Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1877-12-01
A STRANGE COUNTRY.

, ASTRANGE COUNTRY.
Descriptiea Of Cerea- -Pecsliarlsies sf q
!. People and Other IRtcreatinH Iufprssl
sien absut Them and Their Country.
Oorea is vast peninsula of the Oh
nese empire, lying between the Yello
Sea and the Sea Of Japan, and althoug
its exact area has never been decided,
is estimated in round numbers to b
about six hundred miles long and on
hundred and thirty miles in width, e1
cepting on the extreme NORTH, beyon
the peninsula proper, where it measure
about two hundred and fifty miles. ]
has rock-bound coast, is highly pic
turesque and is bounded on The US
and south by many small islands, witt
one that is forty miles long and with
mountain upon it six Thousand feet high
It's name is Quelpart, famous as tn
scene of many shipwrecks, and its in
habitants live by agriculture and fishing
The whole surface Of the Corea peninsul,
is mountainous, some Of the higher ele
vations being always covered with snow
and while the Northern portion abound,
in forests Of pine and fir, and is sparsel,
populated, the southern part has but few
trees and is to great extent cultivated
but often sterile, and it is watered by
rivers as we'll MS 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 tewns 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
a 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 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
nese language, and consider Russia the
greatest power in the world. The coun-
try is divided into eight nrevinces, each
one having governor, and its ruler is
king whose despotism is unlimited, and
who claims that his kingdom has existed
for 486 years. The officers of the gov
are exceedingly numerous, and
the annual expenses out of all prspor-
lion to the revenue, which is limited and
uncertain. The country was once sub
iugated 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 voluntary
tribute to China, and is bound to Japan |
by the only treaty it has made in modern
times.
The prevailing language, of which |
little is known, is allied to the Chinese,
and is only written by the higher classes.
The people have a few books, which are !
printed from wooden blocks they pro-
duce pictures on screens, which are
generally in India ink, but sometimes
highly colored and their printed poetry |
is very limited. They boast of their
civilization, calling America and other
western countries "cross-lettercd coun.
tries, and they claim that the only
regions where the people are as ad-
Vanced as themselves are Japan, China
md Loochoo. On the other hand, one
If the foreign officers who lately visited
Corea summed up his opinion of the |
kingdom in these words: The upper
classes crush the lower classes by their
,ruelty the lower classes deceive their
,fiicial superiors by calumny and fiat.
cry and because both classes are hypo-
rites, discord and disorder are the order
# the day."
The commerce of Corea is limited,
although it's capabilities are great, and
is chief productions are rice, silk of an
Inferior quality, good cotton and linen
'loths, skins, millet, paper, pottery and
porcelain, various kinds of drugs, in
'luling ginseng, black variety of tobac-
%, the oil of gonna, fish Of various kinds,
md, what is rather uncommon in the
ar East, an abundance of good beef.
Minerals are said to exist in abundance.
Many of the hills are without any vege-
alton, which fact gives. color to the
opinion that there is much mineral
wealth. But the iron mines are NIL that
re now worked copper, gold and
liver, if they exist, are yet untouched,
With the exception of little gold dust,
which has been annually sent to China.
indeed, the people have kind of super
tition against the percpus metals,
I'D have a contempt for jewelry orna-
nents. The copper and tin used in the
ountry come from Japan, and out of the
ormer are made the only two coins used
q the realm. There is undoubtedly
much coal in the country, and although
vood is very scarce coal does not seem to
'e appreciated.
The Coreans, in their persons, are a
talwart race, claim to be warlike, and
they have number of we'll
fortresses their army is small.
The prevailing religion is Buddhism,
mt the temples are comparatively few,
nd none of them are noted for their
'eauty, as in Japan and China. Like
he Chinese, they keep their women &C.
1,,5od fv,,,, kho ~xono ~ ckrovrooru kbox, |