The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16

-,.n,. ..,.,. ~ thn hourea hr n cups
-, -ntch Ia. NOR. thap tbe foroe n law. To
-. MIAMI coDc..l.d AZ niont. or ON coca.
- -h.n h. a. n.o..,.rv IN trayei or In make
~,.,t ,n . r,eorouslv cIosrd chair. arc the only
s.u-s.as-.at..ss ~ Cor..n voman M tho nm
ss.na ,nJda,s $780,. and the lovvest olnss vo-
m.r oriv ooes ont for nurnosea Of work, Tho
o,.on ,rha v.. ,,uraored IN Octobcr. 1903. at
~. tn.,,o.,ior ~ Tho Janonese Minister. told
nT~. p,.san a. arn,s,o, 20 ,ho Enolisb romnn.a
Coroan iournovs that sbe berself knew nothing
~ Coroo mr. cvon NJ tho canital. sooul. excopt on
,ho rou,o ,oi,o,-od NV tho Kur-donp. n uniouo
hrt No. raro coremon,al According To BALLET.
donrh,.r. h.v. hoon npt m death nv their faith.
ors ana viva INV ,beir husbands nny. women
hoyo ovsn committed su,c,de when arrange
man yvhetber Inv accident or design. have
even toucbea thcir banda. ouito lately a
serving woman oave os her reason for remiss.
n.ss in ottemptinp to awe her mistress. who
ner,sbcd In n Arc. thnt in the confusion n man had
Touched the lady. making her not worth saving.
The law i,se,f NAV not cnter the vomen's apart.
ments. A Coroan noble. hiding himself in his
vife,s rooms. cannot be seized for any crime
oxcent that NJ rebe,liop. It n man wishes TO
rcnoir bis roof he muat notify bis neiRbbors. lest
nv INV chance bc should SEQ any of their
women. After tho aOe Of seven. bows and girls
mart companv. and the pirls are vigorously
sec,pded. seeing none of tho male sex, except
THAR fatbers and brotbcrs. until the date of their
marriage. after which they can SEQ only their
own and their husbands near male relations.
Girl children. even among the very poor, are
hidden away 40 successfulIy that. in n some-
what extensive tourney. Mrs. Bishop never saw
any who looked above the age of ak. except, of
course. those whom she found hanging about
listlessly in the women's rooms. The brightness
which ~eirl.lifo contributes to social existence In
Western countries is unknown in Corea. We
must not infer too hastily that the women fret
and groan under this system, or crave the froe-
dom which their European sisters enjoy. Seclu.
sion. rs we have said, has been the custom for
centuries, and the result is that, with them, lib
erty is synonymous with peril, and they really
believe that they are closely guarded because
they are valuable chattels. One intelligent wo-
man, when Mrs. Bishop pressed her hard to say
what she thought of European customs in the
matter, replied: "I think that your husbands
don't care for you very much,'
In the eye Of the law tho Corean is q strict
monogamist, and, even when q widower marries
again and there are children by the second mar
riaRe. those of the first wife retain special rights.
Nevertheless, concubinage is q recognized insti-
tuition, though the position of a concubine is not
respected. A mans mother, or even his wife, not
infreouently selects the concubine. who in many
cases ia looked upon BY the wife as an nppendaRe
appropriate to her husbands means or socinl
rank, much as q carriage or a butler might DO
with us. The offspring of concubines rcst under
a serious social stigma, and until lately have
been excluded from som. desirable posts. Educa-
ton. for women, is almost non.existcnt in Corea.
There are no native schools for girls. and al
though women of the upper classes are taught
to decipber the native script, the proportion of
Corean women who can read is computed at not
moro than two in a thousand. Few. indeed. are
the rights of women IN the Hermit Kingdom.
and even these depend on custom rather than
law. Now. It ia true. a woman possesses the riRbt