Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-09-07

NN~ Hs~eAts
iheir staple article Of food Ia of
course rice Rice Is legal tender n
corea. Almost all salaries and nav.
ments are estimated in bags OF rice
besides this there IL beef. and fab and
poultry There il peculiar kind ~
pickle resembling sauer-kraut which
goes by the name OF ..kinebi y ana
while 1t i rather offensive 70 ordinary
oiiactofies II ii not more 40 than tho
famous German dish. The Co-a.ns
est their food highly seasoned With red
pepper. and the brightest spots in a
eorean landscape are the roofs ~
houses covered with red pepper which
are put there to dry in the sun.
In regard TO the position and social
slatus 81 women the most various ideas
prevail. 1t is true that the women =,
porea are secluded, but not more IN
lhan III some more favored empires
Turkey. for instance, shows us a vastly
more pitiable state Of things in this re-
'pect than Corea. Women are mt
slaves here, as they have been pictured
Their seclusion is in some sensa a
blessing to them. Their lack of secln-
sion In Japan has led to the mos.
ieno- alizing results in that country
II LIS impossible that women sbould
Dc regarded with the same chivalr;c
spirit here that they are in the en-
lightencd countries, and their secIu-
hon Is painful necessity rather than
IN evidence Of tyranny. And vet, as
have said, women are not nearly an
'ecluded here as they are in Turkey.
1t Is only women Of the highest classes
hat are allowed to be seen by any man
excepting her husband and father-in-
'aw. Thousands of women can be .een
IN the streets OF Seoul in broad day at
any time. In walking on any street
here a good proportion of the people
You meet are women. Many belonging
70 the middle class have sort Of apron
brown over the head and held in front
of the mouth. leaving a space through
Thlch they can see and be seen.
Women of the lower class, the com
mon working class, go entirely I'M
,ailed.
One can not but be struck by the evil
dences OF happy family life On every
side. As the sun is setting and the
evening meal is being prepared the
father sits out in front of his house
snoking his pipe and holding his little
-on or daughter on his lap while he
ellis stories and quaint legends. The
evident affection and confidence be-
ween parent and child are beautiful to
see, and one feels that these ignorant
people would not exchange their hum
bic cottage ard their quiet life for
mansion on Fifth avenue in New York.
The Coreans are singularly mild ard
inoffensiye people Their language
contains no stronger epithet of hatred
or anger than "Meechin-nom,~ which
means crazy fellow. One can go TO
any part Of the city or country at any
time without the least fear of molesta-
ton and you never hear OF knock
down fight or murder. The criminal
class is extremely small, and vagrancy
and mendicancy are almost unknown.
Now all these points have been brought
up against these people, and they do
not bear the light of investigation.
But no one seems to have mentioned
the one great social evil of Corea, and
one which must surely be changed be
fore Corea can fairly begin any such
progress as Japan has made.
This evil has to do with the recog-
nized rule of all enlightened nations
that the individual must be secure In
the lawful possession of his own prop
erty. and he must be allowed to accu-
mulate property. In Corea the strong
prey upon the weak. For instance,
when man is made an official. which
is the highest ambition of the Corean.
certain extent of territory is
allotted to him. From that terri
tory he is required to send certain
number of bags of rice to the granary
of the central government, and for him
self he has all the rest that he can
squeeze out of the population. His
power is unlimited in his own district.
and he can seize any ones property
and appropriate it. II he be unscrupu-
lous he uses this power to an extent
that is monstrous in its injustice.
He hears of man who has saved a
score of bags OF rice over and above
what his family needs for the season
Soon his minious come down on the
mans lawful savings and sweep the
whole away, leaving simply enough
for the man to struggle through the
year with.
Can any thing be more deadening to
enterprise and thrift than this? Who
can blaze them for saying: We will
raise just enough rice TO live on and
no more; for why should we accumu-
late property to be swept away?
When | was about TO discharge one of
NV servants he came to ME and said
that he had saved some fifty dollars
while in my service, and that when he
went away from my place the servants
of the local magistrates would take
every dollar of it away from him, and
he was willing to stay nomlnally IN my
employ without wages rather than go'
1t was only by securing him employ
ment with another foreigner that l
saved him from being deprived OF his
earnings.
OF course such system is a deadly