, but at that moment a severe thunder shower arose and the darkness was intense. So Gen. Cho recalled his troops and encamped outside the gate. That night the Japanese burned their dead and fled out the north gate, and when Gen. Cho led his troops into the city the next day he scored only an empty triumph. He desired to push forward to the place were the king had found refuge, and to that end he advanced as far north as On-yang in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province: but learning there that a strong body of Japanese had congregated at Yo-san in Chul-la Province, he turned back to attack them. He made an arrangement by letter with Kwun Yul. the provincial general of Chul-la, to make a simultaneous attack upon the Japanese position from different sides. But when Gen. Cho arrived before the Japanese camp with his little band of 700 men Gen. Kwun was nowhere to be found. The Japanese laughed when they saw this little array and came on to the attack, but were each time driven back.  But at last the Koreans had spent all their arrows, it was late in the day and they were fatigued and half famished. Gen. Cho, however, had no thought of retreat and kept urging on his men. If he had at this crisis withdrawn his remaining soldiers, the victory would virtually have been his for the Japanese had lost many more men than he; but. he was too stubborn to give an inch. The Japanese came on to a last grand charge. Gen. Cho’s aides advised him to withdraw but he peremptorily refused. At last every weapon was gone and the men fought with their bare fists, falling where they stood. The slain of the Japanese outnumbered those of the Koreans and although they were victorious their victory crippled them. It took the survivors four days to burn their dead and when it was done they broke camp and went southward; the Japanese never regained the ground lost by [page 37] this retreat and it was a sample of what must occur throughout the peninsula, since Admiral Yi had rendered reinforcement from Japan impossible.

We return now to the north, the real scene of war. In the ninth moon the Chinese general, Sim Yu-gyung, whose name will figure largely in these annals from this point on, was sent from China to investigate the condition of affairs in Korea with a view to the sending of a large Chinese force, for by this time China had become alive to the interests at stake, namely her own interests. This general crossed the Ya-lu and came southward by An-ju as far as Sun-an. From that point he sent a communication to the Japanese in P’yung-yang saying, “I have come by order of the Emperor of China to inquire what Korea has done to merit such treatment as this at your hands. You are trampling Korea under foot and we would know why” The Japanese general, Konishi, answered this by requesting that the Chinese general meet him at Kangbok Mountain ten li north of P’yung-yang, and have a conference with him. To this Gen. Sim agreed and, taking with him three followers, he repaired to the appointed place. Konishi, accompanied by Kuroda and Gensho came to the rendezvous with a great array of soldiers and weapons, Gen. Sim walked into their midst alone, having left his horse outside the enclosure. He immediately addressed them as follows; “I brought with me a million soldiers and left them in camp beyond the Ya-la. You, Gensho, are a monk. Why do you come to kill and destroy?” Gensho answered, “Many a year Japan has had no dealings with China. We asked from Korea a safe conduct for our envoy to Nanking but it was refused and we were compelled to come and take it by force. What cause have you to blame us for this?” To this Gen. Sim replied, “If you wish to go to China to pay your respects to the Emperor there will be no difficulty at all. I can arrange it without the least trouble,” Konishi said nothing but handed his sword to Gen. Sim in token of amity and after they had conferred together for some time it was arranged that Gen. Sim go to Nanking and represent that Japan wished to become a vassal of China. Fifty days was agreed upon for the general to make the trip to Nanking and return with the answer, and a truce was called for that time. A line was [page 38] drawn round P’yung-yang ten li from the wall and the Japanese agreed to stay within that limit while the Koreans promised not to cross that line. Gen. Sim was sent upon his way with every mark of esteem on the part of the Japanese who accompanied him a short distance on the road.

The Japanese lived up to the terms of the truce, never crossing the line once, but the fifty days expired and still Gen. Sim did not appear. They then informed the Koreans that in the twelfth moon their “horses would drink the water of the Ya-lu.”

During these fifty days of truce what was going on in other parts of the peninsula? Cho Ung a soldier of Ch’ung-ch’ung Province was a man of marvelous skill. With a band of 500 men he succeeded so well in cutting off small foraging bands of Japanese that they were at their wits end to get him put out of the way. One foggy day when the mist was so thick that one could not see his hand before his face the Japanese learned that this dreaded man was on the road. They followed him swiftly and silently and at last got an opportunity to shoot him in the back. He fell from his horse but rose and fled on foot. But they soon overtook him and, having first cut his hands off, they despatched him.

The governor of Kyung-geui Province was Sim Ta.  He had found asylum in the town of Sang-nyung, two hundred li north of Seoul. Having gotten together a considerable body of soldiers he formed the daring plan of wresting Seoul from the hands of the Japanese. For this purpose it was necessary that he should have accomplices in that city who should rise at the appointed time and join in the attack. Through treachery or otherwise the Japanese became aware of the plot and sending a strong body of troops to Sang-nyung they seized the governor and put him to death.

Gen. Kim Si-min had charge of the defense of the walled town of Chin-ju in Kyung-sang Province. The Japanese invested the town with a very large force. Within, the garrison amounted to only three thousand men. These were placed on the wails in the most advantageous manner by Gen Kim who was specially skilled in the defense of a walled town. All the soldiers were strictly commanded not to fire a single shot until the Japanese were close up to the wall. The Japanese ad- [page 39] vanced in three divisions, 10,000 strong. A thousand of these were musketeers. The roar of the musketry was deafening but the walls were as silent as if deserted. Not a man was to be seen. On the following day the assault began in earnest. The Japanese discarded the muskets and used fire arrows. Soon all the houses outside the wall were in ashes. Gen. Kim went up into the south gate and there sat and listened to some flute playing with a view to making the Japanese think the defending force was so large as to make solicitude unnecessary. This made the Japanese very careful. They made elaborate preparations for the assault. Cutting down bamboos and pine trees they made ladders about eight feet wide and as high as the wall. They also prepared straw mats to protect their heads from missiles from above. But the defenders had also made careful preparations. They had bundles of straw with little packages of powder fastened in them, to cast down on the attacking party. Piles of stones and kettles of hot water were also in readiness. As the assault might take place at night, planks bristling with nails were thrown over the wall. This proved a wise precaution for in fact the attack was made that very night. It raged fiercely for a time, but so many of the  Japanese were lamed by the spikes in the planks and so many were burned by the bundles of straw, that at last they had to withdraw, leaving heaps of dead behind. More than half the attacking force were killed and the. rest beat a hasty retreat. In the ninth moon Gen. Pak Chin of Kyung-sang Province took 10,000 soldiers and went to attack the walled town of Kyong-ju which was held by the Japanese. It is said that he made use of a species of missile called “The Flying Thunder-bolt.” It was projected from a kind of mortar made of bell metal and having a bore of some twelve or fourteen inches. The mortar was about eight feet long. The records say that this thing could project itself through the air for a distance of forty paces. It doubtless means that a projectile of some kind could be cast that distance from this mortar. The records go on to say that the “Flying Thunder-bolt” was thrown over the wall of the town and, when the Japanese flocked around it to see what it might be, it exploded with a terrific noise, instantly killing twenty men or more. This struck the Japanese dumb with terror and so worked upon their su- [page 40] perstitious natures that they decamped in haste and evacuated the city. The inventor of this weapon was Yi Yang-son, and it is said that the secret of its construction died with him. It appears that we have here the inventor of the mortar and bomb. The length of the gun compared with its calibre, the distance the projectile was carried with the poor powder then in use and the explosion of the shell all point to this as being the first veritable mortar in use in the east if not in the world. It is said that one of these mortars lies today in a storehouse in the fortress of Nam-han,

All through the country the people were rising and arming against the invaders. A list of their leaders will show how widespread was the movement. In the province of Chul-la were Generals Kim Ch’un-il, Ko Kyung-myung and Ch’oe Kyung-whe: in Kyung sang Province Generals Kwak Cha-o, Kwun Eung-su, Kim Myon, Chong In-hong, Kim Ha, Nyu Wan-ga, Yi Ta-geui and Chang Sa-jiu; in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province Generals Cho Heun, Yung Kyu (monk), Kim Hong-min. Yi San-gyum. Cho Tun-gong. Cho Ung and Yi Pong: in Kyung-geui Province Generals U Sung-jun, Chung Suk-ha, Ch’oe Heul, Yi No, Yi San-whi, Nam Ou-gyung, Kim T’ak, Yu Ta-jin, Yi Chil, Hong Kye-narn and Wang Ok; in Ham-gyung Province Generals Chong Nam-bu, and Ko Kyung-min; in P’yung-an Province Generals Cho Hoik and the monk Yu Chung. The country was filled with little bands of fifty or a hundred men each, and all were fighting separately. Perhaps it was better so, for it may have prevented jealousies and personal enmities that otherwise would have ruined the whole scheme.

Chong Mun-bu was the “Military inspector of the north” and it was his business to investigate annually the condition of things in the province of Ham-gyung and to superintend the annual fair on the border at Whe-ryung in the tenth moon of each year. He was caught by the Japanese on the road and was held captive, but made his escape by night and found a place of hiding in the house of a certain sorceress or fortuneteller in Yong-sung. After five days of flight he reached the town of Kyong-sung where he found the leaders Ch’oe Pa- ch’un and Chi Tal-wun at the house of a wealthy patriot Yi Pung-su who had given large sums of money to raise and equip soldiers. The common people entered heartily into the plan and a force of 10,000 men, indifferently armed and drilled, was put into the field. This force surrounded the town of Kil-ju where the Japanese were encamped, and after a desperate fight the Japanese were totally defeated, leaving 600 heads in the hands of the victors. A few days later a similar engagement took place with a like result, sixty more heads being taken.

And so it was throughout the country. The Japanese were being worn away by constant attrition, here a dozen, there a score and yonder a hundred, until the army in P’yung-yang, by no means a large one, was practically all that was left of the Japanese in the peninsula.

Kwun Yul, the governor of Chul-la Province, said to the provincial general, “If you will remain in Yi-hyun and guard the province I will take 20,000 men and move northward to the capital.” He advanced as far as Su-wun. The Japanese tried to draw him into a general engagement but he avoided it and kept up a geurilla warfare, cutting off large numbers of stragglers from the Japanese camp. By this means he ac-complished the important: work of opening up a way to the north, which had been closed; so that from now on messengers passed freely from the southern provinces to the king.

The History of Korea

Volume II

Chapter I.

China’s reply to the Japanese.... the Chinese army....the hChinese commander interviews the King... march on P’yung-yang....  Chinese new year....  Chinese help not all a blessing....P’yung-yang invested .... the Chinese force an entrance Japanese driven to bay.... how they escape.... they retreat.... they mass at seoul....  Chinese stop at Song-do.... Koreans bridge the Im-jin Chinese retire to P’yung-yang....   Korean victory in the north   great victory at Hang-ju....  the Japanese sue for peace....  conference on the Han.... Japanese evacuate Seoul....  the terrible condition of the city.... Chinese enter Seoul.... they prevent pursuit.... Japanese desecrate a royal tomb.... Chinese accused of bad faith....  Japanese line of camps Chinese reinforced.... the great battle of Chin-ju.... a loyal dancing-girl.... admiral Yi still active Chinese troops retire.

We must now return to the north and witness the final struggle which was to begin the Japanese retreat from the whole north. It was not till long after the fifty days had expired that Gen. Yu-gyung returned from Nanking. The Japanese had sent time and again, asking why he did not make his appearance, but now on the sixth day of the twelfth moon he entered the city of P’yung-yang, making no excuses for his tardiness but delivering his message as follows: I have seen the Emperor and he says that if you are vassals of China you must first give up all the territory taken from Korea. You must also give up the two princes whom you have captured. If you do not see fit to comply with these demands the Emperor will send a million men and destroy you.” He then gave to each of the Japanese leaders an ornament for the hat from the Emperor. This was a trick, to [page 44] discover how large the Japanese force might be. It was determined that there must be about 20,000 Japanese troops in the city. What reply the Japanese gave to the Emperor’s demands is not told, but that it was a negative one seems sure from what followed.

The Chinese army of counter-invasion lay just beyond the Ya-lu River. It was an enormous host and, as armies went in those days, it was a thoroughly efficient one. In connection with this army was an official who held the rank of “Military Adviser.” by the name of Song Eung-ch’ang. The office carried no active power in the field but it seems to have been a sort of check upon the commander-in-chief, for the duties of the office were to keep the Emperor informed of what was going on at the seat of war. The actual General-in-chief was Yi Yu-song. Under him were three generals, of the right, left and center respectively. The General of the Left was Yang Wun and under him were Generals Wang Jung, Yi Yu-ma, Yi Yo-o, Yang So, Sa Ta-sun, Son Su-ryum, Yi Ryung and Kal pong-ha, The General of the Center was Yi Yu-bak and under him were Generals Im Cha-yang, Yi Pang-jin, Ko Ch’ak, Choa Su-jong, Ch’uk Keum, Cha Hong-mo, Pang Si-whi, Ko Seung and Wang Man. The General of the Right was Chang Se-jak and under him were Generals Cho Seung-hun, O Yu-ch’ung, Wang P’il-juk, Cho Chi-mok. Chang Eung-ch’ung, Nak Sang-ji, Chin Pang ch’ul, Kok Su and Yang Sim. The rear guard was under the command of Gen. Pang Si-ch’an and the engineering corps as commanded by Generals Yu Whang-sang and Wun Whang. The main army was composed of 43,000 troops, while in the rear was a reserve force of 8,000. This army crossed the Ya-lu on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth moon, the dead of winter.

It is said that when on the march this army stretched along the road a thousand li (three hundred miles and more) and that the sound of their drums was continuous along the whole line.        

General-in-chief Yi Yu-song, dressed in crimson robes and riding in a crimson chair, arrived in Eui-ju and immediately sought an interview with the king. The latter said, “I have governed this country badly. The Emperor has been put to a great deal of trouble on my account and all these [page 45] good men have come a long, cold road to fight for us. Though I lay open my vitals with a sword I cannot repay you all for this kindness.” Gen. Yi smiled and said, “The Emperor’s might reaches to the heavens. For the sake of Your Majesty’s happiness we have been sent, and all your enemies will soon be put to flight.” To this the king rejoined, “Our nation’s life hangs by a thread, and the result lies with you.” Gen. Yi raised his two hands in salute and answered, “I am come at the Emperor’s orders and life or death are all one to me. When I started out my father said to me, ‘Fight valiantly for Korea and return victorious,’ and so how can I do less than my best?” The Koreans say that this man’s father was a native of Eun-san in the province of P’yung-an, Korea, but that for some offence he had fled to China and together with many of his relatives was enjoying high position under the Emperor.   

Gen. Yi started for P’yung-yang with his whole army, 80,000 bags of rice and 20,000 pounds of powder. His troops were not provided with muskets but they had small cannon. The Japanese on the other hand had muskets but no cannon. Upon the arrival of the Chinese at An-ju they were met by the Prime Minister, Yu Sung-nyung, who laid before Gen. Yi a map showing the roads leading to P’yung-yang. Gen. Yi took red ink and indicated on the map the various routes by which he intended to lead his forces to that city. Calling Gen. Sa Ta-su he sent him forward to deceive the Japanese by saying that a few Chinese had come to effect a peaceful solution of the difficulty. The Japanese were pleased at this and sent twenty of their people to meet, as they supposed, Sim Yu-gyung at Su-an. Gen. Sa feasted them there but meanwhile had the place surrounded and in the midst of the banquet the Japanese were treacherously assaulted and cut down, only three escaping. From these the Japanese learned of the hostile intentions of the Chinese and were greatly disturbed, but being forewarned they put themselves in readiness for an assault.

And so the old year died—the terrible Im-jin year which witnessed the indescribable horrors of the ruthless invasion which swept it from end to end; which saw, too, the gradual awakening of the dormant military spirit of the people, until [page 46] at its close the wave of invasion had not only broken and spent itself but had left the remnant of the invaders cut off from their home land by one of the greatest naval geniuses of his own or any other age, surrounded on all sides and hemmed in by forces which though perhaps unable to cope with them in the open field hi a pitched battle could yet harrass and cut them off on every side. It must be clearly borne in mind that the Chinese did not raise a hand to help Korea until the invasion virtually collapsed. The Koreans without the aid of China could probably have starved the Japanese out of P’yung-yang and driven them southward, cutting them off on the left and right till they would have been glad to take ship for home.

In a sense the Chinese counter-invasion was an extremely unfortunate thing for Korea, for the dormant energies of the people were just rousing themselves to action. Armies were being levied, every day saw the Japanese forces melting away and there was a magnificent opportunity for Korea to turn upon her devastators and drive them headlong into the sea. It would have given a tremendous impulse to patriotism and national self-respect, and it might have been a stepping-stone to a strong national life:  but the coming of the Chinese soldiery immediately threw everything into Chinese hands and they reaped all the benefits of the situation. Even the Koreans themselves did not realize how they were playing into the hands of China. The Japanese in P’yung-yang were weary and sick, and at heart glad of any excuse for retreating if it could be done without too great a loss of dignity. It was at just this moment that the Koreans put the game, already won, into the hands of China to reap all the credit and all the prizes of success. The Koreans leaned back upon China and relapsed into their old self-complacent “fool’s paradise.”

 With the beginning of the new year Gen. Yi moved southward toward P’yung-yang as far as Suk-ch’un where he intended to halt for the night, as the winter days were short, out hearing of the massacre at Sun-an and wishing to give as little time for preparation as possible, pushed on by night, and in the morning planted his banners before the ancient city of P’yung-yang. The city was forthwith surrounded. The Japanese could be seen covering the slope of the hill within the wall with their blue and white flags, and soon they open- [page 47] ed fire on the besiegers. At the same moment they rushed to the walls and manned them. The Chinese Generals of the Left, Center and Right were stationed with their respective forces before the three gates Ch’il-song, Ham-gu and Po-t’ong. The General-in-chief Yi, with a banner in one hand and a drum-stick in the other, rode swiftly from one division to another encouraging the men. His forces could hardly be held in check, they were so eager, in spite of their long, cold night march, to rush at the wall and scale it. They were not long kept from their desire, for at eight o’clock word was given for the whole assaulting force to advance to the wall. The cannon thundered, the fire-arrows flashed through the air, the very ground fairly trembled with the noise of battle and the tramp of eager feet. One of the fire-arrows alighted in the quarters of the Japanese general-in-chief and it was soon in flames, which rapidly spread to all the surrounding buildings. The Japanese guarded the walls with the greatest gallantry, and with spear and arrow, hot water and stones they made it quite impossible for the Chinese to effect an entrance. The wall bristled with weapons, so that in the words of a native chronicler it was “a hedge-hog’s back.’’ So it happened that the Chinese forces fell back from the fierce defense of the Japanese.  Many of them contemplated a general retreat and started to leave the field, but Gen. Yi who was always found where most needed, saw the defection of his men and. pursuing them, struck off the heads of a few as an example to the rest. Then he turned and cried, “Fifty ounces of silver to the first man to set foot upon the battlements of P’yung-yang.” This was doubtless a more powerful appeal than he could have made had he called upon their patriotism or love of glory. Immediately the tide of battle turned. A Chinese captain, Nak Sang-ji, a man well along in years and whose proportions were so ample that the Korean chronicler says of him that he weighed a thousand pounds, led on a company of men and by a mighty effort succeeded in reaching the top of the wall. He held his ground there while others could scale the wall at his back, and so an entrance was effected. The Japanese began to desert the wall, and soon the Chinese entered by the Po-t’ong and Ch’il-sung gates, while the Korean allies entered by the Ham-gu Gate, By this time the Japanese had entirely [page 48] left the wall and had massed themselves as best they could in various parts of the city, determined to make a desperate stand. The Chinese infantry and cavalry both swarmed in on every side and all Japanese stragglers were cut off, while the fight throughout the city became general. Before the Japanese could firmly establish themselves upon the hill and in other defensible parts of the town they lost two captains, 2,285 men, and 45,002 weapons of various kinds, besides 1,015 Koreans whom they had held as captives,

Many of the Japanese had taken refuge in various government buildings which they had barricaded as best they could. The Chinese went to work systematically to burn these down, and in the few hours remaining before the fall of night nearly half of the entire Japanese force succumbed to the weapons of the Chinese. One instance will suffice to illustrate the method of procedure. Many of the Japanese had taken refuge in a large building on the wall, well up on the side of the mountain and looking directly down upon the waters of the river. Gen. Yi had it surrounded with piles of wood, the timbers of houses and hewn logs, and these were set on fire. The entrapped Japanese then had the choice of roasting to death or leaping down upon the ice of the river. Hundreds chose the latter alternative, but the ice was not strong enough to stand the tremendous strain and they were all engulfed in the river and carried under the ice below. As for those that remained, it is said that the smell of burning flesh could be discerned a quarter of a mile away.

Gen. Konishi had taken refuge with a large body of troops in a building called the Yun-gwang-jung, very near the Ta-dong Gate which opens directly upon the water front. Night had fallen and the fight had lulled for a time. What took place at this time may be open to some doubt. The Korean account says that the Chinese commander sent a message to Konishi demanding the surrender of his whole force and that Konishi replied, “Our remaining force is small and we wish to evacuate the city and retreat if we may be allowed to leave quietly.” It is affirmed that Gen. Yi consented to this and left the Ta-dong Gate unguarded, and in the dead of night the Japanese troops passed swiftly out and crossed the river. On the face of it this statement is hardly credible, but judging

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, February 1903

The Korean New Year                              49

The Korean Physical Type                                     55

From Fusan to Wonsan                             59

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

A Leaf From Korean Astrology                 65

Odds And Ends

A Novel Mail Delivery                           68

Fortune’ S Formula                                69

A Moral From Go-Bang                                      70

A Costly Drug                                                      70

A Brave Governor                                 71

Editorial Comment                                     73

News Calendar                                          74

Korean History                                          81

The Korean New Year

The first day of the new year is every Korean’s birthday, not because they were all born on the first day of the first moon but because, according to their reckoning, a Korean’s age corresponds to the number of years in which he has lived. At birth he is one year old, namely the year in which he was born,  and if he should chance to be born on the last day of the twelfth moon, the very next day he would be two years old, for he then has seen two years.  This may seem strange to us, but is it any stranger than for a “globe-trotter” to hurry through the open ports of China and then go home and say he has “done” that interesting country? All of which means that every oriental inconsistency can be matched with an occidental one of similar proportions.

As all the Korean birthdays, then, are rolled into one, we might expect that it would be the signal for unusual festivities. Nor are we disappointed. In preparation for this great day, the average Korean will even try to pay up all his debts. This alone marks it as a red letter day and one that is quite outside the ordinary. If he can’t pay his debts he will at least make some excuse for not doing so and this, while less satisfactory (to the creditor) than the actual payment of them, is itself sufficiently startling.

In honor of the event a new, or at least a clean, suit of clothes is forthcoming and in some cases this suggests a com-[page 50] plete bath. The Koreans have never enjoyed the reputation of the Japanese in this line, and yet bathing is not so uncommon in Korea as many seem to believe.

The day before New Year’s, preliminary calls are in order among high and low alike, at which they wish each other a happy riddance of the old year. All schools are closed and only such work as is necessary is performed during the first half of the new moon. They believe in beginning the year right!

On New Year’s day the elders all do their calling and the small boys troop about the streets visiting the houses where they are known and getting presents of kites and sweetmeats. The flying of kites is strictly confined to the first fifteen days of the first moon, and while solitary, lonesome kites are seen in the air at other times this half month holiday is the only time that the telegraph wires reap any considerable harvest.

One of the most important of the ceremonies to be observed is the burning of hair. The Koreans are not thrifty enough to save the combings in order to utilize them in the shape of a switch, after Time, the great barber, has gotten in his work, but they save them for another purpose. In the occident the falling out of hair is itself a misfortune but with the Koreans each hair represents some misfortune stored up for the future, and so it may be said that each calamity hangs over their heads suspended, like the sword of Damocles, by a single hair. The only way to ward off the evil is by burning the hair. Few Koreans are so strict as to save all the combings of the year, but those of the last few days only are laid aside in order to perform this necessary function.

It is considered proper to take a single cup of wine on New Year’s morning, not for the stomach’s sake but for the ears’ sake, as this will render them sharp all the coming year.

Most of the peculiar customs connected with the new year are reserved for the fifteenth, which is the full moon; but between the first and the fifteenth there is one day that requires a word of mention. It is “Rabbit Day.” and it is deemed unfortunate. It is called fupnal now which is a corruption of ok-ki-nal=“Rabbit Day.” Singularly enough the rabbit is classed with evil animals like the fox and wild-boar. while, at the same time, it figures in folk-lore much like the [page 51] Bre’r Rabbit of Uncle Remus fame. On this “Rabbit Day,” which is indicated without fail on the calendars, women and girls shun the street as on no other day in the year. On “Rabbit Day” they tie a piece of string to the loop of their pouch-strings in the belief that it will give long life. They say that since the rabbit’s tail is short, this will lengthen it and so become an omen of longevity.

It is during these holidays that the annual stone fights begin. They need no description here. They are said to have begun during the days of one of the Koryu kings who instituted the custom of having sham fights in the palace grounds for his own amusement.

We now come to the great po-reum 보 름 or full moon, the fifteenth of the month. The derivation of this word opens up a most interesting subject. It is of comparatively recent origin, for it began at the time of the Manchu invasion of Korea in the middle of the 17th century. It was about the middle of the twelfth moon that the Manchu army entered Seoul. That was a day of terror for the Koreans, for the Manchus were even more ruthlessly savage than the Japanese had been in their great invasion, less than fifty years before. It may well be that the festival of the new moon was a grim one for the Koreans. It was a festival of hatred, a carnival of impotent rage, for the Manchu was to Korea what the Goth was to Rome. From that time the festival of the first new moon was called 분함 punham or “Impotent Rage,” and according to the laws of Korean euphony this easily deteriorated into the sound 보름 or po-reum. A curious confirmation of this is found in the fact that only in Seoul is this festival called po-reum. Elsewhere it is called yul-tas-su “The Fifteenth.” This has passed into proverb. When a Korean wishes to express the idea conveyed by the English proverb “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” he says Seoul po-reum, Si-gol tul-tas-su or “Po-reum in Seoul is the same as yul-tas-sa in the country” or generally “Though the name is different the thing is the same.”  But this derivation of the word po-reum is also witnessed to by other customs connected with this festival. At this time the Koreans ‘‘eat pu-reum” = 부름. Now this pu-reum means the walnuts, chestnuts and pine-nuts which are always brought out at this [page 52] time. At first it was only walnuts to which reference was made in the word pu-reum but came to mean any nuts. But what are walnuts called in Korea? They were originally ho-do (胡頭),=“Manchn apricots,” but from the time of the invasion the name was slightly changed to ho-du (胡 桃)= “Manchu Head,” When the walnuts are brought out on this festival, the first three are crushed between the teeth and thrown out into the street, signifying that three Manchu heads have been smashed. Thus the Koreans vent their hereditary spite against their despoilers and give vent to their pun-ham, 분함 or 부름 pu-reum, namely their impotent rage. Hence the ulterior meaning of po-reum is fairly well established.

This first full moon is supposed to tell the fortunes of the farmer. If the moon looks pale and white there will be too much rain. If it looks red there will be drought. If it looks dark there will be famine. If it has a rich mellow tinge, or golden color, all will go well.

Those people who fall, for the year, under the “Moon-star-influence” must be careful to make torches of ssari wood and bow with lighted torch toward the moon as it rises.

If a man wishes to make sure of good luck he must on that day comb his hair nine times, wash his face nine times, eat food nine times, pretend to sleep nine times, study nine times, and go through the motions of his handicraft nine times.

It is customary to eat a little of every kind of vegetable one can get hold of, for a person will not be able to eat of any kind of vegetable during the year that he has not tasted of on the great po-reum.

The custom of feeding the ravens is a very old one, since it originated about 530 A. D. It shows the tenacity with which tradition holds its grip on the Korean mind. In ancient Silla, King Chi-teung was feasting in a summer-house one day. A raven flew down and deposited a letter before him and then flew away. On the cover was written “If the king reads this two people will die. If he does not read it, one will die.” He refused to open it but one of the courtiers said that the “one” might be His Majesty. So the letter was opened. It ran thus: “Let the king hasten to the palace, enter the queen’s apartments and shoot an arrow through [page 53] the zither case.” He did so, with the result that the chief priest was killed, who had taken advantage of the King’s absence to attack his honor. Ever since that time the raven has been remembered with gratitude and it is anually fed with special cakes made for this express purpose. These cakes are called O-yak or “Raven medicine.” Of late years these cakes have generally been consumed by the children rather than by the ravens

Several other of the curious things that are done on this day were described in the November number of the Review for 1902, and hardly need a detailed description here. Among them were the following: Cut out a red disc of paper representing the sun, fasten it to a stick of wild cherry wood and stick in torches of wild cherry wood and burn them by moonlight. Throw a bowl of millet porridge into the river. Take a full bath, sit facing the east, and bow thirty times. Tear on the collar or the coat and burn it, toward the south. Face the west and four times toward the planet Venus. Stuff cash into a straw manikin and throw it into the street. Fix a paper stocking on the roof with a piece of wild cherry wood. Besides these there is the practice of casting five discs of wood with the words metal, wood, fire, water and earth written on them and determining from the different combinations what the fortune for the year will be.

 Every day in the year is named after one or other of the animals which correspond to the twelve points of the compass. Beginning with the north and passing around the compass toward the east these animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, hen, dog and pig. It is during the first twelve days of the year that these names of animals have special significance.

 Every one is acquainted with the custom of walking over twenty-four bridges on the night of the fifteenth. This is supposed to strengthen the legs and ensure health during the coming year. The idea originated in China during the Tang dynasty. So it is written in Chinese poetry, which affirms that if this is done a man’s legs will be as strong as the “legs” of the bridges. 

 It is significant that the Korean words for “bridge” and “leg” are the same. It is not improb- [page 54] able that in early times when streams were generally forded the idea of making wooden supports or “legs” to hold up the rude bridges naturally suggested the word “leg” for bridge. The primitive temporary bridges found throughout Korea today are supported by sticks placed in such a position as to resemble the legs of a man standing in the water. In fact may it not be that the principle of the arch was originally suggested by a man striding a ditch or stream, the spine being the keystone which together with the pelvic and thigh bones formed the entire arch?    

In support of the theory that diseases can be warded off by making straw manikins and stuffing them with cash and throwing them to the beggars, the following tale is related. A gentleman living in Cha-kol was grievously afflicted with an incurable disease. His wife was in great distress. Every remedy had been tried but without success. At last in desperation she asked some of her neighbors if the straw manikin would work in the case of a gentleman as well as with common people. They were doubtful but thought it worth trying. So, unknown to her husband, she made a straw figure of a man as large as life, dressed it in a complete suit of her husband’s clothes, with hat, shoes, headband and belt complete, and set it out in the street. But the beggars were all afraid to touch it, for the clothes were worth a large sum of money. A day passed and the anxious wife was in despair. No one had carried off the effigy. At last a poor fellow, on the verge of starvation, determined that as long as he must die anyway he might as well run the risk. So he seized the silk-clad manikin and put down the street as fast as his legs would carry him. He stripped off the gaudy garments and pawned them. Not for many a long mouth had he held so much money in his pouch.

But that night he was suddenly seized with the same disease with which the gentleman had been suffering and before morning he was a corpse. The probability is that in his half-starved condition he overate and caused his own death. At any rate, at the very hour when he was taken ill the gentleman suddenly recovered, much to the joy of the wife. That night in her dreams there came to her a poor wretch who said that it was he who had taken the manikin but that on [page 55] that same night a goblin had come to him and claimed him as his legitimate prey.

This is one of the many “authentic” cases in which the casting away of a straw manikin has brought back health and warded off disaster.

The Cho-rung is a sort of amulet which boys and girls tie to their pouch strings on the shortest day in the year, the winter solstice. For boys it is called mal chorung or “large chorung” and for girls it is called suk-ki chorung or “baby chorung.” These are pieces of wood about an inch long and shaped something like a bottle. They wear these tied to the pouch string together with a cash piece, until the fifteenth of the first moon and then, on the street, ask each other for them. The giving up of the chorung signifies the getting rid of bad luck for the whole year. This is a Buddhist survival but the monks themselves do not know where the custom originated. In time gone by old Taoists used to hang to the top of their walking sticks an amulet much resembling this, and so there may be some question whether it is Buddhistic. In any case it is of Chinese origin.

Another curious custom that is absolutely universal in Korea from the very highest to the very lowest is that of tearing off the collar of a coat and giving it away with a piece of cash. Every member of every family does this. The collar of the coat, continually rubbing against the neck, is prone to get soiled, and herein lies bad luck. But once a year, worse luck!

The Korean Physical Type.

We have received from a subscriber, who is a recognized authority in the far East on the subject of physical and physiognomical relationships, an objection to our theory of the southern, or at least Dravidian, origin of the Korean people. He bases his objection on the fact that the Dravidian people differ so widely from the Korean in physique, physiognomy and especially in the growth of hair. This argument, if established, would prove a very strong one. The question, [page 56] however, is one of fact. Is it true that this wide difference exists? Since receiving this communication we have taken steps to discover the facts bearing upon this question, and we are free to confess that they do not seem to bear out the contention of our correspondent.

Now it is evident that we must look to the written statements of men long conversant with the Dravidian peoples in order to discover the facts in regard to their physical characteristics. A mere visitor to those regions would not be able to form correct conclusions, for he would not have opportunities of studying those peoples in all the details of their life nor to see enough of them numerically to draw conclusions. For this reason we turn to the words of men who have spent many years among the Dravidian peoples and who, if anybody, are competent to speak.

Mr. Hodgson, as quoted by Bishop Caldwell, says “A practiced eye will distinguish at a glance between the Aryan and Tamilian style of features and form. In the Aryan form there is height, symmetry, lightness and flexibility; in the Aryan face an oval contour with ample forehead and moderate jaws and mouth, a round chin, perpendicular with the forehead, a regular set of fine features, a well raised and unexpanded nose, with eliptical nares, a well sized and freely opened eye, running directly across the face; no want of eye-brows, eye-lash, or beard: and lastly a clear brunette complexion, often not darker than that of most southern Europeans. In the Tamilian (the typical Dravidian) on the contrary, there is less height, more dumpiness and flesh; in the Tamilian face, a somewhat lozenge contour caused by the large cheek bones; less perpendicularity in the features to the front, occasioned not so much by defect of forehead or chin as by excess of jaws and mouth; a larger proportion of face to head, and less roundness in the latter; a broader, flatter face, with features less symmetrical, but perhaps more expression, at least of individuality; shorter, wider nose, often clubbed at the end and furnished with round nostrils; eyes less and less fully opened, and less evenly crossing the face by their line of aperture; ears larger; lips thicker, beard depcient, color brunette as in the last but darker on the whole, and, as in it, various.”

We are willing to submit this description of a Dravidian [page 57] to anyone intimately, or even superficially, acquainted with the Korean and ask if it does not exactly describe him even to the minutest feature. Has he not less height and symmetry than the Aryan, which is practically the European? Has he not the lozenge contour of face, high cheek-bones, excess of jaw and mouth, too much face for his head, a broad flat face, short wide nose, round nostrils, eyes less fully open and less evenly crossing the face, ears large, lips thick and beard deficient? Nothing could more exactly describe the Korean. And yet our correspondent tells us that the Dravidians have heavy beards.

“Look steadfastly” says Mr. Hodgson, “on any man of an aboriginal race (in Southern India) and say if a Mongol origin is not palpably inscribed on his face.”

While agreeing completely with Mr. Hodgson as to the Scythian affinities of the Dravidians, ,Bishop Caldwell cannot speak so definitely, for he finds among the more cultivated of the Dravidians many similarities to the Aryans of Northern India; he believes however that these similarities have resulted from centuries of intermixture. But before quoting him let us take the evidence of Rev. Mr. Hislop on the Gond tribe, one of the less civilized of the Dravidian tribes and one in which there has been less admixture. He says:  “The Gonds are a little below the height of Europeans, and in complexion darker than the generality of Hindus, bodies well proportioned, but features rather ugly; a roundish head, destended nostrils, wide mouth, thickish lips, straight black hair and scanty beard and mustaches. Both hair and features are decidedly Mongolian.”

Bishop Caldwell adds “An ascent from the Mongolian type to the Caucasian is not unknown; but conversely, it is not known, I believe, that there has been any descent from the Caucasian to the Mongolian, It would seem therefore that it only remains that we should suppose the original type of the whole Dravidian race to have been Mongolian, as that of the Gonds generally is up to the present time, and attribute the Caucasian type now universally, apparent amongst the Dravidians of Southern India to the influence of culture, aided perhaps in some small degree by intermixture with Aryans.”

It is evident from this that the authorities do not fully [page 58] agree as to the prevalence of the Mongolian element in the physical characteristics of the Dravidian people as a whole. Some claim to see a distinct Mongolian type while others fail to see it. All agree that the wilder and less civilized tribes included in the Dravidian race are clearly Mongolian in type. As described above they agree in a remarkable manner with the Koreans of to-day. As to the more advanced Dravidian peoples some authorities see a Mongolian type and some do not but even those who do not see it believe that the difference between them and the more aboriginal types is due to a long period of cultivation and of intermixture with Aryan peoples. The question then arises whether or not the less civilized Dravidians are the typical Dravidians. As quoted above, a change would naturally be toward a Caucasian type rather than toward a Mongolian type, and other things being equal we always expect development to be upward rather than downward; so it seems fairly certain that such tribes as the Gond are the most typical Dravidians. To make this point more clear let us suppose that someone wishes to learn the habits and customs of the aborigines of America in order to compare them with the wild tribes of northern Siberia. Would he go to western New York State where there are the remnants of Indian tribes engaged in peaceful agricultural pursuits, living in ordinary houses and dressing in ordinary European clothing? Would he not rather seek out those tribes which have been least in contact with the white man and are least removed from their aboriginal status? So it is that we say with confidence that if we are to find out whether the Korean and Dravidian physical types are alike we must not go to the Dravidian peoples who have been most affected by outside influences. but those who have remained the most secluded. Judging from such a standard as this we think it has been proved by the above quotations that, whether the Koreans came to Korea from the south, originally from India, or not, there is nothing in the physical argument that militates against the theory.

We have received from Rev. Alex Kenmure an interesting item in this connection. In London he met a Mr. Knowles who has been making a special study of the phonetic systems of India preparatory to the formation of an alphabet [page 59] for the blind. The Korean alphabet and phonetic system were submitted to him to see whether his scheme for the blind would apply to Korean. His statement was, “This is Tamil through and through.” So, though vocabularies may shift and change, phonetic systems and, still more, grammatical peculiarities remain. Practically the same thing was said by one of the missionaries in Korea who had worked six years among the Dravidian peoples. He said that when he first came to Korea the language sounded singularly familiar. He felt as if he ought to understand it without study.

From Fusan to Wonsan by Pack-pony.

The next day was Tuesday. We proceeded north along the coast, passing through numerous thriving fishing villages. The first part of the day’s trip was through a thickly populated region, but along in the afternoon we entered a rough, lonely mountain country. At this point the spurs of the mountain range run down into the sea, making countless bold and rugged promontories. Our road was over a long succession of passes between which we would often traverse the shore of a deep bay. Generally these had a beautiful sandy reach. In this rough country it was only occasionally that we would see a gentleman’s tiled house tucked away in some sheltered nook, with a little bunch of thatched houses about it. The imagination was taxed to its utmost in guessing how these people lived. There was no evidence of any considerable agricultural life though we suspected that back among the hills or perhaps across the higher land there might be fields that they could cultivate. We were given to understand that these tiled houses of the gentry represented better times in the past but that now the tiles themselves were all the wealth these men could boast. In speaking of this rough mountainous country there is a natural suggestion of trees and forests, but we must remember that it was all bare of trees. The scenery was bleak and forbidding, though frequently grand. It was in almost all respects the very opposite of scenery in Japan.

 Whatever beauty there was consisted in wide prospects of ser-[page 60] rated mountain ranges and the expanse of ocean. There was a complete absence of mere picturesqueness, which is such a charming feature of Japanese scenery. The bare earth, the broad sea, the over-arching sky—these were all;  and yet, to the keen imagination these may be fully as charming as the more finished scenery of Japan. One is ever conscious of the large, the fundamental, the basic things of nature, and there results a kind of exhilaration which is different from anything which Japanese scenery commonly inspires. It is the difference between Colorado and New Hampshire, between the Russian steppes and rural England. 

Throughout this region the only really prosperous people seemed to be the fishing folk. Their houses were cleaner and better than those of the others. This day a hundred li ride brought us to the prefectural town of Yung-ha, which presented no features worthy of remark.

The next day our way again lay along the coast, several large villages being passed. The numerous salt farms that we saw on this day are worthy of more than casual notice. In this part of Korea are found some of the most important salt manufacturing centers. A description of one of the “works,” will suffice for all. Imagine then a field of about two acres, divided down the middle by a row of huge earthen pots perforated beneath and banked up with reeds and rice matting. The perfectly smooth and even fields are loosely covered two inches thick with a fine black loam like a newly plowed and carefully harrowed field. Sea water is brought in wooden pipes and emptied into a ditch which runs around the field. From this ditch the water is scooped up in long-handled dippers and sprayed evenly over the surface of the black loam. After partial evaporation, wooden-toothed rakes are drawn across the fields by bullocks or cows. This turns up the loam and gives a better opportunity for the water to evaporate. This process shows that beneath the black loam there is a hard bed of earth, like a well packed tennis court, probably made of clay. It is raked again and again until fairly dry and then more salt water is thrown on. The process is repeated until the loam is quite saturated with salt. Then with large scrapers the loam is drawn up into heaps beside the central line of pots. After pots have been nearly filled [page 61] with the loam, sea water is poured on, enough to fill them to the brim. This water passing through the loam takes up the salt and comes out below in the shape of a heavy brown liquid. The loam is then taken from the pots and spread out over the field to be again utilized. Near the pots there hangs a huge clay pan, six inches deep and twenty feet long by ten feet wide. It is supported from above by rows of stout poles from each of which hang chains that are fastened to hooks in the bottom of the kettle or pan. The heavy brine is poured into this pan and a hot fire of pine brush is kept burning beneath. The salt is deposited at the bottom of the pan and is scraped off and picked in bags. It is a wet, grayish looking substance. Some of the salt fields were lying “fallow” and we learned that after a time the black loam loses its power of holding the salt, but if left unworked for a few weeks will then regain this power.

Along through this section we could gain magnificent views of the white peaks of the main range of mountains to the west. Game too was plentiful. Swans, geese and ducks abounded, and it was here that my companion, a few months later, bagged a wild boar of 300 pounds weight. We were amazed and delighted at the beauty of the granite rock that cropped out all about us. If was now red, now green, now black, often with a plentiful admixture of quartz. Many of the fishermen’s houses were surrounded with beautiful stone walls, built of smooth water-worn stones from the beach. They were three feet thick and six feet high. Many of these houses were built immediately on the water’s edge and it looked as if an east blow would send the surf over them. As we went north there was a perceptible change in the style of the houses. To the south the houses had been only one kan deep but now they had are extension of the roof which formed a sort of verandah in front, and further north still the houses were two kan deep. At this point we were near the line which formed the border between the ancient Kingdom of Silla and that of Ye-mak and it is probable that these local differences have survived from very early times. A noticeable feature was the whitewash used on some of the houses, which gave them a very neat appearance, and some were washed with a blue color making them still more striking.

In spite of the fact that we were continually passing [page 62] through fishing villages we could get very few fish to eat. They are all shipped off inland as soon as caught and to get them was as difficult as to buy tinned butter in France or condensed milk in Switzerland.

Pi-yang was the first prefectural town we struck after crossing the border from Kyung-sang Province to Kang-wun. It lies back from the sea on a small stream and the view of the sea is cut off by a low range of hills. Passing directly through we kept on to a fishing village on the beach. We had great difficulty in finding a place to put up. There was no inn and the people, while not hostile, were quite apathetic. By dint of considerable persuasion we secured a room, but had to improvise a horse stable. We went to sleep to the sound of dashing waves. When my companion waked in the morning to call up the grooms to feed the horses, he heard a swishing noise which sounded just like horses nosing their feed in search of stray beans, and with a sigh of content lay back to have another nap. An hour later he learned that it was merely the noise of water on the beach that he had heard, and so we were late in getting off.

Forty li further on we struck the town of Ul-chin, celebrated in song and story. It was here that the Japanese made a stand in their retreat from Seoul three centuries ago. They were besieged by the combined Chinese and Korean armies and were reduced to the last extremity, when, to their joy, a small fleet of Japanese boats came up the coast from another station to the south and brought them food and succor. The road up to this town was in a terrible state. It was away from the coast and fearfully cut up by the summer rains. The country was utterly desolate. There were no fields, no villages, no houses, no trees until we neared the town and saw in the distance a row of persimmon trees half a mile long, Our horses waded the stream and we stopped at an inn on the farther bank, where we met a Japanese physician who had come three months before and had hung out his “shingle” but had reluctantly come to the conclusion that the Koreans, of Ul-chin at least, still had more faith in bear’s gall and stewed centipedes than in all the triumphs of Western pharmacy. He was about to shake the dust of Ul-chin off his feet and go to some happier clime. [page 63]

We found Ul-chin to be a long straggling town in that semi-ruinous condition that is characteristic of so many prefectural towns in Korea. At this point my friend Mr. A. and I had to part company, he to return to his work in the south and I to push northward to Kang-neung where I was to meet my friend Dr. H. from Wonsan who was to come down that far to meet me. It is from Ul-chin that the Koreans take boat to visit Ul-leung Island which on modern maps is called Dagelet. Here is where the famous fights between wild cats and rats are said to occur. Tradition affirms that the islanders were conquered by Silla generals who put great wooden lions in the prows of their boats and frightened the people into surrender even before the troops were disembarked.

At four o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday I stopped at the market town of Sam-ch’uk, for if I passed that place there was no other inn within forty li. Alone in a strange country and among people whose language I knew hardly at all, it will not surprise the reader to learn that I was intensely lonesome; and it can readily be believed that when two Korean Christians came along, who had been sent ahead by Dr. H. to meet me, I was delighted. Here was some connection again with the outside would. Of all lonesome places on this planet give me the eastern coast of Korea and one of those Rip Van Winkle towns that have overslept themselves not twenty years but twenty generations.

The next day, Sunday, was a busy one in that town, for it was market day. The contrast between that day and the day before was as great in the town as it had been in my spirits. There was a large square about which were grouped a number of straggling inns which do business mainly on these market days. And all about the square were temporary booths erected for the merchants. Early in the morning people came trooping in from all directions with their goods carried by ponies, donkeys, bullocks, cows or on their own backs. Not a wheeled vehicle was seen. Such a thing would be as great a novelty on the east coast as the first railway train was on the west coast. They brought native and foreign cotton goods, rice, fruits, kerosene oil, cattle, pipes, tobacco, silk thread, cotton thread, buttons, needles and a long line of [page 64] knick-knacks and sundries. The shouting and struggling, the laughter and jokes, the haggling and bargaining were fast and furious. That town was like a man who is subject to fits, lying half dead most of the time but when one of the paroxysms come on raising a most unconscionable row. It illustrated beautifully one of the results of a state of society in which barter forms the principle means for the exchange of commodities. Everybody had something to sell and something to buy and as everybody wanted to sell first and buy afterwards that square resembled a hive of distracted bees. By three o’clock in the afternoon the “edge was worn off” and people began to take things a little easier. Though wine flowed freely all day long yet I saw no intoxicated people till late in the afternoon, and even then there were but few.

Throughout the day two native colporteurs read the Scriptures to any who would stop and listen, and three street meetings were held at which people stopped and paid polite attention. There was no rowdyism or trouble of any kind. Some small books were given away and the next morning, several men came and purchased others. This market day explained the almost total absence of shops or stores.  People do all their buying and selling on the market day and then shut up shop until the next one comes.

The next day I had a stiff hundred li to make before reaching Kang-neung, so an early start was made. It was a lonely and desolate road over two considerable mountain passes, the first of which was a steady climb of three miles.  The last forty li were all downhill to the valley in which the town lies, some distance back from the coast. It is a walled city lying on the north side of a little stream which is crossed by a bridge. The wall is badly dilapidated and the situation is not imposing, as the town has no hill back of it. It was not until dark that we entered the gate and then we learned that the cholera was raging so fiercely that Dr. H. had gone thirty li to the north and put up at an inn. We found a nice clean inn and would have had a good night’s rest had it not been for the constant firing of guns, whereby the Koreans were trying to scare off cholera devils. We had intended to stop here a few days but this was out of the question. Leaving the city I climbed a hill [page 65] and obtained a good view of the town, which is a compact one and surrounded by a fine farming country. This town is numbered among the twenty-one capitals of Korea, for in very early times it was the capital of the Ye Kingdom. It flourished about the beginning of the Christian era but was later absorbed by the Southern kingdom of Silla. The Silla conquerors here dug up a seal which was adopted as the royal seal or Silla. It is more than fifteen hundred years since Kang-neung fell from her high estate.

Hurrying on I found Dr. H. waiting for me at his inn and I had the great pleasure of grasping an Anglo Saxon hand and looking into the face of a “white man.”

A Leaf from Korean Astrology.

The last division of the book that we have been discussing is called the “Guide for the Celebrated Physician” and it is in the nature of a household medical book. It is divided into three parts, (1) female complaints, (2) children’s diseases, (3) bites of insects or animals. The fact that men’s diseases are nowhere mentioned but only those of women and children shows us this book is consulted almost exclusively by women, a fact which should not surprise us when we remember that it is the women of Korea who cling to Buddhism and to the various superstitions that have emanated from and have been fostered by that cult.

As to the first section, treating of female complaints, it is not necessary for us to go into the curious details here given, except to mention some of the remarkable remedies recommended. For one complaint a poultice of cow-dung is recommended, for another the eating of twenty-one ginko nuts, for another boiled sun-flower seeds. One form of disease is cured by splitting the kernel of an apricot seed, writing the word sun on one part and the word moon on the other, sticking the two parts together with honey and then eating them. Another remedy is to drink water in which the iron pin of a nether mill-stone has been boiled. Another convincing argument is [page 66] the swallowing of three small live frogs, or if this is not sufficient take seven Quelparte mushrooms, fourteen jujubes and a handful of gluten rice and boil them together and eat them. Boiled magpie taken internally or sea-weed poultice externally are used, as well as four boiled dog’s feet.

Children’s diseases are treated rather fully. A case of overfeeding is remedied by drinking the water in which burned chicken-intestines have been boiled. 

Nausea. Drink water in which burned hair has been boiled.

Indigestion. Catch a toad, lay him on his back, punch him three times in the stomach with a stalk of the sorghum plant. Then wrap the toad in yellow earth and bind him tightly with string. After burning him to death in the fire throw the remains of the toad away, but put the yellow earth in water and take a spoonful frequently. In the very nature of things this should effect a cure, but if it fails, remove the entrails from a hen and in the abdominal cavity put a piece of ot wood (varnish tree) and sew up the orifice. After boiling, throw away the wood and eat the hen.

Unnatural appetite. Buy a flock of domestic pigeons and watch them eat three times a day. But a radical cure is effected by boiling a toad, an onion and some black pepper together and taking in moderate doses.

 Fits. Boiled honey-suckle flowers and red ink taken internally, or better still the saliva of a black cow taken “straight.” These failing you should try warm blood from the tip of a white dog’s ear.

Mouth disease. Let the child’s parent take salt in his mouth and with the saliva make a little mud ball and paste it on top of the child’s head. This will cure the sore mouth.

Erysipelas. Anoint with pig’s gall, but first suck the part affected.

Small-pox. When the disease begins be sure that no uncooked food or cold food or anything that smells of oil or grease comes into the house. Let no one in the house comb his hair or wash clothes. Let no priest or sorceress enter the place and rigidly exclude persimmons, pears, jujubes, peaches, apricots, cherries, lemons, potatoes and oranges; but chestnuts only may be brought in. [page 67]

Koreans not only “catch cold” in the winter but they “catch hot” in the summer. Just what is meant is hard to say. Take a handful of peach leaves, put them on a stone and macerate, put them in water and strain off the liquid and take internally. If the attack is severe take five garlics, one handful of dirt from a very hot street, mash the garlic and dirt together, put the mixture in well water and administer. It will surely bring the patient round. Another remedy is a decoction of azalea flowers. Another is dried white peach flowers powdered and mixed with sorghum seed and made into a cake. 

Temporary insanity. Take ten strands of sea-weed, the grease from two old hens, the  “beards” of fifty red clams, and three measures of gluten rice. Make a batter of all these. Dry it and then make soup of it. This will effect a cure after two or three doses.

Diarrhoea. Take dried persimmons and pomegranates. Boil them together and eat them.

Dysentery. Make a flour of a burnt rabbit’s skin; add it to wine and drink. Or again, take yellow clay that has never before been dug, let it be rained upon and then dried; mix it with honey and eat. If the case is a chronic one take out the entrails of an old hen, fill the abdominal cavity with angle-worms, boil the fowl very thoroughly, remove the angle-worms and eat the hen. Hen’s eggs taken freely are also very good for this disease.

“The Inside Sickness.” Drink a decoction of bamboo leaves.

Syphilis. Burn a mole to ashes, mix with wine and drink. If it induces perspiration a cure will be effected. If the mole is first smeared with honey, water will do as well as wine. Another remedy is the scalded juice of the taro. The ashes of a burned weasel is also recommended. In advanced stages of the disease, take three dried cicadae and grind them to a

*Yi Hang-bok, the great minister of the time of the Japanese Invasion, is said to have discovered a spring on the side of Nam-san whose waters are heavier that that of other springs and which will, cure the diarrhoea almost immediately. The spring is called “ Medicine Water Place,” and is situated below “Oriole Cliff.” [page 68]

powder, divide into three portions, mix with wine and take in the morning on an empty stomach.

Tuberculosis of the Lungs. Eat a boiled hedgehog. Drink a decoction of dried “sand ginseng” every day for a month. Boil thoroughly finely cut seeds of the yu-ja or lemon, and take three doses.

Boil in five bowls of water three handfuls of mulberry leaves taken from the south side of the tree. When the water is boiled down to one bowlful take in three doses.

Such are samples of remedies recommended by this domestic receipt book. In no case is the patient advised to call in a regular physician. In this respect it corresponds closely with numerous patent medicine advertisements in the west and doubtless with similarly deplorable results. Among other queer remedies are the following; the small lobe of an ox liver, ground squirel de-haired with scalding water and then boiled: the hashed flesh of the marsh hen or coot mixed with beau flour; burned hair in wine; indian-ink; snake flesh, boiled flesh of a fowl that has been fed on worms from the decayed body of a snake; oak wood ashes; dried cow manure; hedgehog fat; powdered fish scales; pear juice; three boiled ravens; baked dragon-fly with legs and wings removed; snake skin; feces of the angle-worm; bear’s gall; milk of a white dog; rat gall; powdered ivory; hemp juice, for tiger bites; live frogs, for mad dog bite; or juice of apricot seeds; juice steeped from mulberry leaves, for snake bite; taro flour, for bee stings; two snails made into a poultice, for centipede bite. It will be noticed that in contrast with the rest of the book this portion has nothing to do with spirits or goblins though disease is very frequently attributed to them. The consideration of this subject will be reserved for a future paper dealing with demoniacal possession and exorcism.

Odds and Ends

Yi kang-yun was a young gentleman of Seoul on his travels in the country. At Kang-neung, an important town on the eastern coast, he stopped at the house of a friend of the family. [page 69]

The rules of etiquette are less strict in the country than in Seoul and thus he was thrown more or less into the company of the daughter of the house. The result was that they fell in love with each other and one day as she was returning from a neighbor’s house the young mail met her and asked her to become his wife. Of course this was quite irregular but love is proverbially contemptuous of artificial barriers. She told him that if both their parents consented she would become his wife. Thus far the course of love ran smooth, but when the boy returned to Seoul he found that his father had already picked out a bride for him and given his word for the match. So there was no use in protesting. The girl also was married to a neighbor’s son for whom she cared not at all. In her mind she was already Yi’s wife for she had pledged her love to him.

Now this young woman had a little pond behind her house in which she kept some pet fish and often she would go and sit beside the water and pour out her tale of sorrow to these notoriously sympathetic creatures. One night she dreamed that one of her fish said to her, “If you will write a letter to him I will deliver it.” This dream was so vivid that the impression could not be shaken off. She wrote a note to her former sweetheart and threw it into the pond. The next day letter and fish had disappeared.

That same morning young Yi, in Seoul, went out to the market to buy a fish for his dinner. He secured a plump one but when his servant opened it a letter was found in its stomach. Yi read it with amazement and delight. It was plain that heaven was interfering to bring about his heart’s desire. He showed the letter to his father who went to Kang-neung and had an interview with the young woman. As she was able to repeat the contents of the note, word for word, the matter was referred to the Board of Ceremonies and the government granted a special dispensation in the case, and the young woman’s marriage was annulled and by another special ordinance Yi Kang-yun was allowed two legal wives.

As children in the west count the buttons on their clothes and repeat the formula Rich man, poor man. beggar man, thief; Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief一 and say that the name on which the last button falls will tell[page 70] the future status of the owner, so the Koreans tell the fortune of a boy by asking him which season of the year he likes the best. Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. If he says the Spring, it means that he will be rich, for as they say in poetic diction “The four quarters of the lotus pond are full of spring water,” meaning that as the melting snows of spring pour their streams into the brimming pond, so the good things of life will pour in upon the fortunate youth. If he says Summer, it means that he will obtain high official position, for “The summer clouds are piled up like glorious mountain peaks,” referring to the prominence of the official. If he says Autumn, it means that he will become famous, for “The rich autumn moon shines over all the earth” as his fame shall reach to the remotest lands. If he says Winter it means that he will be a man of powerful and heroic mould “On the mountain pass in the dead of winter the only green thing is the majestic pine,” illustrative of his preeminence and nobility.

The teacher told his pupil to write a ten-syllable poem on the game of go-bang. or  paduk. The boy seized his pen and wrote: -

“In the war between the black and white, victory means the building of a house.”

In the game of paduk, which rivals the royal game of chess, the object is to enclose spaces on the board with one’s own men, to the exclusion of the enemy’s. Each of these enclosed spaces is called a “House.” Now a house is a useful thing and the poem means that war, in order to be of use, must not be merely destructive but must be constructive as well. To fight only to destroy an enemy is mere savagery. There must be behind it the building up of some great principle to give it sanction.

Ch’im-hyang or “Immersed perhixne” is a Chinese and Korean drug made of agallochum wood that has been submerged in the sea for a thousand years! The tree is said to grow in Korea but, as might be supposed, it is not easy to find any that has been submerged a thousand years. In fact a thousand years is not necessary to the production of a very fair quality of ch’im-hyang. We saw a piece the other day which came from the [page 71] coast of Whang-ha Province and was said to have been submerged five hundred years. It is ground to a powder and boiled. It costs about four times as much as ginseng of equal weight.

“Once upon a time” a newly appointed governor of Kyung-sang Province went to his post in Taiku but within four days suddenly died. Another was sent and he followed the bad example of the first. A third was sent but news came back that he too died in the same mysterious manner. Now the governorship of that province is generally considered a pretty “good thing” but after three governors had died in succession there was a visible falling off in applicants for the position. In fact no one could be found who would venture. The king was quite uneasy over the situation but had no way of finding out where the difficulty lay. Not even the ajuns of Taiku could give any reason for it. In every case the governor had been found dead in his bed the third morning after his arrival.

At this juncture one of the officials of seung-ji rank proposed to His Majesty that he should be sent as governor, and boldly offered his services. The king was much moved by the man’s offer to go, but tried to dissuade him. The official was firm, however, in his determination to go if the king would send him. With great hesitation the latter complied and some days later the new governor arrived at the scene of the triple tragedy.

It is customary for newly appointed provincial governors to enter upon the duties of their office three days after their arrival at their posts. So this one had three days in which to set in order his affairs before assuming the reins of government. The ajuns looked upon him with wonder, to think that he would thus brave almost certain death. The first and second nights passed without any trouble. It was the third night that was to be feared. As evening came on the governor told the ajuns to sleep as usual in the room adjoining his own. He ordered the great candles lit, two of them, as large around, as a man’s arm. He then sealed himself on his cushion completely dressed, folded his arms and awaited developments. The door between him and the ajuns was nearly shut, but a crack an inch wide gave them an op- [page 72] portunity to peep in from time to time and see what was going on. Not one of them closed his eyes in sleep. They feared not only for the governor but for themselves as well.

Hour after hour passed and still the governor sat as mute as a statue, but wide awake. About midnight a wave of freezing cold swept through the house. Each ajun shivered like a leaf, not from cold alone but because they knew that this heralded the coming of a spirit from the dead. The candles flared wildly but did not go out, as is usually the case when spirits walk abroad.           

One of the ajuns, braver than the rest, crept to the governor’s door and looked through the crack. There sat the governor as calm as ever while in the center of the room stood the figure of a beautiful girl clad in rich garments. One hand was pressed to her bosom and the other was stretched out toward the governor as if in supplication. Her face was as white as marble and about it played a dim mysterious light as if from another world. The ajun could not make out much of the conversation, for it was almost finished when he looked. Presently the figure of the girl faded away into a dark comer of the room, the icy pall lifted, and she was gone.

The governor called the ajuns in and told them they had no need to fear longer; that the three former governors had evidently been frightened to death by this apparition but that there was no more danger. He bade them all lie down in his room and sleep. The rest of the night passed quietly.

In the morning the governor assumed the duties of his office, and his first command was to send to the town of Ch’il-wun, arrest the head ajun, tell him that all was known and wrest a confession from him by torture.

This was done and the wretch confessed that in order to secure his dead brother’s estate he had killed that brother’s only daughter and buried her behind his house. The body being disinterred was found to be perfectly preserved. It was given decent burial and the wicked ajun was killed.

So the spirit of the girl was laid, and no more governors were frightened to death by her appeals for justice. In later years this same governor was second in command of the military expedition against the traitor Yi Kwal who had raised a dangerous insurrection in the north. This was early in the [page 73] seventeenth century. It is said that the spirit of this girl used to appear to him each night and tell him how to dispose his troops upon the morrow so as to defeat the rebel. The general in chief acted upon his suggestions and thus it was that this formidable rebellion was so easily put down.

Editorial Comment.

In our last issue, in the report of the trouble between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants in Whang-ha Province, we mentioned certain information as having been transmitted to the United States Legation. We failed to notice at the time that it might be construed as having come from the Legation to us. This was by no means the case, and insofar as anyone has been led to suppose this, we hasten to apologize. The fact that the matter was reported to the Legation had nothing to do with our argument and it was quite unnecessary for us to mention the Legation in this connection. The facts were laid before us by thoroughly trust-worthy and responsible parties, and it never occurred to us that the form in which the facts were published might possibly lay the Legation open to the suspicion of having given out for publication evidence in a case whose trial was still pending.

The papers in the case were handed us by parties to whom the U. S. Minister had sent them at the request of their author, on finding that the case was not one for the Minister’s interferance. We published the facts at the request of these parties and, as we understood from them, at the desire of the authors. The United States Minister did not know that they were to be published and has expressed his disapproval of the publication of such matter previous to the trial of the case. It was the feeling of the people interested that a publication of the facts would do something to ensure a thorough investigation of the case, by impressing upon the Roman Catholic authorities the necessity of showing that the Koreans were committing these acts without authority and against the wishes of the foreign priests. [page 74]

In our former issue we said that it seemed impossible to believe that the French priests had been abetting the Koreans in these illegal acts. In this we intended to give them the benefit of the doubt. We spoke only of the two priests in the disturbed district. But these are not the only ones in the north, and our inability to believe that these special men had acted so far contrary to their own words, in no way weakened the evidence given, in a more general way, by missionaries in the north, to the effect that Roman Catholic priests had encouraged unlawful practices. But the facts which the trial in Ha-ju have already brought to light show that, even in these two cases, our belief that the priests were ignorant of the extent to which their adherents were defying the law was misplaced, for one of them acknowledged to the commissioner that he was responsible for many of these acts.

We would suggest that the news space in our sprightly Kobe contemporary is too valuable to give a column and a half to quoting news which in his next issue the editor takes pains to tell his readers is not worthy of credence. By the way, we notice that he made no mention of the incriminating documents which we published in their original form with seals attached. We venture to surmise that he suspected there was something in it after all. We learn from Ha-ju that the acts mentioned in our last issue have been proven before the special court there, as well as many others of like nature, and that, too, with practically no denial from the Koreans who were charged with the crimes.

News Calendar.

We have received the wedding announcement of Mr. James S. Whitney and Mrs. Mary Lyman Gifford, at Mendota, Ill., U. S. A. The wedding took place on December the thirty-first.

It is with keen regret that we learn of the death of the infant daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Wells, of Pyeng-Yang. Influenza has been sadly prevalent in that community and has claimed now its second victim there this winter. The many friends of Dr. and Mrs. Wells sincerely sympathize with them in this bereavement.

[page 75] G. Hayashi, Esq., the Japanese Minister, returned from Japan on the 13th inst. on a Japanese man-of-war. He was welcomed at the South Gate station by a large and enthusiastic company of Japanese. Yi Yu-in has replaced Chang Wha-sik as Mayor of Seoul. The new Minister to Japan, Ko Yung-heui, carried Yen 30,000 to pay up the indebtedness of Korean government students in Tokyo to the sum of yen 27920, the balance to be used for their benefit. Yen 4,000 were also sent to defray expenses of Prince Eui-wha in America. All the Korean students in Tokyo are ordered back to Korea.

The Mint has sent up to the treasury of the Household during the past four months nickel money to the amount of $2,200,000 and silver half dollars to the amount of $800,000.

One hundred and ninety more ex-prefects are to be arrested and asked to turn over to the government various amounts of arrears of taxes.

The past month has seen interesting developments in the matter of the circulation of the Japanese Bank notes. The whole history of the case is summed up as follows. : -

Through the courtesy of H-J. Nuhlensteth, Esq., we are able to give below a statement of the work done by the Telegraph department during 1902, comparing it with that of the three previous years:一

It is very gratifying to be able to state that the Seoul-Fusan Railway Company has given to Rev. W. C. Swearer, through the Japanese Consulate in Seoul, the sum of Yen 250, not, as they say, as a full equivalent for the injuries he sustained last year in the attack that was made upon him and others, including Bishop Moore, by Japanese coolies on the railway embankment between here and Su-wun, but as a sign of their extreme regret that the affair should have occurred. It will be rememberd that Mr. Swearer was severely injured and that had not this attack occurred Rev. H. G. Appenzeller would doubtless still be among us. This action on the part of the Company will do very much to give the foreign public confidence in their good intentions.

Dr. Philip Jaisohn writes us from Philadelphia, “I am at present engaged in anatomical and biological work in the Wistar Institute of Anatomy founded in this city by General Wistar for the benefit of those who are interested in research and investigation in the higher branches of anatomy and biology, and indirectly to instruct the medical men of the University of Pennsylvania. We have some very eminent men in these branches and it is a great satisfaction to me to associate with them. I hope some day the Koreans will take interest in these sciences and maintain institutions of this nature.”

It is with great regret that we have to announce the death on Jan. [page 76] 18th of Rev. and Mrs. Baird’s youngest child, in Pyeng Yang. This infant was a little less than a year old. The parents have the deep sympathy of their many friends in Korea as elsewhere.

On Jan. 19th a son was born to Rev. and Mrs. W. A. Noble of Pyeng Yang.

Min Yong-don the Korean Minister in London writes to the Korean government regretting that Buddhism and mountain worship are coming into fashion again in Korea and begs that the matter be reconsidered and no more money wasted on these things.

Yun Chi-ho the well-known Superintendent of Trade in Wonsan has been asked to accept the position of An-hak-sa, which means a general supervision of the government, of South Ham-gyung Province. It gives him power to arraign even the governor. But Mr. Yun says his health not permit him to undertake the duties of such an office.

The native paper called Whang-Sung Sin-mun has been unable to collect subscriptions from the provinces amounting upwards of $7,000 and was in danger of collapse but friends came to its assistance and raised $600 which ensures a continuance of that excellent paper. It is said that His Majesty has ordered the Home Office to see that the outstanding debts to this paper be promptly collected.

Ko Yung-hem has been appointed Minister to Japan.

On September 11th the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs published an order prohibiting the use by Koreans of the bank notes of the Dai Ichi Ginko, alleging that they were only bank and not government notes and that consequently they were unsafe.

On Jan. 8th Cho Pyung-sik the Foreign Minister removed the prohibition and stated formally that the people might use the notes. This was not merely a verbal promise to the bank but was a formal document. At the same time it was announced that similar instructions should also he sent to the ports. This however was not done. On Jan 17th Yi Yong-ik, who bad again assumed control of affairs declared that the Japanese paper money would be the destruction of the country, that the Seoul-Fusan Railway was being built with these notes, that all the land would be bought up with them, and then the bank would become bankrupt and all the notes would be useless. Thereupon the Finance Department sent to the Foreign Office to find out who it was that had given permission for the removal of the prohibition. Cho Pyung-sik was removed and the Foreign Office without leadership. Everything then was in Yi Yong-ik’s hands. On Jan. 24th, he told the peddlars’ guild not to use the notes and at the same time forbade the use of certain hong notes put out by Chinese firms in Seoul for merely local convenience

On Feb, 1st the Mayor of Seoul posted all through the city an edict prohibiting the use of the Japanese bank notes and threatening severe punishment upon all who should circulate them. This went all over the country by way of the Finance Department. As a natural result of this there was a run on the bank, every one desiring to have his bank notes in some currency that was not prohibited. The bank people [page 77] were busy for some days passing out the reserves on which these notes were based.

On Feb. 4th the Acting Japanese Minister explained to the government that this was a serious breach of promise and that if the prohibition were not immediately removed it would be necessary to demand an indemnity and a number of mining and railroad concessions. He pressed the government for an answer and on the eleventh inst. the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that the Korean government would talk about the matter with the Japanese as soon as the latter should withdraw their demand. The Japanese of course refused, and then a meeting was arranged for the next day at the foreign Office at which the Korean authorities agreed, (1) to acknowledge themselves in the wrong and to apologize; (2) to withdraw throughout the country the prohibition against the use of the bank notes; (3) to carry out Cho Pyung-sik’s promise to instruct all the open ports to this effect; (4) to publish the statement that if anyone tries to interfere with the circulation of the bank notes be will be severely punished; this to be posted at the gates, where the prohibitory notice was displayed.

We have received from the Japanese authorities a circular setting forth the interesting points of the Industrial Exhibition, to be held in Osaka from March to July inclusive. It is addressed to foreigners and enumerates the special advantages that will be enjoyed for sight-seeing in that most charming country. We are told that foreigners will be given access to many places of special interest that are usually closed against all visitors, foreign or native. The enterprising spirit of the management is shown in their providing an inn specially for Korean and Chinese visitors where they will be accommodated with food and lodgings as nearly as possible like those which they have at home. The circular is accompanied by a marvelously comprehensive guide-book of Osaka and all the points of interest in the vicinity together with directions where to find all sorts of curious and beautiful objects of Japanese manufacture.

The Korean government appointed Yi Eung-ik as a special commissioner to proceed to Hu-jut the capital of Whang-ha Province, and institute a trial of charges against Roman Catholic natives who have been attacking Protestant natives. Rev. H. G. Underwood, D. D., Seoul, and Rev S. A: Moffett. D. D., of Pyung-yang, attended the trial to watch the case in the interests of the Protestant plaintiffs, and Father Dolcet of Seoul went to act in a similar capacity for the defendants. Shortly after the arrival of the commissioner at his post about eight Roman Catholic natives were arrested and imprisoned, pending trial. Father Wilhelm then explained that he himself was responsible for these unlawful acts on the part of the Catholics, admitted that they were in the wrong and asked that in view of this confession the whole matter be dropped. The commissioner replied that he had been sent to make a full investigation and had no power to dissolve the court until the trial was completed. Shortly after this the commissioner sent police to arrest two Koreans in the house Fathers Wilhelm and Dolcet were stop-[page 78] ping. The policeman was seized, bound and beaten there. When the commissioner demanded the reason for this, the priests declared that the Korean authorities had no right to arrest Koreans in their (the priest’s) house. The commissioner replied that he recognized no house in Ha-ju as being exempt from the action of Korean law.

             That night Father Wilhehm left the city in company with the two Koreans and went to his place of residence near Sin-ch’an. Father Dolcet who had gone to Ha-ju to watch the trial demanded that the accused Koreans be left out of jail. but the commissioner refused to do this, since the escape of the men would defeat the purpose of the trial. Thereupon the priest declared that he would not attend the court nor have anything  to do with the trial. The commissioner replied that the priest might do as he pleased, that it would not affect the trial at all whether he was present or not. Thereupon the priest sent a despatch to Seoul to the effect that the commissioner was beating the imprisoned men before judgment had been passed. The Foreign Office was at once questioned about this. It sent a despatch to Ha-ju asking the commissioner why he was taking judgment into his own hands and beating the defendants. and ordered their release. At the same time the priest again demanded the same thing. The commisioner said the order from the Foreign Office was based on misinformation, and determined not to comply until more definite information had been transmitted to Seoul. After the matter had been farther considered by the Korean authorities at the capital the order for the release of these men was withdrawn.

The commissioner then sent out into the country villages lists of Roman Catholic native names and ordered the authorities to seize the men and send them up for trial and he said he would hold the village authorities responsible if any of the men escaped. By this time it had become quite plain that the commissioner was a man to be reckoned with and that he fully intended to carry the trial to a finish, and the Roman Catholics throughout the district came to the conclusion that the matter was a serious one. Many whose names had been posted for trial fled from their villages and joined Father Wilhelm at his home and at last reports he had about him a hundred or more of these refugees. Roman Catholic natives themselves declare that this band of men is arming itself to resist the authority of the government and that its numbers are daily augmented by new arrivals. On or about the 20th inst. the authority of the commissioner was greatly increased and he was given power to pass judgment and inflict punishment. The first case of punishment was that of one of the leaders of a company of Roman Catholics which seized ten Protestant Christians in Sin-an-p’o and made them kneel for several hours in wooden mal, or peck measures, until they were tortured into writing a statement that the Roman Catholic priests knew nothing about the unlawful practices of their followers. Three men were brought up and charged with this offence. Two of them were not identified and were immediately discharged. The other was proven guilty and was subjected to a beating according to Korean law. The news so far received brings it down to the 22nd inst.

[page 79]

FROM THE NATIVE PAPERS.

On the 22nd of December fifty-four Korean laborers started for the Hawaiian Islands under contract for three years, to work on the sugar plantations.

Ninety more Koreans sailed for Honolulu about the tenth of February.

It is reported that the Japanese propose to build a post office building in Pyeng Yang, as their mail to and from that place averages 53,000 pieces annually.

The Superintendent of Trade at Kyong-heung in the extreme north on the Russian border having been appointed acting consul for Vladivostock, reports that as there are many Koreans in and about that port it is very desirable that a consulate be built there and that facilities be provided for the residence of a consul there in proper style.

At the request of the Governer of South Pyeng-an Province one third of the annual revenue is remitted for the next two years, in view of the heavy expenses to which the people have been subjected in building the “West Palace” in the City of Pyeng Yang.

The prefect of Han-san in South Ch’ung ch’ung Province informs the government that many Japanese are building houses there and refuse to remove to within 30 li of Kunsan, according to the stipulation of the treaty.

The budget for 1903 includes appropriations for four extra bureaus. (1) Irrigation; (2) Weights and Measures; (3) Koreans abroad; (4) The Monasteries.

Yi Kon-myung lately Governor of Kyung-geui Province was made Prime Minister about January 23rd.

It has been decided to send ten Korean students to Russia, and each student is to be given $800 a year for his expenses. It is said that the students of the Russian school hesitate to accept this offer owing to the difficulty which Korean students in Japan have experienced in securing support from the Government.

The Annam rice lately imported by Yi Yong-ik came to $115,500 Korean currency, or about yen 64,000.

[page 81]

Korean History.

On the face of it this statement is hardly credible, but judging from future events the Koreans believe that Gen. Yi received a large bribe from the Japanese as the price of this act of leniency. It is true that future events justified the Koreans in suspecting some such thing, but as the Japanese were immediately beside the Ta-dong Gate and, under cover of night, might easily have forced their way out, especially as the Chinese were exhausted by their long forced march and the fight about the city, we may well believe that the Japanese did not need to appeal either to the pity or the avarice of the Chinese in order to effect their escape. It may be, too, that Gen. Yi did not wish to be hampered with so many prisoners of war and was rather glad than otherwise to let them get away. This retreat from P’yung-yang in the dead of winter was like Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, on a small scale. The Japanese were without provisions or proper clothing. Many of them threw aside their arms and luggage and, turning from the main road, begged their way from house to house. When at last they reached the city of Seoul and found food and safety they were in a savage humor. Most of the Koreans who had fled from the capital had now returned, and on them these half-famished and wholly disappointed Japanese wreaked their vengeance. They seized hundreds of the unoffending people and put them to the sword. Scores of them were taken outside the South Gate and slaughtered like oxen.

Gen. Kato, who had led an expedition eastwards into Ham-gyung Province, hearing of the evacuation of P’yung-yang, immediately put his troops in motion and hastened down to Seoul, burning and ravaging as he came. And in a short time all the remnants of the Japanese army were congregated in the capital.

The Japanese retreat from P’vung-yang was not without its casualties. A Korean general, Ko On-bak, met a body of the Japanese, probably a part of the retreating army, at P’a-ju, seventy li out of Seoul, and punished them severely, taking [page 82] as it is said, seventy heads; not a great achievement when we remember that the Japanese were practically unarmed.

But by this time the Chinese Gen. Yi was on his way south from P’yung-yang, rather tardily as the Koreans thought, but hearing of this engagement of Gen. Ko he quickened his pace. Coming to He-on Pass, some seventy li out from Seoul, his horse slipped, throwing him heavily on his face. He was severely though not dangerously hurt. At that moment a company of Japanese was sighted on the mountain side and Gen. Yi ordered instant pursuit. The Japanese, probably a foraging party from Seoul, closed with them and as the. Chinese were on a marshy piece of land, where they sank to their knees in the mud, and had no other weapons with them but their swords, the Japanese inflicted severe punishment on them, killing eighty of their number. Gen. Yi was so weak from loss of blood that he did not dare to prolong the fight.  So he called a retreat and the next day went into camp at Tong-p’a, a hundred li from Seoul, From that point he immediately despatched a letter to the Emperor saying: “There are 20,000 Japanese firmly intrenched in Seoul and with my present force I dare not attack them. I am also ill and cannot fight. I would be glad if you would send someone to relieve me of the command.” Then he retreated fifty li further, to Song-do. in spite of the earnest entreaties of the Koreans. The Korean General Yi Pin said, “You came to render aid to our country. Why is it that you now retreat?” whereupon one of the general’s staff promptly kicked him out of the house.

Gen. Yi ordered Gen. Sa Ta-su to go and guard the ferry at the Im-jin river which was now partly frozen but impassable for boats and ordered the Koreans to go to work building a bridge for the transport of the Chinese army. Here was a piece of work that might have daunted a better engineer than the average Korean general. But the way the Koreans went about it and the brilliant success they achieved show what the Korean was capable of when really in earnest. And it shows as well how thoroughly they were determined to see chastisement inflicted upon the Japanese. A swift broad river partly frozen, no possibility of driving piles nor of erecting any supports from the bed of the river itself. It must be a suspension bridge or none at all. On either side of the [page 83] river heavy timbers were planted firmly in the ground some twenty feet apart. Behind these horizontally were laid heavy logs. Then between these supports on either bank were stretched fifteen heavy strands of the tough fibrous vine called chik by the Koreans. It is the pueraria thunbergiana. Of course these sagged in mid-stream so that they swept the water. To remedy this, stout levers were inserted between the strands and twisted until the cables swung clear of the water by many feet. The foundation having thus been laid, willow branches were spread thickly upon the cables and finally a heavy layer of earth was added and the whole was packed down tight by the treading of many feet. And so was completed the first suspension bridge which history records. We see that during this war the Koreans had originated three important things, namely the iron-clad, the mortar and bomb, and now the suspension bridge. And on this bridge the whole Chinese army crossed in safety.

But Gen. Yi was tired of the war and was extremely anxious to get back to China. So when he heard that Nato was crossing the peninsula he said, “He may come to P’yung-yang and in that case I must hasten back to that place and hold it against him” So he started back toward that city, leaving Gen Wang P’il-juk in charge of the forces that were advancing on Seoul.

At this point mention must be made of the victories of Gen. Chong Mun-bu in Ham-gyung Province. In three successive fights he had defeated a large, though not the main, body of Japanese and seems to have entirely cut it off from forming a junction with Gen. Kato as he retreated toward Seoul with his dwindling though still formidable army. After the departure of the Japanese, Gen. Chong went to the far north, even to the far Tu-man River and inflicted severe punishment on all those who had aided the Japanese or had sided with them in the betrayal of the two princes. This done, he pacified the disturbed province as much as he could and then disbanded the militia and sent them to their homes.

Kwun Ryul, the governor of Chul-la, of whom we have heard before, took 4000 men and marched on Seoul, not by the main road but by way of Yang-ch’un. Crossing the Han [page 84] at that point he went into camp at Hang-ju and surrounded it with a paling of heavy logs. The Japanese in Seoul ridiculed it but sent a strong body of troops to attack it, A long fierce fight ensued and the result was doubtful. At last the Japanese succeeded in setting fire to the wooden paling and had it not been for the most strenuous efforts on the part of the Koreans they would have been burned out. But they succeeded in quenching the flames. When their arrows were gone their outlook was again apparently hopeless, but in the very nick of time Admiral Yi Pin of Chul-la Province came up the river by boat with 20.000 arrows and as the camp was immediately on the river bank the Koreans were saved, and soon the Japanese were driven back. Kyun Ryul took the bodies of the Japanese who had fallen, cut them in pieces and impaled the fragments on the top of the stockade. The next day the Chinese general Sa Ta-su arrived and, seeing these trophies of victory, praised Gen. Kwun highly and sent him to P’a-ju to guard against any possible northward movement of the Japanese. At the same time small companies were sent in all directions to cut off foraging expeditions of the enemy. In this way the Japanese in Seoul were cut off from all supply of fuel. The Japanese general who had suffered defeat at Hang-ju thirsted for revenge, and he led many a fierce sally from Seoul, but always with great loss.

In the third month confidence was so far restored in the north that the king began to think of returning toward the capital. The first stage of this journey was as far as Yong-yu. At this same time the Japanese sent a letter to the Korean general Yu Sung-nyong saying that they wished to conclude a treaty of peace. Gen. Yu as in duty bound sent this message on to the Chinese Gen. Yi in P’yung-yang. He in turn despatched Sim Yu-gyung, who had before acted as an emissary of peace between the Japanese and the Emperor, to take charge of the negotiations and with instructions more or less definite. When this commissioner arrived in the vicinity of Seoul a meeting took place between him and the two Japanese leaders, Konishi and Kato, in mid-stream off the village of Yong-san. Gen. Sim opened the conference by saying, “If you had listened to my advice in P’yung-yang you would have saved yourselves all this trouble. The Chinese, [page 85] 40,000 strong, are all about you. They have gone south to fortify the Cho-ryung Pass and thus cut off your retreat. The Han River is guarded so thoroughly that you cannot cross: Gen. Yi Tu-song is returning from the north with 300,000 fresh troops (an unblushing lie) and I am prepared to offer you the only possible way of escape. You must give up the two princes; you must leave the capital and move south to the coast of Kyung-sang Province. Then and not till then will we conclude peace and the Emperor will recognize your king as his vassal.” The vanquished invaders saw that there was nothing to do but comply, and so in the name of the thirty-seven Japanese generals they engaged to evacuate Seoul on the nineteenth day of the fourth moon! It was further agreed that they should leave untouched 20.000 bags of rice which were stored in the government granaries. The two princes were to accompany the Japanese as far as Fusan and were to be handed over to the Korean authorities there.

In accordance with their promise, the Japanese evacuated the city on the very day appointed, and Gen. Yi Yu-song, who seems to have recovered his health rapidly after he found that the Japanese did not mean fight, entered the city the following day. The condition in which he found things is almost indescribable. The Ancestral Temple and three palaces had been burned. Only the Nam-pyul-gung, which the invaders had used as headquarters, was standing. The country all about was lying fallow and a great famine stared the Koreans in the face. A thousand bags of rice were hastily brought and made up into soup or gruel, mixed with pine leaves, and a few of the starving thousands were fed. ᅳAs Gen. Sa Ta-su was passing along the street he saw a young child trying to suck milk from the breast of its dead mother. The sight aroused his compassion and he carried the child to his quarters and ordered it to be cared for. Rice was so scarce that a whole piece of cotton cloth could be purchased with about three quarts of it. A horse cost but three pecks of rice. Famishing men fought and killed each other, the victors eating the vanquished, sucking the marrow from the bones and then dying themselves of surfeit. It is even said that when a drunken Chinese soldier vomited, half-starved men would crawl to the place and fight over the possession of [page 86] this horrible substitute for food. This state of things naturally brought on an epidemic of the native fever, a species of typhus, and the dead bodies of its victims lay all along the road, the head of one being pillowed on the breast of another. The dead bodies in and immediately around. Seoul were gathered and piled in a heap outside the Water Mouth Gate and it is affirmed that the pile was ten feet higher than the wall.

It was on the twentieth of the fourth moon that Gen. Yi entered Seoul He took up his quarters in the Nam-pyul-gung. He seemed to be in no haste to pursue the Japanese so Gen. Yu Sung-nyong hinted that as the Japanese were in full flight it might be well to hurry after them and cut them down as occasion offered. The Chinese general had no intention of leaving his comfortable quarters that soon, but he gave consent to the project of pursuit and detailed 10,000 men under the lead of Gen Yi Yu bak. A day or so later this doughty warrior returned saying that he had a pain in the leg. So ended the first attempt at pursuit. Then the Korean Gen. Kwun Ryul came in from P’a-ju and urged that there be immediate pursuit, but for some unexplained reason the Chinese commander forbade it and the native accounts even add that he sent secretly and had the boats on the Han destroyed so as to render pursuit of the Japanese, impossible.

After crossing the Han River, the retreating Japanese seem to have been in very ill humor, for they did not confine their exhibitions of temper to the living alone but even attacked the dead. They dug open the royal tomb at Chung-neung a short distance the other side of the river. Digging fifteen measures deep they found some rags and a few bones. These they scattered about on the ground. They then filled in the hole with rubble. Another royal tomb was opened and the casket and remains were burned.

In the beginning of the fifth moon a letter arrived from the Military Commissioner, Song Eung-ch’ang, in P’yung- yang, ordering a general pursuit of the Japanese, The Koreans believe this to have been a mere blind, for the Japanese had twenty days the start of them and pursuit was of course out of the question. At this point again the Koreans make a [page 87] serious charge against the Chinese, asserting that the Japanese, before leaving Seoul, sent large sums of money toward P’yung-yang for Gen. Yi Yu-song and Song Eung-chang, and that by this means they secured immunity from pursuit.

The delay was a cause of great wonderment to the Koreans and it is not unlikely that this theory of a bribe explained for them most fully the actions of the Chinese. And it must be confessed that there is little in the temperament or antecedents of the Chinese on which to base a refutation of the charge. An instance is cited to bring home the charge. A Korean who had come upon a Japanese straggler and killed him was severely beaten by order of the Chinese general in charge.

Finally, when all too late, Gen. Yi made a pretense of pursuit, but after crossing Cho-ryung Pass and still finding himself no nearer the enemy than before, he turned back and resumed his comfortable quarters in Seoul. If he thought the Japanese would hasten to take boat and return to their native land, he was much mistaken. It may be that they wished to do so, but the terrible punishment that Admiral Yi Sun-sin had inflicted upon the army of reinforcement made them wary of approaching the coast, and so the Japanese forces in the south found themselves practically entrapped. Had the Korean land forces been led at this time by a man of the skill and bravery of old admiral Yi the country would have been spared long years of war.

The Japanese in their flight south were brought face to face with this stern fact, and like the soldiers that they were they set themselves to solve the problem. They wanted to be near the sea, perhaps with a view to taking advantage of any opportunity that might present itself of slipping across to Japan, and yet they were so numerous that, living as they must on forage, it would be impossible for them all to encamp at the same place. So they adopted the plan of fortifying a long strip of the southern coast, reaching from the harbor of So-sang in the district of Ul-san in Kyung-sang Province to Sun-ch’un in Ch’ul-la Province, a distance of over two hundred and seventy miles. There were in all between twenty and thirty camps.

Being thus about ten miles apart they had room for forage and still were near enough each other to render assistance in case the Koreans or their allies the Chinese should besiege them [page 88] at any point. These fortified camps were all of the same general kind, overlooking the sea from a bluff and on the land side surrounded by a moat and earthworks. These preparations were made with the utmost care, for there was no hope or immediate succor and the Japanese foresaw stirring times.

In course of time the Chinese court was informed of these events and the success of their generals in the north seems to have given them some enthusiasm for prosecuting the war; so additional troops were sent to the front under the command of Generals Yu Chung and Hu Kuk-ch’ung. These troops numbered 5,000 and were from southern China. Among them there are said to have been many “ocean imps,” or savages from the southern islands. These men could enter the water, it is said, and scuttle the enemy’s ships from beneath. We are told that there were also in this army some men of immense stature who came in carts rather than on foot. These forces went into camp at Sung-ju in Kyuug-sang Province.  At this place there was also a large Korean army under Generals Kim Ch’un-il, Kim Sang-gon, Ch’oe Kyung-whe. Ko Chong-hu. Yang San-do and Yi Chong-in. Under them were large numbers of militia and raw recruits, and this accounts in part for the speedy fall of the town and the terrible slaughter that ensued. The Japanese laid siege to the place and after nine days, during which time the Japanese made a hundred separate assaults, the latter were reinforced and the defenders, exhausted by the long struggle, were finally driven from the wall and the Japanese effected an entrance. But even after they got in, the Koreans fought desperately and sold their lives as dearly as possible. Of this most sanguinary battle only one incident is preserved in the Korean accounts. When the Japanese entered the city and had advanced to a point on the wall which overlooks the waters of the Nam-gang (river), a desperate encounter took place, in the midst of which the Korean general, Yi Chong-in, seized two of the Japanese about the waist and, dragging them to the brink of the precipice, threw himself and them into the water below. Korean accounts say that in this battle the almost incredible number of 70,000 Koreans were killed and that an equal number of the Japanese perished. This latter must be an exag-[page 89] geration, for the loss of that number must have swept well-nigh the entire Japanese army from the country. We must remember that the Japanese army had received practically no reinforcements from the time it first landed on Korean soil, and it is safe to say that what with the losses by sickness and accident, together with the thousands who had fallen at the hands of the Koreans and Chinese, the original force must have dwindled to 150,000 or less; in which case the loss of 70,000 men must have put them hors de combat at once. This battle is called the greatest in the whole war, by the Koreans, though it is not considered the most important.

An interesting story is told of a dancing-girl of this town. When the Japanese took possession of the place she was appropriated by one of the Japanese generals. One day while they were feasting in a summer-house on the wall overlooking the river, she began to weep. He asked her the reason and she replied, “You have come here and driven away our people and our king. I do not know whether my sovereign is living, and yet I sit here and feast. I can hardly claim to be better than the beasts, to sit here and make merry. I must put an end to my life.” Thereupon she threw her arms about her paramour and flung herself and him over the edge, thus ending her weary life and helping to avenge her native land at the same time. For this reason she was canonized at a later date and her spirit was worshiped at this place each year by royal edict.

All this time the great Admiral Yi was in camp at Han-san Island off the coast of Kyung-sang Province. His force was not large but during his enforced idleness he prepared for future work. He set all his men to work making salt by evaporating sea water, and by this means he got together a great store of provisions. Needing barracks for the soldiers, he offered to the carpenters and workmen about a bag of salt for a day’s work. His energy and patriotism were so contagious that many worked for nothing, and the barracks were soon built. At this point the king conferred upon him the admiralty of the three provinces of Ch’ung-ch’ung, Chul-la and Kyung-sang.

In the ninth moon the Commissioner Song Eung-ch’ang and Gen Yi Yu-song collected their forces and started back [page 90] for China. They evidently considered the back bone of the invasion broken, and so it was; but like most spinal diseases it was destined to linger on for years before it came to an end. When these generals set out on their homeward way they left 10,000 Chinese soldiers in the hands of the Korean gererals Yu Chung and O Yu-ch’ang to act as a bodyguard for the king. In spite of their suspicions of the corruptibility of Gen. Yi Yu-song, the Koreans speak in high terms of him. They de-scribe him as a young man of thirty, of handsome person, broad mind and possessed of great skill in the art of war. When he was on the eve of returning to China he bared his head and showed the Koreans that his hair was already turning gray. He told them it was because he had worked so hard for them, which piece of bathos seems to have impressed them deeply.

Chapter XL

The King re-enters Seoul....  temporary palace....  a royal lament ..  a profligate prince....  imperial rebuke....    “The Flying General” .....uneasiness in Seoul            revenue reform.... .reforms in the army ...King refuses to make peace with the Japanese..... the Chinese retire … plot against Konishi...... Japanese envoy in Nanking..... robbers put down.....  a good man ruined.... Japanese trickery ….  a patient envoy...... he absconds .....his flight covered by his second..... homesick Japanese .... Konishi sarcastic..... Chinese envoy in Japan ..... Korean envoy..... Japanese army leaves Korea.....  prince refuses the crown..... rebellion..... death of a loyal general..... envoys illtreated in Japan..... return... . a new invasion determined upon.....  comparison of Japan and Korea.....  Japanese scheme to get Admiral Yi into trouble....... Admiral Yi degraded …. second invasion ...Cbo-ryung pass fortified.....  Chinese give aid..... Admiral Yi’s successor a failure..... great naval victory for the Japanese.

It was on the fourth day of the tenth moon of the year 1593 that the king reentered the gates of Seoul after his long hard exile in the north. But he found the city almost a desert. The palaces were burnt and the ancestral temple was level with the ground. Under the circumstances he decided to stop for some time in that part of the city which is called [page 91] Chong-dong, the present foreign quarter, near the West Gate. Here there had been the grave of one of the wives of the founder of the dynasty, but her body had long ago been disinterred and removed to a place outside the Northeast Gate. So the king took up his quarters at the Myang-ye-gung. It is the exact spot where the King of Korea lives today. A considerable tract of land about it was surrounded by a stake fence with a gate at the east and at the west. This royal residence was named the Si-o-sa or “Temporary Residence.” Here the king lived thirteen years while the palace new known as “The Old Palace” was being built. The king was desirous of rebuilding on the spot where his palace had stood before, the Kyong-bok-kung, but he was told by the geomancers that that would be an unpropitious site. In order to build the new palace a tax of half a piece of cotton cloth was levied upon each man throughout the country. In some cases rice was accepted as a substitute.

After the king had entered the city, one of his first acts was to go to the site of the ancient Confucian Temple and, standing on the melancholy spot, utter the following lament: “The spirit of Confucius permeates space as water permeates the soil beneath our feet. If my faithfulness is great enough, let the spirit of Confucius rest down upon this spot.” He noticed that none of the people were in mourning and so ordered that all those who had lost parents in the war should assume the mourner’s garb.

At this time a strong faction arose whose wish was to see the king lay aside his royal prerogative in favor of his son. This prince was a son by a concubine, for the queen had no children.  He was an ambitious but profligate fellow and had in his heart no loyalty for his father. Some of the courtiers went so far as to memorialize the King to the effect that it might add to the contentment of the people if the king should put the reins of government into the hands of his son. He hesitated to do this, for he knew the young man and how unfit he was to rule. At the suggestion of Song Eung-ch’ang, the emperor sent to the king appointing the Crown Prince to the governorship of the southern provinces in conjunction with the Chinese general, Yu Chung. The prince was delighted at this and hastened to his post at Chun-ju. He practically took [page 92] the whole jurisdiction of the south out of the hands of the king and even held the competitive examinations for literary degrees, which was an exclusively royal prerogative,

Another of the Chinese generals accused the king before the emperor of effeminacy and love of luxury and suggested that one of the best of the Korean generals be elevated to the throne in his place, but Gen. Suk Sung, who was very loyal to Korea, induced the emperor merely to send a letter upbraiding the king for his love of luxury and claiming that this was the cause of Japanese successes in the peninsula. The letter ended with an exhortation to arouse himself, work up a competent army, arid complete the work of driving out the Japanese. The envoy bearing this missive was met at P’a-ju by Gen. Yu Sung-nyong and an escort. The Chinaman told him that his arrival in Seoul would be the signal for some very important disclosures. General Yu and Gen. Chuk conferred together about this matter and decided that the king must in any event be prevented from abdicating, for their official heads depended upon his retention of the reins of power. They also persuaded the envoy to their view, so that when the king read the letter and declared his intention to abdicate, the envoy objected that this could not be done until he had sent a letter to the emperor and obtained his consent.

Meanwhile there was going on in the south a sort of geurilla warfare against the Japanese. It was led principally by Kim Tuk-nyung, a self-made man who had the confidence of the prince. This man had put his whole fortune into the cause and had himself fitted out 5,000 men. His method was to pass from place to place with great rapidity and strike the enemy when they were least expecting attack. In this way he earned from the Japanese the name “The Flying General.” He is said to have been uniformly successful.

Of another ilk were Song U-jin, Yi Neung-su and Hyun Mong. These gathered about them bands of desperate men and went about the country looting and burning. In Seoul there was consternation. At any moment one of these bands might enter the city and work their will. The Crown Prince, a cause of great uneasiness, was still at Chon-ju and for aught anyone knew he might be plotting the overthrow of the gov- [page 93] ernmnent. In fact this impression was so strong that the high-waymen dared to write to him complaining of the king and asserting that they were going to make a clean sweep. The implication was plain, that they intended to put the prince upon the throne.  The solicitude of the people in Seoul took form in the rumor that Yi Ta-hyung himself, the Minister of War, was in league with the rebels. For forty successive days this injured minister went and knelt at the palace gate and begged that the king would have him executed, as he could not endure the charge of unfaithfulness.

It was customary for the emperor to nominate an heir apparent for the Korean throne, but at the beginning of this war it had seemed necessary to appoint one immediately and so the king had informally promised the prince that he should be King. The latter now demanded that this be confirmed by the emperor and a messenger was sent to the Chinese court for that purpose; but as the emperor had no son himself except by a concubine and was loath to put him on the throne of China, so he was unwilling to see this prince put on the throne of Korea. The result was that he sent back a prompt refusal, which for the time dashed the hopes of the ambitious prince.

It appears that the rebuke which the emperor administered to the king was in some senses deserved. The king after all his wearisome exile in the north, probably paid more attention to the pleasures of peace that was for his own good or the good of the country. If so the rebuke had its effect, for the king immediately roused himself and set to work reorganizing the finances of the country and putting the army on a better working basis. Hitherto the revenue had all been collected in rice but now he allowed the revenue to be collected in any kind of produce, and the collection of it was farmed out to various individuals, a practice which at the time may have had its good points but which at the same time had within itself very bad possibilities. The reorganization of the army was a matter of great importance and the king set himself to it with a will. Heretofore each general, had had his own following and there was no central power nor seat of authority. Each body of troops followed the caprice of its leader with no reference to any general plan. Before the [page 94] Chinese general Yi Yu-song left he put into the hands of the king a book treating of the art of war, a work written by Ch’uk Kye-gwang. This book the king put into use and appointed Cho Kyung and Yu Sung-nyong to have charge of the whole matter of military reorganization. In order to put the new plan into operation a large number of poor and destitute soldiers were gathered. They had to pass a physical test which consisted in lifting a rice bag full of earth, and of leaping over a wall as high as their heads. In ten days two thousand men were found who endured the test. The drill consisted of three parts, (1) firing with guns; (2) shooting with bow and arrow, (3) using the battle axe. In time these men became the royal guard and escort. The number gradually increased to 10,000, 2,000 being attached to each of the government departments. The whole force was divided into two parts and while one part was drilling in the city the other was set to work farming in the suburbs. In this way they raised the food necessary for the sustenance of the whole force. The plan was extended to the country, and teachers were sent to practice the country soldiers. It became a species of militia. From this time the quality and discipline of the Korean army improved in a marked degree.

It appears that the Koreans were not the only ones who suspected Gen. Yi Yu-song of showing favors to the Japanese, for the emperor took notice of it and deprived him of his high rank. He was supplanted by Gen. Ko Yang-gyum. This new appointee advanced toward the border of Korea as far as Liao-tung and from that point sent a letter to the king saying that the Chinese had already lost enough men and treasure in the war and that the king had better hasten to make friends with the Japanese and induce them to come and do obeisance to the emperor. It appears plain that this man wanted peace to be patched up before he should be called upon to do active work in the field. When the king saw this letter he said, “When the Crown Prince becomes king he can do as he pleases but as for me I will never make peace or friendship with the Japanese.” But Yu Sung-nyong urged the helplessness of Korea alone and the need of securing China’s help at all hazards. Sung Hou urged the fact that the new Chinese general had a large force in hand and he [page 95] must be conciliated at any cost. So the king reluctantly sent an envoy to China asking that overtures of peace be made with the Japanese. Even while this envoy was on the way, the emperor, apparently thinking the war at an end, sent an order commanding the immediate return of Gen. Yu Chung, with all his forces, from the province of Kyung-sang. The Crown Prince sent begging him not to go. The people all about the country were in distress about it. He was believed to be the only hope against the Japanese. The command of the emperor however was law and the general was forced to obey. Taking his army, together with the wives and children of those who had been married to Korean women, he went back to Liao-tung. It is said that over 10,000 of the Chinese took back their Korean wives to China, but six years later they all returned to their native land.

Kato was desirous of meeting and having a talk with the Korean general Kim Eung-su, the general of Kyung-sang Province. To this end he sent a Japanese named Yo-si-ra to arrange a meeting, and in course of time they met at the town of Ham-an and had a conference. Kato opened the conference as follows: “If Korea will help us to become the vassals of China we will remove all our troops from Korea immediately and we will also consider it a great favor.” But Gen. Kim, who knew of the enmity which existed between Kato and Konishi, waved the main question by asking, “Why is it that you and Konishi cannot agree? It is plain that so long as he is here such a plan as you recommend cannot be carried out.” Kato answered, “I have long wished to make an end of him, but can never get a chance. If in some way we could work up a charge against him and circulate it among the troops we might be able to get all the army removed to Japan.” As to the further deliberations of these two men we are not informed, but we judge from this passing glimpse that Konishi the younger man was so firmly intrenched in the affection of his troops that Kato despaired of making head against him until that affection was in some way alienated. In this Kato acknowledges his virtual defeat at the hands of his youthful rival.

The emperor was not as anxious as his generals to make peace with the Japanese, and when he heard that his new ap-[page 96] pointee to the peninsula was in favor of a treaty with the invaders he promptly ordered his retirement, and Gen. Son Kwang was sent to take his place. Hardly had this happened when the envoy Ho Ok, from the Korean court, arrived, asking that a treaty be made with the Japanese. When his message was delivered all the court was in favor of the plan; but the Prime Minister said that as they had been deceived once by the Japanese general So Su-bi, who had accompanied Gen. Sim Yu gyuug from Pyung-yang on a similar errand before, it would be well to test them with three propositions. “(1) We will give the king of Japan the royal investiture. (2) Every Japanese soldier must leave Korea. (3) The Japanese must promise never to disturb Korea again.’’ This plan pleased the emperor and Gen. So was sent for, that he might appear before the emperor and accept these conditions.  On arriving at Peking the Japanese readily acceded to the terms and exclaimed, “We will gladly agree to this and will swear by heaven to abide by the terms.” Thereupon Sim Yu-gyun, who had always had a strange leaning toward the Japanese, now exclaimed, “Japan now evidently desires to become China’s vassal.  An envoy must be sent to invest Hideyoshi with the royal insignia, and all this trouble will end.” But Hu Hong-gang had a truer estimate of the visitor and remarked, “The Japanese are a subtle people, and all this talk of becoming vassals of China is mere pretense. There is no use in sending an envoy to Japan.” Gen. Suk Sung said, “This man seems to be honest in what he says. Gen. Sim Yu-gyung should accompany So Su-bi back to Korea and there confer with the Japanese leaders and then arrangements can be made for investing the king of Japan.” The emperor so ordered and at the same time appointed Yi Chong-sung as envoy extraordinary to Japan to perform the ceremony of investiture. Yang Pang-hyung was appointed his second. These events all occurred in the latter part of the year 1593.

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, March 1903

The Test of Friendship.                              97

From Fusan to Wonsan                                        101

Rev. H. O. T. Burkwall

The Bridges and Wells of Seoul                104

Odds And Ends

The Heavenly Pig                                110

Vaccination                                           111

A Hungry Spirit                                     111

Milk Supply                                          112

A Buddhist Relic                                     112

Mr. Three Questions                            113

The Tell-Tale Grain                               113       

Question and Answer                                114

Editorial Comment                                    115

News Calendar                                          121

Korean History                                           129

The Test of Friendship.

 One of the great Confucian principles is that of loyalty between friends. The following tale is a fair illustration of that principle, as developed in the Korea

Kim Chang-sik and Pak Sun-kil had grown up side by side, had droned over the “thousand characters” together through long summer days and had been partners in many a prank that Korean boys love. Their friendship grew with their years until at twenty they were regarded as inseperables. They had even gone so far as to bare the right arm and tattoo the small black dot just above the wrist, that is considered the inviolable and sacred seal of friendship. They promised each other that whichever one should secure honors or wealth he should share his good fortune with the other.

They were both good scholars and both seemed to have an equal chance of success; and yet it was only upon Kim that fortune seemed to smile. He secured a small secretary ship at first but it paid too small a salary to warrant Pak in claiming interest in it, and besides he was not going to suggest such a thing until Kim should approach the subject. But he made no allusion to it. Then the lucky Kim was elevated to a higher position still and every day Pak would put in an appearance at his reception room, or sarang, and wait for his friend to speak. Soon he began to see a difference in his old comrade, a certain nervousness or uneasiness which seemed to argue a falling off in that extreme regard that had always characterized their friendship. This not only made Pak sad [page 98] but it angered him as well, and one day he upbraided Kim sharply, declaring that good fortune had played havoc with his friendship and that it was evident he wanted to get rid of his old time friend. As he was speaking Kim went first red and then white. A singular look came into his eyes but whether it was more of sorrow or of anger one could not guess. When Pak finished Kim was again himself and said coldly, “My getting a position does not mean that I can get you a similar one immediately.” Pak left the house in a rage.

A few weeks later Kim was made governor of Kyung-sang Province and departed for his post without so much as notifying his friend. Pak stayed at home and sulked. He had not a single cash and yet every day his wife brought in his meals regularly. Where the rice came from he never once stopped to inquire. Who would think of asking such a thing so long as the rice keeps coming? That’s the wife’s lookout.

Finally Pak determined to follow his former friend to the country and shame him before all his officials for his disloyalty. He arrived, footsore and weary, at Taiku. the provincial capital, and went straight to the governor’s office. Strange to say, the ajuns at the gate would not let him in nor could he get word with the governor, though he sent in his name on a big red visiting “card.” Instead, the ajuns seized him and locked him up in a building just opposite the gate and kept him a close prisoner for a week.

One day they brought in a quantity of wine and induced him to imbibe. When he was thoroughly intoxicated they laid him on a litter and carried him into the governor’s office where he was placed on a sumptuous mattress and surrounded with the most magnificent works of art. Sweet perfumes breathed through the place and soft music was discoursed by unseen musicians. When he awoke from his stupor he found himself clothed in gorgeous raiment and surrounded by a host of cringing servants, one of whom addressed him thus: “All hail, dread Majesty; know that on earth you were a poor but worthy man. You died, and the heavenly Powers decreed that in compensation for your sufferings on earth you should be made a judge in the nether realms of Hades. There are several cases awaiting your adjudication. Is it your that they be summoned? “[page 99]

Pak looked about him in amazement, sniffed the fragrant perfumes, fingered his silken robe and soliloquized:

“H’m, here’s a transformation for you!  Plain Pak, a beggared gentleman, and now governor of Hades!  Well, there’s nothing to do but adapt myself to the situation. Adaptability is my forte.” and with a sober face he ordered up the first case on the docket.

Who should they drag in first but his old-time friend Kim, the governor. He was in rags and tatters. The jailers urged him on with sharp tined forks and cruel scourges.

 “Ha, traitor! It’s my innings now. Do you remember how you treated me while I was on earth? Cudgel your brains for some excuse.”

Poor Kim in seeming despair knelt on the floor and bowed again and again, rubbing hands together in sign of petition for leniency but no word came from his lips.

“Take him away.” cried the Judge, “freeze him in the ice, boil him in oil, tear him with pincers, mash him in a mortar, let wild oxen rend him limb from limb, let a vulture tear out his vitals, let his tongue be drawn out of his mouth and plowed upon with a red-hot plowshare, let serpents embrace him, toads spit on him, bats scratch him and if there be any other horrible and loathsome torture in the category of hell let them all be poured upon him.”

Kim writhed upon the ground in agony of anticipation. The fiends came near to drag him away. He crawled to the foot of the judge’s throne and wailed,

 “O pity me, pity me! May it not be that you were deceived and that after all I had in mind plans for your welfare? Were you not too quick to distrust me and charge me with infidelity?”

The judge was unmoved by the appeal but waved the doomed man off. The demons came and dragged him away to his fate. Attendants then appeared bearing food and wine.

The latter was rather strong and after his repast Judge Pak took a nap during which another remarkable transformation took place; for when he awoke he found himself lying in his prison house again. What! Had it all been a dream. then? Certainly not. He had been as wide awake and as conscious of surroundings as ever in his life. And here he [page 100] was thrown back to earth again and nothing at all was changed.

An ajun entered, thrust a string of money into his hands and said the Governor ordered him to go home. Bewildered and cowed he hurried from the town and hied him Seoul-ward. After a week of footsore travel he entered the town, but when he arrived at the spot where his house should be it was not there. It had been torn down and in its place a great mansion had been built. He thought that his reason was going. He accosted a man and asked him where Pak Sun-kil’s house was gone.

“Oh it was pulled down two months ago to make room for this building.”

They were standing directly in front of the great gate of the mansion and at that very moment who should emerge from the gate but Pak’s only son dressed as a mourner. Pak rushed forward and seized him by the arm. The boy looked and gasped .

“Father!”

“Yes, I am your father, but why this mourning costume? Is your mother dead?”

“N-no it’s you that are dead.”

“Not a bit of it, my son; let’s go in and see your mother. A delightful little family reunion followed, in the course of which the astonished Pak learned that a coffin had been sent up from Taiku, said to contain his dead body. It had been buried with proper ceremonies and unknown men had appeared bringing heaps of money, who tore down the old house and built the new one for them.

“Well the first thing for us to do is to dig up that coffin.” said Pak. “It will mean bad luck to leave it in the ground.” This was done and within the coffin were found roll upon roll of silk and great nuggets of gold and silver. As the three were performing an impromptu family dance about this coffin a visitor was announced.

It was Kim, the Governor.

Then it all transpired that it was he who had kept the family supplied with rice from the very start and that in order to punish his friend for his suspicions he had “put up” a little joke on him, one scene of which was laid in Hades. So the compact was unbroken after all. [page 101]

From Fusan to Wonsan by Pack-pony.

Concluded.

It was at a little village thirty li out from Kang-nung that I found Dr. H. who had come down from Wonsan to meet me. I entered the village by way of a bridge across a a little stream. At this bridge was established what we may call a devil’s quarantine. Its form was that of a rope extended across the road with short rope pendants hanging from it. This was supposed to be an effective bar to the cholera imps who were even then rioting in Kang-neung and who might be expected to arrive at any moment I found later that they had another one at the other end of the village. As I approached the bridge I was not quite sure what the rope was for but the bridge looked sound and no one seemed to object; so I went under the rope and reached my inn in safety, where I found Dr. H. He had secured for our joint repast a magnificent salmon that had been speared in the stream. I had been out of bread for several days and found that Dr. H. had only three slices left. It was a very jolly tiffin we had in preparation for a twenty-five li ride before dark. The road lay along the shore and there were very few houses. All the towns and villages seem to be situated a long way back from the main road. There can be little doubt that this is the result of centuries of Viking work on the part of the Japanese. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Korean coasts both eastern and western were the favorite hunting-grounds of the hardy Japanese freebooters. At last it got so bad that the government ordered all towns and villages moved inland from the coast. Of course the corsairs could not leave their boats and go any distance inland for the Koreans would then burn their boats and thus cut off their retreat. The towns once having been moved inland the natural inertia of the people has done the rest, and they will never be moved back to the coast until dire necessity compels it. The second day, after traversing a hilly road we entered the dilapidated town of Yang[page 107] yang which I should have pronounced dead did I not know that a periodical chang, or market day, would galvanize it into spasmodic life. This was the first large town along the coast where I could not exchange Japanese paper money for native cash. The harvests were being gotten in all through this section and it was exceedingly difficult to secure accommodations at night. The people would invariably say they had nothing for us to eat, even when they were threshing out grain before our very eyes! We soon adopted a plan which we found never failed. We would sit down and state positively that we were going to stay right there over night. No protestations on the part of the people could move us. When they saw that there was no help for it things went well enough, though often the horse-men had to thresh out grain for the horses before they could be fed at night.

The first twenty li out of Yang-yang was over a beautiful road which seemed to have been cared for as few Korean roads are. We saw an occasional shrine to some spirit or other, but they were always locked. The people said that since the Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians were all about, the shrines were in danger of desecration or even of being burned. Their fears were without warrant, for no one has ever heard of such desecration on the part of Christians in Korea.

After passing through the town of Kan-sung we came to a beautiful spot on the shore where we spent the Sabbath. We were now 300 li from Wonsan and were wearing the northern borders of Kang-wun Province. Sixty li more brought us in sight of the great mass of mountains called the “Diamond Mountains,” famed not only in Korean but in Chinese lore. Ko-sung magistracy offered us scant hospitality for we had to thresh out our horses’ food and eat millet ourselves. But to a hungry man even millet tastes good, and we did not repine. We tried unsuccessfully to get some eggs but the people shook their heads. We had one solitary egg and after breaking it carefully and extracting the meat we put the two halves of the shell together and gave it to a native to use as a nest egg. This shamed them into bringing out an egg which they claimed was their last one. It was along here that we saw for the first time repairs being made on the road. Some forty men were busy throwing the dirt into the middle [page 103] of the road and clearing out the ditches at the sides. Such an exhibition of energy and public spirit gave us quite a shock. Along this part of the way the shore was more broken and uneven, but there were no harbors. We saw a long low island off the coast which was well populated. A number of whaling vessels were anchored there and the huge carcass of a whale was floating on the surface and attracting a perfect cloud of sea-fowl. One night, along here, we could find absolutely no food at all and for the only time in the whole trip were obliged to feed our horse-men with rolled oats. They did not seem to consider them a great delicacy. It is more than likely that a dish of plain millet would have suited them much better.

One day as we were plodding along we met a man who was bringing us supplies from Wonsan, We welcomed him with open arms even though the pies he brought had turned green with mould. He had been loitering by the way and the color of those pies condemned him. He was so ashamed that he turned about and made Wonsan in two days, 240 li, to bring us something more to eat.

As we passed along under the Diamond Mountains, which lie some forty li from the coast, we could plainly see the masses of forest on their rugged slopes. I should have been glad to visit this celebrated place but time would not permit and so we passed reluctantly by. The next day at noon we came to the first really difficult spot in the road. We had to unload the horses and lead them up over a rocky stairway right on the water’s edge. Men were hired to bring the packs over on their shoulders. This was the only spot between Wonsan and Kang-neung that a cart could not have passed. That day we encountered our first ice, a warning that winter would be on us very soon. The next day we saw the town of Hong-chun, grandly situated on the slope of a high hill, the Confucian temple being the most prominent building. The prefectural towns were closer together here, and we were evidently passing out of the wilder portion of the province.

The town of Ko-je lies ten li off the main road. It is near here that the traveler can see one of the “eight wonders” of Korea. Leaving our horses we walked out on a long promontory, to a place where a great mass of basaltic pillars[page 104] raise themselves perpendicularly from the water. One column, composed of several pillars, rises something like 100 feet sheer from the water. At a distance the mass looks like the ruins of some magnificent building. Some of the columns are perpendicular, others oblique, while others still lie prone on their sides. On these rocks were carved the names of hundreds of people who thus recorded their visit to a remarkable freak of nature. Some of the names must have been there for many centuries for they had been almost obliterated. The separate columns are from two to four feet thick and the cross-section was either four, five or six sided. This same curious formation runs westward through the country crossing the Seoul-Wonsan road. This celebrated place is called Ch’ung-suk or “Green Rocks.”

The following day we came out into a wide sweeping valley which extended from the sea-shore right away to the foot of the mountain, and was covered with villages and hamlets. It was a magnificent farming country, though we found that the exceptionally cold summer had hurt the rice.

The following day, November 14th, we reached Wonsan without further adventure. The object of this trip, which was to learn the density of the population on the east coast, to examine the condition cf the people and to discover from personal observation the possibilities of work there for the British and Foreign Bible Society, had been accomplished and the delightful welcome we received at the hands of the friends in Wonsan more than repaid us for all the hardships that we had put up with. Such a trip has its interest, but not the least interesting part of it is getting home to the old fireside again.

The Bridges and Wells of Seoul.

The oldest bridge in Seoul is the Kom-ch’un Kyo which was built in days of King Ch’ung-suk of the Koryu dynasty. It led up to a palace under In-wang Mountain in the western part of the city. It is the only genuine arch bridge in Seoul [page 105] and bears evidence of enormous age. It has never been repaired since its building seven hundred and fifty years ago.

Chong-ch’im Bridge or  “Chong and Ch’im’s Bridge”  is so called from two brothers who were state ministers in the days of the corrupt Yun-san Kun. One was Hu Chong and the other Hu Ch’im. Hu Chang is said to have been thirteen feet two inches high! They had a sister named Nan-sul or “Snow Iris.” She was a distinguished painter, poet and literateur. When the reigning Yun-san Kun became so corrupt that there was talk of deposing him the position of minister became an extremely delicate one. One day the two brothers received note of a cabinet meeting at which was to be discussed the degradation of the former queen, an act that was in itself disgraceful and that would surely cause trouble for those who favored it. The valiant brothers went to their sister to ask what they should do about it. She replied that on their way to the meeting they should both manage to fall off the bridge into the mud and thus make an excuse for absenting themselves. The proposition was a rather unsavory one but the two brothers accepted it, and as they were going to the meeting in their one-wheeled chairs they were run off the side of the bridge into the sewer. From that time on the bridge was called Chong and Ch’im Bridge. It is to the west of the Kyong-bok Palace.

Kwang-t’ong Bridge or “Wide Main Bridge,” often called “Hen Bridge “ because fowls are sold on it, is the large bridge near Chong-no going toward the South gate. The next bridge to the south near Tick Hing’s store is So Kwang Bridge or “Small Wide Main Bridge.” Between these two bridges there was once a little hill but this was levelled when Seoul was made the capital. The bridge near Chong-no is built directly upon the ruins of a former one. The ground gradually became filled in till the old bridge was too low; so a new one was built upon the old one.

Su-gak Bridge or “Water House Bridge” is the first one crossed after entering the South gate. Its name comes from a large house that was formerly built just above the bridge across the stream, the water running beneath the house.

Koreans believe that the South gate is watched over by a huge invisible male serpent and that its female mate guards [page 106] the East gate. They desire to meet each other but are prevented by three obstacles. The first is the monster invisible spider that watches over the Su-gak Briage, the second is the gigantic invisible earth-worm that watches over the Little Kwang-t’ong Bridge and the third is the titanic invisible centipede that watches over the Kwang-t’ong Bridge. So the male and female serpents are separated without hope of union. It is said that when the king goes outside either of  the gates these serpents raise their heads high in air and weep for each other.

In the eastern part of the city is Saltpetre Bridge, so called because formerly there stood near it a saltpetre factory, the product of which was used in making gunpowder.

The Su-p’yo-tari or Water-gauge Bridge is one of the best known. It is the second bridge below Chong-no, and just above it, in the center of the stream, is placed a stone pillar with a scale marked on it to show the depth of water at any time. This bridge and the pillar were both repaired. at the time the great sewer was walled. At that time 1771 A. D., the sewer was not as yet walled in but a long line of ancient willows extended on each side from Chong- no to the East Gate. King Yong-jong ordered these cut down and the sewer walled up as we see it today. It was at that time that the bridges were repaired.

The bridge just in front of the “Mulberry Palace” is called Ya-jo-hyon Kyo or “Night Shining Pass Bridge.” At this point there used to be a little hill or bank which was levelled when this city became the capital. This hill accounts for the hyon in the name. The name “night shining” arose from the following story. When the “Mulberry Palace” was built about the year 1615 by the tyrant Kwang-ha, at the instigation of the corrupt monk Seung-ji, no one was found who was able to write a name for the great gate. There seems to have been a great dearth of literary ability. While this dead-lock was on, a boy leading a pack-horse came along and learned what the trouble was. “Give me a pen.” he cried.  It was done, and he wrote the name Heung-wha mun so beautifully that after it was copied in gilt and put up over the gate it shone like a lamp at night. So the bridge near it was called “The Night Shining Pass Bridge.” [page 107]

Koreans have always been dependent upon neighborhood wells for their drinking water. There are a few exceptions to this, as in the case of the city of P’yung-y’ang where wells are forbidden, because of the notion that that city is a boat and that to dig a well would scuttle the boat The water there is dipped up from the Ta-dong River. As there is only one well for each neighborhood in Seoul, consisting of from fifty to three hundred houses, there is required a large force of water-carriers. These water-carriers form a guild by themselves, and are considered very low-class men, though higher than butchers, acrobats, exorcists and the like. It is a peculiar fact that very many of the water-carriers of Seoul are from the far north-eastern province of Ham-gyung. Low as the water-carriers are, many gentlemen of Ham-gyung Province have acted in this capacity in Seoul. Desiring to try the national examinations they would come down to the capital and work as water-carriers for several months until they could get together a little money and then they would try the examinations. It is a very paying business; in fact, when a water-carrier wants to give up the business he can sell his positron in the guild for an amount equal to all the wages he would receive during a year and a half. Each house pays five hundred cash or twenty cents a month for having one “load” or two buckets of water brought each day. Many houses take three or four loads a day and a large establishment takes from eighteen to twenty loads a day. A water-carrier can supply, on a average, thirty houses, so that his monthly wage will probably amount to fifty or sixty dollars; but it is hard, honest work and the money is very well earned. Among the Korean officials with whom foreigners have been acquainted several have acted as a water-carrier. One was Kim Hong-nyuk who came from Ham-gyung Province, where he had acquired a knowledge of the Russian language. He became interpreter at the Russian Legation and, after obtaining almost unlimited power, met a tragic fate in 1898.

The water-carriers, because of their kind of work, can enter any house without first warning the women to get out of sight. Even the highest Korean ladies do not retire to the inner room when the water-carrier enters. He is considered like one of the domestic servants. At the same time he must [page 108] announce his approach by that creaking of the yoke which is produced by a peculiar jerk or twist of the shoulders. The principle is the same as that of the Chinese wheel barrow, the strident scream of whose ungreased axles is intended to warn people out of the way.

Many of the wells of Seoul are very old and curious traditions and legends have grown up about them. One of the most celebrated is Ku-ri Well or “Copper Well.” It is situated in Puk-song-hyun near where Gen. Dye used to live. It was very celebrated for its fine water and it was believed that if people drank it they would have many children. For this cause, when the Japanese took the city in 1592 they attempted to stop up the spring which supplied this well, thinking that by so doing they could help to keep down the population!

It is said they stopped up the crevice, from which the water came, with copper; and today the Koreans show yellow marks on the well-stones and claim that the discoloration is caused by the copper plug which is still bedded in the rock but which fails to stop the water. So the well has come to be called the “Copper Well.”

The Sa-bok Well or “Royal Stable Well.” is situated, as its name indicates, in the Sa-bok or stables directly behind the Educational Department. It was formerly the house of the great Gen. Chung To-jun at the beginning of this dynasty. One day a fortune-teller told him that within ten years there would be a thousand horses in his house. He was delighted, thinking it meant that he would have a retinue of a thousand horse; but when he asked a monk about it he was told that it meant that he would became a traitor and that his house would be seized and used as a royal stable, and that a great well would be dug there. And it all came true. He was executed and his house turned into a stable. They thought of making a lotus pond in the yard but a geomancer told them it was an ideal place for a well. So they dug a deep well, and since that time the water has never lowered even in time of extreme droughts. Horses were kept there for hundreds of years; and they say that if a bowl of the water be allowed to stand for several days a sediment exactly like horse-manure will be deposited at the bottom. This does not impair its drinking qualities! [page 109]

Geomancers have to know where water will be found in the ground, and they shun such places; for their business is to locate good grave sites, and it is believed that if a body is buried in wet or springy soil it will not decay rapidly, and the relatives will consequently get into trouble. So geomancers and water are not friends. Yet a geomancer is supposed to be able to locate a spring in the earth, though to the common eye there is no evidence for it on the surface. It is said that there was a celebrated geomancer in Seoul about fifteen years ago and the officials were talking about him and wondering whether he could indeed locate water with unfailing skill.  The upshot of it was that he was ordered to dig a well in the grounds of the “Mulberry Palace.” He of coarse complied, but said that it would cause his death. The well was dug and a fine spring was struck, but from that hour the geomancer sickened and a few days later expired. By some it is supposed that water likes to hide in the ground. It comes out in springs of its own accord but does not like to be forced out, as happens when a well is dug and its hiding-place is laid open. So it gets its revenge by killing the geomancer who tells where it lies hidden.

There is a spring, on the side of Nam-san made memorable by the fact that it was discovered by Yi Hang-bok, the great statesman of three hundred years ago.  A hundred years after its discovery deep in a rocky ravine in the mountain side, a gentleman dreamed that a spirit came to him and said that if he would go every night at midnight and drink three cups of water from that spring for a hundred consecutive nights he would become wonderfully strong. When the man awoke from his sleep he determined to try it. For ninety-four nights he carried out his resolve and drank of the spring at midnight; but the ninety-fifth night he found the water unspeakably foul. How could he drink that stuff? But having gone so far he was not to be balked of the prize by squeamishness; so he forced himself to drink three cups of the nauseating liquid. He suffered no ill effects from it. The next night he found the spring full of liquid that looked like pus. He nearly gave it up, but by an almost superhuman effort downed his three cups. The next night as he approached the mountain he found it wrapped in a fog so dense as to be palpable. [page 110]

He could not see a foot before his face. The path was a rocky, winding one and he had little hope of finding the spot but he was so accustomed to the path that he felt his way along and finally succeeded in reaching the spring, which he found quite clear. The next night the spring was filled with a thick brown liquid like pitch but with a taste and odor infinitely more offensive. He knew there was only one more night of trial, so he attacked the sticky stuff and swallowed his three cups. The next night was his last. He knew the spirit of the well had been fighting him and he went ready for the supreme test. As he approached the spring in the bright moonlight he saw three terrible figures standing with drawn swords about the curb. They brandished their weapons at him and warned him off but he drew near and grappled with them. He was strong and wiry and he got entangled between the legs of the three guardians of the well in such as way that they could not strike him without striking each other. In this position he managed to reach down and dip up his three cups of water. The instant the third was drunk the enemy suddenly disappeared. The test was finished and he felt, running through his veins, a new life and strength. He strode down the mountain like a giant and for long years after was the marvel of the land.

Another tale is added that in recent years a man who doubted the truth of this tale tried the thing himself. He had the same experience up to the last night, when in grappling with the three guardians of the well he failed to reach the water The next day he was found wandering about a mad man. But even so, he lived to be a century old and to his last day could lift ponderous stones that ordinarily required four men to move.

Odds and Ends.

In Korea the pig is called the Heavenly Animal. The argument is certainly farfetched for the habits of swine are anything but celestial; but the fact is that in far antiquity the [page 111] Celestial Dragon did not like the black face of the celestial pig and so banished the latter to the earth, where it became a favorite article of food. People, in time, discovered that on the hind leg of every pig there are seven spots which resemble the constellation of the Great Bear and for this reason the pig was set apart as a sacrificial animal. We have in Korean history a record of the use of the pig in sacrifice as far back as the third century A. D. The sheep is also used in sacrifice. It is the mildest of all animals. They say that when a sheep is required for sacrifice and the fact is announced in the presence of a flock of sheep one of them will walk out from the flock and present itself to the messenger to be carried to the altar.

This practice has existed in China for many centuries. In that part of China lying between the Hoangho and Yellow Rivers, called Kang-nam by the Koreans, there is supposed to be a peculiar spirit called Kwe-yuk Ta-sin (鬼疫大神) or the Great Small-pox Spirit, which travels from this point as a center and visits all the outlying Kingdoms. For some three centuries the Koreans have practiced the inoculation of cattle. A physician noticed that if cattle had small-pox after gaining full age, the hide was so thick and tough that the eruption would not be complete and so the disease would strike in and kill the animal but that the thinner and tenderer skin of the calf made it much less dangerous. So they inoculated calves to give them the disease. About a century ago a man had the idea of applying the virus to children. Some of the discharge from the disease in cattle was transferred to children but it proved too strong; but after a time they conceived the idea of using the watery fluid discharged from the sores and this was found successful. Inoculation was always effected in the nostrils on the idea that, as this is the orifice whereby the humors of the body escape, the virus would have a better effect. It is only recently that Koreans have come to see that inoculation on the arm or leg is equally successful.

The hero of this tale was a young man of good family with an education quite out of proportion to his means. All  he needed was an opportunity to distinguish himself, and this is how he did it. [page 112]

One day he was standing at the front gate of a wealthy gentleman’s house wondering, perhaps, whether he would ever be as well off as its owner. A servant passed in with a tray of food on her head and on top of the food the young man saw the dim figure of a spirit sitting. He marvelled at it but held his peace and waited to see if anything would come of it. Presently he heard a great outcry in the house and, rushing in, he learned that the daughter of the house had suddenly fallen sick and died after eating some food. The young man demanded to see the girl’s father, and said, “Let me see the girl and I can cure her.” This was far from the ordinary conventionalities, but the youth seemed so sure that he could help that he was taken where the dead body lay. He touched the girl’s hand and presently she showed signs of returning life. The young man was quickly sent from the room, but as soon as he left the girl again became lifeless. He came back and in a loud voice ordered the spirit not to return. The girl revived and the father, struck with admiration of the boy’s gifts, made him his son-in-law. The young fellow said that he recognized the spirit as one of the “hungry” variety and it was because the girl had not thrown it a little of the food that it had afflicted her so severely.

Outside the West Gate there is a well called Ch’o-ri Well or “One li Well.” Koreans say that if a mother has not enough milk to feed her child she must go to this well and throw into it a few strings of vermicelli and at the same time pray that the spirit of the well give her more milk for her child. Only one can do this each day. If a woman finds that some one is before her at the well for this purpose she must wait till the following day.

Near the Su-gak Bridge there is a large house with a field beside it. In the field there is an enormous stone with many holes in it. It is over ten feet high, but only the top of it is now visible. It is on the site of a former Buddhist Monastery of the Koryu  dynasty. They say that successive owners of the field have tried to dig up the stone but have always been stopped by heavy rain. Why this is not utilized in times of drought, to make rain fall, is not explained, but Koreans cling to this idea still. An interesting illustration of this same idea was seen [page 113] some fourteen years ago when Mr. Tong, then secretary to the Chinese Legation in Seoul, and now Taotai of Tientsin, went with a large number of coolies to the town of Pu-yu in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province and attempted to unearth an ancient monument which commemorated the victory of Chinese and Silla forces over the kingdom of Pak-je in the  seventh century. Digging down eighteen feet they found the stone and took rubbings of it but before they could bring it to the surface a tremendous rain came on which destroyed many houses in that district. The people believed it was because this stone was being disturbed; so they came in force and filled in the excavation and drove away the workmen.

One of Korea’s great men was Song Sam-mun 成 二 問 which means  “Song of the Three Questions.” The way he came by this curious name is as follows. Shortly before his birth a voice was heard from the sky directly over the house saying, ‘‘Is the child born?” The father answered,  “No,”  The next day the voice said again, “Is the child born?” and again the father answered, “No.” The third day the same question was asked and this time the father could answer, “Yes.” But having answered thus he asked the spirit why the questions had been, put three times. The answer was, “If you had been able to reply “yes” the first time the child would have grown to be the most celebrated man in the world; if you had been able to answer “yes,” the second time he would have become the most celebrated man in Korea, but as you answered “yes” only to the third question he will be a great man but will share this honor with others equally great. So the father named his boy Three Question. Song Sam-mun lived to give to Korea her alphabet and to be enrolled on the list of her most famous sons.

A sesamum merchant stopped at a country inn and placed all his money in a bag of sesamum thinking that it would be safer there than anywhere else. Having occasion to leave the place for a few minutes he asked the inn-keeper’s wife to keep an eye on his grain bag for him. He returned shortly but found that the money was gone. He charged the woman with having stolen it but she denied the charge vehemently. [page 114]

At last they went to the magistrate about it. When he had heard the whole case he remained silent a few moments and then asked the man how long he had been gone from the inn.

He said it was not more than ten or fifteen minutes. Thereupon the magistrate ordered a servant to go to the inn and sweep out one of the rooms carefully. Then they all adjourned to the inn and the magistrate ordered the woman to go into the swept room alone, take off her clothes and put them on again. She did so and when she came out again the magistrate entered the room and looked about. “You have stolen the money.” he said, “you need not deny it longer, I know you did it.” The woman then confessed, and when the magistrate was asked how he was sure the woman had taken it, he replied, “The owner was gone such a short time that there was every reason to suspect the woman. She would necessarily take the money out of the bag in a great hurry and conceal it in her clothes. Some of the grains of sesamum would be sure to adhere to the money and be put with it into her garments. This floor was newly swept and yet when I came into it after the woman had taken off and resumed her dress I found sesamum seeds on the floor. So it was quite clear to me that she was guilty.”

Question and Answer.

Question. What is the meaning of the rope-pulling contests in the country at the beginning of the new year?

Answer. Both the stone-fight and the tug-of-war. are very old institutions, but while the stone-fight is peculiar to Korea the tug-of-war is found also in China. They both originated in the days of the Koryu dynasty (918-1392 A. D.) The stone-fight was at first a sort of sham fight in the palace grounds, gotten up for the amusement of the king and court but it soon spread beyond these limits and became a national institution. This is, however, a somewhat dangerous form of sport and not infrequently costs a human life. For this reason it was objectionable to the Buddhist element that was al-[page 115] ways extremely strong in Koryu days. For this reason they introduced the more peaceful tug-of-war. Scores of towns and villages all over Korea observe this custom. A detailed description of it will be given in our next issue.

Editorial Comment.

It has been the impression of Christendom that the physical persecution of Protestant Christians by the Roman Catholic Church is fast passing away; but within the last two years a new phase of the same thing has begun to make itself apparent in the Far East. Barred from such practices by the enlightenment of the West, Roman Catholic emissaries seem to have taught them to the East.

 Such persecution has always manifested itself in places either where the local government was too weak to prevent it or where the Roman Catholics could secure a dominant voice in the government itself. The case to which we are now calling attention is of the former type.  

The Roman Catholic Church has been at work in Korea for a century or more and during that time has suffered severe persecutions at the hand of the government; notably in 1866 when nine French priests were seized and executed and upwards of 20,000 native converts were destroyed.

It would be folly to deny that these missionaries showed great devotion and placed their lives upon the altar of their faith as unreservedly as did any of the martyrs of old. The French priests in 1866 were offered a safe conduct to the border if they would leave Korea and promise never to return; but they refused. Two of the priests escaped capture and made their way to China, where they tried to secure government aid for their fellow-missionaries in Korea. A French naval expedition was sent against the little Kingdom but was beaten and driven back.   

From that time to this the policy of the Roman Catholic Church in Korea has been to uphold its prestige by an appeal to the secular arm of the government. When a French priest was driven out of a southern Korean town by a mob the French authorities compelled the Korean government, at the mouth of the cannon, to send that same priest back to his country diocese with all the spectacular parade of a provincial governor. Local magistrates in the country have been given to understand that Roman Catholic adherents are not to be arrested and punished by the arm of the law but are [page 116] subject to trial only by their spiritual rulers. There are over thirty thousand natives of Korea today who, whatever their offence, cannot be touched by the Korean authorities without the sanction of the priest. It is not difficult to see what the result will be in a country where local magistrates, far from the center of authority and subject to few checks, frequently go beyond the legal limits in the matter of taxation. Any society or institution that will stand between a Korean and the payment of these illegal imposts will secure the allegiance of a host of people who have no other avenue of influence whereby to secure the same end. Hundreds of people apply every year for admission to Protestant churches in Korea thinking thereby to escape official oppression. It is one of the greatest obstacles to mission work.

A portion of Korea is now in the midst of a considerable upheaval due to Catholic persecution of Protestant Christians in the Province of Whang-hai northwest of Seoul. In this province Protestant missionary labor has met with such success as to warrant the hope that in a comparatively short time the whole province will be prevailingly Christian. But a strong Roman Catholic element is found there too, and during the past year it has become evident that the French priests have become alarmed at the spread of Protestantism and have determined to make a strong and concerted effort to drive it out or kill it. Hundreds of Protestants have been driven from their homes and robbed of all they possessed. Scores have been seized and beaten in a most barbarous manner, and this not only by Roman Catholics but avowedly in the name of that Church. Protestant Christians have been ordered to subscribe toward the building of Roman Catholic churches, and because they refused, have been dragged from their homes, beaten until insensible, and then left for dead. Some of the tortures match the days of Torquemada. Imagine a man bound about the knees and ankles and then two oaken bars being inserted between his legs below the knees and pried each way like levers until the slow pressure bends the bones of the leg and the victim goes, from one fainting fit into another because of the unbearable agony, and finally dies of his injuries!

When matters reached this pass the important question arose as to whether the Protestant missionaries should appeal to the law to remedy the difficulty or whether they should follow the strict interpretation of scripture and not resist the oppressor. There is doubtless a certain fraction of the Church which would deprecate an appeal to the secular power, but a very little observation of the conditions prevailing in Korea will show that this is not the wisest course. In the first place the leaders of the Protestant Christians are American citizens [page 117] who cannot share with their adherents the horrors of the persecution. These American missionaries have gone into the  province and through years of work have built up a flourishing church, and now, though they themselves are perfectly safe from physical persecution, they must, according to the theory of complete non-resistance, sit still and see the church devastated, the converts killed or driven out, and their property destroyed or confiscated. This itself is a condition never met in the clays of the inquisition and must necessarily modify the solution of the. question. The missionaries are trying, and with success, to extend to their adherents the same immunity from physical attack that they themselves enjoy. In the second place this persecution has not been merely a religious one but a piratical one as well. The whole evidence in the case shows that the Roman Catholic natives have simply taken advantage of their position to rob the Protestant Christians, and the latter are no more called upon to permit the robberies than a Christian man in America could be called upon to let a burglar ransack his house without calling the police. In other words, while the foreign priests have in mind only the breaking up of Protestant work, they are inciting their adherents to purely felonious methods to accomplish this end. It must be confessed that this consideration so far modifies the question as to warrant the missionaries in appealing to the law.

That this is not merely a religious persecution is shown by the fact that only a small fraction of the cases cited in Whang-ha Province are brought by Protestant adherents. Out of over 200 complaints only ten were from the Protestants. So far as the Koreans are concerned it is simply a chance to rob and plunder. The cases cited in this issue of the Review are only samples of hundreds of cases in which attacks have been made simply for the sake of loot.

In the third place, the Protestant Christians have made no reprisals. The Catholics have not even charged them with any physical retaliation. The Christians have simply asked that the Korean government take steps to uphold the laws of the country and afford physical safety to all the residents of the province. But the Roman Catholic authorities have openly taken the position that they will not allow the Korean governors and magistrates to exercise jurisdiction over their adherents. This means that there are thousands of Koreans who defy the law, assert that to all intents and purposes they are not Korean citizens, and refuse to obey the laws except when they please. The position is an impossible one, for the authority of the government is not replaced by any other authority which is competent to punish offenders to the limit [page 118] of the law. But even if they did have authority to govern their people completely the situation would be impossible. Such an imperium in imperio never could continue.

The question has become a definite issue in Korea and should be fought out to the end. And it is very fortunate that it is to be settled in Korea, for here we have only two distinct forces namely the Roman Catholic Church on the one hand and the Presbyterian Church in the United States on the other. Few if any members of other Protestant denominations are involved. If it were in China we would have the Roman Catholic Church on one side and fifty different organizations on the other, and between them all there would be no such unanimity would secure a definite solution.

The question has come right down to this point: will the French government uphold its subjects in inciting Roman Catholic adherents to persecute and rob Protestant adherents who are under the leadership of citizens of the United States? Will the French government dare to refuse an open and complete trial of the case, and the punishment, according to law, of people who have unlawfully seized, beaten, fined and otherwise injured Protestant adherents or other Koreans? These questions are now to be settled, and if they are settled for Korea, why not for China? The same principles which apply to one apply to the other.

Now what stage has the solution reached at the present time? Upon the demand of the Korean Protestant Christians the Seoul authorities consented to a trial of the case at Hai-ju the provincial Capital. A special commissioner was appointed by the Emperor to investigate the case and report. A Roman Catholic priest went down from the capital to witness the proceedings and two American missionaries were present to watch the case in the interests of the Protestant Christians. By order of the commissioner eight Roman Catholics were arrested, but when the police went to the house in Hai-ju where two of the most notorious offenders were, the Roman Catholic priest who was in the house refused to give them up for trial, but on the contrary let the Koreans bind and beat the policeman. This priest had already confessed to the Commissioner that he had incited his people to the outrages and asked that in view of his confession the whole matter be dropped. The commissioner refused. The night following the beating on the policeman this priest fled to the country with the Koreans whom be had refused to give up for trial. The priest who had gone down from Seoul, seeing that the trial was to be a genuine one and that the commissioner was not to be intimidated, withdrew from the court and refused to attend the trial. The trial proceeded and charge after [page 119] charge was proved, with hardly a denial on the part of the culprits. The commissioner sent out into the villages calling upon the village authorities to arrest and bring in various Catholics who were specifically named. This caused a general stampede on the part of the Catholics and many of them left their homes and flocked to the place where the priest who had fled from Hai-ju was in hiding. According to the statements of Catholics themselves these people armed themselves with native and foreign weapons and determined to take their stand in defiance of the Korean authorities. There is no danger of the French priests themselves being persecuted by the government but if it can be proved that they are inciting the natives to rebellion they can at least be deported.

When it comes to a point where French subjects, according to their own confession, incite Koreans to attack the Protestant natives who are under the care of American missionaries, the matter lies not only between Koreans and Koreans but between France and the United States. It is the duty not of missionaries in Korea only but of the Presbyterian Church of America to press the matter to a finish and see to it that the authority and the prerogatives of the Korean government are not usurped by French Catholic priests. Seventeen years of arduous work and many thousands of dollars have been expended in this Korean Province, and one of the most flourishing missions in the world has been the result. Whole villages have been Christianized. The people obey their temporal rulers, pay their taxes even though sometimes illegal, and ask no other physical conditions than other natives enjoy. This attitude has won for them the respect of the Korean government and more than once their districts have been exempted from excessive taxation on this account. These Koreans believe in securing better conditions not by defying the government but by evangelizing the nation. The idea may be branded by some as chimerical but all great reforms have been so branded. Whether it succeeds or not it is the true Christian attitude and these native Christians have won the admiration of the Protestant world. The Korean missionary field is pointed to as being the most successful of modern times. It is not to be expected, therefore, that the foreigners who are interested will allow this work to be wrecked or even temporarily paralyzed without bringing to bear upon the Korean government all the pressure they can.

This they have done and with success and it only remains for the Catholics to follow up their confession by penance, allow the Korean government to handle the offenders by process of law, and mete out punishment where punishment is due.

The only possible objection to be; made is that the government may punish cruelly and beyond reason. But this [page 120] fear is groundless, for the publicity which the affair has secured will follow the matter to the end and the very ones who are calling upon the government to do justice will be the first to oppose any tendency to overdo the matter. It is the old Anglo-saxon cry, “a fair field and no favor. “ It’s the cry which must prevail.

It is very gratifying to note that the French Minister from the start has apparently desired to have the matter settled on a basis of strict equity, but in this he is not seconded by the Roman Catholics in the country. They are making the Koreans promises of support which cannot be fulfilled, and which cannot fail to disappoint them

It is very natural that the Catholics should wish to smoothe the matter over and let the whole thing fall through, but if so what assurance have we that the same thing may not happen again? We have simply the word of a French priest who confessed to eight grave charges and promised not to repeat them but who a few days later fled from Hai-ju and rallied the Roman Catholic adherents about him in open rebellion against the Korean government. We have taken pains to learn the opinion of many who are better acquainted with the conditions prevailing in Whang-ha Province than we, and the opinion is unanimous that unless a definite settlement of this question is reached the people of Whang-ha will rise in insurrection and make serious trouble. We are informed from excellent authorities that:

“The conditions in Whang-ha are evident. Priests and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church have regular so-called government quarters established, with implements of torture, where, as is proved in the evidence, people have been tortured and even murdered. In the name of these self-constituted authorities a regular system of robbery and plundering goes on and the native officials are helpless, fearing complications with foreign governments. The question is whether this usurpation of power is to continue until the people rise in an insurrection which will endanger not one nationality only but all foreigners.”

Do the French Catholic authorities want justice done? For answer we state that the man Chang who inflicted torture on a Korean and killed him remained a leader in the Roman Catholic Church from September until March, when he was arrested by the commissioner. Can any one believe, after the confession made by Wilhelm, that the French priests were ignorant of this or any other of the crimes committed by their followers? The Korean priest Kim who ordered the torture which ended in murder is still at liberty, and do we hear of any eagerness on the part of the Catholics to have him arrested and punished as his crime demands? [page 121]

Again, the Frenchman who was sent to Hai-ju by the authorities in Seoul to look after the case told the commissioner that he would guarantee the appearance of several of the ringleaders if the commissioner would only call in his police. The commissioner hesitated, but finally put faith in the solemn promise and called in his police. On the day when these ringleaders were to be produced, .the gentleman who had guaranteed their appearance announced with a shrug of the shoulders that, “They have all run away!” Two of the worst culprits were in the house adjoining the one in which this gentleman was lodged, and had his promise not been accepted they could easily have been apprehended. Does this give evidence of zeal in the pursuit of justice?

What stands in the way of a full settlement of the difficulty? Evidently the hesitation which the Korean government feels in sending the necessary police or troops and executing complete justice. When the matter of sending troops was brought up the Koreans were told that they should not do this, as the soldiers would commit excesses in the country. We are credibly informed that Korean soldiers have never begun to commit the depradations which have been clearly proved in open court against the Roman Catholic Koreans in Whang-ha Province. If the Korean government feels hesitation about putting down rebellion and anarchy because of consideration for any outside power whatever, then she should be given assurance that there are those back of her who will see her through. The day has gone by when any power can cast anchor in Chemulpo harbor and command the Korean government at the cannon’s mouth to do thus or so, without having at least some semblance of a cause; and we dare affirm that if the Korean government should send a thousand troops to Whang-ha Province, arrest every man guilty of crime and inflict summary punishment upon every guilty Korean whether he be a Roman Catholic priest or a Protestant deacon there is not a power in the world that would dare raise a finger to prevent it. This the Korean government should know.

News Calendar.

It will be impossible to give a detailed account of the trial of the different cases that have been tried in Hai-ju but we give below translations of various documents which speak for themselves.                                                    

January 13th. 1903.

EXTRACT FROM THE PETITION OF THE GOVERNOR OF WHANG-HA TO THE GOVERNMENT IN SEOUL.

 “In the counties of Sin-ch’un, Cha-ryung, An-ak, Chang-yun Pong- san, Whang-ju and Su-heung disturbances created by the Roman Catho [page 222] lics are many in number and petitions and complaints are coming in from all quarters         

“In some cases it is a question of building churches and collecting funds from the villages about. If any refuse to pay they are bound and beaten and rendered helpless When certain ones, in answer to petition, have been ordered arrested, the police have been mobbed and the officers of the law have been unable to resist it While investigating a case on behalf of the people I sent police to arrest Catholics in Cha-ryung. They raised a band of followers, beat off the police, arrested them, and dismissed them with orders not to return. Then I sent a secretary to remonstrate with them. At that the Sin-ch’un Catholics, a score and more of them, armed with guns, arrested the secretary, insulted him.” etc.

AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR OF WHANG-HA YI- YONG-JIK, AND THE FRENCH PRIEST WILHELM IN PRESENCE OF THE INSPECTOR YI EUNG-IK. 8TH DAY 2ND MOON KOANG-MU (8TH FEB. 1903).

WILHELM SAID: My difficulty with the Governor is that he refused to summon Pak Chung-mu of Whang-ju, and get satisfaction out of him. Pak, on a certain night, hurled a stone into the church where Father Han lives, and for this reason complaint was made to the magistrate with a request that he be arrested. Pak was put in prison, but being powerful in his village, he went and came just as he pleased, so that there was really no punishment about it. Complaint was then made to the Governor, with request that he summon him and have him severely punished. The Governor replied. “I have no call to summon people from outside counties in this way.” I then thought, “Oh, yes this is because the Governor has no power to arrest people of outside counties,” till, all unexpectedly, he issued an order to arrest certain Catholics of Sin-an-po. Naturally, I thought this only a pretence at power on his part, so I had the police stopped and the prisoners taken from them, and then I sent orders to the churches saying, “If there is any further attempt to arrest people resist it with all your power.”

THE GOVERNOR SAID: The affair of Pak Chung-mu was settled by his being imprisoned in his own county, that was the reason.  I did not arrest him and do as you asked. You say that I had not arrested him, and I had not, because of the law that regulates each district; but when there is a complaint laid by the people according to court regulations then the arrest is made. Since you were in doubt concerning the two actions on my part that looked contradictory, an inquiry would not have been out of place; but this raising a band of followers, stopping the police, setting the guilty ones free, teaching them to disobey the orders of the Governor, getting these Catholics into all sorts of sin, preventing the Governor from investigating the case, do you call that righteousness? My desire was to enlighten a darkened people (the Catholics), have them understand what was right, and so I sent a secretary from the office, at which you sent out a score and more of men armed with guns, forty li at night, and arrested the secretary, although he is a Government officer and guns are dangerous weapons. On whose authority do you do these things, and bow dare you on your own account arrest people and put them to torture?

WILHELM REPLIED: I know that such things are wrong and yet 1 did them intentionally; I did not know that you had any court rules, I had only your letter to go by. When I wanted to smoothe thing  over and forwarded you a letter, you sent it back unopened. I was very angry.

THE GOVERNOR; What you say about only having my letter to go by means, you only thought of one thing and not of others. The reason I returned your letter was, that when you came with guns and arrested the secretary and I wrote you about it you made no reply. I was indignant and when you wrote me about the affair in Chang-yun, after not ….. (see page 123)

THE CASE OF THE FARMERS OF YU-MULPYUNG.  IN CHALPYUNG AGAINST YI IK-HYUN, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC LEADER IN THAT PLACE.

Ten years ago the custom of farming out government land on shares was discontinued and the people of this town were allowed to till the government lands in their vicinity for their own benefit. But five years ago they were ordered to resume the old status. Some of them came up to Seoul to secure a reconsideration of the case but Yi Ik-hyun a Roman Catholic also came up and thwarted them. Returning to that place be secured the aid of police and Yamen runners who were Catholics and demanded that these farmers turn over to him the value of half the crops that had been raised on these lands during the previous five years. By threats and beatings he intimidated the people and extorted the sum of 4,975,000 cash but kept it all for himself. The people therefore ask that he be compelled to disgorge this money and be properly punished.

The commissioner says the man is a thief and will he attended to as he deserves.

The native papers say that on February 25th the Foreign Office sent a despatch to the commissioner Yi Eung-ik saying that the French Minister had been requested to recall the priest Wilhelm form the country. On February 27 Yi Eung-ik telegraphed the Foreign office that he found that the Roman Catholics had been committing serious crimes but that he was unable to arrest the criminals. He therefore asked for government troops The French authorities thereupon sent to Hai-ju Mr Teissier, student interpreter at the French Legation and Yi Neung-wha, a teacher in the French language school to see how the trial was progressing and it is generally understood that these gentlemen had instructions to give the commission any aid in their power toward a solution of the difficulties. On Marrh 17th several of the Korean Catholics most seriously implicated escaped from Hai-ju in spite of the assurances given by the French that they would be delivered up, without fail.

About the twentieth of the month the French Priest Dalcet and Mr. Teissier returned to Seoul. Wilhelrn was to have come with them but the Roman Catholics said that he had gotten them into the trouble and that if he should leave they would all be destroyed. They therefore forced him to stay, making serious threats in case he should try to leave.

As we go to press the situation in the north seems to be as follows. Desperate efforts have been made to have the investigation stopped and though a number of the Roman Catholic offenders have been superficially punished it remains to be seen whether the man convicted of murder will be given his just deserts. The investigation has not yet been suspended but probably will be soon. The native papers say that the French Minister has sent a very strong letter condemning the actions of Wilhelm and ordering him up to Seoul. It is gratifying to know that the French Minister has throughout this business shown a desire to have it settled properly, but we fear that unless the Roman Catholic adherents in the country are definitely given to understand that they cannot depend upon foreign interferance to save them from the results of their misdoings the people will rise against them and cause serious trouble. One thing has become quite plain, namely that this is not a case of Roman Catholic versus Protestant merely, or even mainly, but of Roman Catholic versus the people of Korea.

It is stated that the Belgians will secure a gold-mining concession at T’a-ak Mountain, at the point where Ch’ung Ch’ung, Kyong-sang and Kang-wun Provinces meet. It is said to be one hundred li square or 900 square miles. It is said they lend the Korean government 4000,000 Yen and work the mines for twentyfive years.

One of the saddest events of recent days in Seoul is the death of Rev. W. Johnson a newly arrived member of the Presbyterian Mission. Mr. Johnson on his way out from America lost his wife by sudden illness in Kobe and soon after his arrival in Seoul he was stricken with small-pox. The disease assumed a very malignant form and though be seemed to be pulling through successfully he succumbed on the 17th inst. and was buried at Yang-wha-chin the following day

We learn with pleasure that Mr. Pegorini of the Chemulpo Customs has been promoted to the Commissionership of the Fusan Customs.

The Seoul community was shocked and grieved at the news of the death of Miss Lefevre of scarlet fever in St. Petersburg. Mons Lefevre and family went to Europe via Siberia but was detained in Russia by the serious illness of Mrs. Lefevre and the daughter. After the daughter’s death the party moved on to France though Mrs. Lefevre was still critically ill. We trust they will be back in Seoul again at an early date.

On the 18th inst, a general meeting of the foreigners in Seoul was held at the Electric Company’s building, through the kindness of Messer Collbran, Bostwick & Co. The object of the meeting was to present to the public a plan for the establishment of a branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association in Seoul. The meeting was largely attended by a representative audience and           H. N. Allen, the United States Minister, presided. An invocation was pronounced by Rev. A. B. Turner of the English Church Mission after which a vocal solo was rendered by Mrs Morris. After appropriate introductory remarks by the Chairman, Mr. Brockman, the general Y. M. C. A. Secretary for China, Korea and Hongkong  gave an address showing the wide usefulness that this organization has attained and the progress of the work in Japan, China and India. This address could not but carry great weight with the audience, many of whom learned for the first time important facts connected with this world wide movement.

Mr. Brockman was followed by Dr. Takaki of the First Japanese Bank who gave a glowing description of the Association work in Tokyo with which he himself has been long connected.

Rev. J. S. Gale then spoke briefly in regard to the social condition of young men in Seoul and the value that such a movement would be to them. His statement of the case from the standpoint of an expert in Korean affairs was conclusive as to the enormous good that can be done in this way.

J. McLeavy Brown, L.L.D. of the Imperial Customs, then presented the financial scheme showing that such a work demanded the erection of a proper building, that friends in America had promised Yen 24,000 on condition that Yen 6,000 be raised on the field, and he commended the plan to the public as being fully worthy of their support.

The last speaker was Rev Geo H. Jones, Ph. D of Chemulpo, who made a telling appeal to the audience driving home the fact that such an association has as good chances of being a success here as it has proved wherever the movement has already been inaugurated. In an impassioned peroration he struck a chord in the mind of the public that cannot but bear large fruit.

Since that meeting a subscription paper has been circulated through a part of the community and more than half the necessary sum was immediately pledged.  By the time this issue of the Review is out it is probable that Yen 5,000 of the necessary Yen 6,000 will have been pledged. It is seldom that the foreigners of Seoul have an opportunity to subscribe toward an object that will, more directly and beneficially affect the Korean people and we doubt not that all will feel inclined to encourage such an attempt to give an uplift to the young men of Seoul.

[page 123] …. answering my letter, why should I answer yours?  As I did not wish to answer your letter, I had no desire to accept of it, and so sent it back.

WILHELM: When you sent me your letter you had on the envelope “Sa-ham” (reply) and so I did not send one in return.

THE GOVEERNOR: When I asked you a question was a reply not in order? I presume  you had no answer to make.

WILHELM: Pak Chung-mu has not yet been punished sufficiently and now is it the square thing for you to appoint him a tax-colleetor? After you have arrested and punished him then I will ‘‘dismiss my anger.”

THE GOVERNOR: Last year in Whang-ju I made careful inquiry into Pak’s case, and while it is said he threw a stone, there is no definite proof. Still he was locked up. Whether he was guilty or not he has already been punished and now after several months what reason is there that we should not appoint him to work? I have heard that you beat Pak at your own church. What anger is there that you need further cherish? If you want him arrested and tried let a plaintiff bring the matter up in court.

WILHELM: I gave him ten blows with a paddle but that was not for the sin in question, it was because when the magistrate sent him to apologize to me he did not use polite language. Though I beat him his former crime remains still unpunished.

THE GOVEERNOR: When you are not an official is it right for you to take things into your own hands and beat the Koreans?

WILHELM: If I do not paddle them there is no way of bringing them to time.          .

THE GOVEERNOR: Your beating Koreans on your own account is a crime. You have circulated a letter, too, among your people as a “preventative of abuses.” which can be summed up under eight heads, teaching them, (1) To disobey the orders of magistrates, beat the messengers, pay no taxes. (2),To hold private courts in your meeting-houses and churches, (3) To go into public offices and browbeat officers. (4), To arrest, paddle, and imprison without authority. (5), To collect money for churches from all over the country. (6), To cut down sacred trees in different villages. (7) To raise mobs, steal grave-sites, dig up bodies.. (8), To compel people to join your Church.

WILHELM: These eight different things are not to be done hereafter as they have been in the past. Have no further anxiety.

THE FIRST REPORT OF THE IMPERIAL INSPECTOR TO THE GOVERNMENT.

I have looked carefully into the disturbances among the people in the different counties, and the various crimes up to this date noted in the public records are only one or two in hundreds. Outside of two or three counties all the magistrates have been under this oppression, and with folded hands, are unable to stir. The poor helpless people sit waiting for doom to overtake them. Receiving Imperial orders to look into the matter, I have undertaken the task and daily crowds with petitions fill the court. There are no words to express the sights one sees, the stories one hears. Depending on the influence of foreigners, the Catholics’ issuing of orders to arrest is a matter of daily occurrence; their runners are fiercer than leopards, and the torture they inflict is that reserved for only thieves and robbers; life is ground out of the people, goods and livelihood are gone. Unless this kind of thing is put down with strong hand thousands of lives will be lost in the end.  A French priest by the name of Wilhelm living in Chang-ke-dong in Sin-ch’un, a retired spot among the hills, has gathered about him a mob of lawless people. Their houses number several hundred. Many of them carry foreign guns so that country people are afraid and do not dare to take action. A  number of those already arrested have been set free by this priest. Most of[page 124] those who have slipped the net have escaped there and now form a band of robbers. There is no knowing where trouble will next arise and it is a time of special anxiety. Those who assemble there at the call of the whistle, (bandit) are outlaws, and must be arrested. They may however make use of dangerous weapons, so we cannot do otherwise than be prepared for them. This is my report. Look carefully into it. Send word to the Office of Generals. Wire me permission to use soldiers and as occasion offers lend me a helping hand.

THE TRIAL OF A ROBBERY AND MURDER CASE BEFORE THE IMPERIAL INSPECTOR, 3RD MONTH, 5TH DAY, 7TH YEAR OF KOANG-MU (5TH MARCH 1903 )

The plaintiff a man of Pong-san Cho-ku-pang, by name Koak Heui-ho aged 42.

THE PETITION READ: IN the 8th moon of last year in my village of Eun-pa, the leader of the Roman Catholics, Chang Sa-ho, with many  other Catholics as a following, entered my house, arrested me, and locked me up, took all of my household goods and supplies away and handed them over to the headman of the village, and then extorted the deeds of my fields and land, saving that my wife’s uncle Whang had stolen something from the Roman Catholic church, and that I being a relative, would know about it. “After bringing him here,” said they, “vou will get back your goods.”

In two or three days they caught Whang and after judging of his case, let me go, as there was no proof against me, but did not give back the goods or the deeds of the fields. They promised to give them back later. I then went to the priest and complained but Chang (the Roman Catholic Leader) said. “How can we give them back in response to an empty hand?”and with that he execrated me furiously. Being helpless, I gave 60yang ($12.00), and Chang then said he would look well to the matter, but he never gave them back. I then went to the magistrate  (Pong-San Kun-su) and laid my complaint before him, and got an order for their restoration. This secured me the 60 yang but not the deeds of the fields. Again I laid complaint and again got an order to have them restored. Chang asked me why I made complaint before the magistrate and with no end or insult refused me so that I could make no use or the order, and now I specially ask that you get me back what belongs to me.

INTERROGATION OF KOAK HEUI-HO,                     

THE INSPECTOR: As regards this theft of Whang’s, because you knew and took counsel with him you have been arrested and imprisoned and your goods have been confiscated, and after the capture of  Whang, if he had not involved you why would they not have given you back your goods? Tell the truth now about the affair

KOAK’S REPLY: Last year in the 8th moon 26th day (27th September) late at night, Chang Sa-ho, came with in many Roman Catholics to my home, arrested me, took me to the market-house of Eun-pa, put my feet in the stocks, imprisoned me, saying, “Your wife’s uncle Whang stole goods from the Roman Catholic church, find him for us now.” I said, “How can I tell where my wife’s uncle has gone? “ They then cursed me and left. The next day Chan went with his church followers to my house and took away what goods I had and one cow as well, one large kettle, one urinal, one brass bason. 4 rolls of cotton  2 bags or millet. 30 lbs of cotton, a water jar, 10 layers of tobacco and placed them in charge of the  village head-man. They also took away deeds of fields or eight days’ plowing.

On the day tollowing  the  Roman Catholics caught Whang and put him to torture, till they broke his legs, and when he was about to die they handed him over to the police of Pung-san and there he died. Up to the last he made no mention of my having any share in his wrongs, and so they let me go; but they did not give back the goods or the deeds of the [page 125] fields. My wife then went to the Roman Catholic Church and asked the priest Kim (a Korean) for the goods and deeds, and though the priest told Chang to give them up, Chang held on to them and refused. “With empty hand how can you expect to get them back?” said he and so, as there was no other way, we gave 60 yang and asked the goods back. He replied saying that when the priest Kim returned they would be given up but the year passed and there was no restoration. In the first moon of the Korean year I entered a complaint at the magistrate’s got my order and gave it to the head man of the village. Chang then gave back the 60 yang which he had extorted saying, “Neither governor nor magistrate arrest me, and I don’t intend to give up either deeds or goods.” I then complained to the governor and got an order on the magistrate to have the matter set right. Twice the magistrate sent police to arrest Chang. Being terrorized by him, however, they did not effect the arrest, but now, since Chang is captured, Please get me back my goods and my expenses.

INTERROGATION OF CHANG SA-HO (ROMAN CATHOLIC LEADER).

THE INSPECTOR： I have heard from Koak that on the 26th day of  the 8th moon you, Chang Sa-ho with several other Roman Catholic entered his house. arrested and imprisoned him in the market of Eun-pa, put feet in the stocks, and locked him up saying, “Your wife’s uncle Whang has stolen goods from the church. Find him now.” Koak  replied. “How can I know where my wife’s uncle has gone?”  For this cause you reviled him. On the next day you with other Catholics went to his house, took possession. carrying off a cow, one large kettle, a urinal, a bras bason. 4 rolls of cotton goods. 2 bags of millet. 30 1bs of cotton, one water jar, 10 layer  of tobacco and put them in charge of the village head man. On the following day the Catholics arrested Whang. and put him to torture till his legs were broken, and when he was dying handed him over to the police and there he died and because there were no words from him that implicated Koak you let Koak go but the goods and deeds for land you did not return.  His wife went to the priest Kim in the Catholic church and asked for the goods and deeds and the priest said, “Give them back.” but still you refused and did not return them, saying, “Without paying for them how can you expect to get them back?” Then under pressure they gave 60 yang. In reply you said when the priest returned you would give them back, in the 1st moon of the year Kuak entered a complaint with the magistrate and got an order which carried to the village head man. You then gave him back the 60 yang that you had extorted saying. “No governor nor magistrate dare arrest me.” As for house, goods and deeds you have not given them yet. Then Koak made complaint to the governor and gave his order to the magistrate who tried twice to arrest you but failed. Now, since you are captured,  Koak asks that the offence he punished and that be given back his house, goods, deeds and expenses.

This is what Koak savs. I also have seen your ‘official’ order (Sa-tong) which reads. “The governor of this province with intent to injure our holy Church has sent a petition to the Foreign Office. The Inspector and Father Doucet went together to the governor’s and while holding inquiry Hong sin-pu (Father Wilhelm) protested, saying, ‘Let us have the inquiry at Seoul, which meant that the governor and magistrate at Pong-san had been acting unjustly. Beside, the police and the soldiers of the governor come out to the village and towns and extort money from the people by the hundreds and thousands of yang. Knowing definitely the conditions I write this order. Let two of the most experienced of the church leaders who have evidence report at the church and wait.”

THE INSPECTOR’S  QUESTIONS: DO you mean to say that you, with a band of Catholics arrested people, put their feet in the stocks, took possession of their houses, extorted goods and land deeds? Thinking over [page 126] your actions, what punishments ought to be given you?  You have arrested a man for no fault, tortured him, broken his legs, murdered him. Since God’s eyes like the lightning see through everything how can you deny? Besides with orders from the magistrate for your arrest how dared you say, “No governor nor magistrate dare arrest me,” and thus resist authority? Can such acts be called faithfulness on the part of a subject? Governors and magistrates are these who share responsibility with the ruler and look after the people. You are one of the people and yet dare to say, “Foreigners will decide this thing.” Your desire is to officials sent by the  Emperor involved in difficulties  and so you have sent this order here and there. Are you not a traitor? How can you escape the punishment you deserve?

With all that has come and gone, and no room for a chance to excuse yourself, speak the truth now and let us hear.

CHANG SA-HO REPLIED: After we lost the goods from the (ROMAN Catholic) church we could not but be suspicious of Whang for at that particular time he ran away. Koak is a nephew by marriage and Whang used to go and stay at Koak’s house, and so the priest Kim had Koak arrested, intending that we should take his house and goods and for that reason I went with other Catholics, took possession of his house, goods, a cow, land deeds, making a note of them and put them charge of the village head man. The deed of the field of eight days’ plowing alone was given to the priest Kim. After that, the priest Kim went to see the acting magistrate of Pong-san about this robbery afair. Whang who came back on market day was arrested by the Catholics, was dragged to the place of imprisonment, and asked to whom he had sold the stolen goods; then he was taken before the priest Kim, and the priest told me to put him to torture and get the truth out of him. I was leader of the Catholics and so did not dare to disobey the priest but had to do as he bade me. I put Whang through the torture but did not look definitely to see whether his legs were broken or not. I did hear a rumor that he had died. I went to arrest the thief to whom he had sold the things and to see the acting magistrate of Pong-san but did not find him (the thief). Whang stated that Koak had had no part in the affair. I then told Koak that as for giving back the house, deeds and other things that we had taken, it would be right, but the priest Kim for some reason would not agree to it. Then Koak made his complaint to the magistrate, got an order and carried it to the village head-man, but the priest said.  “Why did you not come to me and make the complaint instead of going to the magistrate?” The reason that the governor and magistrate could not arrest me was because the priest prevented and refused to allow it. Also as to the exposing of the faults of the governor and the magistrate in the paper which I circulated through the various places, it was because I did not dare to disobey the order of the priest Hong  (Wilhelm) and so I did the evil thing and brought sin upon myself. I have no other words to say. Do what you think best with me.

 Chang Sa-ho (Roman Catholic Leader) was indicted for murder by the Inspector, Monday,   March  9th, and handed over to the governor.

  THE CASE OF YANG HEUL-OK OF CHAL-RYUNG AGAINST YANG-YUN-CYU AND YANG WUN-DOL, TWO ROMAN CATHOLICS.  (Yang Heui-ok is not a Protestant )  

 Yang Heui-ok owned a field of three days’ plowing adjoining his ancestral burial-place, but a relative of his, named Yang Ye-yang, forged a deed of the field and sold it to three Roman Catholics named Yang sul-yung, Yang Yun-gyu and Yang wun-dol. When the plaintiff learned it he tried to get the fields back, even offering the full sum that had been paid for it. Yang Sul-yung consented. but the other two refused. So plaintiff appealed to the magistrate and the latter ordered the two men to give up the false deed. But this order was not obeyed. On the con- [page 127] trary, on the 20th of April 1902 ten Roman Catholics came to plaintiff’s house with firearms and seized and bound him They carried him to the Roman Catholic quarters in Ch’ung Rye-dong. On the way they claimed to have incurred an expense of 27,000 cash for food &c. When they arrived at their destination they beat their prisoner with to stripes and all the official correspondence that had passed between the plaintiff and the magistrate. He gave up the deed but said the correspondence had been left at his house. So they ordered him to send for them. The plaintiff managed to escape by night and came up to Seoul to seek redress for his wrongs. There he heard that his father had been caught and beaten and then sent home So plaintiff went back to his home and again appealed to the magistrate. The latter said “This is between you and Hong the priest (Wilhelm), and you should see him.” And he ordered the head policeman to go with plaintiff and see to the matter. But this policeman was himself a Roman Catholic leader and so he charged plaintiff with ill-treating Catholics and imprisoned him and had him taken to the Roman Catholic head-quarters. That night Wilhelm came and demanded why plaintiff ran away to Seoul and gave him forty blows on the back. Then two foreign priests with the two defendants demanded that the correspondence before referred to, be given up. Plaintiff was thus driven to give up the papers. Then the two defendants said they would give back the field if plaintiff would put down the money. The plaintiff gave the money but failed to get back the deeds. In the 8th moon, having failed to get satisfaction, plaintiff made complaint to the governor of the province and won his case, and the defendants were ordered by the governor to give back the field and the deed and to pay back all money that had been unlawfully extorted. So plaintiff got back his deed and the 27,000 cash

But the 4th of the tenth moon seven Roman Catholics came with clubs and beat the plaintiff and carried him to the Roman Catholic  headquarters and two of them took turns pounding him with a wooden “pillow” or head-rest. Wilhelm again had him given twenty stripes and demanded that he bring 700,000 cash and the deed of the field. He was imprisoned and beaten every day until he should pay the money and give up the deed. This continued twenty-two days. During this interval he was carried to his house six times to get the things demanded, this cost 33,000 cash. At last he had to sell all his remaining furniture and thus got together 100,000 cash which. together with the field deed he was forced to give to the Catholics to save his life. But they said he must pay the remainder, and beat him severely. He succeeded in making his escape and returned home. Then Wiihelm again demanded of him the remaining 600,000 cash but he said, “I am already a beggar and I could not give you this amount to save my life. If you wait to get money from me it will be like waiting for hair to grow on a tortoise’s back.” so they gave him one more good beating and drove him away, since he had no more money.

The planitiff asks the conmissioner Yi Eung-ik to get back the deed of the field, the 223,000 cash and the crop raised on the field; and to properly punish the offenders.

THE CASE OF CHO SUNG-KIL. OF SO-HEUNG AGAINST KANG SAM-JIL. AND CH’OE MYUNG-SUN, TWO ROMAN CATHOLICS.

Cho Sung-kil is a poor mac who lives with his mother, and until his thirtieth year was not able to marry because of his lack of means. In the  tenth moon of 1902 however he gave 80,000 cash to the father of a young woman of Yun-an to prepare for a wedding. In the twelfth moon the fifteenth day a man named Kang-sam-jil living in P’yng-san conspired with Ch’oe Myung-sun of the same town to get possession of the person of Cho Sung-kil’s wife. By trickery they accomplished their [page 128] purpose and the woman became the concubine of Kang Sam-jil. Cho went to recover possession of his wife but Kang hid and Ch’oe said, “We are Roman Catholics and even if we commit murder we will not submit to punishment. If you want to be killed you had better continue trying to get back the woman.” He then caught the plaintiff by the hair and beat him and threw him into a stream running near by.

In his complaint before the commissioner Cho, the plaintiff says, “If everybody was like these two rascals who except Roman Catholics could get married? The loss of my 200,000 cash is a small matter, but the woman is like a dead person and now my aged mother has been made ill by this business and I cannot bear it without protest. So I beg that these two men he arrested and the woman delivered.”

The commissioner thereupon ordered the arrest of the two defendants and instructed the plaintiff to wait the decision of the court.

THE CASE OF KIM CHIN-WHAN. IM SONG- SUK AND OTHERS OF CHAL-RYUNG AGAINST KIM EUNG-DU, HU HYUNG-MO, NUN YUN-SU AND MUN MYUNG-SUN, FOUR ROMAN CATHOLICS.

The plaintiffs complain that in the town of Chai-ryung the Roman Catholics band together and compel people to join them, and use all sorts of illegal methods to secure this end. In the seventh moon of 1902 the Roman Catholics determined to build a church, and for this, purpose they cut down the old trees that had stood for centuries about the village shrine, in spite of the objections of the people. They caught and beat many of the people and acted continually in a most unlawful manner. While they were building their church they demanded money from the people, each man being compelled to give from 30,000 to 60,000 cash apiece. For those that refused there was beating and imprisonment. Ten men were thus forced to pay money for this purpose. Fields were seized and many were forced to give up their farming. Mun Yun-su, one the defendants, refused to pay Kim Chin-whan, one of the plaintiffs, for several bags of rice which he had received.

The Commissioner said, “I have known about this business for some time. I will attend to the matter and get the money back. Wait here till the case is brought up.”

[page 129]

Korean History.

The career of Gen. Kim Tuk-nyung whom, as we have seen, the Japanese had dubbed “The Flying General,” affords us another example of the fatal weakness of Korea, in the envy excited against any really successful man; for even while Gen. Kim was successfully combatting the Japanese in his own way, his very successes aroused the spleen of Gen. Yun Keun-su who accused him to the king of having killed plenty of Koreans, but never a Japanese. On the strength of this groundless charge, and without questioning its truth, the king brought Gen. Kim to Seoul and imprisoned him a year.

And now began an amusing comedy between the Chinese, who took the Japanese seriously, and the latter who were merely playing off the Chinese in order to save time.

In the fourth moon of 1395 the embassy from China to Japan arrived in Seoul, and immediately Gen. Sim Yu-gyung posted southward to see Kato and tell him that the Chinese embassy had already come and that he must hasten to get all the Japanese troops out of the country before the embassy should arrive at Fusan, To all this the wily Kato answered gravely, “You had better stay here a few weeks while I take a run over to Japan and ask Hideyoshi about it, and if he gives the order to take the troops back, it can be done immediately.” When he came back, instead of answering the main question he said that it would be well for a Korean to accompany the envoy to Japan. Meanwhile the Chinese envoy Yi Chong-sung, in Seoul, sent messenger after messenger urging the speedy removal of the Japanese troops from the peninsula; but Kato kept putting it off on one ground or another, and made no move to go. When, however, this part of the comedy had proceeded to such a point that the Japanese began to fear the Chinese would see that it was indeed a comedy, Kato took a few regiments of men from Ung-ch’un and Ku-je and made [page 130] preparations as if to depart, meanwhile sending Gen. Sim to Seoul to say that he was waiting for the envoy and his suite to come south and accompany the departing army to Japan.

Five months had already elapsed since the envoy had arrived in Seoul, and he therefore determined to accept this invitation. Moving southward, he came to Nam-wun in Chul-la Province where he stopped, fearing to go directly into the Japanese camp. While there he gained the soubriquet of “frog-eater.” for he was so fond of the flesh of that reptile that he compelled the people to hunt for and procure it for him.

Gen. Sou Kwang, from his comfortable quarters in Liao-tung, sent him a letter charging him with cowardice and ordering him to proceed at once on his way. Under this stimulus he proceeded to Fusan; but Kato would not come to see him, saying, “I must receive instructions from Japan before I can take you across the straits, so I will cross once more and find out the will of my royal master in regard to the matter.” After an absence of two months he came back and opened another act of the comedy by asserting that he must first take Gen. Sim across to Japan and arrange the ceremony of investiture, and that the envoy proper might follow when all was ready. By this time, what with the fear of the Japanese and bewilderment at the intricacy of Japanese diplomacy the poor envoy was well-nigh distraught. When therefore, with the beginning of the new year 1596 a China-man named So Hak-myung came from Japan and informed him that Hideyoshi had not the remotest idea of becoming a vassal of China and that if the Chinese envoy should cross to Japan he would never come back again, it capped the climax, and that very night the wretched envoy, taking only one servant and a few clothes tied up in a cloth, made his escape from the Japanese camp and fled away northward. He traveled by night and bid by day, until at last he arrived at Seoul. And so the curtain drops on another act of the comedy.

When the Japanese found out that the envoy had made his escape they were in a quandary, fearing lest they might be punished for letting him go and so spoiling the fun. They therefore gave chase, but not being able to overtake the light- [page 131] footed envoy, they contented themselves with surrounding the house of the vice-envoy Yang Pang-hyung. The latter knew of his chief’s flight, but to draw away suspicion from himself he pretended to sleep late that morning and claimed to know nothing about the matter. When at last he was told of it by the Japanese general Kuroda, he said quietly, “Well, he was a young man and a little nervous. He should have gone to Japan long ago instead of waiting around here. It will be of no use for you to chase him.” He then deliberately arose, went to the room lately occupied by his chief, took possession of the Emperor’s letter and returned to his own apartments. By his coolness and presence of mind he allayed the excitement of the Japanese and perhaps saved his own life.

The Japanese soldiers who had been detailed to return to Japan were of course delighted to go back to their homes and were eager to set sail from Fusan. They had their baggage all on board and were hoping to start at any moment. But when they heard of the flight of the Chinese envoy they knew there would be a long delay and they were sorely disappointed; so much so in fact that many of them wept aloud. It is probable that every Japanese soldier in the peninsula would have been glad of an opportunity to return to Japan. Only the severe discipline of the Japanese army and the lack of boats prevented them from deserting in large numbers; at least we may gather as much from the frequent references to the home-sickness of the Japanese soldiers.

Yang Pang-hyung called the weeping soldiers before him and said, “We have waited here so long that my chief got tired and went back. But I remain and the imperial missive is with me. He has fled only to Nam-wun and if you send there you will doubtless find him.” This led them to believe that their fond hope of returning home would soon be gratified.

All this time the young Konishi, the rival of Kato, sat disdainfully silent watching the empty game which his unpopular rival was playing with the Chinese. When he heard of the flight of the envoy he laughed and said, “I knew he was no genuine envoy from the Emperor, for if he had been he would not have dared to show his heels like this.” This re-[page 132] mark was intended to imply that while Kato had been trying to hoodwink the Chinese, they, on the other hand, had hoodwinked him.

Yang Pang-hyung lost no time in informing the Emperor of the perfidy of his chief, and the Emperor immediately ordered the recalcitrant official to be caught and imprisoned. He raised Yang Pang-hyang to the position of Chief of the Embassy and appointed Sim Yu-gyung as his second. We will remember that Sim Yu-gyung had already gone to Japan with Kato, bearing the imperial gifts, which consisted of a royal robe with the embroidered design of a dragon, a jade belt, royal head-gear, a map of China, a book on war and various other kinds of treasures. He there married the daughter of a Japanese named Arima, and is said by the Koreans to have become a thorough Japanese. This may have been part of the game he was playing, and we may see the fruits of it later.

Kato was determined that a Korean envoy should accompany the Chinese one to Japan and to this end he told one of the Korean officials,  “If a Korean envoy does not accompany the Chinese embassy to Japan the peace will be only between Japan and China, and Korea will have no part in it. This will lead to grave troubles.” Gen. Sim also sent his nephew back from Japan to ask that a Korean envoy accompany the Chinese embassy. So the king appointed two men, Whang Sin and Pak Hong-jang to this work, conferring upon them the title of T’ong-sin-sa or “Faithful Messenger.”

In the fifth moon of this year 1596 Gen. Kounishi massed his troops in forty-six regiments on the southern coast and, leaving only four regiments to guard Fusan, set sail for Japan. With him went all the envoys, both Chinese and Korean.

Now that lasting peace seemed to be assured, the king no longer hesitated to hand over the reins of power to the Crown Prince. He accordingly sent the royal insignia south to him and so doffed the responsibilities as well as the prerogatives of royalty. But, strange to say, the prince strenuously refused to accept them, insisting that he had no desire to take the scepter from his father’s hand. Seven times he sent to his father protesting his unwillingness to have the honor thrust upon him. But the king would not listen. it was [page 133] only after the courtiers had assembled before the palace for twenty days in succession and besought him to retain the scepter, that they finally prevailed and he consented to continue in the exercise of the royal prerogative.

Yi Mong-hak, an unprincipled ruffian, ignorant but ambitious, had joined the forces of Gen. Han Hyun and had fought during the war. Now he started out on an independent line. Gathering a force of over ten thousand men he attacked and took Hong-san in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province, and he followed it up by taking Im-ch’un, Ch’ung-yang. Chong-san and Hong-ju. Yi Mong-hak had been deceiving his followers by saying that Gen. Kim Tuk-nyung was interested in this scheme. But now they found that this same Gen. Kim was arrayed against them and they saw they had been duped.

That night every man deserted the adventurer and the next day he fell into the hands of the loyal troops and his head was forwarded to Seoul. This shows the extremely unsettled state of the country, and how any unprincipled man with money and effrontery could offer serious opposition to the government.

Here again we find a striking example of that petty jealousy which deprived Korea of most of her capable men. This Gen Kim Tuk-nyung was a celebrated man. He was known throughout the Korean army for his strength and prowess. It is said of him that single-handed he would attack a tiger and pin it to the ground with a spear. They also say that he rode into battle with an iron mace of a hundred pounds weight in each hand and he gave the Japanese so many hard knocks that they gave him the name, “The General from under the Rock.” The ministers at Seoul were suspicious of his rising fame and went their ways to have him dragged down. They charged him with having been in league with Yi Mong-hak and won the king over. He was arrested and brought to Seoul, where after a most disgraceful trial he was put to death. The Japanese had such a high opinion of this man’s parts that Konishi sent and had a portrait made of him. When he saw the picture he exclaimed, “This man is indeed a General.” When his death was announced, the Japanese held a great, feast in honor of the event. This was just on the eve of their departure for home. [page 134]

As we have seen, it was in the summer of 1596 that the Chinese and Korean envoys crossed to Japan with the returning army of invasion. When they were brought into the presence of Hideyoshi he treated them with scant courtesy. When asked why he did not bow before the imperial missive he replied that he had a sore leg and could not. He treated the Korean envoy much worse than the Chinese, and said to him, “I sent back the two princes as I agreed, but your king never so much as thanked.       He has now sent as envoy a man of inferior rank on purpose to insult me, I believe the original Chinese envoy ran away at the instigation of your king. I will treat the Chinese envoy civilly, but as for you I shall send another army and be avenged on you.” After this there was but one thing to do. Both the envoys packed up their effects and started back home. When the Chinese envoy arrived at Nanking bringing insult instead of submission from Japan the Emperor was in a terrible rage and charged Sim Yu-gyung with having betrayed his country. The chief envoy was executed and the official who had advised the sending of an embassy was thrown into prison and starved to death, but Sim Yu-gyung in some way escaped with his head.

Chapter II.

A new invasion determined upon... comparison of Japan and Korea... Japanese scheme to get Admiral Yi into danger... Admiral Yi degraded... second invasion...  Choryung Pass fortified... Chinese give aid...  Admiral Yi’s successor a failure... great naval victory for the Japanese ... Admiral Yi reinstated ... siege and fall of Nam- wun....Korean naval victories.... Admiral Yi’s policy... Japanese advance checked.... rejoicing in Seoul... siege of Ul-san... siege raised...  Roman Catholic missionaries...  the Japanese army... the “ear and nose mound”...  number of Chinese...   a Japanese settlement... Chinese admirals... Admiral Yi’s diplomacy...   Gen. Yang Ho recalled ... the King accused ... the defense.

We have now reached the halfway point between the two invasions, or rather between the two parts of the double invasion. Hideyoshi was still furious over the failure of his great plan of invading China, and he must needs find some way to [page 135] vent his spleen. He determined upon a second invasion of Korea, not this time with a view to the invasion of China but with the more modest desire to punish Korea, though what Korea had done to deserve punishment it would be hard to say. To be sure she had proved an obstacle to his vaulting ambition, for had Hideyoshi’s original army sailed straight for China instead of landing at Fusan, it probably would have overthrown the Chinese capital. We must notice the changed conditions which existed between the two countries. Korea had now experienced the worst possible at the hands of the Japanese and knew what to expect. Their soldiers had felt the prick of Japanese swords and had in turn tasted the delights of victory. That terrible glamor which surrounded the dreaded islanders upon their first appearance had worn off and some sort of equality had been effected between them. The Koreans had meanwhile become possessed of firearms and were measurably skilled in their use. They had learned never to trust themselves to open battle when geurilla warfare was feasible. They had demonstrated their great superiority on the sea in the person of the Admiral Yi. When therefore we remember that the Japanese had to leave their base of supplies and live on what they could forage in the peninsula, it appears that in spite of their prowess they had not much advantage over the Koreans. But before making this second descent upon the shores of Korea it was necessary for the Japanese to get the redoubtable Admiral Yi Sun-sin out of the way. No fleet from Japan would risk an encounter with him in his Tortoise Boat, The Japanese had seen how the mutual jealousies of the Koreans worked in their favor and they determined to use this in getting Admiral Yi removed. So one day a Japanese named Yu-si-ra made his appearance at the camp of Gen. Kim Eung-su, saying that he was tired of being a Japanese and that he wanted to become a Korean. He dressed in Korean clothes and kept going back and forth between the Japanese and Koreans, giving the latter what seemed to be much valuable information. He seemed to be devoted to the Korean interests. One day he came in a state of great excitement and said that the Japanese General Kato was coming to Korea with a great fleet and that. as he was to pass a certain island off the coast, Admiral Yi ought to be sent [page 136] to lie in wait there and drive the invading fleet back or to sink it. So Gen. Kim wrote to the king about it and asked for orders. The king, trusting in the prowess of Admiral Yi, gave his consent; but when that officer received these orders he promptly replied that it was a trick to entrap him and thus clear a way for a descent upon the mainland of Korea. He therefore declined to run the risk, especially as the place mentioned was studded with sunken rocks and was specially dangerous for navigation. But the Japanese Yo-si-ra kept urging Gen. Kim to see to it that the plan was carried out and at last the General wrote to the king saying that Admiral Yi declined to go. As may be supposed Admiral Yi had enemies at court who could not let such an opportunity pass of getting him into trouble. Consequently the iniquitous decree went forth that Admiral Yi be seized and brought to Seoul and that Wun Kyun be put in his place. The king intended to put Admiral Yi to death, but one of the officials urged his former services in palliation of his present offense and so the punishment was commuted to loss of position alone. So it was that Admiral Yi, the best soldier that Korea contained and to whom the king owed his crown twice over, was degraded to the ranks and became a common soldier. But most remarkable of all, he made no complaint, but went quietly about his work as if nothing had happened.

In the first moon of the year 1597 the Japanese fleet set sail from Japan. This army was led by Kato and Konishi although the nominal commander in chief was a lad of seventeen named Hideyaki. It is said that it took a thousand boats to bring the army across the straits. Had Admiral Yi Sun-sin been at his old post this fleet would never have touched keel on the Korean coast but as it was there was no difficulty, and the entire army landed safely at So-sang Harbor and immediately threw up fortifications and went into camp.

The first thought of the Koreans was to fortify Cho-ryung Pass, the one break in the mountain chain which the Japanese must pass if they wished to march on Seoul. Gen. Kwun Ryul with 23,000 men and other generals with troops hastily gathered from various districts hastened to that important pass and put the fortifications in good order, and the king forthwith sent Kwun Hyup as envoy to Nanking to [page 137] implore the intervention of China. And now we see the evil results of Hideyoshi’s ill-treatment of the Chinese and Korean envoys in Japan; for instead of making the Koreans send time and again asking for help the Emperor was eager to send troops into the peninsula to avenge himself upon the Japanese. The Chinese army was put in charge of three men: Gen. Yang Ho with rank of Military Commissioner, Gen Hyong Ka as general-in chief and Admiral Ma Gwi as commander of all the naval forces. Under these were Generals Yang Wun, O Yu-ch’ung, U Pnk-yong, Chin U-ch’ung, So Eung-gun, Chin Hyo and Tong Han-yu. Gen, Yang Ho came no further than P’yang-yang, his duties not requiring his presence on the field of battle. Admiral Ma Kwi and all the others came on to Seoul. From that point they branched out in several directions, one going to Nam-wun in Chul-la province, another to Soug-ju in Kyung-sang Province, another to Chun-ju, Chul-la Province, and another to Ch’ung ju in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province.

Admiral Wun Kyun, who had supplanted Yi Sun-sin, went to Han-san where Admiral Yi had worked so diligently to build barracks with the proceeds of salt manufacture. His first work was to overthrow all the rules and regulations which his predecessor had so wisely promulgated. He then drove away all who had been at all intimate with the former admiral, who was now a common soldier under Kwun Ryul. He then built a paling about the council-hall that Yi Sun-sin had built and there he housed his harem and spent his time in revelry and feasting. He would frequently have innocent men called up and severely punished for mere amusement. And thus he soon alienated the good will of all the troops stationed there.

But Kato, the astute Japanese general, through his tool Yo-si-ra, kept at Gen. Kim, urging him to have a fleet sent to intercept a fleet of Japanese boats. He named a day on which the Korean fleet would be sure to intercept a fleet of the enemy. At last the order was given for Admiral Wun Kyun to carry out this manoeuvre and though he had no stomach for the enterprise he could not well demur, for this was the very thing that had cost Admiral Yi his position. So he got his boats together and sailed out to Chul-yung [page 138] Island off Fusan. But a strong breeze sprang up and the sea was rather rough and in the darkness of night the Korean fleet became scattered. The next day the larger part of them rendezvoused at Ka-dok Island where they unexpectedly met the Japanese fleet and were vigorously attacked. Almost immediately all Admiral Wun’s forces deserted him and his only recourse was flight. Beaching his boat on Ch’il-ch’un Island he landed and drew about him what remnants of his force he could find. When Gen. Kwun Ryul heard of this he sent a stern order demanding that the admiral come out and fight. That valliant man first filled hemself with wine then sallied forth only to be deserted again by his men. So the doughty admiral again ran his boat aground and took to his heels. He was so fat however that he could not run far, so he sat down under a tree to get his breath. There the Japanese overtook him and carried away his head in triumph. The second in command, Yi Yu-geui, fled by boat after burning all the barracks and provisions that were stored at Han-san.

When these events became known the whole country was in consternation. Yi Hang-bok, the king’s trusted councillor, said,”Yi Sun-sin must be reinstated in his former position.” It was a case of dire necessity and so the king sent and conferred upon that faithful man his former office. The trusty Yi set out on foot and rested not day nor night until he reached his former position, Han-san. On all sides he met the scattered and flying remnants of his former force. He rallied them about him, promising that the Japanese should still be held in check.

But before Admirai Yi arrived on the scene of action a tremendous force of Japanese both military and naval had landed on the southern coast. Their objective point was Nam-wun, where the Chinese general Yang Wun had pitched his camp. Upon the approach of the Japanese the latter burned all the houses outside the wall to prevent their offering cover to an attacking force; but the Japanese soon built a rough fence or palisade about the town, from behind which they picked off the Chinese soldiers on the wall at leisure. The Chinese attempted to make a sortie but in their eagerness to get out of the gate they became jammed in it and were mown down by the long swords of the besiegers. Unfor- [page 139] tunately for the Chinese and Koreans the following night was full moon and the Japanese cut down every man that attempted to escape.  To the line of stakes which they had planted about the town the Japanese fastened swords, and when the people from the town tried to make good their escape they found themselves impaled upon these weapons. The Chinese commander, Yang Wun, rode at this barrier and his horse was so impaled, but he succeeded in getting over and making good his escape. The Japanese attacked the wall in its weakest point and forced an entrance. The massacre within the town beggars description. The Korean generals Chong Keui-wun, Yi Pong-nam, O Eung-jung, Kim Kyong-no, Sin Ho, Im Hyun, Yi Tuk-whe and Yi Wun-ch’un were all killed, which indicates how sanguinary must have been the fight.

Immediately all northern Chul-la was in confusion and the troops everywhere began to fall back toward the north. In Seoul itself there was consternation. The king called his officials about him and asked what should be done. They all urged that the king stay in the capital. The queen and the crown prince however were sent to Su-an in Ham-gyung Province and the king prepared to move whenever it should seem necessary.

But by this time Admiral Yi was again on the stage of action and as alert as even He had as. yet only ten boats under him, but he had no lack of men, for the people all along the coast, when they heard of his reinstatement, flocked to him. He drew up his little fleet of ten boats in the shadow of a mountain on Chin-do (island) and sent out reconnoitering boats which returned just at night saying that the Japanese were approaching. As the moon dropped behind the mountain it left the Korean fleet in complete darkness and soon the Japanese boats came sailing along in single file. Admiral Yi deployed his boats in a long line and suddenly they all raised a loud shout and fired point blank at the unsuspecting Japanese. The latter thought they had run into a powerful fleet and soon scattered in all directions. The next day there was more serious work, however, for a fleet of several hundred boats appeared. The Koreans were in some trepidation, but the fearless admiral made straight for the [page 140] enemy and though soon surrounded he succeeded in sinking thirty of the enemy’s boats. The rest evidently recognized the master hand of Admiral Yi and turned and fled. He gave chase, and before the battle ended the Japanese commander Ma-da-si was killed. Returning from this remarkable fight Admiral Yi proceeded to Han-san and set to work rebuilding the barracks and making salt. It is said that in two months time he stored away 20,000 bags of rice. His former captains and soldiers came back to him in “clouds.” He also found another source of revenue. The wealthy men all through the south desired to get away from the disturbed districts and so loaded their effects upon boats and sailed away. Admiral Yi however stood in the way and made them pay a toll of from one to three bags of rice for each boat. From this source alone he collected above a. thousand bags of rice.  He used this revenue in the purchase of copper for the casting of cannon and for the building of boats. Thousands of people who feared to live on the mainland came and built huts about his camp, until the island actually became too small to hold more.

After the fall of Nam-wun the Japanese, flushed with victory, started northward toward Seoul, thinking without doubt that they would have as easy a victory as before. Yang Ho, hearing of the defeat of the Chinese, came post haste from P’yung-yang and severely upbraided the generals and charged them with lack of bravery. Without an hour’s delay it was arranged that Generals Ha Sang, U Pak-yung, Yang Teung and P’a Sa should take a strong body of troops and move southward to Ch’uug-chung Province and intercept the Japanese. This was done and the army ambushed at Keum-o-p’ung in the district of Chik-san. Soon Japanese came streaming along, neglecting all precautions, for they had no idea of meeting an enemy. When therefore the ambuscade opened fire on them it took but a few moments to throw them into utter confusion. In the rout which ensued an enormous number of the Japanese were killed. On the following day the Japanese, who had mended their broken ranks as best they could, came on to the attack, but their losses had been so great that in spite of wonders of bravery which they showed they were again crushed. The remnant [page 141] of their force fled southward to Mok-ch’un and Ch’ung-ju. This was one of the three great battles of the war and in importance it was exceeded by none; for, though the forces engaged were not so numerous nor the number of slain so great, it broke once for all the self-confidence of the Japanese, and they never again had the hardihood to attempt the approach to Seoul. By this battle the war was definitely confined to the southern provinces. The Commissioner Yang Ho suggested to the king that he go out and survey the battle field, and so the royal cavalcade rode out the South Gate. One of the Chinese generals suspected that the king was something of a coward and so, to test him, he gave the horse the king was riding a sharp cut with a whip. The horse leaped into the air with terror but the king held his seat and showed no sign of fear. The Chinese were pleased at this and their respect for the king was visibly increased.

Seoul gave itself up to universal holiday in honor of the victory, for it was still fresh in the minds of many how Seoul had fared before at the hands of the invaders.

In the tenth moon Gen. Konishi built a strong fort on a bluff overlooking the sea at Ul-san in Kyung-sang Province, He named it To-san. The Chinese Yang Ho determined to cut the war short by attacking and taking this position and by so doing he expected to cut off the right arm of the invading army. Collecting all the forces that were within reach, he started south to attack Ul-san. The army consisted of 40,000 men and it went in three divisions. The left or eastern division being led by Gen. Yi Pang-ch’un, the middle division by Gen. Ko Ch’ak and the western division by Gen. Pang U-duk. Gen. Ma Kwi was sent on ahead and acted as avant-coureur. Stopping a few miles from the Japanese position he ordered Gen. P’a Sa to go and make a preliminary attack upon the fort to discover something as to the lay of the land, and if possible to discover the number and equipment of the enemy. The attack was made with fire-arrows. Almost immediately the Japanese made a sortie, but were driven back with a loss of four hundred and sixty men. Shortly after this the three grand army corps arrived. The Japanese were arranged in three divisions. In the middle was the fort proper. On the north was a fortified camp called the Pan-gu-jun[page 142] and off the south was another called the P’a-wha-gang. It was the first business of the Chinese and Korean allies to drive these outer divisions into the central fort. To this end the left division of the army attacked the Pan-gu-jun and the right division the T’a-wha-gang. Gen. Yang Ho put on his armor and went into the thick of the fight and urged on his men. The air was filled with the noise of drums, musketry-fire and shouts of the combatants, and a cloud of arrows concealed the heavens. Some of the Japanese huts were on fire and great clouds of smoke and flame rolled heavenward. Slowly the Japanese were forced back and finally they all entered the gates of the main fort of To-san. This fort was set on a rugged hill where it was difficult for an attacking force to manoeuvre, but there was little water in the fort and the Japanese were forced to come out secretly at night and draw water from a well near by. Being aware of this, Gen. Kim Eung-su, a Korean, placed an ambush about the well and caught upwards of a hundred of the enemy. They were badly emaciated and said that surrender was a matter of only a few days. It came on to rain, and this was followed by severe cold, as it was now the beginning of winter. Many of the besieging army had their hands and feet frozen. One of Gen. Konishi’s lieutenants wrote repeatedly to the Korean general Song Yun-mun asking for terms of peace. Gen. Yang Ho answered, “Konishi must come out and surrender, and he will be treated well.” By this time the Japanese were well-nigh exhausted. They had neither food nor water, and every day they died in such numbers that it is said they had “a mountain of dead.” Many a time Gen. Konishi meditated suicide but each time was restrained by one means or another. As a last resort the Japanese threw gold and silver over the wall to bribe the soldiers without and keep them from making an attack.

But the tables were about to be turned. All the other Japanese forces in the south had become aware of the desperate straits to which their comrades were reduced at To-san. And so now at the last moment a large fleet appeared and the hard won victory was snatched from between the teeth of the Chinese and Korean allies. The exposure had greatly weakened the besieging force. Their provisions were almost ex- [page 143] hausted and they had used up all their arrows. They were far stronger that the beleagured Japanese but were not fit to cope with the fresh army which was burning with zeal to avenge their starving compatriots. So it was that Gen. Yang Ho was compelled to raise the siege and fall back toward Seoul. During this siege the Chinese loss was fourteen hundred, though many thousands were wounded.

From this time date the first efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to enter Korea. Japan had already many thousands of converts to Romanism and Hideyoshi was determined to leave no means untried to eradicate the foreign cult. To this end he sent many of the Catholic converts to Korea. But the most distinguished of them all was the young and vigorous Gen. Konishi who had received baptism at the hands of the Catholics and had received the name of Augustine Arimandano. It may have been because of Hideyoshi’s desire to get the Catholics out of the country that Gen. Konishi was appointed to the post in Korea. Kato was as pronounced a Buddhist as Konishi was a Christian and this of course intensified the hatred and rivalry between them. Gen. Konishi was desirous of having Catholic teachers come over to the peninsula and attend to the spiritual needs of the Christians in the army; and to this end the Vice-provincial of the Jesuits in Japan appointed Padre Gregoris de Cespedes to this arduous and important post. With him went a Japanese priest. The two first went to Tsushima and finding no means of getting to the peninsula remained there over the winter and carried on a successful mission work. The next spring they made their way to Korea and finally reached Gen. Konishi’s headquarters at a place that the Japanese call Comangai, which was without doubt the fort of Ul-san. Here they worked a year but finally, through the machinations of Gen. Kato, who worked upon the prejudices of Hideyoshi, both the foreign and native priests were sent back to Japan, and this had no little to to with the return of Gen. Konishi, who went to clear himself before his master.

To anticipate a little, we might here say that many Koreans who were carried captive to Japan from time to time during this war, became Christians at Nagasaki and though slaves were so firm in their belief as to be willing to suffer [page 144] martyrdom during the terrible persecutions which raged in Japan between 1610 and 1630, but with the departure of Cespides from Korea the distinctive work in Korea was abandoned.

Let us pause a moment here to compare the two contending armies. In this second invasion the total number of Japanese that reached Korean soil was 105,400, or about half as many as formed the first army of invasion. They were led by twenty-seven generals, prominent among whom were Kato and Konishi. As a mark of his spiteful spirit, Hideyoshi ordered that in this second invasion the noses and ears of all Koreans killed or captured should be cut off and sent to Japan. And so from time to time these half-savage soldiers sent loads of Korean noses and ears, pickled in salt, and they were buried in the monastery of Ta-bul-sa in the city of Kyoto, there to remain to all ages a disgusting memento of the most unprovoked and wanton cruelty that ever disgraced the annals of a great people. Many of the Koreans who lost their noses or ears at that time survived many years, and it cannot be wondered at that the Koreans have never since cared to accept favors at the hands of their island neighbors.

The total number of Chinese was 210,000. With them came 2,000,000 ounces of silver to pay for their sustenance. From Shantung were sent by boat 200,000 bags of rice. There were also sent for the relief of the army 5,832,000 ounces of silver. And for the relief of the Korean famine sufferers an additional 3,000,000 ounces were sent. When we consider the vast number of men and the millions of wealth that China poured into Korea at this time it may well be believed, as the Koreans affirm, that China, by so doing, impoverished herself so that she became an easier prey to the Manchus who, a few years later, wrested the scepter from her.

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, April 1903

The Korea Mudang and Pansu                145

How Chin Out-Witted the Devils               149

The Hun-Min Chong-Eum                                     154

Odds And Ends

The Tug of War                                     159

Disarmament                                         160

Question and Answer                                160

Editorial Comment                                    163

Review                                                     165

Note                                                         166

News Calendar                                        167

Korean History                                         177

The Korean Mudang and P’ansu.

First Paper.

Korean society is blessed, or cursed, with two handicrafts whose business it is to deal with those occult powers, with which the oriental imagination peoples all space. These two handicrafts are set forth in the terms mudang and p’ansu, and the nearest approach to these words that we can find in English are ‘‘sorceress’’ and “exorcist,” but in a broader sense we may call them “witch” and “wizard.” How nearly the office of mudang or p’ansu approaches to that of witch or wizard will appear in the following discussion.

The name mudang is most appropriately conferred, for mu (巫), means “to deceive” and dang (黨), means a “company.” Sometimes this individual is called a mu-nyu (巫 女),or  “deceiving woman.” It may be that the mudang means “deceiving crowd.” because in vulgar parlance she may be denominated a “bad lot.” The word p’ansu is composed of p’an (判), “to decide,” and su (數), “destiny.” This means approximately a “fortune-teller,” but it describes the office of p’an-su only in part.

The mudang is always a woman, and her office is considered the very lowest in the social grade. She is always an abandoned character, though generally married. She pretends to be a sort of spiritual medium, and by her friendship [page 146] with the shades to be able to influence them as she may wish. In order to understand the various forms of her service we must take them up in detail. Every ceremony performed by a mudang is called a kut. This is a word of native origin, and though the practices of the mudang are supposed to have come from China in ancient times yet this native word would imply that there were indigenous customs so closely allied to these imported ones as to make the transfer of the word a matter of little difficulty.

Kija is said to have brought with him from China the art of necromancy. This is supposed to mean the art of fortune-telling and such like milder forms of necromancy, but Koreans say that some of the practices were attended with a form of imprecation or petition and this implies the office of the mudang. The mudang certainly existed in China at that early date, if books may be believed; and if such a person as Kija ever existed and came to Korea the cult of the mudang doubtless came with him.

There are ten principal forms of service which the mu-dang renders. Each is done by means of a kut, or mudang incantation. It should be borne in mind that the mudang’s influence lies entirely in her friendship with the spirits rather than in any power to force them to her will.

The first form of mudang service, or kut, and the one most in demand, is the healing of the sick. If a man is taken suddenly ill or if his symptoms seem in any way strange the inference is that it is caused by an evil spirit. Now it is proper to ask how and why spirits should torment people in this way. Well, there are several reasons. All these spirits are supposed to be the souls of dead people. The Korean recognizes no class of spirits in the world, except such as have once been living persons. Now, one class of spirits are called “hungry spirits.” They are very apt to come around at meal times and watch people eat, and naturally they are not averse to sharing the repast. For this reason it is very common for people to take a little of their rice or cakes or other food and throw it out on the ground for the watching ‘‘hungry spirit.” is believed by many that unless this is done the spirit may resent the oversight and avenge itself upon the man by causing disease. Then again if there are two in-[page 147] timate friends, or especially relatives, and one of them dies his spirit is likely to follow the living one and attempt to continue the intimacy which they enjoyed while the dead man was still alive. This will make the living man ill; and so it is very common when a relative dies to set out food for it and ask it to go about its own affairs. Or again if a man has wronged one of the spirits by insulting or belittling it or by denying that there are such things as spirits, the injured one is very likely to seek revenge by causing sickness. Again, a man may be walking along the road and meet a hungry or lonesome spirit and it attempts to strike up a friendship, with him, though he be wholly unconscious of the spirit’s existence. This too, will cause sickness. If a man is so unfortunate as to meet a crazy spirit he is more than likely to go crazy himself. If a man has a bad fall and hurts himself it is believed that the injury was caused by the spirit of the place where the accident occurred, on the ground that the man did not regard the spirit properly. Spirits are supposed to haunt articles that have lain a long time in one place, and if these articles are suddenly removed or disturbed the spirit is likely to seek revenge by causing sickness. If a man goes to the house where a person has just died he is likely to be followed home by the spirit of the dead person, and illness will result. If a child eats food that has been thrown to a spirit the latter will resent it and make the child ill. If a man walking on the street passes a spirit, who is eating food that has been thrown to it, the spirit will bolt the food and follow the passer-by and make him ill. If children show lack of respect to an ancient tree in which a spirit resides it will afflict them with sickness. Such are a few of the reasons why spirits afflict people and it is evident that the credulous must ever be in fear of these occult agencies. The very air seems peopled with them.

It is the business of the mudang to prevent or heal such sickness and it is effected by one of the different forms of the ceremony called kut. If a sick man has reason to believe that his distemper is caused by a spirit he will send his wife to a mudang to describe his symptoms and learn if possible what spirit is doing the mischief. The mudang may declare the name of the spirit without going to the sick man’s house [page 148] or she may say that she must see the patient, first, but it is manifestly improbable that she will say the sickness is an ordinary one and not due to spirits for this would be to belittle her own calling and curtail her own perquisites. Having declared, then, the cause of the disease, the mudang accepts a retaining fee of five, ten or even twenty thousand cash and proceeds to name a “fortunate” day for the ceremony, which will be performed either at the mudang’s house or at the patient’s house. If the disease is not a very serious one or if the patient cannot afford to pay roundly for the mudang’s services the ceremony will take place at her house, but otherwise it will be held at the patient’s house or elsewhere. It is important to note that no person of the upper classes ever uses the services of a mudang. She serves only the lower and more ignorant classes. It would be a deep disgrace for a gentleman to have anything to do with one of her profession.

In preparation for the ceremony the mudang prepares various kinds of food and special garments, the elaborateness of these being in direct proportion to her fee. The food and garments used will differ in the case of different spirits. For instance if a man is tormented by the spirit of a dead relative the food must be of the best quality but if the illness is caused only by a spirit encountered on the road it will be necessary only to throw out some common food on the street. In the latter case the way to discover whether the spirit has accepted the food and taken his departure is to throw a kitchen knife into the street. If it fall with its point directed away from the house it means that the spirit has gone, but if it lies with the point directed back toward the house the spirit will require further argument before leaving. This throwing out of food is usually done at houses where they have no money to pay a mudang more than a small fee. She tells them what spirit is causing the illness and lets them attend to the matter without further trouble on her part. Sometimes she tells them simply to make a picture of three or seven horses on paper, wrap three cash or seven cash in the paper and throw the whole into the street.

When, however, the patient is a man of some means a regular ceremony must be performed by the mudang in person. It may be done either at the patient’s house, the mudang’s [page 149] house or at one of the little tiled shrines so frequently encountered in the country. These places are called tang (堂)’ or “hall.” Some of these last are erected to the spirits in general and some of them to particular spirits. For instance we have (1) Mi-reuk Tang, (彌勒), or Buddha’s Hall, a sort of cross between the Buddhist and Shamanistic cults; (2) Pa-wi Tang “Boulder Hall,” erected to the spirit of some rock; (3) Suk-Sin Tang (石神), Stone Spirit Hall; (4) Ch’il-Sung Tang (七星),”Ursa Major Hall,” to the spirit of that constellation; (5) Kyung Tang (經) at which various spirits may be exorcised. The word Kyung means the Buddhist sutras or the incantations of exorcists; (6) Sung-Whang Tang (城隍), or “Wall and Moat Hall.” These are the places where passers-by cast stones on to a pile in honor of the spirit; (7) San-sin Tang (山申), Mountain Spirit Hall.” These are found usually at the top of a mountain pass; (8) No-in Tang (老 人), or “Old Man Hall,” in honor of the Old Man Star which Koreans believe can be seen only from the island of Quelpart. They say that southern people live longer than northerners because they are shone upon by this star; (9) Hal-mi Tang or “Grandmother Hall” in honor of an old man who died many centuries ago; (10) Sa-sin Sung-Whang Tang (使臣城隍), or “Envoy Wall and Moat Hall.” at which prayers are made for envoys and where they are inquired about by friends who have been made anxious by their long absence: (11) Kuk-sa Tang (國師), or  “Kingdom Teacher Hall,” on the top of Nam-san, in which is the picture of the celebrated monk Mu-hak; (12) Yong-sin Tang (龍 神), “Dragon Spirit Hall” built beside a river in honor of the dragon. There are many other kinds of tang but these will suffice to illustrate their general style. Of the kinds mentioned the “Wall and Moat” Halls are the commonest and next to them come the “Buddha’s” Halls. These latter have no connection with Buddhism nor are they ever frequented by monks.

(To be continued)

How Chin Out-witted the Devils.

In the good old days, before the skirts of Chosun were defiled by contact with the outer world or the “bird-twitter-[page 150] ing” voice of the foreigner was heard in the land the “curfew tolled the knell of parting day” to some effect. There was a special set of police called sul-la whose business it was to see that no stray samples of male humanity were on the streets after the great bell had ceased its grumbling. Each of these watchmen was on duty every other night, but if on any night any one of them failed to “run in” a belated pedestrian it was counted to him for lack of constabulary zeal and he would, be compelled to go on his beat the next night and every successive night until he did succeed in capturing a victim. Talk about police regulations! Here was a rule that, for pure knowledge of human nature put to shame anything that Solon and Draco could have concocted between them. Tell every policeman on the Bowery that he can’t come off his beat till he has arrested some genuine offender and the Augean stables would be nothing to what they would accomplish in a week’s time.

Such was the strenuous mission of Chin Ka-dong whose name by literal interpretation means Chin “the useful boy,”—but by popular acceptation weans Chin the—but why waste time on unessentials. Chin he was and Chin he shall remain. One night it was his fate to suffer for his last night’s failure to spot a victim. He prowled about like a cat till the “weesma’ hours” and then, having failed to catch his mouse, ascended the upper story of the East Gate to find a place where he could take a nap. He looked over the parapet and there he saw, seated on the top of the outer wall which forms a sort of curtain for the gate, three hideous forms in the moonlights They were not human, surely, but Chin, like all good policemen, was sans peur even if he was not sans reproche, and so he hailed the gruesome trio and demanded their business.

“We’re straight from hell,” said they, “and we are ordered to summon before his infernal majesty the soul of ‘Plum Blossom.’ only daughter of Big Man Kim, of School-house ward, Pagoda Place, third street to the right, second blind alley on the left two doors beyond the wine shop.”

Then they hurried away on their mission, leaving Chin to digest their strange news. He was possessed of a strong

*This is a fair sample of the address on the outside of a Korean letter. For a job as letter-carrier in Korea only Pinkerton men need apply. [page 151]

desire to follow them and see what would happen. Sleep was out of the question, and he might run across a stray pedestrian, so he hurried up the street to School-house ward, turned down Pagoda Place then up the third street to the right and into the second blind alley to the left and there be saw the basket on a bamboo pole which betokened the wine-shop. Two doors beyond be stopped and listened at the gate.  Something was going on within, of a surety, for the sound of anxious voices and hurrying feet were heard and presently a man came out and put down the alley at a lively pace. Chin followed swiftly and soon had his hand on the man’s collar.

“I’m afraid you’re caught this time, my man. This is a late hour to be out.”

“O, please let me go. I am after a doctor. The only daughter of my master is suddenly ill and everything depends on my haste.”

“Come back.” said Chin in an authoritative voice. “I know all about the case. The girl’s name is Plum Blossom, and your master’s name is Big Man Kim. The spirits have come to take her but I can thwart them if you come back quickly and get me into the house.”

The man was speechless with amazement and fear at Chin’s uncanny knowledge of the whole affair and he dared not disobey. Back they came, and the servant smuggled the police-man in by a side door. It was a desperate case. The girl was in extremis and the parents consented to let Chin in as a last chance.

On entering the room where the girl lay, he saw the three fiends ranged against the opposite wall, though none of the others could see them. They winked at him in an exasperatingly familiar way and fingered the earthenware bottles in their hands and intimated that they were waiting to take the girl’s soul to the nether regions in these receptacles. The moment had arrived and they simultaneously drew the stoppers from their bottles and held them toward the inanimate form on the bed.

But Chin was a man of action. His “billy” was out in an instant and with it he struck a sweeping blow which smashed the three bottles to flinders and sent them crashing into the corner. The fiends, with a howl, fled through a crack in the [page 152] window and left Chin alone with the dead—no, not dead, for the girl with a sigh turned her head and fell into a healthful slumber.

It is hardly necessary to say that Chin was speedily promoted from sul-la to the position of son-in-law to Big Man Kim.

But he had not heard the last of the devil’s trio. They naturally thirsted for revenge and bit their finger-nails to the quick devising some specially exquisite torment for him when they should have him in their clutches. The time came when they could wait no longer and though the Book of Human Life showed that his time had not come they secured permission to secure him if possible.

At the dead of night he awoke and saw their eyes gleaming at him through the darkness. He was unprepared for resistance and had to go with them. The way led through a desert country over a stony road. Chin kept his wits at work and finally opened a conversation with his captors.

“I suppose that you fiends never feel fear.” “No,” they answered, “nothing can frighten us,” but they looked at each other as much as to say, “We might tell something if we would.”

“But surely there must be something that you hold in dread. Yon are not supreme and if there is nothing that you fear it argues that you are lacking in intelligence.”

Piqued at this dispraise, one of them said, “If I tell you, what difference will it make, anyway? We have you now securely. There are, in truth, only two things that we fear, namely the wood of the eum tree and the hair-like grass called ki-mi-tul. Now tell us what you in turn most dread.”

“Well,” answered Chin, “it may seem strange, but my greatest aversion is a big bowl of white rice, with saurkraut and boiled pig ‘on the side’ and a beaker of white beer at my elbow. These invariably conquer me.” The fiends made a mental note.

And so they fared along toward the regions of the dead until they came to a field in which a eum tree was growing. The fiends crouched and hurried by but Chin by a single bound placed himself beneath its shade and there, to his delight, he found some of the hair-like grass growing. He snatched it by up handfuls and decorated his person with it [page 153] before the fiends had recovered from their first astonishment.

They dared not approach and seize him, for he was protected by the tree and the grass but after a hurried consultation two of them sped away on some errand while the other stayed to watch their prey. An hour later, back came the two, bearing a table loaded with the very things that Chin had named as being fatal to him. There was the white rice, the redolent sauer-kraut, the succulent pig and the flagon of milk-white beer. The fiends came and placed these things as near as they dared and then retired to a safe distance to watch his undoing. Chin fell to and showed the power that these toothsome things had over him and when the fiends came to seize him he broke a limb off the tree and belabored them so that they fled screaming and disappeared over the horizon. So Chin’s spirit went back to his body and he lived again. He had long been aware of some such danger and had warned his wife that if he should die or appear to die they should not touch his body for six days. So all was well.

Many years passed, during which Chin attained all the honors in the gift of his sovereign, and at last the time came for him to die in earnest. The same three imps came again, but very humbly. He laughed and said he was ready now to go. Again they travelled the long road but Chin was aware that they would try to steer him into Hell rather than let him attain to Heaven and he kept his eyes open.

One afternoon Chin forged ahead of his three conductors and came to a place where the road branched in three directions. One of the roads was rough, one smooth and on the other a woman sat beside a brook pounding clothes. He hailed her and asked which was the road to heaven. She said the smooth one, and before his guards came tip Chin was out of sight on the road to elysium. He knew they would be after him, hot foot, so when he saw twelve men sitting beside the road with masks on their faces he joined them and asked if they did not have an extra mask. They produced one, and Chin, instead of taking his place at the end of the line, squeezed in about the middle and donned his mask. Presently along came the fiends in a great hurry. They suspected the trick that Chin had played but they saw it only in part, for they seized the end man and dragged him away to hell where [page 154] they found they had the wrong man, and the judge had to apologize profusely for the gaucherie of the fiends.

Meanwhile the maskers were trying to decide what should be done with Chin. He was in the way and was creating trouble. They finally decided that as the great stone Buddha at Ung-chin in Korea was without a soul it would be a good thing to send Chin’s spirit to inhabit that image. It was done, and Chin had rest.

Chin taught the Koreans one great lesson at least and that was that the devils are afraid of eum wood and the ki-mi grass, and since his time no sensible person will fail to have a stick of that wood and a bunch of that grass hung up over his door as a notice to the imps that he is not “at home.”

The Hun-min Chong-eum.

The above named book, the 民 訓正昔 or “The Right Sounds for Teaching the People,” is one of the rarest books extant in Korea. It is the work that was published at the time the Korean alphabet was invented, and it explained the meaning and use of the alphabet. No foreigner has ever been so fortunate as to see a copy of this book, though a few copies of it are known to exist; but the preface to it is preserved in the great Korean cyclopaedia called the Mun-hon Pi-go (文獻備考). As introductory to the preface of the Hun-min Chong-eum the Mun-hon Pi-go makes the following statement;

In the twenty-eighth year of King Se-jong (1445 A. D.) he carried out the publication of the Hun-min Chong-eum. He  said, “Other kingdoms have their written languages but we have none,” made twenty-eight characters, vowels and consonants, and called it the Eun-mun (諺文) or  “Common Character.”  He prepared a place in the palace for the carrying on of the work and ordered Chong In-ji (鄭麟趾), Sin Sok-chu (申 叔舟), Song Sam-mun (成 三問) and Ch’oe Hang(崔 恒) to compose an alphabet with care. They examined the ancient seal character and the grass character of China and divided the alphabet into three main parts, called initial, medal, and final sounds. Though the characters were few in num- [page 155] ber their possible combinations were infinite. There is no sound or idea that cannot be expressed by them. The great Chinese literatus Wuang Ch’an(黄瓚) was at that time in banishment in Liao-tung, so the king ordered Song Sam-mun and others to go to Liao-tung and consult with him about the matter. Thirteen journeys were made to that country before the alphabet was completed.

Chong In-ji, the Minister of Ceremonies, wrote the preface to the Hun min Chong-eum, and it runs as follows:

“As, in this world, there are native sounds, so there must be a native literature. Thus it is that from ancient times men have made characters corresponding to sounds.  Every idea can be expressed in words and the functions of heaven, earth and men, are all included. This will prevent change throughout the ages. But the sounds and speech of all the four quarters of the world are different, each nation following its own inclination. Some nations, however, have sounds but no writing so they have borrowed from the Chinese. But Chinese is not the right vehicle for the conveyance of Korean speech, and this has caused great trouble and confusion. Everything is good in its own place but when forcibly moved it becomes useless. It is true that many of our customs and ideas are borrowed from China, but our language is separate and distinct. It is exceedingly difficult to express our ideas by the use of Chinese. If a criminal judge does not understand the exact facts of a case he cannot judge with equity. So in the days of Sil-la, Sul-choag first made the i-tu (吏讀) which has been used more or less until now, but this system was made from borrowed characters some of which fell into disuse and others were thrown out. It was meager and deficient and was worthless in speech.

 “This work was begun in the 25th year and completed in the 28th year of King Se-jong. A plan was evolved and after consultation the work was named the Hun-min Chong-eum. The shape of the letters was taken from natural objects and from the seal character of China. The shapes correspond to the sounds. They are based upon the seven musical notes, upon the trinity of heaven, earth and man, and thus every sound and idea, every great principle and law is included. High and low, important and unimportant are all [page 156] written out clean and fair. The wise man can learn them all in a single morning and the fool can learn them in ten days. The system explains every Chinese character. Every petition can be put in plain and unequivocal language. The sounds are both clear and muffled. In music both high and low sounds are clearly understood. There is no place where this system cannot be used. Wherever one goes he can be understood. Whether it be the sighing of the wind, the cry of the stork, the crowing of the cock or the barking of a dog, every sounds are clearly understood. There is no place where this system cannot be used. Wherever one goes he can be understood. Whether it be the sighing of the wind, the cry of the stork, the crowing of the cock or the barking of a dog every sound can be made by the use of the Eun-mun.

“It is all written out here with explanations. Whoever sees it can learn without a teacher, but the deeper and more abstruse meaning we cannot make known here. The King is like a sage from heaven and his method is better than that of a hundred preceding kings. Hitherto there has been no one to make ‘The Right Sounds for Teaching the People’ but now it has been made and not a single principle of heaven has been broken. Our eastern Kingdom is by no means a young one. All things open up in time, and wise thoughts have waited till now to be brought to the surface.

 “The Korean sounds are much unlike the Chinese and the words are very different, and for this reason it is difficult to compare them. The common people are not able to use the Chinese. I am much troubled about it and have made twenty-eight characters so that any man can learn them easily and use them.

[page 157]

“The end sounds may also be used as initials. When any of the lip sounds ㅂ,ㅍ or  ㅁ is final its sound is lighter than when it is an initial. In writing, the vowels, ㅡ,ㅗ,ㅜ,ㅛ,and ㅠ always go beneath the initial consonant but ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅑ and ㅕ go to the right of it. No syllable can be made without a consonant and a vowel. A vowel with its point to the left, as ㅓ , has a going sound; with two points, ㅕ, it has a high sound; with no pionts at all, ㅣ, it is a smooth sound.”

Upon this statement the Mun-hon Pi-go comments as follows:

“I have seen the Hun-min Chong-eum, made by King Sejong,      and have found that the throat, lip, tooth and tongue sounds are all there, as well as the four musical notes, Kung, Sang, Kak and Chi. There is made possible here every combination of clear, indistinct, high and low sounds. These were first made from the musical sounds and they suggested the alphabet. Though they are not music, yet they make music; and so this subject is appended to the musical section of this work”

The Mun-hon Pi-go adds the following statement made by the great scholar Yi Swi-gwang, 李睟光, about 1550:

“The Korean alphabet was made on the model of the Thibetan alphabet. It had long been contemplated—the [page 158] making of an alphabet from the Thibetan, but the plan was not carried out until the days of King Se-jong.”

An examination of this original alphabet shows several points of interest. In the first place we find no mention of the reduplicated consonants ㅺ,ㅆ,ㅾ,ㅽ, and ㅼ whether the sounds of Korean speech have so changed as to necessitate the introduction of this reduplicated form or whether the hardened consonant existed but was not considered worthy of separated mention we can not tell, but this peculiarity in Korean speech is so definite that we can hardly believe it has come in since the formation of the alphabet. But a still stronger argument is that in languages plainly cognate to the Korean we find the same peculiarity; and since the Korean has had no commerce with many of these cognate languages during the past five centuries at least, we conclude that the reduplicated or hard consonant is one of the fundamental facts of Korean phonetics.

In the second place we notice that the original alphabet contained two characters which have since disappeared from actual use, although they may still be found occasionally in books less than a century old. There has been some doubt as to the sounds which these obsolete characters were supposed to represent but we shall see that this book gives us a key to their sounds.

In the third place it is interesting to note the very scientific manner in which the letters have been arranged. The laws of phonetics have been followed with almost perfect accuracy.  The consonants are arranged in groups of three and each group deals with consonants of a single class. For instance the first group is composed of what the Koreans call the “molar-tooth” sounds or as we would say the gutturals; the second group contains the linguals; the third group, the labials; the fourth group, the “throat” sounds or aspirates.

Each group contains three consonants which are considered fundamentally the same but are distinguished as “hard, medium and soft.” We have, then, in the first guttural group the consonants ㄱ, ㅋ and ㅇ. The first of these is called the hard one and corresponds to our k when initial and g when a medial, except in certain special cases. The which is the aspirated k, sometimes transliterated kh, but oftener k’ is [page 159] called the medium consonant of this group, while the third, ㅇ or ng, is called the soft one of the group. This classification is correct for it is quite true that the sound ng is a guttural nasal, just as m is a labial nasal and n a dental nasal.

(To be continued)

Odds and Ends.

With the fall of the Buddhist supremacy at the beginning of the present dynasty, the Tug-of war was one of the customs that survived, but the time of observing it was changed to the middle of the first moon. The observance of the custom is common all over Korea and probably at least one fifth of the large towns witness such a contest each year. Sometimes the people of a single town divide forces and have the tug-of-war and some times rival villages take the opposite ends of the rope. The contest sometimes takes place by day and sometimes by night but more frequently the latter. People of every rank in society take a hand in it, from the silk-robed gentleman to the rough-handed coolie. Women and children, as well, do their part for the honor of their village or of their side. Whichever village beats has the privilege of mocking at the vanquished for a whole year. Before the struggle the two villages hold feasts at their respective headquarters at which the various individuals pledge each other to do their best to drag the enemy all over the field. The rope is an enormous hawser ten inches in diameter, made of straw rope. To the sides of this main line many smaller ropes are attached in order to give an opportunity for hundreds of people to secure a good hold. When all is ready the judge of the contest, who is the village chief, cries,  “Take hold.” When every one has gotten a good grip on the rope he cries, “Pull.”and then a mighty shout goes up from both sides, as every muscle is strained to get the first advantage. Often the struggle lasts an hour or more and is decided only when certain marks on the rope have been drawn over lines previously made on the ground. The vanquished side has to treat the victors to wine and food. [page 160]

There is no betting in connection with the contest; in fact betting is a form of diversion to which the Koreans are not at all addicted.

During the early days of the present dynasty the government had seven hundred cavalry always on duty. The number was always kept at this figure until one day by a most extraordinary coincidence it was found necessary to reduce the number to six hundred. The way it happened was thus. The level piece of ground near the present Independence Arch was used as a cavalry drill ground, and so fierce were the mock battles and skirmishes fought there that a great cloud of dust would rise into the sky and quite obscure the setting sun.

One day, about 350 years ago, the Emperor of China looked out of his window toward the north-east and beheld a peculiar yellow cloud on the horizon. He had never seen such a thing before, but his sagacious eye at once detected that it was a cloud of dust.  He called in an officer and said, “I see a mighty cloud of dust in the east. There, must be a great battle going on in Korea. Send and find what it is all about.”

A special envoy was put on the road within the hour and he scarcely rested till he drew up at the palace gate in Seoul. He was ushered into the presence of the king and made know his errand. He could hardly believe his own ears when told that the dust was caused by a little friendly by play on the part of a company of cavalry at drill. 

 When the Emperor heard the report of his envoy he declared that if a little cavalry drill could raise such a dust, his eastern vassal was evidently getting too strong. So he sent an order to the Korean court that the seven-hundred cavalry should be reduced to six hundred. Since that time six hundred has been the orthodox number of Korean cavalry on a peace footing. At least so they say.

Question and Answer.

Question. Why do Koreans wrap the bodies of children who have died of small-pox in straw and delay the burial? [page 161]

  Answer.  There are several reasons. One is that it often happens that a child which has the small-pox is given up for dead but ultimately survives. It is said that the wrapping in straw and delaying burial is to make sure that the child is actually dead before burying it. We hear stories of how people have seen a movement in one of these straw wrappings and upon investigation have found that the child was alive.

Then again, if there are two or more children in the family it will be unpropitious to dig into the ground to bury one of them who has died of small-pox because if any of the other children come down with the disease they will be badly pock-marked. Another reason given is that it is necessary to wait three months before burying a small-pox case, in order to allow the fever to die out of the body entirely and to let it become dry, for moisture is supposed to delay decomposition, which is considered very bad. The sooner a dead body is resolved into its constituent elements the better it is for all concerned; so says the Korean.

Question. Why is it that Koreans always have white collars to their coats?

  We cannot guarantee the correctness of this answer but it is what the Koreans believe. When Kija, the sage, came to Korea in 1122 B. C. he taught the semi-savages of the peninsula the arts of peace. We need not enumerate all the reforms he instituted, but among others he is said to have introduced important modifications in the matter of dress. When he died the people of course went into mourning for him. White is the color of mourners’ clothes in Korea and the Koreans say that in honor of Kija the whole people determined and agreed to wear white collars on their coats as perpetual mourning for the great sage. It is called to this day Kija ku-sung or “The Kija mourning garb.” If you ask any Korean gentleman what Kija ku-sung means he will point to his white collar. Personally we are sceptical about this but we are quite sure that it is one of the many evidences of a keen poetical temperaments Is there any other nation where there is even the tradition of mourning having been worn for any one man for three thousand years?

Question. What is the meaning and origin of the stones erected in many places on which are inscribed the characters[page 162] 大小入員皆下馬 which mean  “Big man, little man, when you pass this way, dismount? “

Answer. These stones are called ha-ma-pi or “dismountting stones” and they are placed near the approach to every palace, Confucian hall, royal tomb or such places as the temples to the god of war outside the South and East Gate.  To ride by one of these was formerly a great offence. It was showing disrespect to dignitaries. The law has now fallen entirely into disuse but we still find plenty of relics of the custom, It is only since 1890, or thereabouts, that it fell into complete desuetude. It is not uncommon to see people getting off their horses in a hurry when they see their superiors approaching A few years ago if a foreigner was walking along the street and met a string of pack ponies whose loads had been deposited and the grooms were riding them, the grooms would scramble down in great haste and then mount again after the foreigner had passed. There are perhaps a dozen readers of the Review who will remember the time when no coolie or groom would dare to mount a horse inside the gates of Seoul. In this connection it is perhaps permissible to add that if a gentleman is on horse-back or in a sedan chair or even in a jinriksha it is not good form to recognize on the street any acquaintance of higher rank than himself who is not also mounted or riding some vehicle. To ride implies superior station and to recognize any one from horse-back or from the seat of a vehicle is an assumption of superiority. There are probably few observant foreigners that have lived a year or more in Seoul who have not been “cut dead” by acquaintances who happened to be riding. At first this causes surprise if not irritation but it should be remembered that according to Korean etiquette the rider could not recognize the pedestrian without insulting him. If you see your friend approaching on horse-back you had better look the other way unless you wish to embarrass him. It must be confessed that this really delicate social law is fast passing into oblivion and yet its observance is by no means infrequent today. [page 163]

Editorial Comment.

In our last number we had room only for a short account of the meeting held in Seoul on March 17th in the interests of the Y. M. C. A. but it is deserving of further and fuller notice. Two or three years ago a number of foreign residents in Seoul sent a request to the International Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Association in America setting forth the prospects of a successful association in Seoul and asking that a secretary be appointed to this field. After some delay the response came in the person of Mr. Philip Gillett who is a typical product of the Y. M. C. A. both physically, socially and religiously, for he is young, he is a man, he is a Christian and he—well he is not an association all by himself, but he forms a mighty good nucleus for one. The eminent educator Mark Hopkins used to say that a log of wood with a genuine teacher sitting on one end and a genuine student sitting on the other form a university! And he might have added that when a genuine teacher sits down on one end of the log it will not be long before the other end is occupied. Mr. Gillett has taken his seat on one end of the log and we predict that it will not be long before Koreans will be fighting for a place on the other end.

We could not do the subject justice without quoting some of the statements which were brought out very aptly and fully at that meeting on March 17.

The young Korean is socially inclined, but has nowhere to go for amusement or social intercourse that does not do him more harm than good. Home means little or nothing to him socially and he either has to spend his time loafing in his friends’ reception rooms or on the street or in positively viscious resorts. There are no parks, nor reading rooms, nor adequate libraries, nor recreation grounds, nor games of physical skill to attract him. The influences are all directly downward. You pass hundreds of young men on the street every day who are bright and capable and who need only an opportunity and an incentive to climb out of the old rut and become the equal of the brightest and most energetic that Japan has produced during the last thity years. [page 164]

What will the Y. M. rC. A. mean to such a young man? In the first place it will afford a place where he can meet his friends and pass an hour or two in conversation, or better still in reading various periodicals that will give him a glimpse of conditions of which he has never dreamed. It will give him a place where he can take physical exercise and get a good clean bath. It will afford him opportunities to hear lectures on historical, scientific and religions topics and thus secure the needed stimulus for self-improvement. He will be brought into contact with Christianity in its purest and least encumbered form and the beauty and truth of Christ’s life and teaching and the supremely attractive power of His death and resurrection will take hold upon him.

It has been sometimes objected that the work of the Y. M. C. A. draws attention away from the regular Church organizations and tends to undermine their influence. This is an error. The Y. M. C. A. is in no sense a church and when carried on in a proper way cannot possibly be inimical to the interests of that highest of all human organizations. It is an avenue of approach, a means toward an end and not the end itself. What success would any Church have if it depended solely upon the slated services to bring people it? Every live Church is a center from which go out active influences of every kind whereby people are induced to accept of Christianity, and when a man has done that, in a genuine way, you can no more keep him out of the Church than you can annul the law of gravitation. If Y. M. C. A. work looks only toward the social, intellectual and so-called moral improvement of its members and stops short of a genuine acceptance of Christianity as a life principle it misses its aim entirely and can do no permanent good; but the fact is that, the world over, it has been an active agent in filling the seats in our churches and its marvelous expansion within the last decade has been based upon this one fact that it appeals to men not in a superficial way but in a radical way and so lays hold of the fundamental facts of human character that men are inevitably attracted, and when once a man has accepted the fundamental principle of Christianity it gives him an enlargement of mental horizon and enables him to see that the organization of the Young Men’s Christian Association is not an end in itself [page 165] but only an avenue, a channel, whereby the Church of Christ is recruited.

It is the desire and the determination of those identified in this work that there be no doubt whatever on this point.

The only business of this association is to induce men to accept Christianity not only as an historical fact but as an active principle of conduct. All kinds of proper agencies will be used toward this end. Christianity never was and never will be attractive to a man until he is appealed to, and the whole aim of this organization is to get hold of men and secure an opportunity to present to them the supreme arguments It is hoped that every Korean who enters the building of the Y. M. C. A. in Seoul will understand clearly before he does so that he is to meet there in some form or another an appeal to accept Christianity.

At the meeting referred to there was uttered a very pertinent note of warning. It must be very clearly understood that this association will have no political significance. Genuine reform is endogenous and not exogenous, and when public opinion is ready for reforms they will come as naturally as the sunrise, and with as little noise. It is all a matter of education and the patriotic Korean is the one who does not cry out for reform but who cries out for enlightenment. This is the stand taken by this association, and its aim will be to educate and enlighten, as well as to evangelize.

Review.

L’Impero di Corea, by CARLO ROSSETTI. We have received a copy of the pamphlet as named above. The author, a Lieutenant in the Italian Navy, is now Acting Italian Consul in Seoul This pamphlet was printed in Rome and is dated December, 1902. It contains thirty crown octavo pages with two maps, the first showing the Railroads and Telegraph routes both in operation and on paper, and the second showing the mineral resources of the peninsula, by indicating the principal points at which the different minerals are found, and all the foreign concessions than have been made. The latter is [page 166] most interesting and shows at a glance the wide distribution of valuable minerals in Korea.

The first few pages are devoted to a short but clear account of the opening of Korea to foreign intercourse. It then takes up the matter of population, showing that estimates have been made varying  all the way from 17,000,000 to 5,000,000; but settles upon 12,000,000 as being as close an approximation as is possible at the present time.

The next division of the pamphlet deals with the various open ports of Korea and indicates briefly the value of imports and exports at each of them.

The next paragraph speaks of the railroad already completed, those in process of construction and those which have as yet been only contemplated.

The telegraph and postal systems come in for their full share of attention and special mention in made of the difficulties attendant upon the joining of the Korean lines with the Russian across the northeastern border.

Under the head of steamship communication we are given the total tonnage of foreign and coastwise vessels at the various ports.

Several pages are devoted to the subject of mining, especially gold mining; and the imports and exports of the country are treated quite fully.

After some final remarks the pampblet closes with a eulogy on the late Count Ugo Francesetti.

This pampblet is not merely, a dry statement of facts but is filled with brilliant generalizations and comparisons which make it most interesting reading. whether the reader is able always to agree with the writer or not.

Note.

As the editor of the Review is about to go to America via the Siberian Railway he has decided, alter consultation with a number of Seoul people, to publish in this magazine a somewhat detailed account of this journey, giving special attention to those points which will be of interest to prospec-[page 167] tive travellers over that route. In thus breaking our rule, of dealing with nothing but Korean matters, we have but one excuse to make Almost every foreigner in Korea intends to go “home” at some time or other, and the matter of routes is a vital one. We believe therefore that a detailed account of the conditions of travel in Siberia will be fully as interesting, and valuable to readers of this magazine as matters pertaining strictly to Korea.

We do it the more readily because we have received from the Russian authorities an open letter to the railway officials of the Siberian road asking them to give us every opportunity to gain information that will be useful and interesting to the travelling public.

We would solicit the aid of the readers of the magazine in supplying material for its pages during the next four months. Especially would we ask, that any item of news that would be of interest be sent to this office. This will be a favor not only to the management of the Review but to the public who read it as well. The Question and Answer columns are still open. They have been well used in the past but the inquisitiveness of the public in regard to matters Korean has not been as keen as we might have wished. It may be that the answers given have not proved entirely satisfactory, but in each case great care has been taken to find out the facts in regard to each question that has been propounded.

News Calendar.

During his stay in Seoul Mr. F. S.Brockman the Y. M. C. A. Secretary for China, Korea and Hongkong made a number of addresses to very appreciative audiences here, both at regular and special meetings. We wish he might have stayed with us longer. Over $6,000 have been raised locally toward a Y. M. C. A. building in Seoul!

On the 7th inst the French Minister lodged a complaint with the Foreign office against the Korea Review stating that the March number of that magazine had used very strong  language and asked  that the Minister of Education be instructed to warn the editor of that magazine against a repetition of this offence. This we learn only indirectly.

By order of the Fusan Superintendent of Trade the streets of Old Fusan, Kukwan and Cho-ryang are being lighted with oil lamps.

[page 168] On March 8 a son was born to Rev. and Mrs Engel of Fusan.—Norman Melville Engel.

Early in this month a son was born to Rev. and Mrs Junkin of Kunsan.

Mr. Morsel of Chemulpo has kindly furnished the following note on the partial solar eclipse of the 29th ult. At 8.50 A. M. the clouds broke and showed that the immersion had begun and nearly two digits of the solar disc had already disappeared. At 9h. 30m. 40s. occurred the central immersion, and a partial corona appeared of a dark crimson color intercepted with black lines. At 10h. 50m. 15s. occurred the emersion. At the highest immersion about 7 digits of the sun’s disc were concealed. The time here given is Chemulpo local time approximate.

It is stated that work is to be resumed on the Seoul-Euiju Railway and that 500 coolies are to be set to work at once.

Cho Pyung-sik has memorialized the throne asking that the kwaga or National Examinations be re-established.

The Japanese local paper states that the Imperial Household Department is intending to get out from America an electric lighting plant, at a cost of Yen 45,000.

Country soldiers to the number of 2,000 or more, who had come to grace the celebration of the fortieth anniversary, have been sent back to their posts.

Prof. E. Martel’s contract with the Korean government has been renewed for three years.

On account of the illness of Prince Yung-Ch’in the government has ordered that, for a period of nine days, only the most necessary work be done at the various government offices.

About two hundred men are to be selected to attend the military school in place of those who graduated on the 16th inst., who numbered about 160.

The Italian Consul has applied to the government for a gold-mining concession for his nationals.

It is said that the Seoul Electric Company has proposed to settle with the Korean government for Yen 700,000 down and the balance, of about an equal sum, in three annual payments with interest at 10 per cent annum. It is stated that there is an average daily sale of about 2,790 tickets for the Electric Railway.

A son was horn to Rev. and Mrs C. A. Clark on the 3rd inst.

Yun Chi-ho has resigned his position as Superintendent of Trade for Wonsan but still holds his position as prefect of Tuk-wun.

A daughter was horn to Rev. and Mrs W. N. Blair of Pyeng-yang early in the current month.

The mint has been busy turning out copper cent pieces. This is much better money than the nickels for several reasous. but the labor of counting it is a great drawback.

On the 12th inst the new Korean gun-boat left Nagasaki and arrived at Chemulpo on the 15th.

A monument is to be erected in Seoul in honor of Lady Om.

[page 169] The Minister of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo has suggested that four of three of the others be left in Tokyo for a short time as they are about ready to graduate. This was in view of the fact that the Korean government has ordered the return of the Korean students in Tokyo.

The Japanese and Chinese butchers have declared that if the government wishes to stop the slaughter of beef for a time, it must pay them an indemnity to cover their loss.

We have received from Tokyo a copy of a valuable little book called A catalogue of the Romanized Geographical Names of Korea, by B. KUTO, PH D. AND S KANAZAWA. ESQ. both of the Imperial University in Tokyo. The preface says, “This little work on Korean geographical names in the Romanized form has been compiled from the list of villages and towns mountains and rivers noted down during two journeys in Korea by one of the authors during 1899 and 1902. Therefore one will find in this catalogue many of the vernacular names which a traveller is likely to hear most frequently during his trips to the interior * * *” He intentionally avoided highways and selected the country roads to which his special study led him. On this account some of the names on the main roads may not he found on this list.”

Before beginning the book proper the author gives his system of Romanization which follows very closely that adopted by the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society but he has hardly improved upon it: for be gives the vowel 어 only the sound of o whereas it also has the sound of u. He says that ㄹ when initial is r but no Korean can pronounce initial r. The flat sound of 애 he romanizes ai which is something new to us. But on the whole the system is a simple and workable one and shows a good practical grasp of the situation

The authors then give a list of those words that are used so commonly in Korean geographical names such as peak, plain, pass, market, ferry, ford, valley, inn, bridge, rapid, etc., etc. This list is very interesting and should be learned by heart by all students of the Korean language, In fact we believe every student of the language should have a copy of this little book for reference.  There is a list of about 3,000 Korean geographical names arranged alphabetically according to the romanized form, and in the second part the list is again given but arranged to the Chinese characters. So it can be used readily by either foreigners or Koreans.

We note that this work is on sale by Maruya and Co. of. Tokyo. The price is not stated but it cannot be great. It contains 184 pages, and is in handy form for pocket use The printing and general get-up of the book are highly commendable.

On the 12th inst it was discovered that the young prince, son of Lady Om, was suffering from small-pox. It became necessary therefore to postpone again the celebration that was to have taken place at the end of the month. It is understood that it will take place next Autumn. At last accounts the young prince was doing well, the disease having developed normally. Korean mudangs [page 170] were called in to placate the small-pox spirit and gifts were sent to many of the monasteries in the vicinity of Seoul for the same purpose. The slaughtering of cattle was prohibited for nine days and all sewing and all driving of nails or hammering of any kind was stopped in the palace. No goods can be carried in or taken out until the set time. These observances are all in strict accord with time-honored Korean custom.

We hear that the government is intending to erect a handsome post-office building on the site of the present post-office site. This is a piece of work most deserving of praise and gives evidence that the government appreciates the services of Monsieur Clemencet through whose efforts the Korean Postal Service has reached a point of great efficiency. Another building projected is that of a Korean government bank.

Through the kindness of Prof. E. Martel we learn that at a. recent auction sale of land in the Russian Concession in Tientsin the Korean government purchased a fine piece of land for a consulate site in that place. As Prof. Martel was present at the sale we presume that it was he who bid in the property for the government.

Good Friday, the 10th inst, witnessed the arrival of two additions to the foreign population of this city. A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers, of the Customs Service, and a daughter was also born to Mons. and Madam Clemencet, of the Postal Service.

Early in April four young men arrived in Seoul from America, under appointment by the Methodist Episcopal Mission Board in New York, They are Messrs. A. L. Becker, Carl. Critchett, J. Z. Moore and R. A. Sharp. It will not be definitely known where they will be stationed until after the Annual Meeting of the Mission in May.

We note the arrival of Miss M. M. Cutler, M. D., and Mrs. R. S. Hall, M. D., from furlough in America. With them came Miss M. J. Edmonds, who has been lately appointed to work under the Methodist Mission. The method of their coming reminds one of the wanderings of Ulysses, for having embarked upon a steamer at New York they came to Korea via the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea and so on, to the Yellow Sea. Incidentally they were delayed at Batoum for seventy-seven days, during which time they were enabled to make more or less progress in the Albanian language and possibly other dialects of that region.

The prospect for some good tennis this summer is very bright. The Seoul Union is putting in two first-class courts and already considerable enthusiasm is being displayed across the net. The Seoul tennis force has been augmented by the addition of Rev. W. D. Reynolds, Rev. A. B. Turner and others, while our rivals of Chemulpo have secured substantial aid in the person of A. H. Esq of the British Consular Service. The year 1903 ought to see a very good contest between the two ports.

The New York Heraid of March 1st contains an article on Prince Eui-wha which begins with the astonishing statement that “he has become so enamored of the freedom and independence of the American people that he declares he may refuse the crown of his kingdom and [page 171] the responsibility of the throne fur the sake of independent life abroad and at home.” This followed up by some other equally extraordinary assertions, but it is not of these that we wish to speak. The article says. “Among the students in the woman’s branch of the university (in which Prince Eui-wha is studying) is Miss Angie M. Graham. She is a very bright and vivacious girl and it is no wonder that the prince found her society extremely attractive. The rules of the institution however did not allow him much opportunity to cultivate her acquaintance and so during the last six months he has been an occasional visitor to Wheeling whenever Miss Graham was home on a vacation. Miss Graham and her family vigorously deny that there is any matrimonial engagement between the young pelple. Naturally the young prince  will not discuss the matter, although his great admiration for American women leads many to believe that Miss Graham’s denials are not given in the best possible faith.”

We sincerely trust they are, for Prince Eui-wha is already married, and his wile is living in Korea today. If Prince Eui-wha is reticent on the subject and allows the notion to prevail that he is a bachelor and free to marry, the sooner he overcomes his reticence and proclaims the fact that he is already a very thoroughly married man the better for all concerned. It will be well for young women in America and elsewhere to remember that there is not one young mam in a thousand who goes from China, Japan, Korea or any other oriental country who does not leave behind him a legitimate wife We can hardly believe that the prince seriously gives out that he will ever probably have the opportunity to refuse the crown of Korea. This must be merely a newspaper embellishment. We wish the prince all success in his pursuit of an education, and the time many come when be will be of service to his country, but what the nature of that service will be it is extremely unwise to forecast.

So far as we can learn Wilhelm has not yet been brought up from the country though we understand the French authorities were determined that he should come. Efforts have been made to find out what he is doing and we learn from reliable sources that he is promising that every baptized Roman Catholic will be taken on board French men of war and be safe while all others will be in great danger. This has frightened the ignorant country people and scores have hastened to receive the  sacrament of baptism, if it may be so called. The whole foreign community is waiting to see what will be done with the man who defies not only the Korean government hut his own government as well. We cannot and will not believe that he will be allowed to remain in the country and deceive the people with such stories as he is telling them, for it must inevitably injure not only the cause of religion but the reputation of a great and enlightened republic. If he will not obey verbal or written commands then he can be brought down by force. Since the publication of the last number of this magazine attempts have been made to secure the appointment of Yi In-yung as governor of Whang-ha Province. He is a strong Roman Catholic partisan and the government could [page 172] do nothing more certain to bring on serious disturbances in that locality than to appoint this man. The very attempt to secure his appointment shows that the aggressive attitude of Roman Catholicism is to be upheld in that province through the influence of the Korean government if possible, but we are pleased to learn that the appointment has not been made. Other interests have been consulted by the Central government besides those of the French missionaries and it is not probable that the authorities will take the very course that would sooner or later bring on an insurrection.

We learn with great regret of the death in Portland, Oregon, of Miss Ellen Strong, for many years connected with the Presbyterian Mission in Korea.

She came to Korea in 1892 and left in 1901 suffering from some occult form of cerebral trouble. She was known as an earnest and faithful worker and she leaves behind her a fragrant memory.

Rev. J. S. Gale and Prof. H. B. Hulbert left for Europe via the Siberian Railway a few days ago. There were several American gentlemen from Japan who went at the same time. So there will be a considerable party of them to cross the continent together. During the four months’ absence of the editor of the Review all correspondence addressed to the Magazine will receive as prompt attention as heretofore.

FROM THE NATIVE PAPERS.

Chong Ha-yong the Secretary of the Korean Legation in Tokyo has returned to Seoul and reports that a large amount of counterfeit nickels are being made in Osaka and secretly brought to Korea.

Sim Heung-tak, prefect of the island of Dagelet, has applied for permission to buy a Japanese boat for $1,100 to use in going back and forth between the mainland and that island which lies 130 miles off the eastern coast.

Many Korean scholars have memorialized the throne asking that the time-honored custom of national examinations be revived. It was done away with in 1894.

Yi Yong-ik is building a factory in Seoul for the making of porcelain ware. European experts have already been secured and have been in Korea some time waiting for the plant to be erected.

The reason for the withdrawal of the edict compelling Koreans to wear black coats is that Yi Yu-in, the Chief of Police, says that until the death of the late queen is avenged Koreans must continue to wear white, which is the proper mourning color in Korea.

About the time of the Imperial Crown Prince’s birthday almost all the prisoners in the Seoul jails were released, but out of about 200 released over thirty were again arrested.

A good work is being done in the largest of the prisons, under the initiative of Rev. D. A. Bunker. A prison library has been established and the books are being eagerly read by the prisoners.

The palace authorities were suspicious that Yi Keui-Dong. Vice Minister of Law, was acting in a traitorous manner and spies were put on his [page 173] track. It was discovered that he was carrying explosives into the palace in his hand-bag. He was arrested as he was coming out of the palace on the night of the 1st inst and in his bag were found three dynamite cartridges and a revolver. It is not known just how he intended to use them but in any case the consequences are sure to be very serious for him.

Yun Chi-ho, the well known Superintendent of Trade at Wonsan is very ill and it became necessary to bring him up to Seoul, but the people blocked the way and refused to let him go. They know a good man when they see him. He was unable to get away and so is stopping at the Sukdang Monastery near Wonsan.

The Japanese have decided to erect an electric lighting plant in Chemulpo at a cost of $55,000.

All the Korean students in Japan are about to return to Korea owing to non-support.

On the 5th inst a fire on South Gate street consumed fifty bales of cotton goods and $12.000 worth of silks.

Preparations have been made for the delayed celebration of the 50th anniversary of the present reign, to take place at the end of this month. On the 27th the foreign envoys will be received at Chemulpo. On the 28th from 10 A.M. to noon all the envoys will be received at the Foreign office. At 2 P. M. the. envoys will present their credentials to His Imperial Majesty in the Ton-duk-jun, the new building on the former Customs site. At 8 P. M. a dinner will be given in the same place which will he witnessed by the Emperor. On the 29th from 9 a. m. till noon and from 2 P. M. till 6 P. M. visits will be exchanged between the envoys. On the 30th will take place the main celebration. The emperor will go to the Imperial Altar and sacrifice and then go to the Ton-duk-jun where a tiffin will be spread. On May 1st the envoys will have audience with His Majesty and a dinner in the evening, of which the Crown Prince will partake. On May 2nd at 2 P. M. a garden party will be held at the “Old palace.”  The 3rd, being Sunday, there will he no festivities. On the 4th there will be a great military review at the “Mulberry Palace.” and in the evening there will be a great military feast. On the 5th at 8 p. m. there will be a dinner at the Foreign Office. On the 6th at 8 p. M. there will be a dinner at the Ton-duk-jun. On the 7th at 11 A. M. the envoys will have a farewell audience with His Majesty. It is stated that the entire affair will cost between three and four million yen.

THE BUDGET FOR 1903.

The entire revenue is estimated at $10,766,115. The entire expenditure is estimated at $10,765,491. This leaves a balance of $624.

REVENUE.

Land tax                                                  $7,603,020

House tax                                   :            460,295

Miscellaneous                                        210,000 [page 174]

Balance from                                          1,142,800

Customs Duties                                                   850,000

Various imposts                                                   150,000

Mint                                                        350,000

10,766,115

EXPENDITURE,

The Emperor’s private purse                   $817.361

Sacrifices                                               186.639

                                                                1.004.000

THE IMPERIAL HOUSHOLD

Railway bureau                                                    21.980

Palace police                                           118.645

Police in open ports                                 69.917

Northwest Railway                                  22.882

Ceremonial Bureau                                 17.608

Mining Bureau                                         10.000

201,022

THE OLD MAN BUREAU                      24,026

BUREAU OF GENERALS                    65,853

THE CABINET                                                     38.730

THE HOME DEPARTMENT

Office                                                       34.624

Mayor’s Office                                        6.144

Provincial Governments                                     91.862

Prefectural Governments, 3nd class      52.674

Quelpart                                          4.222

Prefectures                                              778.325

Imperial Hospital                                    7.632

Vaccination bureau                                 3.354

Travelling Expenses                               730

Prefectural sacrifices                             866

980.533

THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT

Office                                                     26,024

Superintendents of Trade                                  51.154

Foreign Representatives                                       201,020                                                                                                                           278.198

THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Office                                                     53,910

Tex collectors                                           141,600

Mint,                                                    280.000

Payment on debt.                                   989,250

Pensions                                                 1,956

Transportation                                          200.000                                                                                                                                                    1.666.176

WAR DEPARTMENT  

Office                                                       50,651

Soldiers                                                   4,072,931

4,123,582 [page 175]

LAW DEPARTMENT

Office                                                       31,603

Supreme Court                                                     15,686

Mayoralty Court                                                    8,162

prefectural Courts                                    1,251                                                                                                              56,702

POLICE BEREAU       

Office                                                     252,857

Seoul Prison                                            32,650

Policemen                                                51,462

Border police, &c                                     23,762

Travelling expense, &c                            600

                                                                 361,331

EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT

Office                                                     24,822

Calendar                                                  6,022

Schools in Seoul                                                   89,969

Schools in Country                                                                                                                                                                                    22,580

Subsidies for private Schools.                5,430

Students abroad                                     15,920

164,913

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT

Office                                                38,060

General expense                                                  8,240                                                                                                                                          46,300

COUNCIL..

Office                                                     18,580

IMPERIAL BODY GUARD

office                                                      58,099

BUREAU OF DECORATJONS

Office                                                     20,993

TELEGRAPH AND POST

Office                                                       23,640

General expense                                                 438,295

                                                                 461,935             

BEREAU OF SURVEYS

Office                                                       21,018

Surveys                                                                 50,000

71,018

INCIDENTALS.

Road and other repairs                          35,000

Repairs in country                                   10,000

Arrest of robbers                                                   500

relief work                                                5,000

Burial of destitute                                     300

Miscellaneous                                          480

Police at mines, ifec                               1840

Shrinkage                                            3,120

56,240

EMERGENCY FUND                             1,015,000

The French priest Wilhelm came up to Seoul about the middle of the current month but not until the greater part of this number of the Review had gone to press. We add this note in view of the remarks we have made relative to his remaining in the country.

The illustrated New York Tribune of recent issue contains an article on the making of heathen idols in Philadelphia. The man who is manufacturing these singular objects was interviewed, and said he had just seen a Korean who had dropped in to order a consignment of Buddhist idols, but whether for export or for use in America was not said. We are aware that there has been a slight reaction lately in Korea in favor of Buddhism but that it had gone so far as to make it necessary to import idols from America was an eye-opener. We hope the statement that a Korean was ordering idols was no truer than the article in another recent New York daily in which it was stated that a Presbyterian Missionary named Brown came to Korea with his daughter, that she joined the harem of the King of Korea and is today called Lady Om, which is said to be the Korean for her real name of Emily! The marriage of this girl to the King is all described in most glowing colors and the statement is made that she is doing good missionary work in the harem and that her son will be the future ruler of Korea, since the late Queen had no son!!  Of such stuff are a certain class of newspapers made. We can only wonder whether the writer of it was the greater knave or the publisher of it the greater dupe.

A recent issue of the Kobe Chronicle publishes the documents which appeared in the March Review and in connection with them makes the usual charge of prejudice and unfairness. It is true that we have not heard the other side of the story and it is safe to say we never shall, but the Kobe Chronicle may rest assured of one thing and that as that the Protestant adherents in Whanghai Province have never been charged, even by the Roman Catholics, with any such practices as have been proved against the latter. They have never lifted a hand in retaliation even when there was the utmost provocation. When Kim Yu-no, a protestant leader was being held in confinement by Roman Catholics and was told that he was to be killed, he received secret messages from a body of influential and well-to-do Koreans, neither Protestant nor Catholic, who said  “Just give us the word and we will rise in a body and clean out the Roman Catholics from this place, root and branch.” What a temptation this must be to a man who has been beaten and imprisoned for no fault at all. And yet he sent repeatedly saying  “Do nothing of the kind. We must not use force simply because they do.” This incident we know to be true and while it is certain that we have not heard the other side of the story yet we doubt  whether much of a case could be made out against the Protestant Koreans. If there is any other side let us have it. This Review will print any statement made by the other side, as frankly and and as unreservedly as it has presented the Protestant side

[page 177]

Korean History.

About this time there arose in the Chinese court a determined enemy of Gen. Yang Ho named Chung Eung-t’a who accused Gen. Yang to the Emperor in twenty-five specifications, five of which implicated the king of Korea and which at a later date caused a deal of trouble.

We now enter upon a new phase of the war, the closing epoch. In the first moon of the following year, 1598, the Emperor sent two admirals to Korea, the one being Tong II-wun and the other Chil Lin. The former was to have charge of the naval operations off the coast of Chul-la and the other of those off Kyung-sang Province. Chil Lin, under the title of Great Admiral came up the Han River with 500 boats as far as Tong-jak, the first village above Yong-san. The king and the court went down and reviewed this fleet and saw it start off to join Admiral Yi Sun-sin in the south. This admiral, Chil Lin, was a good soldier but inordinately vain.

He would take no one’s advice, and it looked as if stormy times were in store for the plain, blunt Admiral Yi. The king told Admiral Chil Lin that be was not sure about Admiral Yi, and this of course had its influence with the Chinese admiral.

Admiral Yi was then at Ko-geum Island off Chul-la Province.

When he heard that Admiral Chil Lin was coming he showed by his first act that he was as good a diplomat as soldier. He may or may not have known what sort of man the Chinese admiral was but he knew that in any case it would not do to antagonize him, and he acted accordingly. He collected a great store of fish and game and wine and went out to meet the approaching fleet. Returning with the Chinese admiral he spread a great feast and the whole company got splendidly drunk and vowed that Admiral Yi was a royal good fellow. Admiral Chil Lin himself joined in the praise. Soon after this Admiral Yi had the good luck to take two score of Japanese heads, but instead of claiming the honor himself he [page 178] handed them over to the Chinese admiral to forward as his own trophies. This finished Admiral Yi’s conquest of Admiral Chil Lin’s good graces. From this time on it was Gen. Yi who suggested and planned and it was Admiral Chil Lin who assented and reaped the praise. This course of conduct was a master-piece of genius on the part of Admiral Yi, for by so doing he accomplished at least three important things. In the first place he kept himself in his position, which he would have lost had he antagonized the Chinaman. In the second place he saved himself to his country at a time when she could not have spared him. He was willing to forego the praise and let others reap the commendation if only he might ward off the enemies of his country. In the third place he made the Chinese seem successful and so encouraged them and got out of them for Korea all that was to be hoped. He was willing to seem to be toadying to Admiral Chil Liu when in reality that gentleman was, to use a pregnant Korean phrase, “in his sleeve.” Being always near the Chinese admiral he could always see to it that no great blunders were made. At first the Chinese soldiery committed great excesses among the people of the country, stealing their valuables and otherwise injuring them. Admiral Yi quietly asked that the discipline of the army be put in his hands and from that day on the smallest irregularity was severely punished and the most perfect order prevailed. This did not escape the eye of Admiral Chil Lin, and he wrote to the king that Admiral Yi was a remarkable man and that the world did not contain another soldier like him. One day as they sat in a summer-house overlooking the sea a fleet of Japanese boats appeared in the distance. Admiral Chil Lin was much excited and a little nervous but Admiral Yi laughed and said, “Sit here and watch me give those fellows a whipping.” He got out his boats and in an hour he had forty of the enemy’s boats on fire and the rest fled.

In the seventh moon of this year the enemies of Gen. Yang Ho in Nanking were successful and be was called from Korea, much to the regret of the king who vainly sent an envoy to the Chinese court specially to plead that the decree be not carried out. Gen. Yang had been the best of all the generals that China had sent and his departure was a great loss to [page 179] Korea. When he went, the king and a large number of the people accompanied him beyond the Peking Pass, and a stone tablet was raised there in his honor. All of this of course made Gen. Yang’s enemies hate the king as well, and so that official named Chung Eung-t’a fabricated some astonishing stories about him. He claimed that while he had been in Korea he had found a manuscript which proved that the king had received investiture from Japan. He also charged the Koreans with showing disloyalty to China by prefixing the word tu (great) to the posthumous titles of their kings. He also claimed that the first coming of the Japanese was with a secret understanding with the king of Korea that they would attack Liao-tung together. To these he added many minor charges. The Emperor apparently believed these things and immediately despatched an envoy, So Kwal-lan, to investigate the matter and report. When the king was informed of these charges he was dumbfounded. All his scrupulous care of the interests of his Chinese suzerain and the extremes of hardship which he and his people had endured, rather than grant the Japanese a free passage through Korea to strike China--all this was thrown back upon him and his devotion was counted treachery. He left his palace and took up his abode in a straw hut for one whole month as penance for having been even suspected of such baseness. The whole country was stirred to its depths by these unnatural and evidently baseless charges. The king immediately sent his most trusted councillors Yi Hang-bok and Yi Chung-gwi to Nanking with the following memorable reply to the charges which had been preferred:

 “These charges which have been made against me are very grave and if they are true I deserve death. In order to answer them I must repeat them, even though it defile my mouth. In the first place the origin of the Japanese is far in the eastern sea. The way thither by boat is exceeding far.

They are such barbarians that heaven has separated them far from other men. They have always been bad neighbors, for they live by piracy; they come like a flash and are gone as suddenly. Since the time of the fall of the Koryu dynasty great uneasiness has prevailed in Japan. Law has been in abeyance and bands of freebooters have been allowed to devastate our southern shores until nothing but weeds and[page 180] briers grow there. The founder of our present dynasty drove them out for a time but they grew bold again and continued their depredations. The natives of Tsushima liked to come and trade with us and we permitted it at their request; then Japanese from the more distant islands came in flocks like birds. Our people never liked them, but we permitted the trade, as it was mutually profitable. We gave them rice to eat and treated them kindly. We built a house in Seoul for the reception of their envoys. In the days of king Se-jong they asked us to send an envoy to Japan and we did so, primarily to spy out the land and discover whether the country was rich or poor, strong or weak. The envoy obtained the information and we immediately reported the matter to China. We could not well refuse to send an envoy to Japan. but it does not argue relations of friendship, much less of intimacy. In the days of the Emperor Chong-t’ong the Japanese started to ravage a cerain part of the Chinese coast and took Quelpart on the way, but we attacked and drove them out and sent their leader alive to China to be dealt with. Also in the time of King Chung-jong the Japanese attacked the China coast at Yong P’a-bu. They killed the Chinese general and then made off, but we caught them and sent them to the Chinese authorities. Since that time we have twice prevented Japanese attacks on the China coast. Not once nor twice have we received high commendation from the Chinese Emperor for our firm loyalty. We have always used our wits and our strength in the interests of China. This was the duty of a vassal and this we have done. We let the Japanese live in the three harbors of Ch’e-p’o, Pu-san-p’o and Yum-p’o but we prescribed limits of five or ten li beyond which they could not go. On the whole then is seems plain that the charge that we called in the Japanese and asked them for troops must be pure fabrication. Again the book which Chung Eung-t’a claims to have found is an actual book and is named the Ha- dong Keui-ryak. It was written by Sin Suk-ju the envoy to Japan, on his return from that country, and it deals with the laws and mamers of the Japanese, It contains a map of Japan, a genealogy and also the rules of etiquette to be observed toward the Japanese envoy. This book our accuser seized upon as a sure sign of our leaning toward Japan, and he twist- [page 181] ed its meaning to correspond to his theory. The Japanese have a different name for the year from that which we use and the writer of this book put the Chinese name beneath the Japanese name as a sort of commentary, so that the reader could understand what year was referred to. In a Japanese book one must put the Japanese name of the year and if be wants to make plain the meaning he must put the Chinese name underneath or in the margin. As to the charge that we gave too high a title to our deceased kings we can only say that we live beyond the sea and are ignorant and secluded.

From the days of Sil-la until now we have been accustomed to name our dead kings in this way. The founder of the dynasty was scrupulously careful not to overstep the recognized limits of his authority as a vassal of China and we never for a moment have forgotten the gap which separates a vassal king from suzerain. The custom of giving these posthumous titles dates from the days of Sil-la, so how could we be expected to know that it was wrong, especially as it has never been called in question before? If we are blamed for ignorance and boorishness we cry guilty, but if for lack of loyalty, we humbly deny it. We have our calendar, our official dress and writing all from China. This alone should speak for our loyalty. The year before the beginning of the present war Hideyoshi murdered his master and usurped his throne. Burning with a desire to spring at the throat of China be sent us letters inviting us to join in an invasion of that country. We sent his letter back with contumely. In all this we advanced solely the interests of China. This is as clear as day. When the invading army came it seemed as if all Japan had alighted upon our shores. They covered our whole eight provinces and ravaged them. They seized our three capitals and desecrated two royal tombs. They burned our ancestral temple and other sacred plaices and then swept northward to P’yong Yang. We were unable to hold them in check or save our capital from their hands. We were driven to the verge of desperation and were about to cross into the parent land to die. Is it conceivable that if we had the least friendship for Hideyoshi we would have suffered all this at his hands? If we look at nature do we find any analogy for such a thing? If this charge is true why did our forces join with yours in [page 182] striking the invaders and why have we been hanging on their flanks and harassing them for years? Let the Emperor know that there is a reason why we have suffered this slander at the mouth of Chung Eung-t’a It is because we took Gen, Yang Ho’s part when Chung Eung-t’a desired his recall from Korea in disgrace, Gen. Yang Ho was with us a long time and he was a true friend of Korea. We all had the utmost confidence in him and it was a great pity that so good a man should have met the reward he did. It is a cause of poignant grief to us. We are a small people and our destruction is a matter of small consequence, but for a general of China to be treated in this manner is a serious matter. We are an outside and we have never had the pleasure of visiting the Emperor’s court, and so there is no one to plead our cause for us, but the Emperor will be able to judge our case without further plea. Chung Eung-t’a has called me a traitor, and I would rather die than live with such a charge upon me, even though it be untrue. Let the Emperor take this letter and sit in judgment on the case and if it appears that I am guilty let my head pay the penalty, but if not then let the Emperor acquit me before the world and I shall again be able to endure the light of day.”

This letter is clear, logical and to the point, and it breathes a spirit of self-respect which does credit to the king. It shows not a servile dependence but a true self-respecting loyalty, and in the firm denial of the charges and the final demand for condemnation or public acquital there is the ring of genuine manhood which would do honor to any man in any age.

When the Emperor read this letter his judicial mind found in it the ring of conscious rectitude and like the man he was he instantly acknowleged his error. He ordered the letter to be printed by the thousands and tens of thousands and scattered broadcast over his empire, for he apparently felt it a personal honor to have so true and genuine a man for a vassal. He answered the letter in the following terms:

 “I believed the words of slander spoken by that small man Chung Eung-t’a, and doubted in my mind as to the loyalty of the king of Korea. I cannot now be oblivious to the unmerited sufferings of Gen. Yang Ho. Chung Eung-t’a is [page 183] a radically bad man. I was on the brink of a disastrous mistake. I will now deprive him of rank and make him one of the common herd. Let him appear before me at once.”

When Chung Eung-t’a arrived in Nanking he was cut in two at the waist.

Chapter III.

Japanese mix with Koreans...  Chinese and Korean advance... Japanese victory... attempts at bribery... Admiral Yi Sun-sin,s last fight... a young Korean captive... Hideyoshi poisoned... his character... Japanese recalled... a Korean teacher in Japan... a memorial temple...  party changes... Japanese envoy... posthumous honors... factional strife...  revenue... envoy to Japan... a welcome heir... negotiations with Japan... a dark outlook... Chinese commissioner duped... treaty with Japan... reign of terror... the young prince murdered.

 By this time the Japanese were becoming mixed with the Korean people among whom and near whom their camps were placed. They were probably good customers and the people doubtless felt that it was not their business to fight them; so all up and down the coast for a distance of three hundred miles the Japanese lived in their “holes” as the Koreans called them, and in many cases they took wives from among the women of the country and devoted themselves to farming, except at such times as the Korean or Chinese forces came into their vicinity. There were three Japanese military centers. One was at Ul-san on the eastern coast, held by Konishi. In the west was Sun-ch’un ni Chul-la Province where Kato had his headquarters, while half way between these two in the town of Sa-ch’un on the Si-jin River a third station was held by Gen. Sok Mang-ja. These three stations kept up regular communication with each other, and in case of need rendered each other assistance.

We now enter the last campaign of this eventful war. We are not informed as to the numbers of the Japanese at this time but it probably fell short of 100,000 men. The Chinese had assembled again in force at Seoul and in the ninth moon [page 184] of 1598 a grand move was made against the invaders. The Chinese forces were led by Generals Hyong Ka and Man Se-duk. The whole army was divided into four grand army corps. Gen. Ma Kwi led the eastern division southward to attack Ul-san, under him were eleven other generals and 24,000 men.

The central division, of 13,000 men, was led by Gen. Tong Il-wun under whom were eight other generals. The western division was led by Gen. Yu Chung and six other generals with a force of 13,000 men. The admiral of this campaign was Chil Lin who was already in the south with eight other commanders handling 13,200 men. It is said that the entire expedition numbered 142,700 men, but the above items sum up to less than half that and we must conclude that there were something less than 100,000 men in all.

On the last day of the ninth moon, already well on toward winter, the three divisions deployed before the walls of Ul-san. Kato had not been idle all this time; after the terrible scenes of the last siege he had made the best of preparations.  He had accumulated an abundance of food, increased the garrison, strengthened the defenses, and he could laugh at any force that should try to sit out the winter before him. The Chinese soon discovered this and turned aside to work that promised better success. Gen. Tong Il-wun took a powerful force and advanced on Sa-chun, the central station of the Japanese. It is probable that the garrison here was smaller than those under either Kato or Konishi, for when its commander saw the force that was brought to bear upon him he hastily evacuated the place and crossed over to the island of Pom-neut and fortified it. Gen. Tong was overconfident and pressed after him. The Japanese craftily drew him on and on until his force was immediately under the wall, when a mine was exploded which, though it killed but a few hundred men, threw the whole attacking body into such confusion that the Japanese rushed out and found them an easy prey. The Chinese lay in heaps where they had been cut down. Gen. Tong barely escaped with his life and fled to Sam-ga, being chased as far as the Nam-gang (river) where the Japanese contented themselves with making way with 12,000 bags of rice belonging to the Chinese commissariat. [page 185] Gen. Yu Chung was commissioned to take a strong body of men and attack the fortress at Sun-ch’un in Chul-la Province. Arriving at the neighboring village of Wa-gyo he determined to overcome the old veteran Kato by treachery. He sent to that general a proposition to make peace. Kato was now an old man and the war in Korea was bringing him neither fame nor advancement, so he was ready to give up the contest, now that it had been demonstrated that the Japanese arms could not penetrate the north. He gladly assented and sent Gen. Yu a present of two handsome swords It was agreed that they should meet at a certain point, companied by only 3000 men each; but Gen. Yu secretly placed an ambush in such wise that when the Japanese force should come out it could be cut off from return to the fort. A whistle was to be sounded as a signal when the Japanese came out. But Kato was too old a bird to be caught by such a child’s trick. He had seen two or three of the Chinese lurking about in the vicinity of the gate and so delayed his corning out. By mistake the signal was given and the Chinese ambuscade rushed out only to become an object of ridicule to the Japanese. But even as it was some eighty or ninety Japanese stragglers were cut off and taken by the Chinese. Gen. Yu then surrounded the stronghold and at the same time sent an urgent letter to Admiral Chil Lin to come that very night and join in an attack on the Japanese. The admiral obeyed the summons and hurried up with his fleet.

Not knowing about the tides and supposing that the shouts that he heard were the shouts, of battle, he sailed straight up under the walls of the fortress. But he found that there was no fight on for Gen. Yu had failed to connect, and the ebbing ride left the astonished Admiral high and dry on the mud flats under the very noses of the enemy. In the morning the Japanese trooped out and burned forty-eight of the stranded ships and killed most of the men. Admiral Chil escaped in the early morning by boat and hurried to the camp of his tardy compatriot, Gen. Yu. In a rage he tore down with his own hands that general’s flag and rent it in pieces, meanwhile heaping upon him every species of abuse for having gotten him into such a plight. Gen. Yu was exceedingly ashamed and his face, they say was “the color of dirt.” He bet upon [page 186] his breast and acknowledged that be deserved death. So Chil Lin went back to his decimated camp to nurse his wrath.

But Gen. Yu knew that Kato really desired to put an end to the war, and so he sent another messenger saying, “This time I really mean peace. If you will take all your forces and depart I will give you a clear path to escape. Our army numbers 140,000 men and you cannot hops to face that number.” To this proposition Kato assented and began immediately to embark his soldiers to send them back to Japan. But as it happened they had to pass the position of Admiral Chil Lin who naturally sallied out and gave fight, sinking or burning a dozen or more of Kato’s boats. The rest put back in haste to the starting place and Kato blamed Gen. Yu far having deceived him; but the latter claimed that he had merely forgotten to inform Admiral Chil Liu of the agreement and that he would do so. At the same time he advised Kato to send Admiral Chil a slight testimonial of regard, which he did in the shape of a hundred ounces of silver and forty-five swords. So Admiral Chil acquiesced. Again the Japanese fleet set out and succeeded in getting by Admiral Chil Lin’s place; but they had not reckoned upon Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fathful warriors. Kato was again obliged to turn back and go to work to bribe that doughty leader. He sent him guns and swords in large numbers but the old gentleman remarked that as for weapons he was already pretty well supplied, and sent them back. He was then approached with an offer of 1,000 ounces of silver if he would wink at Kato’s passage. This he likewise refused.

The Japanese were all embarked and it was determined to try and slip by the terrible Admiral in the gray of morning; but he was well aware of the intentions of the enemy, and before break of day he massed all the ships at his command and came down upon the Japanese fleet as it lay at anchor before the fortress of Sun-ch’un. As he approached he is said to have uttered the following prayer to his gods: “To-day I am to die. Give me but one more victory over these Japanese and I shall die content.” He well knew that he had enemies at court who would eventually secure his downfall and so he determined to make an end in one last [page 187] desperate struggle. The fight was short and fierce and when the morning breeze swept the smoke of battle away it disclosed fifty of the Japanese boats in flames and the water filled with struggling forms. The old veteran had taken upwards of two thousand heads in that brief time. But Gen. Kato had slipped away in a small boat and made his escape. The work however was only begun. The sea was covered with boats frantically endeavoring to escape from the dreaded arm of the merciless Admiral Yi. The good work went on and every hour added to the score that Admiral Yi had sworn to made before the night should fall. Notice reached him that a fresh Japanese fleet had come and was attacking Admiral Chil Lin’s fleet. Hurrying thither he found that, it was indeed true. He now changed his tactics and without coming to a hand to hand fight he circled round and round the Japanese fleet driving them closer and closer together. When all was ready he began playing upon them with a new machine of his own manufacture called the pun-t’ong or “spraying tube.” What this was we can not exactly discover, but in a short time it sufficed to set the Japanese fleet on fire. A wind sprang up and fanned the flame and ere long the Japanese fleet was one mass of fire. Hundreds of boats were consumed with all their occupants. After seeing this well under way Admiral Yi turned his attention to the fugitive craft that were striving to make their escape. Standing in the prow of his boat in an exposed position he urged on the chase. While he stood in the midst of one of the grandest victories of the war, he was pierced by a bullet. They caught him as he fell, and his last words were; “Do not let the rest know that I am dead, for it will spoil the fight. Then he expired—the man who may well be called the Nelson of Korea. Yi Wan, the nephew of the fallen Admiral, still urged on the battle; but the work was almost done. The fugitive boats became fewer and fewer. Admiral Chil Lin happened to come near the boat of the dead admiral and noticing that the sailors in it were quarrelling over some Japanese heads he exclaimed. “The Admiral must dead.” He entered the boat and found it even so. Throwing himself three times at full length the deck be uttered this lament:  “I thought [page 188] that he would save me and still live, but here he lies dead and there is no soldier now left in Korea.”

We have now come to the end of actual hostilities in the peninsula but we must cross to Japan and inquire into the immediate causes which led to the final recall of all the Japanese troops. The Korean account of these events is very remarkable and faith is to be put in it only in-so-far as it is not directly antagonized by the Japanese account. For events that transpired in Korea the Korean account must be taken as the standard, but for events that transpired in Japan the Japanese account must of course be accepted as the more trustworthy. The Korean account is as follows.

When the Japanese first invaded Korea, in the year 1592, it so happened that a young Korean boy named Yung Pu-ha, a native of Tong-na became attached to the Japanese army as a slave, and was eventually taken to Tsushima. From there he made his way to the mainland of Japan and at last reached the court of Hideyoshi. That observant man spied him out and said, “Korean and Japanese boys resemble each other strongly. Take this boy and teach him Japanese, and if he does not learn well cut off his head.” With this incentive it would be strange if a less intelligent boy than Yang Pu-ha would not learn rapidly. In the space of three mouths he could converse creditably in Japanese, and Hideyoshi as reward made him one of his body-servants. For some years the boy performed the duties of this position, until at last the Chinaman Sim Yu-gyung arrived. That official was kept practically in confinement at the court of Hideyoshi. One day the Korean servant asked his master to be allowed to see Yu-gyung. Permission was granted and the young man found the Chinese envoy in great perplexity, in fact in tears. This excited the pity of the young man and he secured the release of the Chinaman, who from that time was often called into the presence of Hideyoshi, with whom he soon became on familar terms. One day as he sat with the great Taiko he took out a pill and swallowed it. He did the same an several days in succession until at last the curiosity of Hideyoshi was excited and he asked what it was. The Chinaman answered that it was an antidote to indigestion and that by eating it the strength and vigor of the body was preserved intact. Hid-[page 189] eyoshi took one in his hand and eyed it suspiciously. On one side of the pill was written the Chinese character 50 meaning “hot.” The Japanese deliberately took a knife and cut the pill in two and handing half to Sim said, “You eat half and I will eat half.” Its immediate effects were stimulating and pleasant but in the end it proved a deadly poision for it slowly dried up the blood. Each day Sim shared one with his captor but upon retiring to his room swallowed a potion which entirely neutralized the effect of the poison. Before long Hideyoshi’s hands began to grow hard and dry and one day when he happened to cut his hand he was astonished to find that no blood followed. He called for a moxa and applied it to his hand and yet no blood came. Then he laughed aloud and cried, “I am a dead man. When I cease to breathe take-out my bowels and sew my body up again with horsehair; and then preserve my body in wine and do not let the outsiders know that I am dead.” He wanted to have the fact concealed for he feared it would have a dispiriting effect upon the troops in Korea. Shortly after this he died and his orders were minutely carried out. For two months no one outside the palace knew of his decease, but at last the stench became so great that they confessed that the great Hideyoshi had passed away. Such is the Korean story.  The Koreans sum up his character as follows: He was a crafty and cunning man, and by his talk, now sharp, now suave, now sarcastic, now bullying, he managed to sway the minds of all who came near him. He managed all his generals like puppets. He liked to take boys and girls under his patronage and see them grow up together and marry them to each other and thus have them completely under his control. His two most powerful generals were Whi Wan and Ka Kang. They hated him and would have been glad of an opportunity to overthrow him but it was out of the question. He knew them well, and for fear they might combine against him he made one of them governor of the east and the other of the west and ordered them to keep watch of each other. By thus pitting them against each other he made himself safe. He loved intrigue and diplomacy and had a most restless temperament. He was ever on the lookout for some kind of excitement. Gen. Ka Kang was with him when he died, and fearing [page 190] lest rebellion should break out, he filled the body with salt and so preserved it. He made a wooden form which would hold the body stiff in a sitting position and placing it in a place where the light was not very bright with the eyes wide open, the people saw him sitting there day after day and supposed of course he was alive. It was in the eighth moon when the odor was so strong that the truth could no longer be concealed. Thereupon Gen. Ka Kang took the son of Hideyoshi and made him Shogun. He then threw into prison the wives and children of Generals Kato and Konishi and sent a messenger ordering them to collect all their troops and return immediately to Japan. The order was obeyed willingly and all that was left of the Japanese army of invasion set sail from Fusan, and the great invasion was a thing of the past.

The Korean annalists say that when the invasion began the Japanese arms were far superior to those of Korea; also that the Japanese displayed tiger skins, pheasant feathers, gilded masks end plumes; all which glitter and show terrified the Koreans. Thus at first the Japanese had an easy victory, but toward the last it was not so. The Koreans had improved their arms and had learned not to fear the grand rush of the Japanese in their hideous masks which made them look more like demons than men.

At the time of the second invasion a Korean named Kang Han was caught and sent to Japan and, being unable to escape, he set to work learning Japanese. He became a teacher of Chinese and had a large following of students who treated him very well and supported him in comfortable style. At the end of the war they clubbed together and bought a boat into which they put this man with all his goods and sent him back to Korea. On his return he wrote a book entitled Kang yang-rok or “Relation of Adventures among Sheep: a sarcastic pleasantry.

  The Chinese arms in Korea did not move till the following spring, and then the king sent to the Emperor asking that Generals Man Se-dok. Ta Cham and Yi Sung-hun be allowed to remain in Korea for a time until things should become thoroughly settled.

In the early centuries of the Christian era there was a celebrated Chinese general named Kwan U. He was of [page 191] gigantic size and had a fiery red face, rode a powerful red horse, could walk a thousand li a day (!) and carried a sword that weighed 800 pounds (!!).  It is said that while the Japanese were occupying Seoul the spirit of this great man appeared repeatedly near the South and East Gates and struck terror to the hearts of the Japanese.  Now, as the Chinese generals were about to leave for China, Admiral Chil Lin built a shrine to this same Kwan U outside the South Gate.  In the thirty-third year of King Sun-jo, namely 1600 A. D., the Emperor sent four million cash to build a temple to this Kwan U and the present temple outside the South Gate was erected. The Emperor at the same time ordered another to be built by the Koreans outside the East Gate, and it was done. The two temples are exactly alike. When the king asked the Emperor to name the temple he said “Call it the Hyong-nyung-so dok-kwan’gong”  which means “The great and bright appearance of the spirit of Kwan.” The king also built shrines to aim in Song-ju and An-dong of Kyung-sang Province, and at Nam-wun in Chul-la Province.

We have already seen that factious fights had been a great cause of weakness all through the years of the invasion, and from this time on party strife was destined to grow more and more fierce and determined until it brought the country to the very verge of anarchy a century later. We must note here briefly the changes which had taken place in the parties. We will remember that at first there were two parties, the Tong-in and the Su-in. During the war the court favorite was Yu Sung-nyung who gave office to so many men  from Kyung-sang  Province that the name of Nam-in or “South Men,” sprang up and a party by that name quickly became organized, but their opponents in order to preserve the political equilibrium instantly seized upon the name Puk-in or “North Men.” At the close of the war the leader of the opposition, namely of the Puk-in, memorialized the king against Yu Sung-nyang the favorite, charging him with having desired to make peace with the Japanese, contrary to the honor of the country. The King listened to this and banished Yu, but his supporters turned the tables by a counter memorial in which the charges were more than answered and Yu was restored to all his honors. With the rise of the Nam-in and Puk-in par- [page 192] ties the old party lines of the Tong-in and Su-in had not been broken up or lost. During the latter years of the invasion the Nam-in party lost its powerful grip and the Puk-in were often in power, but from the end of the invasion until far into the following reign the Tong-in held the power and after that for a period of fifty years the Su-in had control of affairs. It may be asked what principles underlay these parties, what settled policies they had that differentiated them either in domestic or foreign matters. We answer that the various parties had but one plank in their platforms, one settled plan of action, and that was to get the ear of the king and seize upon the office-making power and put in every position one’s own partisans. It was the spoils system sublimated, for there was absolutely no admixture of any other element.

Now that the war was over the Japanese on Tsushima desired to open again commercial relations with Korea, which had always been mutually profitable; and so in the following year, 1601, an envoy, Kuroda, came from that island bringing with him three hundred men and women who had been carried away captive during the war. This envoy asked that there might be reciprocity of trade. The king referred the matter to Nanking and the reply stems to have been in affirmative  for we find that soon after this an envoy was sent over to Tsushima with credentials; but after all the Japanese petition was not at this time granted. At the same time Emperor gave orders for the return to China of all the remaining troops, but at the earnest request of the king 8000 men were left to help guard the southern provinces. Posthumous honors were heaped upon Admiral Yi Sun-sin who had been the very salvation of Korea, but who had sought death in battle, knowing that if he lived his detractors would drag him down. Yi Hang-bok and eighty-five others received high commendation and additional honors also. The year ended with the unsuccessful attempt of an insurrectionary party in the south which was nipped in the bud, the ringleader being forwarded to Seoul to be beheaded.

An unscrupulous man named Yu Yong-gyung was the court favorite at this time and upon him devolved the task of appointing and dismissing officials; consequently he was the recipient of countless presents, and on one occasion two men 

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, May 1903

The Privileges of the Capital                    193

Mudang and Pansu                                   203

The Hun-Min Chong-Eom                        208

Hen vs Centipede                                                 213

Editorial Comment                                   217

Across Siberia by Rail                             218

News Calendar                                        222

Korean History                                         225

[page 193]

The Privileges of the Capital.

The Capital of any country is to a greater or less extent the leader in social, literary, artistic, and educational matters as well as in the mere matter of government. This tendency is most pronounced in countries governed by a king or emperor, about whose person naturally gather those who have the wealth and leisure to investigate and patronize these forms of culture; and it is likely to be least pronounced in a democracy, where the capital merely means the city in which the representatives of the people foregather from the various provinces or states in order to legislate. This would apply only in part to the capital of France, for instance, although France is a republic; for Paris for many centuries was the capital of a monarchy and it was under the French kings that it became possible to say, “Paris is France.” Other things being equal, the more absolute the monarchy the more will the national life center in the capital. Teheran is a larger fraction of Persia than Berlin is of Germany or than Tokyo is of Japan.

             It is the object of the following paragraphs to show the relation existing between Seoul and the provinces. Korea may be called in truth an absolute monarchy in spite of the fact that a written constitution is said to exist. That document is lying on the shelf and to all practical purposes is non- existent. Absolute monarchy is a relative term, for, as every-one knows, the more “absolute” the monarchy the more the ruler is dependent, for his information, upon a certain set or coterie of men who can so control the sources of information as  [page 194]  actually to make the government an oligarchy. In any case Korea is an absolute monarchy and we are therefore ready to find that Seoul, which means simply “Capital,” plays a very important part in Korean life. The whole county is often spoken of as the p’al-do or “Eight provinces,” no reference being made to the capital: but in another, and very real, sense all Korea is divided into two parts, Seoul and sigul, or Capital and country. Every foot of Korean soil that is not in Seoul or its suburbs is sigul. In England, if a man were going from London to Manchester, it would hardly be proper to say he is going to the country, but in Korea any large provincial city is as truly sigul as the mountain fastnesses of Kang-wun Province. Not only so, but from whatever direction a man may be approaching Seoul he is always going “up” to Seoul. It would be very bad form for a Korean living in Puk-han, the mountain fortress 2,000 feet above the city, to say “I am going down to Seoul.” Such a man would be considered crazy. Seoul is the summit of everything in Korea, at least in the Korean’s eyes, and he can no more go down to it than a man could descend to the summit of Mount Everest.

Seoul is indeed the Mecca of all Koreans. Its splendors are the theme with which he charms his country neighbors on his return from the metropolis; and their wildest imagination cannot equal the grandeur of those broad streets and massive gates, the profusion of those tempting wares, the elegance of those costumes! Chong-no means as much to the Korean as Trafalgar Square does to the Englishman or the Place de la Concord to the Frenchman; indeed, it means more. The reasons for this may be briefly summed up as follows. They are not all such as we would be moved by, but they are the reasons which the Korean gives for preferring to live in Seoul rather than in the country.

(1) He is always near the court and thus stands some remote chance of coming to the notice of the king and securing official appointment. In many countries it frequently takes self-denial to accept a government appointment, specially a high appointment, but in Korea altruism surely has to find some other medium of expression. The only road to fame and wealth is official position. Even literary preeminence brings a man little fame until it has won government recognition.  [page 195]

(2) Seoul is the only place where he can study the methods of official life and thus make himself able to fill any position he may be called to. It is here that he must learn the ropes, or, perhaps we might better say, the wires.

(3) A man must live in Seoul to hear the news. Journalism is yet in its infancy in Korea and wide-awake men who want to know what is going on are fatally tempted to leave their quiet country villages, where they hear only such shreds of news as may survive the telling of a hundred mouths, and go up to the capital where, as in ancient Athens, so many men spend their time simply in telling or hearing some new thing. Imagine if you can a resident of Chicago having to wait to hear news from New York, that has passed from mouth to mouth until it is about as much like its original self as a Korean hat would do, emerging from a free fight.

(4) Another advantage which Koreans believe the capital offers is the opportunity for sight-seeing. The capital is the only place where there is any considerable aggregation of wealth, and consequently it is the only place that can command the services of all kinds of public entertainers, such as jugglers, acrobats and the like. There are special places in the country where single forms of entertainment are worked up and can be seen in perfection, but Seoul is the only place where all kinds finally gravitate; for these special places in the country are only feeders to Seoul and find their only lucrative market here. Of all Korean words the word ku-gyung is the most typical, and it is the most baffling word to translate into English. It ranges all the way from “to take a peep at” to “to take a walk.” It can not be said to correspond to “look-see” for a blind man can see with his finger ends. It is a psychological enigma involving the entire range of the perceptive faculties and implicating several of the more recondite of the mental processes. It baffles definition.

Now, to ku-gyung the capital is the height of the country-man’s ambition. He will see there things that he never could hope to see in his country home and the novel experience will open up a whole new world for his memory and imagination to feed on. Put yourself in his place and think how it must affect him to hear that there are great cars, load-[page 196] ed with forty or fifty people thundering by at break-neck speed and without visible means of locomotion, while lighting flashes from point to point of an iron line high up in the air.

Think how the imagination must halt at the description of a man coming down the street like a whirlwind balanced on an instrument with two wheels, one behind the other, wheels whose spokes are like gossamer threads and whose tires make no noise as they roll over stones or debris in the street!

(5) Some people consider Seoul the best place to live because the Seoul “brogue” is recognized everywhere while people from different provinces often fail to understand each other well. It is something like the mandarin dialect in China which is most widely known, since it is the official language of China. Now, in Korea there are no dialectic differences that could not be overcome in a few hours. People who live in Seoul know this and they have no difficulty in understanding people from every part of the peninsula; but the country man is peculiar in this that if you do not speak exactly his particular brogue, or else Seoul brogue, he will, as like as not, think at first that you are talking some foreign language to him. All Koreans think that Seoul people are in some sense cosmopolitan and they envy them their broader outlook.

(6) In no country do people look upon their capital as furnishing a truer standard of excellence. Does my coat set well? Yes, but it is not quite the Seoul cut. Is my gait all right? Yes, but it lacks the unctiousness and the abandon of the genuine Seoul stride. Are my servants up to the scratch? Fairly well, but they lack that ultimate scintilla of servility that is the hall mark of the metropolitan lackey.

(7) Another and more important consideration is that in times of famine the Seoul people are always the best supplied. It there is food anywhere in Korea it is bound to be found in Seoul. The year 1901 illustrated very perfectly this argument, for while many and many a country district was decimated by starvation, care was taken that rice be imported from abroad for the people of the capital. If a man lives in the country his district may be the one to feel the hard hand of famine, while if he lives in Seoul he is comparatively safe.  [page 197]

 (8) Rebellion almost invariably breaks out in the country rather than in Seoul, and after harrassing perhaps a whole province and terrorized millions of people it dies away leaving the whole province under the suspicion of disloyalty. Under these circumstances the loyal people suffer the most, first from the bauds of the rebels and second from the unjust suspicions of the government. Of the same nature is the argument concerning highway robbery. Occasionally robbery takes place in Seoul but the capital is a paradise compared with many country localities where bands of desperadoes sweep down upon a village and put it to the torch, driving out the inhabitants, ravished of all their worldly goods and wanderers on the face of the earth. Such things have happened so frequently during late years and so much suffering has been caused that one wonders why the country people do not all come up to Seoul, and done with it.

(9) It has passed into proverb that a common man in Seoul is better off than a country gentleman. This is doubtless true if we take it for granted that both parties are fairly well-to-do. In these days the disabilities under which a common man of Seoul labors are so small that the country gentleman may well envy him his more than compensating advantages.

(10) The matter of education also comes to the fore. In the country one can find the ideal place for the study of the Chinese classics, but if one wants a genuine education, the capital with its free schools and its other opportunities for general culture as so overwhelmingly superior that the right minded Korean must yearn for the opportunity to get to Seoul where his sons can enjoy these advantages.

(11) One of the genuine advantages of metropolitan residence in the eyes of the Korean is the fact that in Seoul there are practically no taxes to pay. Now and again some specially rash official proposes that the houses or the merchants of Seoul be taxed, but it never comes to anything. It is one of the time-honored immunities of the people of Seoul.

What taxation in the provinces means may be faintly gathered from an article on that subject which appeared in this Review some months ago, but that was merely the recognized and legal taxation, . It is hardly necessary to go beneath the sur-[page 198] face, but we may be sure that immunity from taxation is a very real and cogent argument, and were it not for family ties and the powerful grip of local association one would not wonder if Seoul should have its millions instead of its thousands of inhabitants! Korean history and tradition are full of the indirection of the ajuns or prefectural yamen-runners; and Seoul would be a haven of rest to many an afflicted country man.

(12) For all sorts of artisans and skilled workmen the capital offers the great advantage of the guild system. There is no carpenter, mason, silver-smith, farrier, joiner, jeweller, black-smith, wheel-wright, hatter, painter, cobbler or broker in Seoul who does not belong to his guild. Merchants in almost every line have their separate guilds. A Korean guild regulates wages, equalizes the work or trade among its various members and acts as a mutual accident, fire and life insurance company. Not only is there no competition between the different members but they treat each other with more than masonic consideration, and to be a member of such a guild in good and regular standing means regular work, good wages and substantial aid in case of temporary disability.  Such guilds are practically unknown in the country, or at most are but very meager affairs. It is plain therefore that, other things being equal, an artisan of any kind is almost surely better off in Seoul than in the country. It is a good thing for Korea that “other things” are not “equal.” for the equilibrium between the local attraction of the country and the centripetal attraction of the capital would be destroyed and chaos would result.

(13) The localization of industries is a marked feature of Korean life, and this rests not entirely upon any particular local fitness but originates doubtless from fortuitous circumstances. As we speak of Dresden china, Sheffield cutlery,

Lyons silks or Bordeaux wines, so in Korea we find that paper is made almost exclusively in Chul-la Province, embroidered screens in P’yung-an Province, fans in Chul-la Province; but the only place where all these things can be found at the same time is Seoul. There is no other commercial center in Korea that pretends to rival the capital in the variety of goods exposed for sale. [page 199]

 (14) Until of late years the capital has attracted those who, with a moderate amount of capital, have been in search of a paying investment. And in very many instances this still holds good. For it should be remembered that business risks are very great in Korea, as is shown by the fact that even on good security the banker or money-lender can easily secure three per cent a month for his money. This means that the risk is great. While the business integrity  of Koreans is fairly good, advantage is often taken of a creditor, and a defaulter has only to escape to the country with his ill-gotten gains to be perfectly safe from pursuit. This is why great emphasis is placed upon securing the person of any suspected individual and it also explains, and in a sense justifies, the law which makes a man’s relatives responsible for his acts. It is not because the law deems the relatives to be criminals but because such vicarious punishment is a very strong preventative to crime. Now the reason why Seoul is by far the best place to embark upon any financial venture is because in so doing the adventurer almost always attaches himself to some more or less powerful official and shares with him the gains, receiving in return the protection which the official’s name affords. That name is able, in ordinary cases, to shut the months of country magistrates and to make every thing run smoothly. There is probably not a foreigner of three years residence in Korea who has not been repeatedly asked to lend his name to some financial enterprise which is perfectly legitimate and good in itself but which cannot be attempted unless it be backed by some name, of which possible swindlers or extortioners will be afraid. In other words, commercial success in Kerea still depends in too large a measure upon the possession of kwunse, or as political heelers call it, “infloonce.” Thus it comes about that Seoul is the place where business openings are most frequently sought. To a certain extent this is being done away with since the opening of the foreign ports, for in these places honest business is much less in danger of molestation by blackmailers, or others of similar ilk.

(14) Another argument put forth by the Korean in favor of metropolitan residence is the belief that Seoul is the most healthful place of residence in Korea. This seems rather remarkable, and yet it may be true. We know that [page 200] country villages are very often built in the midst of rice-fields where the air is always tainted and where drinking-water is almost sure to be worse even than in Seoul. It is probably true that far more malarial diseases and fevers are contracted in the country than in the capital. To this must also he added superior medical opportunities to be found in Seoul both on account of the native doctors and the foreign hospitals. All kinds of native medicines are to be found here and good medical service whether native or foreign.

(15)A very curious argument adduced by the Korean for preferring to live in Seoul is that it takes mail much longer to come up from the country than it takes to go down to the country.  From a mathematical stand-point it would take as long to get an answer to a letter whether one lived in the country or the capital, but Koreans seem to think there is some special virtue in getting mail delivered to their correspondents promptly although the answers are slow in coming back. The mental process on which this is based is quite beyond us but we are in duty bound to give the argument since it seems to count for something with the natives

(16) Another argument that has no little weight with the Korean is that in his belief the vicinity of Seoul is the best for grave sites. For those who make it their religion to treat the dead better than the living this naturally means a good deal, but the argument is strengthened and the solicitude explained by the fact that in the Korean’s eyes the successful burial of a parent determines in large measure the fortunes of his descendants. How astute were those old sages who ensured their own imposing sepulture by teaching their children that such obsequies were their own (the children’s) guarantee of good fortune!

(17) The last benefit to be derived from residents of Seoul that we shall name is one that appeals with special force to the good Confucianist. It lies in the fact that there are no Buddhist monasteries in the capital and that the hated hat of the monk is never seen there. To tell the truth, it seems to us unlikely that there are many Koreans to whom the antagonism between these cults is real and vital enough to affect him so strongly as this. Time was when Confucianist and Buddhist were the Guelph and Ghibeline of Korea [page 201] but today the lion and the lamb lie down together. This argument must surely be a traditional rather than an actual one.

It remains to consider briefly the reasons which would make a man prefer the country to the capital.

(1) The formost of these is a government position in the provinces either as a governor or as a prefect. These are the stepping-stones to higher things and as such are eagerly sought, especially the position of country prefect. The governorships are generally given to men already high in office. Not infrequently is a governorship bestowed on a man in order to get him out of the way. More than one man has not dared to refuse a governorship though he knew it was only a graceful form of banishment.

(2) With all her educational advantages the capital has never produced many great literati, Yi Hang-bok is such a shining exception to this rule that it proves the truth of the statement. It is a common statement that he is the only one of the literati of first rank that received his education in Seoul. This tendency is a reasonable one, for to become a great student of Chinese absolute quiet and leisure are necessary, and the distractions of Seoul and the wide circle of acquaintances that one has here eat up the student’s time and the very best results are impossible. For this reason it is to a certain degree unfortunate that the kwaga or national examinations were discontinued, for they brought up from the country hosts of young men eager to show their skill with the pen. Not a few of these men succeeded in obtaining their degree, and so Korean officialdom was constantly being rejuvenated by the infusion of new blood and the country people felt that that they had some use for Seoul after all. The discontinuance of these examinations broke the strongest cord of sympathy between the capital and the provinces and made each care less about what became of the other.

(3)A gentleman of independent mind who has only a small patrimony will naturally gravitate toward the country, for his income is not large enough for him to live with comfort in Seoul, though amply sufficient for the country; and moreover his status as a gentleman forbids his supplementing his income by working. If on the contrary he goes to the country he can live comfortably, if quietly, and his status of gen-[page 202] tleman will probably protect him from the rapacity of the yamen runners. A Seoul yangban, be he rich or poor, is looked upon with great respect by the rural population and he is sure to enjoy life better than in the capital. In fact a Korean proverb says that a poor gentleman of Seoul is more pitiable than a beggar.

(4) The country likewise attracts men of the lower class who have not wit enough to make their way in the capital. It has come down to the mere matter of daily food, and if they have spirit enough to resist a temptation to mendicancy, to which many in these days succumb, they will remember that there is plenty of hard work to do in the country that will keep them in food and shelter.

(5) Lastly we find always a certain number of men who are chronically dissatisfied with the way things go in the government and who shake off the dust of Seoul from their feet and go to the country and sulk. And besides these there are some hundreds who belong to the party out of power and fear that enemies will take advantage of their lack of influence to pay them back for oppressive acts that they themselves committed while in power. The country is the grand asylum for the sore-heads, the malcontents, and for those who do not subscribe to the inelegant but pithy proverb that “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”

In this connection it may be of interest to inquire to what part of the country a Seoul man; would prefer to go if he could have his choice. Other things being equal his first choice would be Chung-ch’ung Province because, (1) so many gentlemen live there; (2) because it is not far from the capital; (3) because it produces an abundance of rice. His second choice would be Kyung-geui Province, the only reason being that it is close to the capital. His third choice would be Kyung-sang Province, because there is an abundance of rice. His next choice would be Chul-la Province, because he believes money circulates freely there; next comes Kang-wun Province, where he will find pure mountain water to drink and where the best of Korean medicines are said to be found. His next choice will be P’yung-an Province, though for a less creditable reason, since he is told that it is the best place outside of Seoul to have a good time, Whang-ha Province has little to commend [page 203] itself in the Korean’s eyes, perhaps because of traditional prejudice against it for the sake of Songdo the former capital, but also because it is considered an unhealthy province. Last of all comes Ham-gyung Province whose population is looked upon by the people of Seoul as being the most countrified and illiterate of all the Koreans. To go to Ham-gyung Province is virtual banishment for a resident of Seoul.

If, however, we ask which governorship is the most sought after the list is reversed, for the governorship of Ham-gyung Province is the highest in the gift of the emperor. This is based not upon the natural importance of the province, whether in population, commerce, or geographical position but simply because it was the province from which the founder of the present dynasty came. After Ham-gyung come Kyung-sang and Chul-la Provinces, the garden of Korea, after which Kyung-geui is the most desirable because it gives opportunities to visit Seoul frequently. Chung-ch’ung Province comes low on the list because of the very reason which makes it a desirable place of residence for the private citizen, namely the large proportion of gentlemen living there. These country gentlemen consider themselves as good as the governor, and object to being taxed or governed except as their convenience may dictate. It makes a hard life for the governor. The P’yung-an governorship is important mainly because it is such a military center. Kang-wun is a sort of sinecure while Whang-ha foots the list since it is generally understood that it requires but small ability to govern that province.

Mudang and Pansu

The ceremony of the mudang will be held as we have said either at her own house, at the house of the patient or at one of these shrines. The cheapest kind is the one held at the patient’s  house for then he furnishes all the food; the  next dearer kind is that held at the mudang’s house where she provides the food, and the dearest is the one held at a tang, for in addition to the food a certain sum must be paid as rental for the shrine. Every tang is owned by some man in its [page 204] neighborhood and anyone wishing to make use of it must pay him. Of the three kinds the most elaborate is at the tang, the next most elaborate at the patient’s house and the least elaborate at the mudang’s house. Many mudongs have tangs at their houses to be used in the way of business. If the ceremony is performed at a tang it is a sort of public function but there are many people who desire to make use of the mudang’s services and still are ashamed to have it known; so they have her perform the ceremony at her own place and no one is the wiser, probably not even the patients. This is more often the case when a wife wishes to have a child cured but knows her husband will not allow her to go to a mudang for help. As a rule Korean women are more superstitious than the men, owing, probably, to their greater ignorance.

Let us suppose then that a man is ill, and a mudang has been paid her fee and has arrived, (always on foot). She enters the house and takes charge of affairs and sets out the food in order. She has brought an assistant with her, and when everything is ready, the assistant sits down with a sort of basket in front of her on which she scrapes with a piece of wood, making a sort of rattling noise. This is the special way in which a spirit is summoned by a mudang. At the same time the mudang calls on the spirit to come, meantime dancing about, leaping in the air and working herself up to a point of frenzy; when this point is reached the audience believes the spirit has joined the spirit of the woman and has taken possession of her body. When she speaks it is believed that it is the spirit speaking by her mouth. She screams out, saying what spirit she has become, what they must do to cure the man, what additional money must be given to make the cure effective and at last promising to make the patient well. The patient thanks the spirit and then, after leaping about in a frantic way while the spirit is supposed to be taking leave of the mudang, the latter suddenly becomes quiet and shows no effects of her spiritual visitation. She does not even try to make the semblance more complete by pretended exhaustion nor does she fall down like a dead person and gradually revive. The grossness of her employers’ superstitiousness renders such finesse quite unnecessary.

After the ceremony is over the mudang and the people [page 205] of the home partake of the food that has been provided. A second kind of kut is performed after a death. For three or four days after the person’s demise his spirit is supposed to remain in the house though not in the dead body. In fact it is likely to stay until the body is buried. After that it may stay about the house for three years, more or less, It is believed that this spirit has some last words to speak by reason of its former occupant’s illness. In order to give it an opportunity to make its valedictory remarks the services of a mudang will be required, for the spirit can use her as a mouth-piece. So a mudang is called, the fee being smaller than when sickness is to be cured. When she comes the food is set out, the assistant scrapes on the basket and the mudang summons the spirit of the dead person. She goes into no ecstasy nor does she leap and dance, but she sits down and acts in a normal manner. When the spirit gets control of her it speaks out announcing the fact that it is ready to make a communication. It then goes on to say what its desires and ambitious had been while it was a tenant of the clay. It expresses sorrow for the fact that it could not carry out its plans. It advises the remaining of the family to live rightly and do well. At last it says that it will go. The members of the family all weep and say good-bye and thus the ceremony closes, after which they all fall to work on the food and clear the tables.

Another kut is celebrated after a dead man is buried. Death is supposed, in many instances, to be caused by some heavenly spirit who has sent his servant to summon the man to the regions of the dead. This servant spirit is called a sa-ja or “messenger.” As he is to conduct the dead man’s spirit to hades the family call in a mudang and have her invite messenger to the house where they pretend to feed him and beg him to lead their dead one’s soul straight to the regions of the blest. They also call back the dead man’s spirit for a last good-bye.

About a month and a half after a person’s death they frequently have a special ceremony performed by the mudang at some shrine or tang. This is to help the departed spirit to get on the right side of the governor of the spirit land. Koreans believe, or at least a large fraction of them, that when [page 206] the spirit goes to the next world he will have a great deal of business to do under the command of the governor of that locality. It is a good thing, therefore, to do as one would do here, namely get on the right side of the “boss.” The departed spirit has no means by which to secure this favored position; so his friends, who have not yet departed and who still have their hands upon the necessary wherewithal, attempt to do it for him. They pay the mudang a handsome fee, perhaps a hundred and fifty thousand cash or more, and she prepares a great feast and the relatives and friends all go to the tang or shrine with her. If the crowd is not too great they will have the ceremony inside the shrine, otherwise an awning will be spread outside to accommodate them.

The food is spread out and the mudang, clad in white clothes, goes into one of her “fits,”  as one may say and calls up the spirit of the departed friend. When the spirit is supposed to have possession of her the relatives of the dead man ask it whether in has met such or such a person in the land of the departed, perhaps a father or grandfather or perhaps a friend who has been dead a longer or a shorter time. The spirit answers all the questions very glibly, evidently not fearing any counter-testimony. Often the spirit promises to do something to help its friends who are still in the land of the living. So it appears that while the living are trying to help the dead the dead claim to have power to help the living. When this is finished the spirit of the dead relative is dismissed and the spirit ruler of the dead, who may be called the Judge of Hades, is called up. There are ten of these judges, one of whom may he called the supreme judge and the others a sort of associate judges. This is of course, borrowed from Buddhistic demonology. It is the supreme judge who is now called up and consulted. Food is placed before him and he is asked to make it easy in the spirit world for the friend who has gone to that place. The judge invariably answers that he will be only too happy to do so and he praises the food and the people who have offered it. After he has taken his departure the mudang calls up the special judge who has charge of the dead man’s case and he is likewise treated to food and asked to help the dead man. He also returns a most flattering answer and gives the friends to understand that everything [page 207] will be done to make the dead man’s post-mortem condition bearable and happy. When he has gone they call up the special spirit who guards the household of the man who has died. He is treated to food and then asked to be propitious to the household of the deceased. He is easily entreated and answers that he will watch over the interests of the household most assiduously. It may be he will warn the inmates of the house against some impending danger and tell them how they can avoid it. When these special spirits have been called up, consulted and dismissed any of the relatives of the dead man may be summoned for the purpose of consultation. Any of the relatives of the man who has paid for the ceremony may call up any of their dead friends they please and talk with them. It is really quite a reception or afternoon tea with the dead, lasting all day and into the night. This finishes the ceremony, Of course it will be borne in mind that all the talking on the part of these various spirits has been through the mouth of the mudang who is generally a very good actress.

One of the most important duties of the mudang is to deal with the Kwe-yuk Ta-sin or The Great Spirit of Small-pox. This is the only disease which enjoys the special oversight of a spirit all by itself. This indicates clearly that the Koreans place this disease in the foremost rank of all the evils to which flesh is heir. It is more to be feared than cholera or any other complaint, for it is always present in the community and its results are very fatal.

If there is a case of small-pox in the house, after the fifth day from the appearance of the disease no member of the household may comb his or her hair, wear new clothes, sweep the house, nor bring any goods into the house. The neighbors must not cut wood nor drive nails, for if they do the sick person will be badly marked by the disease. If anyone drives nails the disease will leave the patient blind. Nor must anyone in the neighborhood roast beans at that time, for this too will cause blindness to the sick person. If it be in winter and a drain is stopped up by ice it must not be broken open as this will leave the patient badly marked. If house does any sewing it will cause intolerable itching for the patient. Nor must any sacrifices be performed, for this would mean that the ancestors of the sick person are called in [page 208] to plead in his behalf and this would prevent the small-pox spirit from eating the food that is set out for him by the family.

The guardian spirit of the house must not he prayed to nor offered food at this time for it would disturb the small-pox spirit, whom it is necessary, above all things, to please. At this time the people of the house must eat clear rice, without black beans in it, for otherwise the patient’s face will be “black,” when he recovers. No animal must be killed at the house because if blood flows it will make the patient scratch and cause his blood to flow. No washing must be done nor wall papering, for this will cause the nose of the patient to be stopped up.            

The danger of slaughtering animals during small pox was well illustrated when the young prince was stricken with that disease in April last. The Government prohibited the slaughter of cattle for nine days.

  After the ninth all these restrictions are removed except driving nails, wall papering and the killing of animals. The thirteenth day from the beginning of the disease is the day for the departure of the small-pox spirit. On that day a feast is spread for him. A piece of sari wood is made to personate a horse, a small straw bag is put on his back with rice and money inside. Then a red umbrella and a many colored flag are attached and the whole is placed upon the roof of the house.

This horse is provided for the spirit in taking its departure. This is done whether the case has ended fatally or not. On this thirteenth day a mudang is called in and she performs a ceremony at which she petitions the spirit to deal kindly by the family, let the sick man recover and not leave him badly marked. Thereafter for three months they do not drive nails nor paper walls.

(To be continued.)

The Hun-min Chong-eum.

Continued from April Number.

In the second group, the linguals we have ㄷ, ㅌ and ㄴ or t (d), t and n, which are manifestly of the same class, the n being simply the nasal form of t.  [page 209]

In the third group we have ㅂ, ㅍ and ㅁ or p (p). p and m. Here again we find the whole of the labial class of which ㅁ is the nasal member. The fourth group is called the dental group and consists of ㅈ,ㅊ and ㅅ, or ch, ch and s, in which s is considered a softer form of ch. This is indicated, as well, in the shape of the two letters, the ㅅ being the ㅈwith the top line dropped To show that the Koreans were scientifically correct it will be necessary to state that s is not an exact transliteration, for the Korean ㅅ is a sound lying half way between the sharp sibillant English s and the ch of the German is illustrared in the word “Ich.”  It may be otherwise described as a lisping pronunciation of our s. In other words, it is not pronounced by placing the very tip of the tongue against the teeth but by placing against the gums just above the teeth a point a little further back than the tip of the tongue. That is to say, the position of the tongue at the beginning of the enunciation of this sound is precisely the same as when the sound of ch is to be made. The only difference between ㅈ and  is that the first is a true consonant or surd while the second is a sibillant. It is the fact that the Korean ㅅ is about half way between our s and sh which makes some foreigners write it always s, others always sh and others, still sometimes one way and sometimes another. Most foreigners are of the latter class, for while there are very few who would write the word for “spirit” as sin there are still fewer who would write the word “mountain” as shan; though the fact remains that in each case the sound of ㅅ is identically the same.

We now come to the “throat” sounds or aspirates, and here we meet the obsolete character ㆆ. Now this group consists of the three letters ㆆ, ㅎ and ㅇ, and we know that in each group the first sound is hard, the second medium and the third soft.

ㅎ we know is the exact equivalent of our h, andㅇ  we know has no particular sound but takes the place of an initial consonant. When a syllable begins with a vowel sound this  ㅇ  always precedes it, for no Korean syllable can begin except with a consonant or a substitute for one. Hut what is the ㆆ which we know, must be hard? Let us look at the syllables that are used to illustrate it. We are told that ㆆ is the beginning sound of the syllable cup, that ㅎ is the beginning   [page 210]  sound of the syllable hong and that ㅇis the beginning sound of the syllable yok. It seems to us that the ㆆ must then represent the break in the throat when we begin a vowel sound. If we pronounce sharply the words “Ah,” “Oh,”  “I,”  “in” or “ear” we will notice that each begins with an explosive action of the throat. This is the thing which was at first represented by the consonant ㆆ. This is quits different from ᄋ which is said to be the beginning sound of We will see that in this syllable it is impossible to begin with that explosive sound. It would seem as if originally the initial ㅇcould have been used only with syllables containing the y sound, for this only is incapable of being begun explosively, and yet the Koreans may have used the explosive or the nonexplosive sound with any of the vowels.

There are two consonants left, as represented in the original alphabet. They are ㄹ and . They baffled the Korean powers of classification, and it is no wonder. ㄹ is surely the black sheep in the fold, while ㅿ evidently caused so much trouble that it was ostracized. The letter ㄹ is our letter /, broadly speaking. The letter / in English has itself caused trouble. It is called a “liquid,” which is no more correct than to call k a solid. It has been called a half-vowel but no one has taken the pains to show us what the other half is. The truth is that / is as pure a vowel as e or u or i or y or w, and certainly a more open vowel sound than any of these, except it be the vowel e. The Koreans became entangled with it even as we did and they called it a “half-tongue” sound, and made it do duty sometimes as l sometimes as r and sometimes as y. It played the part of a menial and did any work that was required of it.

The lost letter ㅿ is called the “half-tooth “ sound, and while its original use must be left to conjecture we can probably hit pretty close to it. As it is called a “half-tooth” sound we presume that it was pronounced with the tongue in nearly the same position as in pronouncing the other “tooth” sounds such as ch and s. Well, we find in Korean today a sound made with the tongue in almost that same position, but it is a sort of obscure nasal sound rather than a sibillant. It is found in the word meaning tooth, which is pronounced like nyi but without ᆻgiving the n its full force; that is, the tongue is not [page 211] placed in direct contact with the gums but is held a little away from them exactly as in pronouncing the letter ᄉ. At the same time the orifice left for the expulsion of the breath is so small that we get a semi-nasal effect. Let the reader try to pronounce the English word “knee” without touching the tongue to the gums or the roof of the mouth and he will pronounce the Korean word for “tooth” to perfection. We believe that the letter ㅿ was used to represent this obscure sound. but that it was so near the sound of it that it was even-tually dropped and ㄴused in its place. And yet we still find the Koreans pronouncing the word for “tooth” (니), for “yes” (녜), for “king (닝 금) or (님 군)   for “ancient” (녯) for “story” (니야기), for “brow”(니마). and a host of others, not with the proper n sound but with this obscure half nasal. We believe there can be little doubt that this sound was originally represented by the ㅿ, A careful examination of the Thibetan, in which this character is also found, would probably throw light on this question; for there is no doubt that the Koreans derived their consonants from the Thibetan alphabet.

The vowels as given in the Hun-min Chong-eum were the same as those in use today and need no special notice except to say that no mention is made of a long and a short quantity in the vowels a, ,e, i, o, and u, which is fundamental not only to Korean but to Japanese and many other of the Turanian languages, notably the Dravidian languages of India.

Special interest lies in the note which the Mun-hon Pi-go copies as coming from the scholar Yi Swi-gwang, that the Korean alphabet was made on the model of the Thibetan. Until a copy of the Hun-min Chong-eum can be found we shall have to conclude that that book does not state that the alphabet was made from the Thibetan. This statement seems to have been first made by Yi Swi-gwang a century or more after the invention of the alphabet. Of course he must have seen or heard the statement somewhere in order to have transmitted it, but so far as we now know he is the first one to give this idea currency. The preface to the Hun-min Chong-eum is quoted as saying, “They examined the Seal character and the ‘grass’ character of China.” Yi Swi-gwang must have been a hardy man to say on his own responsibility not [page 212] only that the alphabet was modelled upon the Thibetan hut that such an origin for an alphabet was contemplated long before King Se-jong took hold of the matter in earnest. In spite of what the preface to the Hun-min Chong-eum says we incline to the opinion that Yi Swi-gwang had some evidence on which to base his statement. If it is true that the commission appointed by King Se-jong made use of the Thibetan alphabet why does not the preface to the Hun-min Chong-eum say so? Unless some pretty substantial reason can be given why they should not say so we will have to conclude that the Thibetan characters were not considered. We will remember that the Koryu dynasty fell into decay and ruin because of a too close attachment to the Buddhistic cult.

No one seemed to be able to distinguish between church and state, and this, as it always does, weakened the foundations of the realm. The wretched Sin-don was the climax and epitome of what Buddhism can do for a man, and his times show what it can do for a state. The main plank in the platform of the new regime was the relegating of Buddhism to its proper sphere and while Buddhism could not by any means be eliminated nor its hold on the people be materially loosened yet the government set its face uncompromisingly against it and did everything that could be done to discredit it. Such was still the state of affairs when Se-jong came to the throne in 1418 only twenty six years after the founding of the dynasty. As the stated policy of the government was to discredit Buddhism, how was it possible to put out an alphabet confessedly based upon the Thibetan alphabet, which was found only in Buddhist books? It would have been to doom the alphabet from the very start as well as to stultify the government. These men therefore very wisely kept still about the Thibetan part of it and mentioned only the Chinese characters, from which the Korean vowels are evidently formed. Instead of saying Thibetan they spoke of the grass character, which is a rather indefinite term, since the Thibetan, as used in Korea, is itself a sort of grass character and was introduced from China.

When we turn however to the structure of the characters themselves we find from the very start the most convincing ebidence of the influence of the Thibetan upon the minds of [page 213] the inventors of the Korean alphabet. Not only are Korean consonants, as used today, similar to the corresponding Thibetan characters, but the obsolete letters are found as well, the letter ᅀ being identical in shape with the Thibetan letter.

In one place the preface says that the shape of the letters was taken from natural objects and from the seal characters of China. In another place it says they were based upon the sounds of the letters. Where the grass character is mentioned it simply says that the seal character and the grass character were examined but it does not say positively that the grass character was used in forming the alphabet. On the whole there is a charming indefiniteness about it which was doubtless intentional and was meant to cover up the fact that the despised Buddhist characters had any part to play in the alphabet whatever.

Hen versus Centipede

.

Song Ku-yun was a modest man, as well he might be, since he was only a ye-rip-kun or runner for one of the silk-shops at Chong-no. His business it was to stand on the street and with persuasive, tones, induce the passer-by to change his mind and buy a bolt of silk rather than something else he had in mind.

One day a slave woman came along and let him lead her into the silk shop. He did not expect he would get much of a percentage out of what such a woman would buy, but it would be better than nothing. When she bad looked over the goods, however, she bought lavishly and paid in good hard cash. A few days later she came again and would listen to no other ye-rip-kun but Song, who felt much flattered. Again she bought heavily and Song began to hear the money jingle in his pouch. So it went on day after day until the other runners were green with envy. At last the slave woman said that her mistress would like to see him about some important purchases, and Song followed her to the eastern part of the city where they entered a fine large house. Song [page 214] was ushered immediately into the presence of the mistress of the house, rather to his embarrassment; for, as we have said, Song was a modest man and this procedure was a little out of the ordinary for Korea. But the lady set him at his ease immediately by thanking him for having been of such help in making former purchases and by entering upon the details of others that she intended. Song had to spend all his time running between her house and the shops.

One day the lady inquired about his home and prospects, and learning that he was a childless widower suggested that he occupy a part of her house so as to be more conveniently situated for the work she had for him He gratefully accepted the offer and things kept going from bad to worse, or rather from good to better, until at last he married the woman and settled down to a life of comparative ease.

But his felicity was rudely shocked. One night as he was going homeward from Chong-no along the side of the sewer below “hen bridge,” he heard his dead father’s voice calling to him out of the air and saying, “Listen, my son, you must kill the woman though she is beautiful and seems good. Kill her as you would a reptile.”

Song stood still in mute astonishment. It was indeed his father’s voice and it had told him to kill the good woman who had taken him out of his poverty and made him wealthy, who had been a kind and loving wife for more than a year. No, he could not kill her. It was absurd.

The next night he passed the same way and again he heard the weird voice calling as if from a distance, “Kill her, Kill her like a reptile. Kill her before the seventeenth of the moon at dusk or you yourself will die.” This gave Song a nervous chill. It was so horribly definite the seventeenth at dusk. That was only ten days off. Well, he would think it over; but the more he thought about it the less possible it seemed, to take the life of his innocent wife. He put the thought away, and for some days shunned the place where, alone, the voice was heard. On the night of the sixteenth he passed that way and this time the unearthly voice fairly screamed at him. “Why don’t you do my bidding? I say, kill her or you will die tomorrow. Forget her goodness, look not upon her beauty. Kill her as you would a serpent; kill ber-kill-kill.”   [page 215]

This time Song fairly made up his mind to obey the voice and he went home sad at heart because of the horrible crime that his father was driving him to. When, however, he entered the house and his wife greeted him, hung up his hat and brought his favorite pipe, his grim determination began to melt away and inside of an hour he had decided that, father or no father, he could not and would not destroy this woman. He was sure he would have to die for it, but why not? She had done every thing for him and if one of them must die why should it not be he rather than his benefactress? This generous thought stayed with him all the following day and when the afternoon shadows began to lengthen he made his way homeward with a stout heart. If he was to die at dusk he might as well do so decently at home. Everything was just as usual there. His wife was as kind and gentle as she always had been, and sudden death seemed the very last thing that could happen.

As the fatal moment approached, however, his wife fell silent and then got up and moved to the farther side of the room and sat down in a dark corner, Song looked steadily at her. He was so fortified in his mind because of his entire honesty of purpose that no thought of fear troubled him. He looked at her steadily, and as he looked, that beautiful, mobile face began to change. The smile that always had been there turned to a demon’s scowl. The fair features turned a sickly green. The eyes glared with the same wild light that shines in the tiger’s eyes. She was not looking at him but away toward another corner of the room. She bent forward, her hands clutching at the air and her head working up and down and backward and forward as though she were struggling for breath. Every fibre of her frame was tense to the point of breaking and her whole being seemed enveloped and absorbed in some hateful and deadly atmosphere. The climax came and passed and Song saw his wife fall forward on her face with a shudder and a groan and lie there in a state of unconsciousness. But he never moved a muscle. He felt no premonition of death and he would simply wait until the queer drama was acted out to a finish.

An hour passed and then he heard a long-drawn sigh, and his wife opened her eyes. The frenzy was all gone and [page 216] all the other evil symptoms. She sat up and passed her hand across her brow as if to wipe away the memory of a dream. Then she came and sat down beside her husband and took his hand.

 “Why did you not do as your father’s voice ordered? Song gave a violent start. How should she know?

“What-what do you mean?” he stammered, but she only smiled gravely and said:

“You heard your father’s voice telling you to kill me but you would not do it; and now let me tell you what it all really means. You have acted rightly. Your own better nature prevailed and frustrated a most diabolical plot. That was not your father’s voice at all but the voice of a wizard fowl that has been seeking my destruction for three hundred years. Don’t look incredulous for I am telling you the truth. Now listen. For many a long century I was a centipede but after passing my thousandth year I attained the power to assume the human shape; but, as you know, the hen and the centipede are deadly enemies, and there was a cock that had lived nearly as long as I but who never had succeeded in killing me. At last I became a woman and then the only way to kill me was to induce some man to do it. This is why the cock assumed your father’s voice and called to you and urged you to kill me. He knew that on this night at dusk he must have his last fight with me and he knew that he must lose. So he sought to make you kill me in advance.. You refused and what you have just witnessed was my final conflict with him. I have won, and as my reward for winning I can now entirely cast off my former state and be simply a woman. Your faith and generosity have saved me. When you go to your office tomorrow morning go at an early hour, and as you pass the place where you heard the voice look down into the sewer and you shall see, if you need further evidence, that what I say is true.”

Song assured her that he needed no further proof and yet when morning came he showed that curiosity is not a monopoly of the fairer sex by rising early and hurrying up the streets He turned in at the Water-gauge Bridge and passed up alongside the sewer. He looked down, and there at the bottom lay an enormous white cock that had lived [page 217] over four centuries but now had been vanquished. It was as large as a ten-year-old child and had it lived a few years longer it would have attained the power to assume human shape. Song shuddered to think how near he had come to killing his sweet wife and from that day on he never ate chickens but he set his teeth into them with extraordinary zest.

Editorial Comment.

Now that the matter of the establishment of a government bank in Seoul has become the acknowledged policy of the powers that be it is only fair to look this possibility squarely in the face and make the best of it. Whether the government will make or lose by it in the long run is their own lookout. What we want to know is whether the effect upon the mass of the Korean people will be .beneficial or otherwise. Of course a successful currency is a matter of faith. If the currency be coin the faith is exercised ill believing that the intrinsic value of the metal is up to par, and if it is a paper currency the faith is exercised in believing that the paper is and will continue to be redeemable in coin. It takes a certain degree of patriotism to make a currency a genuine success. Daring the past four decades there have been great fluctuations and changes in Korean money.

We passed from the old time yup to the tang-ho and thence to the Mexican dollar; then to the silver yea and later to the paper yen, after which the copper cent and the much maligned nickel made their appearance. Last of all there has appeared the paper currency issued by the First Bank of Japan. If we look at the country as a whole we will find that the vast majority of the Korean people still  cling to the yup. The tang-ho and went, for it is no longer five cash but is reckoned only equivalent to the yup. And in fact we might imagine this old-time piece glorying in its survival and saying  “nickels may come and nickels may go, but I go on

* This seems almost impossible and we should doubt it but for the practical evidence sometimes adduced on the table.[page 218]

forever.” Now it takes less faith to handle the yup than any other money circulating in Korea, for in the first place each piece is only one; it does not claim to be five or ten or a hundred but just one. You can’t get back of that nor below it. You can’t afford to counterfeit it and you can’t debase it much without its going to pieces between thumb and finger and “giving you dead away.” There has never been made a coin in Korea that would compare with it for honesty. And the people know it. Their ideas may be crude but it is with the people that you must reckon. You’ve got to give them money that they like if you want it to  “go” Now, the constant deterioration in coinage during the last thirty years has not tended to give the people confidence in those who do the financiering for the government. Most of them would still prefer to take six horse loads of cash in payment of a bill rather than receive a little piece of paper with a promise to pay on it.

If therefore this government is to establish a bank and put out a paper currency it must look well to gaining the confidence of the people. So much money has been minted of late, under the mistaken idea that money can be “made” by simply coining it, that the people will want to know whether this is a repetition of that process or whether they will receive a paper currency which will pass at par some years hence as well as now. Whether the people can be made to believe this or not we do not venture to guess, but we state it merely as one of the questions that uiust be faced,

Across Siberia By Rail

In the following paragraphs we propose to give a few practical suggestions which will be helpful to those who may be purposing to go to Europe by way of Siberia. These suggestions are made from personal observation. Some of them will be already familiar to the readers of the Review but we give the whole story in order to be on the safe side.

In the first place the question arises as to how to get to Dalny, the terminus of the Railway. There are several ways.  [page 219]

(1) There is a boat leaving Nagasaki every Thursday noon and running direct to Dalny. (2) There is a boat starting from Shanghai about the same time direct to Dalny. (3) One can take the Japanese boat from Japan via Fusan and Chemulpo and go to Chefoo and thence to Dalny either by tbe same steamer or by a Russian boat that runs almost every day from Chefoo to Dalny via Port Arthur. It starts always at ten o’clock P. M. and arrives at Port Arthur at eight the next morning; leaves there at noon and gets to Dalny at four P. M. There are frequent changes in the running of the through express trains. Until lately there has been only one a week  on Sunday, but at the present time, May 1st, there are two which start on Tuesdays and Saturdays respectively, at eleven o’clock P.M. How long this will continue seems very indefinite.

In the second place the subject of exchange demands attention. The yen and the rouble are of practically equal value but if yen are brought to Dalny they will be subject to a discount at the bank of some three four or five per cent. On the other hand I bought roubles with yen in Chefoo from the native exchangers (not the banks) at par, thus saving five per cent.

On arriving at Dalny great difficulty will be experienced in getting around. There are extremely few people who know any English or even French. If you simply say “Hotel.” to the ricksha man he will probably take you to the Dalny Hotel which will doubtless be full, as there are but sixteen rooms. These are almost always occupied. Then you will want to find another but there is no one at the Hotel Dalny who speaks English and you should tell your ricksha man to take you to the Hotel Russie which is second class but fairly comfortable so far as rooms are concerned. The hotel rates are about the same at either place, two roubles and a Half or three roubles for a room alone. You pay for each meal separately. Breakfast costs about eighty kopeks (or cents), dinner (always at noon) one rouble and supper eighty kopeks. I would advise autone to take their meals at the Hotel Dalny even if stopping elsewhere for a room.

The United States Consul lives at the Hotel Dalny. It is very difficult to get around Dalny without speaking Russian. The post office is very near the Hotel Dalny. The station is [page 220] at the end of the street facing the entrance of this hotel. The ticket office is not directly at the station but in one of the buildings near by. The trains start at eleven in the evening and the ticket office is not open until ten. The train will be lying at the station on a side track and you can carry your hand iuggage to it any time during the afternoon and stow it in a compartment, though this is a little irregular. Fifty kopeks or so in the hand of the guard will smoothe away all such difficulties. No ticket can. be bought right through to Moscow at the present writing but it is said this will be changed next July. Now you pay to the station called “Manchuria” on the Russian border, the price being 108 roubles for first class and 67.50 roubles second class.. There you change cars for Lake Baikal but the fare from Manchuria to Baikal I cannot discover but the complete fare second class from Dalny to Moscow is 178.60 roubles. The Manchurian section has not been “taken over” yet by the Russians officially and the fare is higher than it will be next July when the whole road is under one management.

  As to the train. The cars are very fine and there are two second class, one first class, one dining and one baggage car on each train.  The dining car is very handsome and the fare is excellent. It costs three roubles a day for the three meals, and it is cheap enough. One can patronize a buffet if one prefers and buy much or little to suit the fancy. In the first class compartments there is room, for two but in the second there are upper berths, making a possible four: but unless the train is crowded there will be no more than two in a compartment. One can take five or six good-si zed bags into the car with him but if luggage is put into the baggage car; all over one pood (36 lbs) will cost at the rate of 17.60 roubles per pood to Moscow. Practically an unlimited amount of hand baggage can be carried free in one’s compartment but everything should measure under two feet and a half long by eighteen inches wide.

The cars are very wide, the compartments being five and a half feet wide by six long and a full ten feet high. The windows are not as large or as numerous as those in the American palace cars but there are enough for practical purposes. The windows are all double. The cars are all “vestibuled”, with [page 221] closed-in passage between. There is practically no difference between first and second class. There is better carpet on the floor and better wood in the casing but practically they are the same There is no bath-room with tub on the train nor is there any car corresponding to the American library or drawing-room or smoking car.

It was Saturday night at eleven o’clock that we pulled out from Dalny. During the night we passed through a barren stone-strewn region, though nor particularly mountainous, but in the morning we came out into an open plain stretching away to the west as level as a table to the very horizon while the view was bounded on the east by a chain of mountains some five miles away. It is a magnificent farming country and resembles strongly the level fields of Iowa or Illinois. At any moment of the day there were thousands of trees visible in every direction. They were mostly willows but there were also many pines and some hard wood trees. These were mostly in the vicinity of villages or of graves. The whole country is one vast wheat and barley field. It was too early in the season to judge from the sprouting grain just what kind it was but evidently wheat and barley largely predominated. Every foot of land was under cultivation excepting the water-courses and the grave-sites. The Manchurians are very careful cultivators and if there had only been hedges or fences one might have supposed he was in Fiance or England. The farmers were busy every where, some plowing, others harrowing and still others rolling the drills with stone rollers. The beasts of burden or of draught were mostly donkeys or mules though sometimes cows or bullocks were in evidence.

We came to a station about once each half hour, stopping at each one some five minutes or more. The stations are all substantially built of brick or stone and at almost all of them active building operations were going on. We gradually left the mountains until they showed only a blue line on the far eastern horizon.

About nine o’clock breakfast was in order, though it could be gotten much earlier, no doubt. A glass of rather good coffee with plenty of bread and butter lowered the exchequer by sixty cents. [page 222]

At ten o’clock we arrived at an important town where an ancient pagoda lifted its time-worn head a short distance behind the station. It was an octagonal pagoda rising some ninety feet, the lower half being without extending roofs but having niches with sitting figures on alternate faces of the octagon while the upper half had fourteen overlapping roofs. We ascended to the platform and leveled a pair of field- glasses at the pagoda but were immediately accosted by a cossack who pointed at the glasses and said something in Russian. Not knowing what he said and thinking it impossible that such an innocent act should be forbidden we walked on to the end of the platform and again looked through the glasses only at the pagoda. This time a sargeant approached and made it quite evident that field-glasses were barred. Nothing was said by the guard on the train against looking with the glasses from the windows. There seemed to be no cameras among the passengers and even if there had been it was quite evident that they could not be used. As we passed out of this station we found that it was partially fortified and field guns and embankments appeared. Perhaps this is why the field-glasses were unacceptable.

All day long the speed of the train was almost the same as that between Seoul and Chemulpo, or an average of something like twenty miles an hour between stations. This is a liberal estimate. Much of the time it was slower than this.

It was evident that the prevailing winds in this region are from the south, for every tree in sight inclines toward the north, especially the willows.  

(To be continued)

News Calendar.

Recently what appears to be outposts of the Seoul Peddler’s Guild have been noticed in the vicinity of the present imperial palaces.

Viscount Aoki former Japanese Minister for foreign affairs arrived in Chemulpo on April 20th. and came to Seoul the same day. The Viscount had traveled in China investigating conditions there and while in [page 223] Seoul favored the Japanese residents with an account of his experiences and impressions. He visited the sights of Seoul, was entertained at a banquet by the Imperial Household Department, and left for Japan on April 26th.

The Postal Department has established telephonic connection from Seoul with Chemulpo, Songdo and Pyeng-yang. This has proved so popular that the Department has issued a regulation that persons intending to use the ‘phone must purchase a ticket and wait their turn at the instrument. No favor will be shown on the ground of rank or social standing.

Mr. C. O. Miller, a prominent merchant of Stamford, Conn. and a member of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, spent the early part of May in Seoul, the guest of the Mission of that Church. Mr. Miller was accompanied by his wife, and his son Mr. Carl Miller. Their daughter Miss Sara H. Miller has been for a year past a missionary in Korea under the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A nervous breakdown having necessitated her return Mr. Miller and his family came to Korea to accompany the daughter on her journey.

Among the guests at the recent annual meeting of the mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church was Miss C. A. Carnahan of Pittsburg, Penn., a prominent missionary worker who is traveling around the world visiting the various mission fields.

The Home Office has telegraphed the provincial officials in Kyung-sang to immediately send from the rice received as government tax 10,000 bags to the Ham-kyung provinces to relieve the distress of the people there, due to the failure of the rice crop last year.

Yi Yun-eung, a student of the French school, employed his leisure during the winter in drawing a map of Korea. It will shortly be published.

A telegram from the Korean Prefect at We-ju states that the Russian troops located in the District of An-tong are about to cross the Yalu for the purpose of protecting the forestry concessions recently made by Korea.

Germany has raised her representation in Seoul to the rank of a Legation the first Minister Resident being His Excellency Herr C. von Saldern who arrived April 24th to take up the post. He immediately requested an Audience for the purpose of presenting his commission to the Emperor.

Dr. jur. H. Weipert who has so honorably filled the post of Kaiserlicher Consul in Seoul has returned to Germany on a well earned furlo. Dr. Weipert has a host of friends in Seoul who part with him with genuine regret and wish him a safe journey and a pleasant holiday.

His Excellency Attilio Monaco, Minister Resident and Consul General of Italy arrived in Seoul April 29th.

His Excellency A. Pavlow, Conseiller d,Etat, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Russia with Madame Pavlow arrived in Seoul May 11th.  [page 224]

The interest of the Koreans in the emigration to Hawaii continues, several small parties of farmers, some of them accompanied by their families, having left to seek employment. An absurd suggestion has been made that they would be subject to slavery on going to the United States, but only the most ignorant people would credit such a report. Nothing approaching slavery or enforced contracts is allowed in the United States or its possessions and the government exercises the closest supervision over emigrants both as to the conditions under which they enter and the treatment they receive.

A large number of soldiers who had been ordered into Seoul to take part in the ceremonies in connection with His Majesty’s Jubilee have re-turned to their posts.   

The illness of Prince Yung the youngest son of His Majesty continuing to occasion anxiety, the Imperial Household Department ordered all public works to cease for three months.

The Special Commissioner Yi Eung-ik who investigated the charges against the Roman Catholic Christians in Whanghai, having finished his work and compiled his report, returned to Seoul on April 24th.

The young prince Yung Chun-wang having recovered from his illness the following gifts were bestowed by His Majesty upon the Board of Medicine: To Yun Yong-sun (the Prime Minister) one horse and Korean $100; to Yi Kon-su one grade higher of rank and $80; to Kirn Tok-han, the rank of Ka-wi Tai-bu and $60; and various rewards to officials of lower rank.

A telegram from the prefect of We-ju the border city at the month of the Yalu informs the Foreign Office that Russian soldiers stationed at Andong in Manchuria had crossed into Korea for the purpose of protecting the recent forestry concessions of the Russians along the Yalu, We are creditably informed however that this is incorrect.

The prefectural Yamen of Kim-sang in Kangwan was destroyed by fire about the 21st of April.

Min Yung-don, Korean envoy to the Court of St. James, has sent an urgent plea to be relieved of his post on the ground of poor health.  

[page 225]

[page 225]

Korean History.

An unscrupulous man named Yu Yong-gyung was the court favorite at this time. The state of affairs at the capital was anything but satisfactory, the reason being that the strife of parties rendered honesty and fairness impossible. It was a constant fight to gain the king’s ear and, having gained it, to turn out all enemies and put in personal adherents.

In the year 1605 the Japanese again asked that a treaty be made and that Korea send an envoy to the Japanese court. The King complied and sent the same monk, Yu Chung, ordering him to look carefully into the matter of the military strength of the Island Empire and the distance by boat. He returned the following year bringing with him, it is said, three thousand Koreans who had been taken to Japan from time to time during the invasion. The Korean accounts tell us nothing of the booty that the Japanese carried away to Japan during the war, nor of the transportation of Korean artisans and their employment in Japan in teaching the making of pottery and other works of use and art, but we may well believe the Japanese reports, that assert that immense amounts of treasure were carried away and that the making of the beautiful Satsuma ware was an outcome of the teaching of Korean artisans.

This year was also signalized by a fierce conflict between the savage tribe of Hol-cha-on, north of the Tu-man River, and the government troops under Gen. Song U-gil. The latter crossed the river by night and attacked the main settlement of the tribe and utterly destroyed it, and effectually broke up the tribe. Great quantities of goods which had been stolen from the border settlements were also recovered.

We are now on the threshold of events which led up to a very painful period in Korean history. It will be remembered that the king had no heir by the queen and had therefore nominated to the throne his heir by a concubine, the Prince Kwang-ha. This was a man of violent temper, bad instincts, corrupt, selfish, careless of the public good. When therefore [page 226] the king, in the fortieth year of his reign, was presented with a son by his queen, his delight was as great as was the chagrin or the heir apparent. According to law it was impossible to set aside the man already nominated, but now that the king finally got the boy he had been- looking for so long, his feelings got the better of his judgment and he was bent upon having the child receive all the honors due to the future wearer of the crown. So he sent out the order that officials should come to the palace and do obeisance as when an heir to the throne is born. This was the most impolitic thing he could have done, for it aroused all the hatred there was in the Prince Kwang-ha. who had for so many years looked upon his eventual occupancy of the throne as fully assured, and who saw in these demonstrations of affection on the part of the king a latent desire to change the decree which had already gone forth. If the king really desired to set aside that decree he should have sent to Nanking and had the Emperor do it, but it was not so to be, and the infant boy entered the world with one deadly enemy ranged against him, whose first act would be to put him out of the way. Nor was it the boy alone who gained the hatred of this prince. The queen herself became the object of his special hatred, and the official who sent forth the order that honor should be done to the infant.

The Japanese kept urging their point, that relations of mutual benefit be resumed, and kept protesting their good intentions toward Korea, The king had just received an envoy bringing gifts and a congratulatory letter from the king of the Liu Kiu Islands, in which grave doubts were cast upon the intentions of the Japanese, and an offer of assistance was made in case of another invasion. But the king seems not to have put faith in these doubts, and replied, to the re-iterated request of the Japanese, that an envoy would be sent to Japan, when the men who desecrated the royal graves beyond the Han River should be sent to the Korean Capital for punishment. The Japanese went home, but returned late in the fall bringing two men bound, whom they delivered over as being the ones demanded. But these were mere boys who themselves urged the fact that they were still babes in arms when the deeds of which they were charged had been committed. The Prime Minister urged the king to send them [page 227] back to Japan, but the favorite, Yu, persuaded the king to have them beheaded, after which Yo U-gil, Kyong Sun and Chunung Ho-gwan were sent as an embassy to Japan. Meanwhile Iyeyasu in Japan had deposed the son of Hideyoshi and usurped his place; So when the embassy arrived in Japan they were received with the utmost coldness, and the usurper said, “Who asked that envoys might be exchanged between Japan and Korea? But now that you are here we will receive you.” The treatment that they received bad almost beyond description. As a sample of the way the Japanese baited them it is related that the Japanese brought a dish filled with ordure sprinkled with something the color of gold-dust, and when the Koreans innocently put their hands in the dish, supposing that it was some form of food, the Japanese had a good laugh at their expense. The Koreans did not appreciate this sort of practical joke, and forthwith returned to Korea.

Late in the autumn the aged king was taken sick and all knew that the end was near. The conditions were pot propitious. The young prince was only two years old and Prince Kwang-ha was fierce in his resentments and jealous of anyone who should attempt to block his path to the throne.

The people were in a very uneasy frame of mind. The king had gone either too far or not far enough in the advocacy of the infant prince, and now he felt that he was leaving the child to the tender mercies of a relentless enemy. He therefore called in the Prime Minister and said, “Everything looks dark ahead and I am dying. I suppose the Prince Kwang-ha must become king?”  But the Prime Minister dared not answer the question as the king wanted it answered, and hung back. By so doing he sealed his own fate.  There were only two things for him to do, either to boldly advocate the claims of the child or else boldly advocate those of Prince Kwang-ha. By doing neither he made an enemy of the one and spoiled the chances of the other, and thus signed his own death warrant. As, it happened, Prince Kwang-ha had an elder brother, but why lie had not been nominated to the throne we are not told. This prince, named Im-ha, was now induced to make the attempt to wrest the reins of power from his brother so as to save the people from what, they feared at [page 228] the hands of Prince Kwang-ha, but the latter got wind of the plot and the elder prince was summarily banished, together with all his coadjutors.

So matters went on until one day in early spring of the following year, 1608, when a servant came from the king’s private rooms saying that he was dying. All the officials assembled at the palace. It is said that Prince Kwan-ha had become impatient at the tenacity of life shown by the aged king and had assisted nature in taking him off, but this, we may surmise, is rattier a general deduction from the character of the man than a proved charge, and this prince has so much else to answer for that we may well give him the benefit of the doubt and conclude that the king reached his end by natural causes alone. The assembled noblemen sat in the room adjoining the one in which the king lay dying. Presently a eunuch brought out a note which read thus, “When I am dead let Prince Kwang-ha be kind to the infant boy.” When the ministers had read it they sent it to the prince. Soon another note came from the sick room, “To the seven ministers of state; I am dying. I have but one cause of anxiety; the boy is young and I shall not be here to see him come to manhood. Let him be tenderly cared for.” This was the end. The king turned to the wall and expired.

Upon hearing the welcome news the Prince Kwang-ha hastened to assume the position he had coveted so long. His first act was to send the Prime Minister Yu Yong-gyung into banishment. Then he sent an embassy to China to announce his accession to the throne. The Emperor replied, “Why is not the elder son, Prince Ini-ha, made king?” and sent a commission to inquire into the matter. Prince Ira was brought from Kyo-dong Island to which place he had been banished.

One of the creatures of the newly crowned king advised that the head only of Prince Im be brought, but the aged Yi Hang-bok opposed it so strongly that the king dare not follow his inclination; but when Prince Im was brought he was ‘made up,’ for the occasion. He was unkempt and filthy, his clothes were in rags and the very sight of him decided the unsuspicious commissioner and he ordered the wretched man to be sent back to his place of banishment at once. For fear of further complications and to satisfy his vengeful nature, the king sent [page 229] a secret messenger to the prefect of Kyo-dong and had Prince Im poisoned in prison. He next proceeded to kill the banished Prime Minister, and then had his body brought to the center of the capital and cut in half lengthwise.

The Japanese had for several years been pressing for the resumption of the old-time relations, half diplomatic and half commercial, which had been carried on through the southern port of Fusan. Now in the first year of the reign of Kwang-ha, consent was gained and Yi Chi-wan for Korea and Gensho and Yoshinao for Japan met and worked out a plan for a treaty. The Japanese insisted that all three of the ports which had formerly been open should again be opened, but this was peremptorily refused and only Fusan was opened. The number of boats that could come annually was reduced to twenty.

Great diplomatic agents from the Shogun were allowed to stay in Korea one hundred and ten days. The agents from any daimyo of Japan could stay eighty-five days and special agents could stay fifty-five days. The strictness with which the Koreans bound down the Japanese as to number of ships and men and length of stay, and the refusal to open three ports, show that Korea was doing this all more as a favor than by demand, and history shows that at any time she felt at liberty to withdraw support from them. The amount of rice and other food that Korea granted was hardly more than enough to support the embassy when it came.

It will be remembered that the king was the son of a concubine and not of the queen. He now went to work to depose the queen and set up his mother, though now dead, as real queen. He gave his mother the posthumous title of Kong-song Wang-ho and sent the deposed queen into semi-banishment to the Myung-ye Palace in Chong-dong, where the king now resides. This act was looked upon as utterly unfilial and godless by the officials, and they almost unanimously censured his harsh treatment of this woman.

The next three years were spent in killing off all who had been specially favored under the last king, excepting the venerable Yi Hang-bok, who stood so high in the esteem of the people that even the wicked king did not dare to lay hands upon him. One method of getting rid of objectionable people was to promise release to some criminal if he would swear that [page 230] he had heard the men conspiring against the king; but the king’s thirst for blood could not be quenched so long as the young prince was living. The latter was now six or seven years old. No one dared to make a move against him openly, but the officials knew that if they wanted to become favorites with the king it could be done only by suggesting some plan whereby the boy could be killed without bringing on a general insurrection. It was accomplished as follows. Pat Eung-sil, a well-known resident of Yn-ju became a highwayman. He was captured and taken to Seoul for trial. After he had been condemned, Yi I-ch’um the court favorite sent to him in prison and said, “You are to die to-morrow, but if you will declare that you and several other men have conspired to depose the king and place the young prince on the throne you will not only be released bat rewarded as well.” When therefore the king received the written confession of the wretch he feigned surprise but instantly caught and executed the principals named. His satellites also urged that he must kill the young prince and his mother, for they must surely be privy to the plot. And her father too must be beheaded. The king did not dare to go to these lengths all at once, but he began by beheading the queen’s father, and banishing the boy to Kang-wha. When the men came to take him he hid beneath his mother’s skirt but the brutal captors pushed her over and dragged the lad away. These acts enraged the people almost beyond endurance and memorials poured in upon the king from people who preferred death itself to permitting such acts to go unchallenged. The king however answered them one and all by killing the writers or stripping them of rank and banishing them.

As the boy had been separated from his mother and banished to Kang-wha, he could be dealt with at pleasure. His death would remain unknown for a time, and the matter would pass by unnoticed. So in the following year, at the instigation of Yi I-ch’um, the magistrate of Kang-wha put the boy in a small room, built a roaring fire under it and suffocated him, an extreme of barbarity which the world can hardly parallel. The news soon spread among the officials. Scores of memorials poured in upon the king who answered them as before by banishment and death.  [page 231]

Chapter IV.      

The king insulted... the “Mulberry Palace”... plot against the Queen Dowager...   her indictment... she is degraded... inception of the Manchu power... China summons Korea to her aid... troops despatched... first battle with the Manchus... Korean treachery... Koreans make friends with the Manchus...  the Manchu court... a Manchu letter to the king... its answer... Manchu rejoinder...  message to Nanking... Chinese refugees... a Korean renegade              the Queen intercedes for China... Chinese victory... Manchu cruelty... offices sold... plot against the king.. king dethroned... Queen Dowager reinstated...   reforms ... a thorough cleaning out.

With the opening of the year 1615 the king further revealed his hatred of the deposed and degraded queen by publishing broadcast the statement that she had gone to the grave of his mother and there, by practicing sorcery against him had tried to bring evil upon him. This also brought out a loud protest from all honest men, and banishment followed. Even the children on the street spoke insultingly of the tyrant saying that he was afraid of the imps at the Myung-ye Place, but had let his mother stay there with them though he himself would not go near the place. The king feared everyone that was honest and upright even though they had nothing to say. His own cousin, Prince Neung-ch’ang, whose younger brother afterward became king, was a perfectly peaceable and harmless man, but the king feared him and could not rest satisfied until he had gotten his satellites to accuse him of sedition and had suffocated him in a heated chamber on Kyo-dong Island. About this time a monk, named Seung-ji gained the confidence of the superstitious king and induced him to build the In-gyung Palace which is commonly known among foreigners as the “Mulberry Palace.” To do this, thousands of the houses of the common people were razed and heavy taxes were levied throughout the country; and yet there was not enough money. So the king began to sell the public offices. Some were paid for in gold others in silver, others in iron, and still others in wood, stone or salt. The [page 232] people derisively called it the O-hang, referring to the “Five Rules of Conduct” of the Confucian Code. The boys also made up a popular song which ran as follows. “Did you give gold, or silver, or wood for yours?” and they put the officials to shame by shouting it at them as they passed along the street.

Yi I-ch’um, the favorite, could not rest until he had carried out his master’s wish and had invented some way to destroy the degraded Queen. Finding no other way to accomplish this, he at last descended to the following trick. He instructed a man named Hu Kyun to write a letter to the imprisoned queen purporting to be from some party in the country, proposing a scheme for deposing the king. This letter was thrown over the wall of the queen’s enclosure and there found by the servants of the crafty plotter. The king was ready to believe anything against her and this letter fanned his hatred into flame. Yi I-ch’um followed it up by joining with scores of others in memorials urging the king to put to death the hated Queen Dowager. The Prime Minister, Keui Cha-hon, stood in the way, however, and it became necessary to banish him to the far north. In the eleventh moon the king finally decided to drive the woman from Seoul, and made all the officials give their opinion about it in writing. Nine hundred and thirty officials and a hundred and seventy of the king’s relatives advised to do so, but the aged Yi Hang-bok with eight others utterly refused their sanction of the iniquitous plan; and so these nine men, the last of those upright men who had stood about the late king, were sent into banishment.

 The year thus closed in gloom and the new one opened with a memorial from the Prime Minister Han Hyo-san enumerating ten charges against the Queen Dowager; (1) that she had had the officials do obeisance to the young prince although the successor to the throne had already been appointed; (2) when the king was dying she asked him to set aside Prince Kwang-ha in favor of the young prince; (3) she prevented, as long as possible, the king from handing over the scepter to Prince Kwang-ha; (4) she wrote the letters purporting to be from the dying king asking that the young prince be carefully nurtured; (5) she instigated her father to conspire against the king; (6) she sacrificed in the palace and prayed [page 233] for the death of Prince Kwang-ha; (7) she prayed for the same at the grave of his mother; (8) she corresponded with outside parties with a view to raising an insurrection; (9) she sent to the Emperor asking to have Prince Kwang-ha set aside, (10) she sent to Japan asking that an army be sent to overthrow the government.

The king feigned to be very loath to believe all these charges and to act upon them; he called heaven to witness that the very thought or it was terrible to him and averred that he would rather be banished to some distant shore than even to mention such a thing. But after a great deal of urging he was prevailed upon, and said he could no longer be deaf to the entreaties of his subjects and the welfare of the country. So he took away her title of Ta-bi and decreed that she should be called Su-gung “West Palace,” and that she should receive no part of the government revenue, that officials should no more do homage to her, that her marriage certificate be burned and that all her wedding garments be taken from her. He determined also that in the event of her death no one should assume mourning, that her name should be inscribed in no ancestral temple, and that she should be shut up in her own apartments and strictly guarded.

And now there appeared in the northwest a cloud which was destined to overspread the whole of Korea, and China as well. Norach’i was chief of the Manchu tribes. He was from the wild tribe of Kon-ju which, as we have seen, was broken up by a Korean military expedition. His grandfather’s name was Kyu-sang and his father’s name was Hapsiri. These had both been put to death by a Chinese general, A-t’a, and to the unquenchable hatred caused by this must be ascribed the terrible reprisals the young Norach’i made on China, where his descendants occupy the imperial throne to this day. At the time of his father’s death he had fled eastward beyond the reach of China’s arm but gradually gaining power he crept slowly westward again until he had a footing on the great Manchu plains. But he was not yet ready to carry out his plans against China, and when the Mongol, Hapuigeukosip, entered the great wall and overthrew the Chinese general Yu Pu, Norach’i caught him and sent his head to Nanking. The Emperor was pleased at this and gave him the rank of “Dra-[page 234] gon Tiger General.” Having thus disarmed suspicion, the hardy northman began gathering and training troops until there stood about him 10,000 skillful archers. Some years before this he had killed his younger brother for fear of complications and now in the year of the events of which we are writing he had overcome the three great Chinese generals Yi Yong-bang, Chang Seuug-yun and Yaug Yo-gwi. The ruling dynasty of the Ming in China became well aware of the gravity of the situation and saw that it was necessary to square themselves for a desperate fight with the great Manchu leader The first act of the Emperor was to send a summons to the King of Korea ordering him to send generals and troops at once to join the Chinese forces against Norachi. The king responded by sending a man to find out the exact state of affairs, whether China was weak or strong and whether it would pay to help her in the coming struggle. This was paying China back in kind for her delay in sending aid when the Japanese invaded the peninsula, but Korea was thoroughly loyal to the Ming power. She may be criticised in many ways but there was never show a deeper loyalty or devotion than Korea showed the Mings during the years of struggle against the Manchus, a devotion that always worked against her own selfish interests.

The Chinese general Yang Ho sent back to the king and said, “When was ask for aid do yon merely send a spy to find out how matter stand? This war is as much in your interests as ours, so you had best send an army at once to form a junction with us in Liaotung.” However little stomach the king had for the war this appeal was too strong to be set aside. Even this base king could not overlook the tremendous obligation under which Korea lay on account of aid rendered by China against the Japanese. He therefore appointed generals Kang Hong-rip and Kim Kyong-su as first and second in command and under them three other generals, Chung Ho-su, Yi Chung- nam and Chung Eung-jung. These men were put in command of 20,000 troops drawn from the five provinces of P’yung-an, Ham-gyung, Kyung-keui, Ch’ung-ch’ung and Chul-la, and they were ordered to the northern border. This was toward the close of the year, but before its end the Chinese sent a messenger to hurry forward the Korean troops, as it [page 235] was intended to make a grand demonstration with the opening of the new year.

In the first month of 1619 the troops went forward to the seat of war. It was in the middle of winter and most of the soldiers were going from a comparatively warm climate into the rigors of a semi-arctic region. The Chinese Gen. Yang Ho was advancing upon the Manchu position by four different roads. The whole army rendezvoused at Sim-ha in Liao-tung not far from the Korean border town of Eui-ju. The combined forces were led by four generals, Yang Ho, Yu Chung, Kyo Il-geui and the Korean Kang Hong-rip. Meeting a small body of five hundred Manchu troops they drove them back into the hills with considerable slaughter, and fondly supposed that all the Manchus could be put to flight as easily. In this preliminary skirmish the Koreans took a leading part, and one general was killed and another was wounded in the hand. The next day the whole force advanced to a place called Pu-go. The right and left flanks of the army were composed of Chinese and the center was held by Gen. Kang Hong-rip with his Korean troops. Suddenly, almost without warning, ten thousand Manchu horsemen swept down upon the right flank. The impetuosity of the charge carried everything before it, and almost instantly the whole right wing was thrown into confusion and took to precipitate flight, in which both Gen. Yu Chung and Gen. Yang Ho were killed. Then the Manchu chief Kwi Yung-ga with 30,000 men came across the Ka-hap Pass and fell upon the left flank, and that too was routed in short order. The center under Gen. Kang had not yet been attacked and stood unmoved by, and not unlikely unconscious of, the terrible destruction being meted out to their allies to the right and left. Now Gen. Kang had been instructed by the king to watch the turn of events and if the Chinese could not hold their own to go over to the Manchus and make friends with them. This indeed does not look much like loyalty to China, but it must be remembered that we are dealing now not with the Korean sentiment as a whole but with the wretch who occupied the throne at the moment, and who had no more real loyalty toward China than he had love for his own country.

Gen. Kang followed his instructions and sent to the Man-[page 236] chu leader and said, “We are not enemies. There is no cause for hostilities between us. We have been forced into this unpleasant position against our wills. As the Chinese showed us favors during the Japanese invasion we have had to make some show of interest in order to reciprocate the favor, but as things have turned out we should be glad to make friends with you.”

The Manchu chieftain was willing enough to come to this agreement and so the whole Korean contingent went over en masse to the Manchus. Gen. Yang was brought before Norach’i to make his obeisance. That powerful man was seated upon a throne, clothed in yellow silk and on either side were many young women with jewelled pendants in their ears. Gen. Kang was told to stand some distance away and bow, but he said that in his own country his rank was sufficiently high to warrant a nearer approach. So he was led nearer. He then made only a slight genuflection. This did not please the choleric Norachi and the general was compelled to make a proper obeisance. Gen-Kim Kyong-su likewise went through this humiliating ceremony.

It appears that Gen. Kang had decided that it was to his interests to join himself permanently to the Manchus, for when soon after this Gen. Kim tried to despatch a letter to the king, giving a carefully detailed account of the Manchus and their strength, the letter was intercepted by Gen. Kang who gave it to Norach’i and advised that Gen, Kim be killed. This was immediately done.

Three months later the Manchu chief sent a letter to the Korean king, couched in the following terms, “I have seven causes for hating the Ming dynasty and it is impossible for me to keep my hands off them. Now you and I are not enemies. To be sure you have injured us more or less in the past, but we will waive all that. It will be nceessary for you however to break off all connection with China and stop aiding her in any way.” Gen. Kang also wrote at the same time saying, “The Manchus are training all their youth to war, and soon they will have the whole of Liao-tung.” When the king received these letters he referred them to the governor of P’yung-an Province to answer. The answer ran as follows, “For two hundred years both you and we have [page 237] been the subjects of the Ming power and now that trouble has arisen between you and the authorities at Nanking it will be bad for you and us as well. China is like a parent to us and how can we refuse to aid her? We cannot listen to your demand and abstain from helping her. If you will make peace with us and clearly define our boundaries and abstain from conquest, China will not be only glad but will reward us both with gifts.” To this the Manchu replied, “If you think that China will give presents you have been grievously deceived by her. They are all liars and cheats and I hate them. Put away this idea and stand shoulder to shoulder with us. We must take an oath and sacrifice a white horse to heaven and a black bullock to the earth. After that I will send back all your generals and soldiers. Let there be no more weapons used between us, but only horse-whips.” This latter refers to friendly intercourse by means of horses. Gen. Kang also wrote, “Norach’i has takan Puk-kwan and Gen. Kim T’a- suk is dead. Pak Yang-go has surrendered. Norach’i has joined the Mongol forces to his own and is advancing on Yo- gwang. His two sons Mangoda and Hongtasi advise him to first seize Liao-tung. Every day there are long debates to discuss whether it were better to strike Liao-tung or Korea first. This is a secret but I am sure of what I say. They are making great numbers of ladders and I am sure they are intended to invade Korea first.”

This letter troubled the King for it interfered with his own personal comfort. So he sent a swift messenger to Nanking begging the Emperor to send a large force to “guard your eastern territory” which meant that the king wanted China to stand between him and this Manchurian scourge.

 The relatives of Gen. Kang were kept informed by him of the state of affairs in the north, and they sent large sums of money to Norach’i to buy him off and prevent him from invading Korea; and it may be that it was this, at least in part, that delayed it for some time. The king’s messengers found the road to Nanking blocked by the Manchus and so had to turn back. The king thereupon sent envoys one after another by boat, but as the Koreans were poor sailors, they failed to land at the right place and fell into the hands of the Manchus or were wrecked by storms.   [page 238]

The Manchus now in 1621 held the whole of Liao-tung and the Chinese residents were fleeing in all directions. Thousands of them crossed into Korea and many crossed over to the islands of Ok-kang and In-san near the mouth of the Yalu River and there, huddled together in wretchedness and want, bewailed their pitiable condition.

The prefect of Eui-ju implored the king to forward troops to hold the Manchus in check and the Chinese Gen. Wang wrote the king demanding a contingent of Korean troops to oppose the wild horde that threatened the Ming power. But the king was utterly incompetent, and all Seoul was in a ferment. The King thought only of himself, and looked to it that a comfortable place was arranged for him on the island of Kang-wha, in case it should become necessary for him to leave Seoul. In the early summer a Korean named Yi Yong-bang, who had gone over to the Manchus body and soul, and had become son-in-law to Norach’i, took a body of Manchu cavalry, crossed over to the islands of Ok-kang and In-san and massacred all the Chinese refugees he could lay hands on.

This again struck terror to the heart of the king, and it threw Seoul into a fever of excitement. The king collected nine thousand troops from the southern provinces and stationed them at Su-wun, but there was no one whom he could appoint general-in-chief; so he had to recall from banishment Han Chun-gyum and confer this honor upon him. Han Myung-yun was made second in command.  He was a man of low extraction but had acquired a certain amount of fame in the Japanese invasion.

In the following year, 1622, the Manchus entered China and were everywhere victorious. They wanted to make a treaty with Korea, but the king could decide neither one way nor the other. His envoys had not reached China and he had no word from the Emperor. The queen memorialized the king in the native script and said, “Those northern savages want to make peace with us, not because of any feeling of friendship for us but because they think they cannot handle China and Korea both at once. So they do this to keep us quiet until they finish with China. The king should make up his mind one way or the other and act. Think of what the Chinese did for us during the late invasion! We were on the very [page 239]  edge of destruction and they succored us. Both king and people should be of one mind and hasten to send soldiers to oppose this common enemy. Even if we do not succeed we shall have clear consciences, for we shall know that we have done what we could to aid China in the hour of her distress.” In the third moon a letter arrived from the Manchu headquarters which read as follows, “You say that you are the child and China is the parent. Well, I am now striking your parent, but you seem not to be able to help her. There is no use in trying to do so.” In answer to this grim pleasantry the craven king sent an envoy with gifts to the Manchu camp, but the gifts and envoy were both spurned with insults.

The Chinese general Mo Mun-nyung fled from Liao-tung by boat and landed at Yong-ch’un in Korea. Finding there many Chinese fugitives, and among them not a few soldiers, he organized a little army and marched against the Manchus. In his first fight he was quite successful, coming from the field with the head of the Manchu general, T’ung Yang-jong. He then made his headquarters at Ch’ul-san. With the approach of winter the Manchus crossed the Ya-lu in force and he was outnumbered and had to flee. He sent a letter to the king saying, “I am now here in your territory with a small force, let us unite and drive back this Manchu horde.” But nothing came of it.

The Manchus were exceedingly cruel toward their captives. Having collected a large number they made them sit down in rows and then the Manchu braves went along the line and shot arrows into their victims. If the wound was not instantly mortal the victim was compelled to pluck out the arrow with his own hands and give it back to his executioner.

Meanwhile Korea was going from bad to worse. For many years all official positions had been sold to the highest bidder. Governors and generals paid 30,000 cash, prefects 20,000 and clerks paid 3,000. No office could be procured without an immediate cash payment. The price put upon the office of Prime Minister was so great that for many years no one could afford to take it and so the place remained vacant, perhaps to the benefit of the people. The king was ruled by a favorite concubine and she made use of her power to enrich [page 240] her relatives and those attached to her. She and other concubines sent men to the country to peddle offices. Half the money they kept themselves and the other half went to the pockets of the concubines. Such was the desperate condition of affairs when the year 1622 came in; and we must now record the downfall of this wretehed parody of a king.

A man by the name of Yi Kwi had desired for a long time to find some way of ridding the land of the desperate tyrant, and at last he found five men who were willing to engage with him in the good cause. They were Sim Kyong-jin, Sim Keui-wun, Kim Cha-jun, Ch’oe Myung-gil, Kim Nyu. After thinking the matter over and discussing it, they decided that if their plan succeeded they would put on the throne the grandson of Sun-jo Ta-wang. Kim Nyu was made the leader in this plot. Collecting money they fitted out a small but select body of soldiers and put Gen. Yi Heung-ip at their head, and the day for the event was set. But one of the men connected with the plot turned traitor and told the king the whole plan. The conspirators learned of it immediately and decided to carry out their program in spite of all. As it happened, the king was in a drunken carouse at the time this interesting bit of information was given him and he forgot all about it. That very night the band of conspirators met at the appointed rendezvous beyond the Peking Pass. But there was trouble, because some soldiers who were expected from Chang-clan had not yet arrived; so a swift messenger was sent to find them. They were met twenty li out and hurried forward. Yi Kwal, with several other generals, went to meet these troops beyond the pass and lead them into the city. They found several hundred soldiers ready for the enterprise; but a man named Chang Yn came in haste from the city and said, “The king has been told. The government troops are coming out to seize us.” Yi Kwi seized Yi Kwal by the hand and said, “Kim Nyu who was to lead us has not arrived and you must be our leader.” So he consented. He gave each soldier a piece of paper to fasten to the back of his collar so that they would be able to recognize each other and not be thrown into confusion. At the last moment Kim Nyu arrived and then there was a quarrel between him and Yi Kwal as to the leadership; but as day was about to dawn they let Kim Nyu take charge. 

THE KOREA REVIEW

Volume 3, June 1903

Note on Ch’oe Ch’i-Wun                                       241

The Japanese Occupation of Seoul

T. Sidehara                                   247

Across Siberia by Rail                              253

Mudang and Pansu                                   257

Odds and Ends

Making of a River                                  260

As Good as Wireless Telegraphy         261

Looking Backwards                              261

The Centipede                                                     261

Why They Went Blind                          262

Thorn Fence Island                               262

Editorial Comment

Birth, Marriage, Death                                       263

Entered into Rest                                  264

Foreigners and Native Diseases                       265

Weju                                                                   266

News Calendar                                          267

Korean History                                          273

[page 241]

Note on Ch’oe Ch’i-wun.

In the last issue of the Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society we find two very interesting and valuable papers. One by Rev. Geo. H. Jones, Ph.D., on Ch’oe Ch’i-wun, and the other by Rev. C. T. Collyer on Ginseng. Both of these gentlemen are probably the best authorities on these subjects. The article on Ch’oe Chi-wun, the great soldier and scholar of Ancient Silla, introduces us in a charming manner to that distinguished personage and gives us a picture of his times and his work that are well worthy of preservation. A few stray items have come to out notice regarding the great Ch’oe Chi-wun, which may not be without interest in this connection.

It may be of interest, in connection with Ch’oe Ch’i-wun, whose style was Ko-un (孤雲), to know that after the expedition into western China, Su-ju (西州) to chastise the recalcitrant pun-yi (蕃 夷),he made a journey into Annam.  On his way thither he visited a country lying between Tong-king and Kyo-ji (交 趾). It was a people living among mountains, their twelve important centers being, according to Ch’oe Chi-wun’s own description, Pang-whan(峯驩), Yon-a(演愛),   Yuk-chang(陸長), Yang-mu (諒 武), An (安), So ( ), Mu (武), U-rim (虞 林) Keui-mi (羈 靡), Nam-myung (南 溟), Su-hyul (遼穴). This visit was made during the reign of the fourth king of Kyo-ji.

Ch’oe Ch’i-wun describes a wide stretch of country south of China, in the following manner:  “The eastern part of [page 242] this land lies along the South China Sea to the South of Tong-king, four hundred li. The middle part is among high mountains which stretch a thousand li from north to south. Among these mountains there are six tribes occupying twenty-one strongholds. In the northwest is the Yu-guk (女國), or “Woman’s Kingdom,” so called because it is governed by a woman.* To the southwest is Cho-p’a Ta-sik-kuk (闍婆大食國). The people live in booths without kang floors and without any kitchen. They sleep on grass in the booth. There are no proper roads, only foot-paths. The limits of the different tribal possessions are marked by inscribed stones. The only way they mark the passage of the time is by driving nails in a beam and each day hanging a new pair of shoes on a nail. Thus they keep track of months. They eat dogs, hens, rice and other things. Their villages are so close together that cock crow can be heard from one to the other. They tattoo the body with a tortoise design. They drink through their noses instead of their mouths! They frequently wear tiger skins. They also weave silk. Their common garment is a long strip of cotton cloth wound about the body. They eat unhulled rice. They do not wear mourning for their dead. Their warriors carry their swords hanging down their backs and they carry a shield on the arm. They know nothing about medicines. They were conquered by general Ma-wun (馬暖), of the Eastern Han in 38 A. D. His troops went as for as Bangkok. So all this vast territory became for the first time subject to China. Gen Ma Wun built a memorial shrine, in commemoration of the event, at Ak-ch’un Mountain (惡 泉) or ‘Evil water Mountain.” It was to visit this memorial shrine that Ch’oe Ch’i-wun took the long journey. He says of himself, “I visited the very farthest limits of the Chinese empire.”

*This is probably Thibet. Koreans today believe that Thibet is governed by a female line of rulers.

- Probably some part of the present Siam.

: Called in Chinese pan-sa-kok, “Coiled Snake Valley.” because of a whorl of mountains back of the city, which is entered by a single narrow pass and the path. inside, curves about like a oiled snake.

§ So called because a stream flowed by the place whose waters were poisonous and would cause swift death.   [page 243]

He tells another anecdote of his return journey from western China. He stopped for some days to rest at a famous monastery in Su-ju. The priests were poor and the monastery in great need of repairs; so instead of paying for his lodging, Ch’oe Ch’i-wun wrote an essay, or a poem rather, which circulated through all that part of China and brought in ample contributions from the people, to effect all the repairs. A very bald translation of his letter is as follows:

“I came 7,000 li, from Korea, and then went 10,000 li more to help put down the rebellion. Now on my way back I am stopping to rest at this monastery. I seem to have had the help of Buddha in my work and I feel as if he had saved me and led me here. This monastery was made in the early days of this present Tang dynasty but now I find it broken by the elements and the snow and rain beat in. The person of the Buddha will be injured and the monks are in danger of having no place in which to sleep. It is not meet that the Buddha should suffer such indignity nor that the monks should be in want. I must help them if I can, for I long to repay the kindness I have received here. As this monastery was built by an early emperor of the still ruling line a kindness shown to it will be honoring the ancestor of the present emperor. Heaven has led me here and laid upon me the duty of helping. The surrounding mountains, the flowing waters, the sights and sounds of this place are delightful and for the sake of future wayfarers like myself it is my hope that those who see this may contribute liberally of their means to put it in repair. 

“This circular letter elicited a host of answers, several of which have been preserved. One of them says;

“I have seen the letter of Ch’oe Ch’i-wun in regard to mending the “purple palace” (monastery ). It revives the joys by our ancestors and wakes to life the source of pleasant memories. I give you a thousand thanks, and according to my poor ability I will aid the good work.”

Another says:— “If a man beholds a tree with jade leaves and golden branches he cannot but admire. It is a thing of beauty. The cooling shade, the lustrous flowers, these are what men love in the Spring. The flowers too are conscious of the joy they give and blush at the praise of their own beauty. This grand mansion has come down for many [page 244] generations and has garnered the love of many men. Its age makes venerable the name of the emperor’s ancestors. You stopped there and Buddha blessed you. This blessing was not only yours but it was for the whole empire. For it to be in ruins is as sad as a personal catastrophe. I cannot but give as best I may.”

Another tells us that though he have to sell all his houses and lands he will find a way to help the good work.

If this incident is authentic, as it seems to be since it is found in Ch’oe Chi-wun’s own works, we shall not be able to look upon him as a determined enemy of Buddhism. In fact Confucianism and Buddhism approach the human mind from such opposite directions that they do not come in contact with each other in the ordinary intelligence. A Korean may be a Buddhist and a Confucianist at one and the same time without seeing anything incongruous about it. I incline to the opinion that these two cults come into antagonism only when they become the shibboleths of political factions. Red and white were not enemies until the war of the Roses. Buddhism first entered Korea as a state religion and it always had great political significance. Confucianism came in as a literary cult and found Buddhism already strongly intrenched. As literature rapidly became the test of official competency a collision was inevitable but what we urge is that this conflict was not intrinsically a religious one but rather a factional one.

On his return to Korea he brought many Chinese books and was well received by the king of Silla. He started in as a reformer and suggested many changes, among which, according to several of the leading histories of the time, were suggestions as to the better government of the people, the adoption of several Chinese customs, the lessening of the severity of the punishments inflicted upon criminals and the adoption of the Chinese style of dress. He also urged the adoption of the Chinese names of political offices. At first the king listened to him but soon he found that his suggestions were in advance of his times and that the other officials were so jealous of him that his advice was violently opposed at every turn. He memorialized the king saying “Kye-run is like a yellow leaf and Song-ak Mountain (at Song-do) is like a green pine tree.” This meant that Silla was to fall, as [page 245] Kye-rim was another name for Silla, and that Koryu was about to be founded. He therefore retired to the fastnesses of Kaya Mountain to a place called Hong-yu-dong and became practically a hermits There a few followers sought him out and attended him. At this time, he wrote in regard to his hermitage the following poem which is considered by Koreans to be beautiful. The accompanying free translation does no justice to the poem.

“As I lie in my house built over the stream, and listen to the distant cock-crow, I know that morning is at hand.

“The wind sways the branches of the willow tree and the reflection of the moon upon the rippling water makes a glistening bridge across the stream.

“Both up and down the stream I hear the call of the early fishermen.

“But in the gray light of dawn I cannot tell whether yonder white objects are men or the flowers of the reed plant.”

High up on the side of the mountain there is a wide flat stone like a terrace or ledge and here tradition says that Ch’oe Chi-wun played at pa-dok with the sin-sun or genius of the mountain and according to the Yu-ji Seung-nam his name is carved there on the side of the ledge, as well as some of his most celebrated sayings. Near a bridge in that vicinity, called Mu-reung Bridge, there is a high cliff on which in inscribed one of his sayings,

Which seems to mean that the water falling over the precipice without any conscious effort makes the whole valley to resound with its roar so that even though people stand beside each other not a word can be heard. This is interpreted to mean that the commotion and senseless turmoil of Silla politics makes it impossible to hear the voice of reason.

At Tok-su-dang Ch’oe Chi-wun spent some time, and it it said that one day he took off his hat and shoes and hid them in the bushes, and then disappeared forever. The [page 246] monks of Ha-in Monastery said he had probably gone up the mountain and become a deity. His picture was placed in a shrine at Tok-su-dang and is said to be there still.

While he was in hiding he wrote much, and this together with all that can be recovered of his earlier writings were collected into a book of twenty volumes called Kye-Wun P’il-gyong (桂 苑筆耕) or “The Pen-plow of Kye-wun.” a most expressive title. Kye-wun was another of Ch’oe’s literary names. We have examined an abbreviated edition of this work in four volumes, two of which are unfortunately lacking. The two that we have contain (1) Ch’oe Chi-wun’s challenge to the enemy of China to come out and fight. (2) His letter calling back Cho Chang(趙 章) who had been defeated by the northern barbarian. Whang-so (黄巢 ) (3) His travels and his mustering of soldiers in China. (4) His orders to the soldiers. (5) His answer to a letter from Governor Chu(周) of Ch’ul-su about the war (6) Answer to a letter from Governor Wang (王) of Kang-su about the war. (7) Answer to a letter form Governor Si Pu(時溥) of Su-ju about the war. (8) Answer to a letter of General Kweng (郄) of Yang Yang. (9) A letter to Governor Chu Po (周寶) of Chul-su about the war. (10) A letter of General Ch’o (焦) who was defending Chul-su. (11) A letter to the prefect of Che-ju (in China, about the war. (12) A letter to an official in Sung-in about the war (13,14,15 etc to 30) Letters to the officials in various towns about the war.

Then follow twenty-five more letters relating to the war. Some of them announce victories, others are calls for troops, others are for the forwarding of supplies, and others still for various purposes, and these are supplemented by twenty-five more on practically the same themes.

We then have fifteen missives which contain congratulations to the Emperor on his birthday, or a few lines bearing upon some festive occasion, or even the “libretto” for some Buddhist ceremony. Also, after a victory, the sacrificial ritual to the five elements or directions, north, south, east, west and middle; the ritual for a sacrifice; upon the building of a fortress; also for a funeral ceremony in honor of fallen generals; upon the moving of a great statesman’s shrine; also an autograph letter. He wrote also the preface to a book of pic-[page 247] tures of the Na Fortrees in western China, and a monograph on what he saw on his travels in Annam.

After these come ten memorials to the Emperor of China on various unimportant subjects, and thirty short poems of twenty-eight characters each on soldiers, weapons, pottery, self-control, snow, bird shooting, military discipline, military tactics, good localities, tigers, fortresses; shrines in Annam, archery, Annam, the road to Ch’un-wi, the narrow road to Ch’ak-ku, monuments erected on victorious battle fields, generals, seals, etc., etc., etc.,

Then follow forty-five more letters carrying greetings to the Emperor, encouraging other generals and announcing victories, followed by forty poems about various interesting localities and a miscellaneous collection of other subjects.

The Japanese Occupation of Seoul: May, 1592

It was on a foggy morning, the 13th of the fourth moon of the twenty-fifth year of Kong Sun-jo (1592) the Konishi’s forces landed at Fusan. On the following day they took the town. As they attacked the town of Tong-na at day-break of the 15th they must have started from Fusan on the 14th. From Tong-na they proceeded northward through Yang-san, Mi-ryang, Ch’ung-do, Ta-gu, In-dong, Son-san, Sang-ju, Mun-kyung, Ch’ung-ju, Yu-ju and Yang-geun, and crossing the Han River at Yong-jin they entered Seoul by the East Gate at day-break of the 3rd of the fifth moon. This date is unquestionably the right one, for one of the leading ministers of the time, Yu Sung-yung, states this plainly in the Cheung-bi-rok (懲毖錄) Vol, I, p. 21; and another witness, Yi Wun-ik, also mentions it in his diary, O-ri Ili-gi, (梧里 日記) Vol, I, p. i. The Yul-y Keui-sul (燃梨記述) Vol XI, the Kuk-cho Po-gam (國朝寶鑑) Vol. XXX, p, 6, the Cho-ya Chip^yo (朝 野楫要) Vol. XXXI, and the Cko-ya Wke-t ong (朝野會通) Vol. VI all agree in this. We thus see that Konishi’s army accomplished the march from Fusan to Seoul in nineteen days.  [page 248]

Kato’s force disembarked at Fusan on the 17th of the fourth moon, or four days later than Konishi. The route which he took for Seoul was a different one from that used by Konishi. He went north by way of Chang-gi, Keui-jang, Su-yung, Ul-san, Kyong-ju, Yung-ch’un, Sim-yung, Eui-heung, Kun-wi, Pi-an, and Yong-gung, and joined Konishi at Mun-gyung on the 27th. They both took part in the battle of T’an-geum-da, after which they separated again at Ch’ung-ju, Kato going by way of Chuk-san and Yong-in. He crossed the Han River at Tong-jak-chin and entered Seoul by the South Gate on the 3rd of the 5th moon, the same day that Konishi entered the city.

Sei-gwai Sin-si (征外新誌) a Japanese work which gives the full description of this invasion, quoting Tai-ko-ki (太園記) states that Kato’s entrance into Seoul was believed by some to have been a day later than that of Konishi [Vol. III, p, 5], but judging from the fact that it was not till the 2nd that Konishi arrived on the southern bank of the Han River, the statement of the Tai-ko-ki seems incredible.