The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-30
THE KOREAN CAPITAL
City Of Seoul and It's 10000
TRatched Houses.
THE WALL NINE MILES LONG
The Probable Fate of the Rich New
York Maiden Who is About to En-.
dow an Attachee with Herself
copyrighted 1888 by Frank G. Carpenter

lCopyrighted 1883 by Frank 6. Carpenter !
SEOUL, KOREA, November Both, 1885,
Especial correspondence of The HER
AID The Koreans are the rsrest birds
in the AWAY of humanity. 1 first
came into contact with them last Jan
nary. The King had sent his first lega-
ton to Washington. 1 was at the
capital acting as the correspondent of
the New York World. The legation
sYooped down upon our court circles
in their big hats and their gorgeous
gowns. They used the whole of the
Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalk for
their promenade, and their first sp-
pearanoe upon the street brought out
as many darkies and small boys as a
circus procession. They were the sem
sation of the day. The society bellies
hung upon them at the Presidents re-
eeption, and books on Korea sold like
hot cakes. Little, however, had been
Published, and the newspapers, with all
their enterprise, contained but scanty
paragraphs. The embassy had landed
st San Francisco, and had come directly
across the continent. Various at
Tempts had been made by the news
papers along the line to get photo
graphs of the minister and his at
tsches, but his highness, PAX Chung
Yang, had shut his almond eyes when
asked to look into the camera, and his
suite had to all requests bobbed their
pig-tailed heads in q decided negative.
The legation first stopped at the
Ebbit House. called upon them the
night they arrived, and had an inter
view with q Korean noble, who spoke
English, and with Or. Allen, the able
American secretary of the legation.
These talks were telegraphed to the
World, and they duly appeared the
next day.
The photographs were different
matter. When l suggested having
Allen said that they were too busy
and the Koreans, smoothing theiI
gorgeous gowns down over the bustles
of their abdomens, replied that the
thing was impossible. Still, it was
Friday, and the Sunday paper had tC
have an illustrated letter on the lega-
ton. The almighty dollar and the
pencil of bright young artist solved
the problem.
He took dinner that night at the
Ebbit House, and his table was just
next that of the big-hatted Koreans
He carried his sketch book with him
and he turned out a number of excel
lent character sketches between the
bites. These were sent that night tt
New York. They duly appeared IN thu
next Sundays World, and they were
the first pictures of Korean mobiles
which had uB to that time been pub
lished in an American newspaper.
This was ten months ago.
l had then no idea that would eYel
visit Korea. 1t seemed the jumping of
spot of the end of the world. 1t wa
known as the hermit kingdom, and wa
the last of the unknown lands. ran
sacked the national library to find thu
material for the two column articl,
which accompanied my sketches.
was told that the only book that CAV
any information about the country wa
written by man who had never beer
there, and Pooie's index showed tina
the magazines had published nothin
to speak of concerning it. All authori
ties, however, agreed that it was
6lEdukO lAuus NOW L dI4 ASIG III IL
capital, and | find it far stranger thai
the books have painted it. verify be
lieve it is the queerest country on tn
face OF this very queer world.
leTe is it?
Well, the question is worth asking
Our State Department, in the letters
sci during the making of our treat
of six years ago, referred to it as tn
"Island of Korea" and g leadin
statesman, upon being offered the posi-
ton of minister to Korea, had to con
TESS to himself that he did not kno7
where the land was. One of the gre q
mission boards, which is popularly SUP
posed to know every nation and tribe
as its own children, directed one of it
young men in going to Korea, TO Ian
at Yokohama, Japan, and take tn
railroad for Nagasakia.
Here" wrote the dIvines in their e1
plicit directions, you will probabl
have to rest over night, but on the fol
lowing day you can take the cars TO
Korea, and you had better check you
baggage for Seoul, the capital"
A look at the map of Asia will sho'
how ridiculous these statements were
and when it is remembered that ther
is yet no railroad covering the hundred
of miles between Yokohama and Ma
gasaki, and that from Nagasaki t
Korea is sea voyage of several day.
the matter will be appreciated. On
learned State Department has Ion
since found out that Korea is not q
island, but a peninsula, and the mi
sionaries have gained such foothol
that their enemies last June excite
almost a revolution by spreading th
stories that they were feeding the
Christian stomachs on Korean babie
and that they also killed the childre
that they might grind up their eyes t
make medicine and materials for photo
graphic use. But more of this anon,
Let us take look at Korea.
1t Is a peninsula of about the sam
shape as Florida or Italy, and it hans
down into the Pacific Ocean from ii
northeast ledge of China and the lowe
eastern edge of Russian Siberia. b
tween it and China is the dirty, l,bois tie
Gus Yellow Sea, which takes day a.
a night by steamer to cross, and i
lower coast is about an equal distant
from the western edge of Japan.
has IL 900 miles of sea coast, and i