New-York tribune., 1900-07-29
VIEWS OF COREAN LIFE.
OFFICIAL CORRUPTION AND PRODIGAI-
ITY-WOMAN'S LOW ESTATE.
Seoul. Corea. Nav

who shall get the upper hand Of the King while
that amiabe monarch, quite well aware of what
IS going serenely continues to spend with lavish
hand the money extorted from his miserable sub
jects on public works? No! on his own particu-
lar amusements ard pleasures He has Just COM
pieted his annual pilgrimages to the murdered
Queens tomb and the various temples where
aQng the customs of China the King is supposed
10 offer up yearly worship
There grows in Corea in great abundance a
plant which is valuable in the East. named ginseng
II IS used especially in China, for medicinal pur-
poses The plant really possesses a certain amount
Of virtue. being something like quinine only in a
much uilder form. The royal peruusites from
the yearly traffic in ginseng amount to 81 100000
jsNen, and all this goes into the Kings pri-
yate purse, and is spent the yearly professions
upon which His Majesty dotes. It seems
hard TO believe that that amount of money could
be squandered in such way-that is. unless one
has been 10 Corea.
The explanation is simple The largest part Of
the appropriation is. of course pocketed by the
various officials who have the management of the
procession. From the highest to the lowest no
money passes through anybody's hands without
undergoing substantial subtraction. In addition
10 that every individual who forms part OF the
great retinue receives present the value of which
. varies accordingly to MS rank.
The number taking part in the professions is
large The King insists the presence of his en-
tire army, which just is supposed to con-
sisr of some six thousand men, besides his house
hold retinue and all the officials and men of rank
Of the entire kingdom. with their retainers. The
King himself IS carried in gorgeous palanqUin.
carried b. runners. who literally with him. and
who josgle and Jiggle the chair about in a way
Which must be exceedingly uncomfortable the
Imperial occupant. To the foreign bystander the
sigh; IS fairly ridiculous.
PRIVILEGES EARNED OUT.
The King is not only King Of Corea. but he may
also be termed the king OF all the "sCueezers' in
this land OF squeezing. OF all the subsidies which
King hold Of in
another, from concessions. monopolies and other
things. few find their way into the pub
lie eXcheauer From each Of the rich mining con-
Cessicns given TO American, English, French and
German companies the King receives 100000 tsl-
verl spot cash and S25 600 more every year. This
he uses for pocket money.
II is generally conceded that the individual who
has obtained the greatest asccndency the King
since the Queens death is Lady ON. She Is at the
head Of what may he termed the royal harem com
posed of three thousand persons For some
time Ii has been a moot question whether
the King would espouse this lady and make her
the successor of Queen Min II is strange that this
land, which advocates throughout the suppression
Of woman. the making her a servant and chattel
should be ruled by two of them within the space
a reign.
In general, woman holds pitiable place in Corea
The man Is the unit. the woman is nothing save
the mother of her children She never has a
name. and is called by anything till she is the
mother OF a SON when she is termed the Mother
Of PAX or Cho,'' or whatever the case may be-
Low class women do all the household drudgery
They must rise early in the morning to get break
fast and DO all the household tasks. The entire
wardrobe Of her husband her children and herself
is made by her patient fingers and, harder still
washed by her in the brooks or streams in winter
and in summer. The winters are long and bitter SO
this IS very trying job, especially as the winter
clothes must all De taken apart as they are wadded
with cotton wool
To Offset ali her hard work the Corean women
nave no pleasures The customs of the country
Quire that they stay always within house,
though they are sometimes allowed to 20 out at
night with white mantle over their heads AS
usual the lower class have more liberty In
this respect. because OF the exigencies life and
though some OF these strictly confined,
many OF them. especially they get older 20 out
in the streets during daytime either to market
or 10 wash the family clothes in brook The hus-
band never regards his wife as a companion nor
chats With her he would with q friend. II he
lc SO he would be the laughing stock Of the VII
lase While the Coreans are fond of their chill
oreH and treat them all well, boys are the most
welcome addition 10 the family group.
WOMEN OF RANK
Tie high class women. while having an easier
tine 50 FAR the druGgery Of household work is
con -elned. are, perhaps the more TO be pitIed
y OK At least is absorbing. and takes up a per
sons thought well as strength. But the Corean
lazy has nothing she never leaves her apart
ments in her husbands house. and at
IS obliged TO share his affection with three OF our
others She may be his first or real wife In which
case she Is the most honored occupant Of the
EoTnen's quarter, but she is not necessarily her
husbands favorite for the first wife is selected bv
MS father and a go-between while the others he
chooses for himself.
Coreen almost never sees the woman he is to
marry until the marriage Gay arrives and she is
fTo-sAt 70 his house. Happy is the bridegroom il
t-e representations Of the go-between are correct
IRIS IS much the same system which IS employed
ia both China and Japan, and the rnlddIer1aa gen
orally gets substantial reward. This Il sometimes
c1set ty the obligation which upon him Of
ar ri-trating IN the matrimonial difficulties whieh
may follow. and Z he misrcpresents the charms OF
The woman his subsequent lot is a hard one In
scruTulous Ro-betweens sometimes palm of a de-
formed or cross-eyed damsel on unsuspecting
family. ard the fact is learned until after the
marriage takes place
The bride never speaks 10 her husband on the
marriage day sometimes not till many days after
and IN contracting marimony she enters into
bondage until she has a daughter-in-law Of her
ONE The mother-in-law jokes which have been
80 fife with Us during the last decade
rave originate IA the East. for here she IS the
baIe u domestic existence. Here divorce is given
ilr inCOmDatibiIity with the mother-in-law. She
Teisns supreme owe her sons family. and when
fhe has reached this oasis in the dismal desert OF
her life she often uses her power cruelty and
makes the lives Of others much Of a burden
her own has been
Az ARIsTOCRACY OF LEARNING
another curse Of Corean society is the yang
ban gentleman It has been said with a good
Zeal of truth that in COrea any become
gentleman, whereas no gentleman descend from
MS rank IN life a lower; that is. no gentleman
can 90 any work which. according 10 COrean ideas,
Is mouiaL He might starve the pittance of a
tea her. refusing position which. with less toll,
would bring him in five times much money. The
badge Of z gentleman in Corea IS not blood but