Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-16
A TALK ABOUT KOREA
NOT MUCH DANGER OF A WAR OVER
 THIS HERMIT NATION.
Interview With a Former Head of the Lega- tion-what the Country Amounts To-An Ignorant and Contented PeopIe-stories Told by Missionaries.
Special Correspondence.l

great deal of ignorance about Korea and no wonder" said Hon. Hugh Dinsmorc, 'for 1t is but yesterday, as it were, that any intelligent foreigner penetrated the coun- try. l reached there in 1887 and took charge of the legation on the lst of April, and at that date there wero only vague ideas about 1t prevalent in tho western world. And yet their civilization, such as 1t is, dates back to the twelfth century before Christ. A Chinese prince and his followers who wcre dissatisfied with things in their own country, crossed over and subdued part of Kaoli, as the aborig- necS called tho country, and founded a civilization which has endured with very few changes to the present. The original people were Mongolians and the Chinese who went thcrc were of tho old stock so the present race Is pretty nearly or quite purc Mongolian, of the old kind Alta com paratively recent date the Chinese were called in by the Korcans to help them ex- pei tho Japanese and so China acquired a nominal sovereignty. In no long time this became what is called a mere suze- rainty, and tho tribute was only nominal Finally it amounted to nothing moro than ayearly exchange of presents, accompanied with embassies, between tho king of Korea and the emperor of China For many cen turics korca was called the Hermit Nation and was the most isolated of all tho eastern nations which had made any advance at nll and the point to be noted as bearing on tho present difficulty thcrc Is that China made treaty with Korca in exactly the same terms as with any other independent nation, and so acquired tho right to main tain legation thcrc. This consider a surrender of all the old claims of China
 A Hit of History.
 Well, about 260 years ago. the Roman T.s .rs .N.n. and began to make converts, but in the course of time the native government be- came very severe on them. Tho Josuits of Franco came in, and in tho early part of this century, by disguising themselves as mourners, wcrc enabled to go about with comparative safety. The Korean mourner wears n wonderful hat, which looks moro like an inverted cotton basket than any thing l can compare it to, and carries n lit tie mask made of n sort of cloth stretched on two sticks This conceals his face. and as he wears sackcloth the whole thing amounts to n perfect disguise Ncvcrthe- less a cruel war was made on tho Chris tians, and some missionaries and many native converts wcrc killed. It is csti- mated that thcrc wcrc still T, 900 native Christians when our relations with the country began, but that, take it, is rather uncertain.
 In lSG6 an AmCric2n vessel tho Gen Cral sherman, was wrVcArd on tho coast of korca and booted by the natives, and so littlr was known mhuut it that our govern mvit C;.ll,d on China for rCdrv'sS The Chimes disclainIcd all responsibility, which for ti!c second time, ns l think, pro cludcd them from claiming any sovereignty tkCrc In lSTl Admiral Rodgers sailed up the Han river to demand rCtlrCss, but the people took to tho woods, and whilo thCre was n lttlo fighting thrFu was no indCm- nifty. To understand the rst of it you must know that tho ruigning king, the one to whom l was accredited, Is not the son of tho preceding king, who was child less, and named his nephew as his success sor. The latter being n minor, his father rcigncd some years in his stead and was known as tho Tai won-kun. Tho present king assumed sovcrCignty at the ago of 90 The Tai won kun while in power per secuted the missionaries terribly, but in the intcrrcEnum. to call it such, thcrc was m opportunity for independent men to as sCrt themselves and way was opened for them by n sort of accident. Owing tO the complications with Chin.. and the United States, possibly to incre.Ising intercourse with Japan and other rInsOnS, visiting embassy was scnt to the United States, at the head of which was Prince Min Yong k.
 Tho Prince Was a Fireman.
 His suit consisted chiefly of young mon, who became imbucd with western ideas and wanted to havo Korea follow tho example of Japan in adopting west crn ways. Prince Min Yong k at first | agreed with them, but after returning homo opposed their movements, and so a revolution was attempted. Tho prince was | at q state dinner with his cabinet and niSfn -hnp fha ,1a .,t fro was raised. By virtue of his officc he was tho head of the flre department, such | as it was, and went out to givc directions, | when hc was set upon by the conspirators | and desperately wounded. He got safely | to his house, was skillfully trcntcd by m l American missionary and recovered, but | in ths meantime the outbreak was sup | pressed, and tho surviving cnnspiratnrs fled | to other countries. Their lcadcr, Kim OE Yum, escaped to Japan and did some mis | chief thcrc, for he was a born conspirator and then fed to China. He is the mar who was recently killed in Shanghai, o which so much has been said, but an | positive that the king of Korea had not h | ing to do with his death.
 | Tn 1889 tho treaty with tho TnitCt States was made, and the two countric, have maintained diplomatic rclation since. Mir Lucias II. Fontc of Califurni, was our first minister thcrr, and after | brief interval. in which the post was hcl, by Captain Parker, was appointed to tn place. was thcrc thnae years and wa treated with the utmost courtesy. hu | found the people quite unprogrcSsivc an' thoroughly satisfied with the old ways.
 should judge that kinicnghi-tao. the capi tai, which the Chinese call Wangkin; and the Europeans Seoul, has somc 2UU, 900 people, and pIsSihly all the Cigh provinces have l2, GOO, GOO. l found tn
 climate rcmarkahly uniform. As to hca and cold, it Is just about like our middl
 states but the changes are slow. In Scou therc Is n great deal of snow and wha
 might bc called n long winter, but of rt
 markably oven tcmpcrnturc. Tho peopl
 arc friendly, and now that thoro arc soy
 eral foreign ministers thcro the diplomati
 society is pleasant. should call the pros
 pect for any grOat development of trad
 unpromIsing. The people arc determined
 ly sot In thoir old ways, and so fur as ca
 bo learned there Is worry uttle naturl
 wealth in tho country to be developed"
 A Moro Hopeful Showing.
 So far for Mir. Dinsmorc but tho yer
 latest figures obtained by the cummitts
 on commerce and that on foreign nffaii
 mako Il somewhat better showing. Att
 diplomatic rclations wcro established an
 tradc placed on something like n ciyilizc
 basis thero was O rapid increase In e,
 ports and imports, amounting to llS pt cent in n year, but thcre 1t stopped. l 1884 thcrc wcro internal troubles, and 1886 U fearful scourge of cholera put Q end to trade for some time. The very late
 from our consul says that Chemalpo, whcl
 foreign trade was first allowed in 1883, hi
 grown from n merc group of wattled hu to a fairly well built town of about l, Ot
 people, of whom some GOO aro Japanes l 15O Chinese, 40 Europeans and Amer