Evening star., 1898-08-31
COREANS GREAT SMOKERS
Begin When Young and Keep 1t Up Dilis
gently
Every Farmer or Gardener Grov~
His Little Patch OF Tobacco-Im-
porting American Cigarettes.

Having been asked by cigarette rnan-
ufacturers in the United States for certain
data regarding the cigarette trade in Corea
Consul General Allen at Seoul says he has
collected all the information available on
the subject, and sends it in this form 20
the State Department for general use.
The Coreans are great smokers Both
sexes ana all classes begin smoking early
in life. and keep it up most diligently. To-
bacco is rot used by them in any other
method than smoking. The pipe is the con-
staht companion Of every Corean man and
woman However poor an individual may
he. there always seems to be some method
of obtaining tobacco for the pipe which he
or she is sure to possess. whatever else
may be lacking.
The tobacco used by Coreans is almost
ehureiy homegrown. Every farmer or
gardener has his little patch of tobacco.
much OF which Is very good in quality but
Is injured in curing. being simply hung up
under the wide caves of the house to cry.
1t is quite strong. The supply seems to be
ample. and the price is very low. No leaf
tobacco is imported.
The Corean pipe is n brass bowl of fair
size. with a brass moGthpiece. These are
connected by a hollow reed stem of from
one to four feet in lergth. some OF these
stems being beautifully ornamented and all
neat and light. The common people use
shorter pipes for convenience Ia working
but all who can affect the long pipe. both
for GOODNESS and for looks. The mouth
pieces are often made of Jade amber or
other costly material; and of late mou.h-
pieces of olouded glass are offered for sale
at such cheap rates as to make them more
or less popular
The long pipe can be smoked with COM
fort only when the smoker is sitting down.
Accidents often occur from persons falling
with long pipe in the mouth, the stem OF
which is driven down the throat through
the chgek or into me soft Dalate
During the reform period that followed
lhe Jalan-Chlna war an order was issued
IorolddIhg the use Of the long pipe 10y the
common people. Many short foreign pipes
were sold thereafter. and the use of the
cigarette became very common. This order.
IS now practically a dead letter ard the
long pipe is reinstated again: but cigar
cites have become so popular. because OF
their convenience, that they will yrobal,lp
never be given up. but Will increase steadily
in favor.
Native cigarettes of the poorest quality
are made and sold for som thing like | cent
gold for twenty. Little cigars Of about the
size OF cigarette are also made and sold
Tor y cents silver "a cents Sold) per one
hundred.
The most popular foreign-made cigar
cites now in use in Corea seem to be brands
like the 'Ohayo.' made I'm Japan IL Is said
OF American tobacco, but probably Of a
mixture Of japanese and American. These
sell in Corea for SO silver CS25 gold nsr
cents silver az cents gold) per package Of
ten, with mouthpieccs.
"A cigarette made by machinery in
Shanghai, of American tobacco, and called
Little Sweetheart is meeting with consid-
erable sale here. They cell in Corea for
S1Io silver ($S5 gold) per case of fifty thou
sand, and retail for I cents silver q cents
gold per package of ten.
American. cigarettes are used exclusively
at the palace, where large quantities are
consumed. This makes them popular also
with the higher classes. They are kept on
sale in the local Chinese shops and the
best retail for 40 cents silver GO cents gold)
per package Of twenty. Some English Gig
arettes are now to be found in the shops
and Russian and Egyptian brands are kept
for the consumption Of the European popu-
laticn.
TIE import duty on cigars and cigar
cites is % per cent ad valorem The i'm
port of cigars and cigarettes, chiefly the
latter. in 1896, amounted to SJT,1l2 silver.
or S2s,156 gold. In 1897 ii was So. .ao6 silver
or s44.GB gold. The import for 1S9s 1t is
thought, viii show a marked increase on
these figures. American cigarettes are
chleiiy imported by the American firm of
Townsend & Co, Chemulpo. | hear that q
German firm-E Meyer & Co.'s about 10
handle American cigarettes also. The chief
import of this class of goods however is
from Japan, and is in the hands OF jan
aneSe importers in COrea."