The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-23
They Live in Closer Seclusion than Turk.
ish Women and Have Few Rights
Respected by the Men.
A COREAN WOMAN'S DRESS
The Original Divided Skirt and
How the COrean Dame Wears 1t.
Eleven ear-Old Matrons aud Sixty
Year-0ld Babies-Punishment In
f1icted Upon U~nfaithful Wives.

copyrighted, 1894, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
The present war in Corea is bound to
better the condition of her women. 1t could
not be worse than ii Is. The 100000 women
OF the country are practically slaves. They
are bound to their husbands with letters
OF iron. which only the men can loosen.
They dare not go upon the streets. Their
quarters are kept for them in the backs of
the houses. and the best Of the Corean
wives would commit suicide If a stranger
OF the other sex rudely put his hands upon
her. Many of these women are actually
slaves. They have been bought, and they
can be whipped If they do not obey. Little
Is known about the condition of Corean
w~omanhood. The lines are so strict as to
their being seen upon the street, or as to
their coming INTO contact with any but
their own sex, that such travel letters and
books as have been written concerning
Corea contain but little about them. Only
the women of the lower classes go out of
the house, except in closed chairs. and
those whom you see with their faces un-
covered are generally slaves. Now and
then a common woman goes about the
streets Of Seoul with a green cloak over her
head. She holds this close to her face,
ACaFAh6 a CEdCk Out " Wulcn OUt eye
peeps, and If she meets a man on a country
road she runs There are, indeed, three
different classes of women in Corea. the
upper, the middle and the lower classes.
The upper class are usually the. daugh-
tiers OF mobiles. They marry mobiles. and If
tteir husbands can afford it, which is not
often. they nave slaves to do all the work
for them, and they lead lives of compare
tive idleness. The dress of all classes is
practically the same, but that of the upper
GLASSES is made of much more expensive
material. 1t Is a very unbecoming dress.
The Coresn women are not, as a rule,
beautiful. and this dress does not add to
their looks. My interpreter, General PAX,
who has a wife,, a ~concubine or so and two
or three female slaves, has given me- the
details. The Corean lady starts i'm with
a divided skirt This consists of a pair of
very full drawers, which fall in folds about
her feet, and which. If stretched upwards,
would have room to spare when being
gathered about the neck. The top of these
drawers has a band fully eight inches
wide. and this Is fastened tightly over
the breast by a white ribbon drawstring,
which Is tied IN front. This garmen is
always white. and it is fastened SO tight
that the band cuts into the flesh at the
back, and among the lower classes often
runs below the breast, leaving 1t exposed.
Above this band and just meeting ID there
is a little jacket with long sleeves. This
Jacket Is not more than six inches long, /
judge. 1t is sometimes of yellow, green
or blue. and at other times of white.
HOW 1T IS PUT TOGETHER.
1t is tied together with ribbons Of the
same color as the jacket. and it is so scanty
that a great sunburned streak, an inch
wide, shines out below the shoulder blades
of such women as get into the sun. The
drawers are not tied at the ankle. They
narrow down as they fall to the feet, and
below them the woman wears stockings of
wadded white cotton. These make her feet
look about five sizes larger than they are,
and the winter stocking is half an inch
thick. 1t is more like a boot than a shoe.
and it extends only about two inches above
the ankle. The Corean lady wears no shoes
while at home. She trots about in her
stocking feet. and the poorer classes go
barefooted. When she gees out she puts on
Slippers of rabbit skin faced with silk.
Some OF these are very pretty, but they
look uncomfortable, and are quite heavy.
They have soles OF oxhide. which are nailed
on To the slipper with iron pegs, the heads
of which are as large around as that of a
ten-penny nail, and they are clumsy in the
extreme. In addition to these. divided skirts,
or aver she has overpants of white.
which are very full, and reach from the
armpits to the knees, and over the whole
she wears a cloak-like gown, which falls to
her feet. and which is tied on with ribbon.
This practically makes up the costume of a
Corean lady. 1t usually consists OF good
material. and often of silk. The younger
women are fond Of red. The m~iddle-aged
affect blue and the widows always wear
white. which is the color of mourning.
I like the way the Corean women comb
their hair. They part it in the middle. and
put it up in a coil on the nape Of the
neck. They wear the biggest hairpins Of
their sex the world over. The average one
is as thick as your little finger, and is
about five inches long. 1t is of gold, silver,
or amber. and 1t is a poor woman, indeed.
who does rot own one or two of these
pins She Is fond of jewelry. and she likes
finger rings. though she has her own way
OF wearing them. The custom is to have
two rings ON the third finger Of the right
hand. With such rings, and a hairpin or
so. and the above dress. she considers her
self decked out, provided her face and eye
brows are properly touched up. All Corean
women paint. They cover the face with
white and dash their lips with red. They
use India ink to mark the line of the eye
brows. and they are very particular that
this line should be very delicate. n
arched in conformity with the line of
Asiatic beauty. This is supposed TO be
a curve like that OF a line OF swans flying
in the sky. and with a pair OF tweezers
she pulls out the hairs Of her eyebrows
until they approach her IDEAL. She Is also
by no means ayerse to hair oil. and her
locks usually shine like creased ebony.
DAILY LIFE OF THE WOMEN.
The daily life Of one of the Corean ladies
Is interesting. She rises with the sun and
spends an hour at her toilet. She is wait
ed upon by her own slaves, and her rooms,
In the winter time, have fires built under
them. so that her bare feet fall upon a
warm floor. In nine cases out Of ten she
sleeps on this floor. and while she Is max
ing her toilet she squats upon it before a
little looking-glass. Her breakfast is
brought into the room to her. 1t is served
OF a Corean table about as big around
and as high as a half-bushel measure. She
sits on her heels while she eats it, and
her table furniture consists Of a spoon and
a pair OF chop-sticks. The food is served
IN brass bowls. She has no tablecloth. and