Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-03
THE PASSING OF KOREA.

ofiiciaI publication proclaimed the nomina-
ton OF a candidate from Toxic. II fell like
a thunderbolt from clear sky. For fact
It was the first challenge by Japan of Rus
sia's policy in Korea.
Returning from Korea In November 1889,
for the purpose of insisting upon the restg-
nation which had been addressed the de-
partinent months before, the writer's friend.
the late William Walter Phelps, suggested
| visit to Secretary Blaine. During the
long interview with Mr.. Blaine the writer
warned the Secretary that our action in
Korea would provoke the active hostility OF
China and endanger our good relations with
that country and surely result In prec!pita-
ting a conflict. Meanwhile. the United
| States was simply holding the candle for
Russia. The end did not Justify the means.
The compensation was ridiculous and ilu-
sorry. "Will you return to korea? asked
Mr.. Blaine. No. Mr.. Secretary replied
| the writer. THE commerce OF China should
be the goal of our policy. There is nothing
in Korea for US. The country is essentially
agricultural
Mr. Cho Pyong Six was minister of Ko-
| rean affairs during the writer's official resi-
dence in Seoul QSS7- 1880.
Friendly Mr. Cho was small but pos
Service sessed remarkably intelli-
| gent and handsome face. The
| writer was charge d'affaires ad interim on
| of a revolving tower from friend. mem
/ Der of Congress to he submitted to the
| king for examination The price was $500
600. The king was highly pleased with the
model as toy When told the price he
laughed loudly. He thought it would be
certainly not more than s.,
In the writer's letter to his friend he said
con1dentially: do not waste your time
with Korea. They have no money; he Is
much oyerrated: he IS really nothing but a
mild savage"
That letter disappeared from the desk of
| the representative. was sent to the Korean
legation and thence to the Korean foreign
office Mr.. Cho. with n keen appreciation
M the rascafs Intention DESTROYED the let
ter. and this gave me renewed assurance
Of his friendly sympathy and esteem. The
| foreign minister believed that his country
would have been far more happy If left to
the fate which had given her to China.
1t will prove interesting to mention just
here a case of hazing which came under the
writer's personal notice.
The Korean government. aside from its
| feudalstic form may be aptly designated a
dual oligarchy composed of the vaughan.
noble; the sonR-nom coolie. The titles and
| rank are hereditary but this subtle system
| constitutes n sort of endless chain in which
| there Is no break revolution A revolu-
ton of palace is not revolution of people;
| revolution Of ministers. accompanied by
a crime of palace. is of frequent occurrence.
The writer witnessed the following In the
streets of Seoul.
student passed a vaughan, and.
| dressed in vai-coIored silk. was mounted
| on a pony. followed by his friends making
merry. Another. who had passed examina-
| ton as song-nom. was pressed into service
| and compelled to lead his superior's mount.
The indignlty was not enough to show the
gulf that separated the classes. The yang
bans attendants filled vessels with the
| loathsome fluid from the bitches and hand
| ed them to the cavalier. who dashed the
contents full in the face of the coo,ie song
| nom amid the iPerS of the crowd
| Mr.. George KEENAN, has written a series
of articles In the Outlook for October The
writer finds a certain salts
a numerous faction in citing them be-
Monarch. cause they corroborate in the
| main his oft-repeated appre-
citation of Korea and the Koreans. Speak
| ing of the Emperor Ii, KEENAN, says: He
| will have the head off his best friend II
| that friend gives him cause for alarm.
. This gentle little man, who consults
| his horoscope through the medium of a
soft-handed woman. can order the execution
| of a friend without a tear and then go on
playing with his stars and trinkets .
| He is absolutely incapable of forming a
| correct judgment with regard to men and
| events. and in consequence of this mental
| disability he Is deceived by his courtiers
| and robbed and cheated by all who have
| business dealings with him. - The
| government, with his majesty's sanction or
] permission. has burned men with hot irons,
| imprisoned them In cangues, broken their
| bones with levers, torn them asunder
| by driving apart four bullocks harnessed
| to their ankles and wrists. While the en-
| peror was refuge in the Russian legation
| at Seoul In 1896. NJ. Waeber. the Russian
| minister, persuaded him to put stop to
| these inhuman practices; but the prohibi-
| ton enforced for period Of only six
months When the royal fugitive went
back to his palace the torture of prisoners
and witnesses began again.
| Approaching the Korean historically. in
| ferring their character from that of their
| ancestors, one would expect to find them
| In possession at least of good natural abil-
! ity and Of some of the ripened fruits of
| discovery and invention. They used money
| as a medium of exchange more than 1000
years ago: they made in 1401 the first metal
| type that were ever used; they had a
| phonetic alphabet before 1850; they became
| acquainted with the mariners compass in
! 1925, etc, etc"
| Few persons have undertaken seriously
| the study of the clinical conditions of Ko-
| rea. The subject occupied
| Korean the writer's earnest atten-
| Researches ton during the leisure mo-
| ments of his official residence
in Korea QSS7-1ss9) This. indeed. was the
motive of book, to write which President
| Cleveland induced him to accept the unso-
| Hcited post. Having failed to provoke the
interest of an American publisher the writer
| rewrote 1t in French and published it in
| France under the title of la Coree GU
| Chosen. la Terre du Calme Matinal.'
The writer is indebted for many valuable
suggestions from the late Rev. Archbishop
| Blanc of the Cathr1fc Church of Korea, and
| NJ Tong-Shao-Yi, then secretary of the Chi
| nese residency in Seoul, who is actually
vice president. of the Chinese foreign Of
| fee.
| M. Tong directed my attention to the Chi
| nese annals, where L found that Korea in
| the commencement of the Christian era was
| peopled by savages; that in the fourteenth
| century Buddhist BONES came from Indo-
| China and established in Korea the three
| kingdoms OF Korai, Hisksai and Shiurai.
| Miranda was the name Of the Thibetan
| bonze,. Kiou-Chou, the capital, became a
| brilliant center of civilization, whence
! Buddhism and the arts generally attributed
| to Korea, filtered over into Japan. Bud
| dhism thus flourished in Korea from the
| fourth to the fourteenth century, when ii
| persisted by reason of the decadence and
| depravity of its priests 1t was in no sense
/ Korean civilization, but an Indo-Chinese
| civilization, doubtless confined to the mon