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

| aides. and European children can BE- brought MP
safely In every part OF the peninsula For nine
months Of the year the skies are generally
bright, and. although July and August are
hot and rainy, yet, even then, the heat 10 20
tempered by sea breezes that exercise is always
possible. From the middle of September till the
end Of the next June there arc neither extremes
Of heat nor cold to guard against. Tho mean
temperature Of the summer at Seoul IL about
75' Fahrenheit, and that Of the winter about
33s: the average rainfall for tho whole year is
about 36.03 inches, and the average OF the rainy
season 81. se inches July 10 the wettest month.
and December the driest. Tho result Of tho
abundant rainfall in those months Of the year
When the crops need 1t, is that irrigation Is
neodful only for rich. We note, lastly, in con-
nection with Corea's natural resources, that
the amount OF mineral wealth Is problematic.
1t 10 certain that gold 10 little used for per-
sonal ornament or In tho arts, yet q GUS
toms report testIhes that gold dust to the
amount of 81, 360.O0o was exported in 1896,
and IL IL deemed probable that twice as
much left tho country undeclared. What
ever gold has been collected up to the present
time has come from placer diggings; the gold
bearing quartz was mover touched until. re-
Gently, an American company won't to work
in the province of Phy6ng-An. The arts can
scarcely be said to exist In Corea at present, al
though, in former times. the Coreans taught
the Japanese all they know with regard to mr.
tistic products. The manufactures. also. are
of little Importance; several qualities of paper,
however, arc made from the Brousonoppia
papyrifera, among which Ia an oiled paper like
vellum In appearance, and 30 tough that o man
can be raised from tho ground on a sheet Of 1t
lifted ut the four corners. Fine grass mats and
split bamboo blinds arc also made. The roads
are detestable. and even the main highways
are seldom moro than rough tracks. Goods
are carried everywhere on the backs of bulls,
ponies. and men. but q railroad from Chemulpo
to Seoul, built by an American company, is to be
opened shortly. The coinage OF Corea consisted
until recently of debased copper cash, of which
500 went to the dollar; but q new fractional
coinage has Of late been put in circulation. the
unit of which 10 a 20-cent piece; there are also
Scent nickel, 5-cash copper, and Leash brass
pieces. The Japanese yen. or dollar, is now
current everywhere. With respect to the
revenue. we learn that, under the admins.
tration of Mr.. M'Leavy Brown. the head of tho
Corean customs and financial adviser to the
Government. IL has been found amply sufficient
for all legitimate expenses. 1t is derived. first,
from customs duties; secondly, from o land tax
of SO on every fertile kyel tBia acres,, and of
SIS on every mountain kyel; thirdly. from q
household tax Of 60 cents per house, only the
houses in the capital enjoying immunity; and.
lastly, from q heavy excise duty on manufactured
ginseng. More than one language Is spoken
in Corea. The educated classes Introduce
Chinese as much as possible into their CONVEX
sation, and all the literature Of any account is
in that language, but 1t Is of an archaic
form. the Chinese Of 1000 years ago. and DIFF.
fers completely in pronunciation from the
tongue now spoken in the Middle Kingdom.
Mrs. Bishop reminds us that Corean has the
distinction of being tho only angua OF east
ern Asia which possesses an alphabet. En.mun.
however, tho Corean script, Is despised by the
educated, whose sole education Is concerned with
the Chinese classics. Only women. children.
and the uneducated used tho En.mun until
January, 1895. when a new departure was
made by tho official gazette. This newspa-
per, which for several hundred years had been
written in Chinese. then appeared in a mix
ture of Chinese and En.mun characters.
thus presenting q resemblance to tho Jap
anese mode of writing. in which the Chi
nese characters, which play the chief part,
arc connected by kama syllablcs. A fur
thor innovation was that the Kings oath to
maintain tho independence Of the country and
to institute reform was promulgated in o tri-
linguala announcement namely. In Chinese, pure
En-mun and tho new mixed script; the latter
is now regularly employed as tho language Of
ordinances. official documents. and the gazette.
Royal rescripts. as a rule. however. and de-
spatches of the Foreign Ofico still adhere to
the old Chinese form. The partial recognition
of the vulgar Corean language. both oral and
written. by means Of the official use of the mixed
script. and. in come cases, Of the pure script, to-
gether with the abolition of the Chinese literary
examination as the test Of the fitness of candi-
dates for Office. 10 tending not only to
strengthen Corean national feeling. but
to bring the masses of tho popula-
ton, most of whom can read their own
script, into contact with Western science
and forms Of thought. Tho new Corean news
paper, tho Independent. is printed exclusively
in En-mun. scientific textbooks are being grad
ually translated in the same script, and foreign
missionaries have the sense to prefer the native
Corean alphabet to the Chinese characters.
Corea differs from her noighbors In this par
t~icular, that she has no national religion In the
proper sense of the word. Buddhism, once pow.
erful, was disestablished three centuries ago,
and Is now to be met with chiefly in mountain
GUS districts far from the main road. Spirit
worship. q species of shamanism. holds tho un.
educated masses and tho women of all classes
in complete bondage. The official cult. SO far as
such a thing may be said to exist. is Confucian-
ism, and the teachings Of Confucius constitute
the rule of Corean morality. Ten years before
the opening Of Corea to foreigners tho King.
writing to his then acknowledged suzerain, tho
Emperor of China. said: "The educated men
observe and practice the teachings OF Confucius
and Wen Wang" This was the fact, and it is
regarded by Mrs. Bishop as the key to any
thing like a correct estimate of Corea. In gov
eminent, law, etiquette, social relations. and
morals Chinese influence is predominant, and
though since the war the Coreans have ceased
to look to China for assistance. their sympathics
are with her, and they turn TO her for their
cherished traditions and moral teachings. Their
literature, superstitions. system of education.
ancestral worship. culture. and modes of think
ing arc Chinese. Society is organized on Con-
fucian models, and the rights of parents over
children and of elder over younger brothers
are as fully recognized as in China.
1t is not uncommon to see tho civilization of
different peoples graduated according to the
social position which they respectively accord
to women. The test Is not always trust
worthy. but WI observe that Mrs. Bishop APP