The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-07-26

strange in Jacobs stony pillow at
Bethel. The houses are matched with
straw, tied on with ropes. A village
presents dull gray appearance seen
from any distance. Large ugly dogs,
noisy but cowardly, swarm the streets
waiting for the inevitable day when
they will find their way onto their
masters tables. Taiku is surrounded
| by wall, in the fashion of all Korean
cities; but the day I arrived the Jap.
anese had begun to tear this down.
| after standing for centuries.
The American Colony Abroad.
On commanding site outside the
city of Taiku found a settlement of
american missionaries living in
houses of mixed Korean and Western
| architecture. Formerly some of them
lived in native houses right down in
the heart of the city, where, l do not
hesitate to say, no white man, mis-
sionary or otherwise should ever live.
| quite agree with the contention that
a missionary should get as close as
possible to his people; but not at the
price of discomfort, darkness, depres.
sion, dirt and disease which are in.
separable from residence in a real ma.
tive house in crowded Korean COM
munity.
These missionaries at Taiku are all
Presbyterian, except the French priest.
who has an imposing European church
on the edge of the city. The Presby-
terians, North, South and Canadian,
and the Methodists, North and South,
and the Roman Catholics, have a mo.
nopoly of the mission work in Korea,
except modest enterprise by the Aus
tralian Presbyterians and the Anglic-
ans. All the missionaries in Taiku
are young people; yet some are called
"old missionaries, which reminds one
of the fact that all mission work in
Korea is of comparatively recent de-
velopment. 1t is only 20 years since
Korea was "the hermit nation" and 20
years since the arrival of the first
missionary. Each year since the be-
ginning, the number of converts has
been doubling, and the additions to
the Protestant churches for the pres
ent year are given at 10000. Korea,
with 100000 population, and 200
missionaries, has nearly, if not quite,
as many Protestant converts as Japan,
with 100000 population and more
than 800 missionaries.
The little colony of nine Americans
here-including one unmarried wom-
an, Miss Cameron, who lives alone in
a little house overrun with rats and
mice, of which she is afraid!-consists
of Rev. and Mrs. J. E. Adams, DR.. and
Mrs. w. o. Johnson, Rev. and Mrs
H. M. Bruen, Rev. e. F. Macfarland
and Rev. Walter j. Erdman. They
have impaired somewhat of an Ameri-
can air to their compound (every mis-.
sion residence Is surrounded by
fence or wall. and is sailed a COM
pound) by setting. out fruit trees and
flowers from the homeland, so that
they have apples, and peaches, straw
berries, etc. They exchange plants
and cuttings with their neighbor, the
French priest. From him they obtain
ed their strawberries, which proved to
be bread upon the waters, for last
year every one of the priests plants
persisted and he was obliged to get
fresh start from which he had given
to the Americans.
Re-Making Nation.
A buster lot of missionaries than
these | have not yet seen; most or
them are engaged chiefly In country
work, itinerating for weeks at a time
among the villages. Down in Taiku
visited the missions primary school,
where hive of gaily dressed young
sters were crowded in native house,
studying their lessons at the top of
their lungs, and swaying ~ and fro
as they studied In another little ma
tive house l found Mr.. Adams teach
ing the beginnings of higher educa.
ton to rs Korean young men-most of
them, by the way, with their hair up,
in token that they are married. There
is practically no modern education ia
Korea except that given by the mis-
sionaries. The latter are spreading
the desire and the opportunity for an
education throughout the country, and
many say that this will be the means
of preserving the national identity.
So general is the belief that the in
fluence of Christian schools, churches
and literature may help Korea to find
herself after centuries Of ignorance,
corruption and oppression, that have
been told by other than missionaries,
that the Japanese government is back
ing Buddhist propaganda and organ.
izing a new native religion, in order
to counterfeit the widespread accept
ance of Christianity. The mission
aries are alert to keep the churches
from being used for political purposes.
The Koreans, for example, not long
ago established more than 1000 patri-
otto societies, which they called "Y.
M. G. AS" and the officials of the as
ISOLATION had to secure an imperial
edict correcting the abuse.
The missionaries have a thousand
Protestant and a thousand Roman