Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-21
A New Money System,


in less than day.
A New Money System.
One of the first things the japanese will
do will be to reorganize the money and
banking system of Korea. The financial
system of Japan will be adopted. gov
eminent bank will probably be established
at Seoul, and the currency placed on gold
basis
At present the Korean money is Of all
kinds. There are silver dollars, nickels.
copper coins and copper cash. Many OF
the nickels were made by the Korean gov
eminent. but others have been manufac-
tured by private parties under permits
from the government; so that one can
not tell where the coins come from.
Counterfeiting is common, and there are
altogether about twenty-six different va
rieties of nickels in circulation, each sup
posed to be worth two and one-half cents,
and most of them bad. AS a result the
people are afraid of these coins, and the
time has been when 1t would take one
hundred nickels to equal the value of an
American dollar. The silver coins are the
japanese yen, the half dollars, or half yen
and the ten and twenty-sen pieces
Copper cash is still in use in out of the
way places. 1t takes one or two thousand
of these to equal dollar of our money,
the values rising and falling. During my
stay in the country all accounts for small
things had to be paid in these cash. When
l went out shopping l took a servant with
me to carry my money, and on my trips
through the interior we had porter who
was loaded down with such stuff. Indeed
fifty dollars worth Of cash is a good-sized
burden for mule. Each cash has hole
in it. in order that 1t may be strung with
Its fellows upon strings for ease in counting
and carrying.
Paper Money and Banking.
There is now considerable Japanese paper
money in circulation in Korea. The notes
of the chief japanese banks are worth par,
and about 100000 paper yen are scattered
over the country. They are generally used
by the foreigners. and are the chief cur
rency for large transactions.
Banking in Korea is practically confined
to the Japanese. The Ichi-Ginko or First
Bank Of Japan has an establishment in
Seoul and branches at all the treaty ports,
and so has the Nippon Ginko or the Bank
of Japan. The First Bank has had its
branches on the peninsula for more than
ten years. I remember there was one ut
Gensan when l reached there after my
trip across the mountains from Seoul in
1894. 1 was out of money and asked them
to cash draft on my letter of credit. They
refused. The result was that l had to
wait until I reached Vladivostok Siberia
the Japanese Steamship Company kindly
trusting me for my passage from Gensan
to that port.
New Telegraphs and Telephones.
rea will probably be under the manage
ment of the Japanese. Indeed, 1 believe
1t is practically so now. During the war the
telegraph system has been rapidly pushed
and there are now more than 1900 miles
of line. There are-cables from Fusan to
Japan. and all the open ports and mines are
In Geographic communication with SeouE
The different Korean lines connect with the
different Chinese telegraph systems. SO
res IN II fvar
any pat &c the world. kilograms are re-
celVed IN Chinese, Japanese or Korean
ahsy are sent by the Morse code. There
are now telephones from Seoul to Chemul-
pc, and a telephone system will probably
be extended to all the large cities.
japanese Shipping.
The Japanese expect to improve the sh,n-
ping facilities. The shores of the peninsula
axe dangerous, there being many sunken
rocks 1t is planned to build a string of
lighthouses about the coast. and this work
will probably be begun at once AS 1t is
now the japanese do most of the carrying
trade. The Shosen Kaisha has frequent
steamers between Korea and Japan, and
the Nippon Yusen Kaisha has a regular
service between China Japan and Korea
Ihere Is an American in Korea who owns
fine little vessel which sails from Kobe
and Osaka In Japan to the various ports
1t is called the Ohio and is noted for its
excellent passenger accommodations The
American Gold Mining Company has also
some small ships at Chenampo which sail
under the American flag. The Hamburg
American Line runs German steamers be-
tween Chemuloo and Shanghai
Now that the war is over japanese junks
may be put on the Yaiu river This stream
Is about three hundred miles long and 1t
can be navigated by native craft as far as
Shinkuihuo, although steamers now stop at
Antung.
Japan Will Gobble the Trade.
Japan has already the bulk of the Korean
trade, and under the new regime she will
have more than ever. Korea's foreign COM
merce amounts to atput s13.000.00o year.
1t is steadily increasing and will probably
double and triple within a decade or So
Much OF the goods. that we send to Korea
goes through japanese hands. and is
classed as Japanese. We send great
deal Of cotton goods and we supply most
OF the coal oil. The Standard OH Com
pany has storage warehouses at Chemulpo
and Fusan. and It ships two or three million
ga1lous Of oil to them every year Our
chief competitors in this line are the Rus
afana hut their oflcon1eafa IN the winter.