The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1877-11-28
A STRANGE COUNTRY.
Description of Corea- PecuIiarities Of the
People and Other Interesting Iuforma-
tion about Them and Their Country.

Description of COrea- -PecuIIarities Of the
People and Other Interesting Iuforma-
tion about Them and Their Country.
Corea is a vast peninsula of the Chi.
nese empire, lying between the Yellow
Sea and the Sea Of Japan, and although
its exact area has never been decided, it
is estimated in round numbers TO be
about six hundred miles long and one
hundred and thirty miles in width, ex-
cepting on the extreme north, beyond
the peninsula proper, where itmeasures
about two hundred and fifty miles. 1t
has rock-bound coast, is highly pic
turesque and is bounded on the west
and south by many small islands, with
one that is forty miles long and with u
mountain upon it six Thousand feet high.
Its name is Quelpart, famous as the
scene of many shipwrecks, and its in
habitants live by agriculture and fishing.
The whole surface of the Corea peninsula
is mountainous, some of the higher ele-
vations being always covered with snow,
and while the northern portion abounds
in forests of pine and fir, and is sparsely
populated, the southern part has but few
trees and is to a great extent cultivated,
but often sterile, and it is watered by
rivers as well as many smaller streams.
The population is estimated to be about
five millions, almost universally poor,
and, from famine and pestilence, is said
to be on the decrease. The towns and
villages are chiefly located in the south,
and the houses are not only small and
rude, but very much scattered. The
national capital is Kingkiato, and is To-
Gated near the centre of the kingdom, on
the river Kiang, and is surrounded with
wall of masonry five miles in extent.
The only buildings in it honored with
tiled roofs, excepting the kings resi-
dence, are single temple and one gov
ernment department. The fortified por-
tion of the city, which holds the kings
castle, is quite imposing There is a
high wall, built with cut stone, but with
out a moat, and open spaces are left for
guns, or for archers, who do the prin-
cipal fighting in times of war. The
houses outside the castle gates are all
thatched and built after one general
pattern, and the rural homes are about
as desolate as many of the inhabitants
are shiftless and improvident.
Their mode of paying taxes is to work
for the government three months in
every year. The people are barbarous
and indolent, know little of the Chi
neso language. and consider Pnosia tno
ry greqtest 1t power in the world rRs each
one having governor, and its ruler is
king whose despotism is unlimited, and
who claims that his kingdom has existed
for 1856 years. Tho officers Of the gov
ernment are exceedingly numerous, and
the annual expenses out of all proper.
ton to the revenue, which is limited and
uncertain. The country was once sub.
jugated by the Tartars, then passed un'
der the control of China, was conquered
by Japan in 1892 under the leadership
of an empress, and now pays n voluntary
tribute to China, and is bound to Japar
by the only treaty it has madein modern
| times.
The prevailing language, Of whicl
| little is known, is allied to the Chinese
and is only written by the higher classes
The people have few books, which are
printed from wooden blocks they pro
duce pictures on screens, which arr
generally in India ink, but sometimes
highly colored and their printed poetry
is very limited. They boast Of theil
civilization, calling America and othel
western countries "cross-lettered coun
tries," and they claim that the onl!
regions where the people are as ad
vanced as themselves are Japan, Chin
and Loochoo. On the other hand, on,
of the foreign officers who lately visite'
,Corea summed up his opinion of tn
kingdom in these words "The uppel
classes crush the lower classes by thei
cruelty the lower classes deceive thei
official superiors by calumny and fiat
terry and because both classes are hypo
critics, discord and disorder are the orde
of the day"
The commerce of Corea is limited
although its capabilities are great, an
its chief productions are rice, silk of a
inferior quality, good cotton and line
cloths, skins, millet, paper, pottery an
porcelain, various kinds Of drugs, in
cluling ginseng, black variety of tobat
co, the oil of gonna, fish of various kinds
and, what is rather uncommon in tn
far East, an abundance of good bee
Minerals are said to exist in abundance
Many of the hills are without any vegt
tation, which fact gives color to- tn
opinion that there is much miners
wealth. But the iron mines are all thu
are now worked /; copper, gold an
silver, if they exist, are yet untouched
with the exception of little gold dus
which has been annually sent to Chini
Indeed, the people have kind of supe,
stition against the percious metal'
ard have contempt for jewelry orni
ments. The copper and tin used in I'll
country come from Japan, and out Of IL
former are made the only two coins use
in the realm. There is undoubted
much coal in the country, and althoug
wood is very scarce coal does not seem
be appreciated.
The Coreans, IN their persons, are
: L i. L.. l.. z.-c.. nx