The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-30

has but few naviguble streams. II has
some large cities, and its population, SO
Judge o. N. Denny, the foreign ad-
wiser to the King, tells me, is about
10 600 600. 1t has thus not quite one
third the population OF Great Britain,
and its area is nearly as great as that of
the land of John Bull. 1t approx
mates in size our States of Kansas,
Minnesota or Oregon.
1t is an old country.
Korean scholars go back almost to
the food in their traditions, and the
laud was conquered by China as far
back as 1136 B. @. In the wear 1926
Chinese army invaded Korea, and
Korea bought peace by paying tribute.
Theo promised to give 100 ounces of
gold, 10 600 bags of rice, 2 000 rolls of
silk, 10000 rolls of linen, 500 rolls of
cotton, 1000 rolls of paper, 1000 knives,
LOCO OK horns, 200 pounds of dye wood,
100 tiger skins, 100 deer skins. 400 seal
skins, and 200 blue rat skins every
year. For generations an embassy Of
Koreans started from the place | am
now writing and carried these presents
to the Emperor at Peking. The en-
bassy goes still, but the amount of
tribute has been lessened. China now
claims that Korea is her vassal, and the
leading political issue between the two
countries is as to whether she should
be regarded as such or as a tributary
power. The latter, according to history
and international law, seems to be the
true position. The land is kingdom
of itself, and it has its international
rights. It stands towards China merely
as debtor to creditor, and President
Cleveland has recognized PAX Chung
Yang, the representative of the Kor-
can King as standing on the same foot
ing at Washington as the Emperor of
China himself.
The King of Korea is as despotic in
his powers as the boy Emperor of the
Chinese. He rules the land with rod
of iron. His nod can slice of an ear
or head, and when he asks to borrow
none of his nobility would be so foolish
as to refuse to lend. His people are
somewhat like the Chinese were CEN
fury ago. 1t is the land of feudalism.
There are mobiles who do nothing and
the people who are squeezed by them
out of everything they make.
Speaking of the Kings borrowing
calls attentio to a story which is now
exciting Korean society, both foreign
and native. 1t is that one of the at
taches of the legation at Washington
has fallen in love with New York girl
said to be worth 100000. The two
are reported here as engaged, aud the
speculations as to what shall be done
with the girls 81 600, 900 are numerous.
One of the foreign ladies think the
match good one for Korea. "For."
says she, 1.-THE King can borrow this
mans 81, 100000 and pay of his debt to
China, and Korea will be free"
but what of the GIRL" said 1, land
her husband? They may refuse to
lend"
"Such a thing is not conceivable, "
was the emphatic reply. 1.-The King
owns all Korea, and his subjects are al
ways glad to be honored by such re-
quests. They would not expect repay
ment of thu debt. but he would give
them an Office out of which they could
squeeze a good living. The girl might
be taken into the palace and her hus-
band would be a yang ban with a CAPT
tally"
The yang ban or nyang ban are the
nobility of Korea. They own the lands
and hold the offices. 1t is disgrace
to them to work, and their chief en-
ployment seems to be swinging along
the streets with pompous stride o.
squatting On their heels and smoking
pipes which are so long-stemmed tha'
they have to have some one to ligh
them for them. tits question whether
the Korean, whose love is reciprocateG
by our New York beauty, is of thi'
class. AS l remember him, he is no
strikingly noble in feature, and my ad
vice to the young lady is, if she ha'
any serious intentions of marriage, Il
insist upon a trip to Korea before thu
engagement is consummated. WheI
she sees the royal palace of her almond
eyed Claude Melnotte looking out upoI
its Korean Lake of Como, which sh,
will find to be a sewer gutter a foo
wide and six inches deep, she will begin
to repent. When the palace with it
perfumed lights has sunken into ;
matched one-story hut before her dis
gusted eyes, her heart will grow sicl
within her, and when on inqnirlDg a
to her household establishment, she
told that she will have narrow quarter
at the back of the hut, and her chic
occupation will be in ironing the clothe
of her lord and master by pounding
them with a club, her love, alas, may be
gin to wan. l give this advice out o
pure friendship for an American girl
l do not know the young ladies' name
but her lover is not among the ricl
men of Korea, and the conditions
have described are those of the middl
class.
J Korea is remarkably poor. Ninety
nine hundredths of the people liv
from hand to mouth, and in this CAPT
tel of the country, where the riches
are supposed to live, there is not a two
story residence, and the most of th
houses are huts of mud and ston
J matched with straw. Seoul ha
300 0C0 people. 1t is bigger than Wash
ington, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pitt!
. burg, Minneapolis or Kansas City, an
. the wall which surrounds it is twenty
five feet high, thirty feet thick at tn
. base and nine miles in length. The cit
IS twe-and- a-half miles long and thre
miles wide, and among its tens of thou
, sands of residences there is not doze
over nine feet high. Pare all the house
of Cincinnati down to nine feet an
how would they look?