The new South-news., 1907-11-09
kOrea's Downfall
Deserved and FOredOOIned.


" ullIiAx \. ERlll
When. ihc other day. the Emperor
81 Korea Atcpped down from the
throne ana placed thereon = ne~ Em-
peror weaker even than himself. the
act Of spdlcaiion marked the end of
korea's brief period OF Independence.
and probably OF The nation itself. The
FINAL ouieOine Ia inevitable However
greatly ono fnsy sympathzs With
Korea and The Korcsn,. he must rec
'penlgQ The Justice ~ the sentence
Which, iar been pronounced under
Civilizations unalfefable law of tho
fuffifai ~ The nffcst For Korea ~
! decadcnt nation, hes people O de-
~srefste people. IIs governing
flaf. hr reason Of centuries 81 ca
~ SOS are untitled Tor their duties.
"a 1Iicuoa Che abdicating Emperor.
g. wcst und sscillant. The new En-
pcfor VI Sick. ls little brttef than on
in tccile. hn nlien people hold tho
fsIrs n government. ana there ls no
force ieft 90 protest With as beau
tlfui and no fertile q country as was
ewes given 90 man. The Koreans chose
strluflon and aiafnaiion 90 preference
do progress and the lnovliabie result
So mon them
.. y pictufeHquencsf couid give % ma
tom lie then would Korea live for
e,.5 a country of rugged mountains
eFl broad. green yailoyf. Of ycrdant
meadow lands. wooded slopes and
tuow-cappod peaks. country fertile
90 an unuaual degr.c--onc must look
faf for moro b'nutifni Landscapes.
Add to nnturo's s,f,r the graceful ma
Tive architecture. the pretty temples
bali hidden among the trees. tho
strange pngoda-like monuments. the
odd memorial tablets mounted on the
hsrkn of huge stone tortolsca. and
rcorcF OF otbor things unfamiliar to
the Western eye. nnd there is an In
tcrcst aroused that no mere wild
landscape could induce. Place among
ihesc surroundings the strange. white
'i"d natives. aud even the iadod tour
ist .s aroused 20 enthusiasm.
Perhapf ones most porslstcnl Nom
"ry Of Korea is Of these white garhcd
dresses IN white. Tho only break In
the general dress is when the nation
~ IN bourninr ana the white pauzc
mats of the msn resembling old-fash.
'"'eu nv-trnps more than anything
"'3'. become black The only color
10 oo aocn Ia tn" dress Of the ordinary
"'''s"s ~ In tho iirhi-grcen cloaks
No'ch women of ,hc higher classes
wear over their heads. conccallng
their faces. A. nrst one uot,oea only
."c cos'umeS. and II Ia not until they
"'c tneir ntrangeness thai one looks
~ inc faceS of tho natives. Tho first
"ok orihss surprise. later comes
amusement, finally realization. For
:" the faces OF the pcople ~ written
t@c fate of the natiod rh.ro ana
reads lack OF intsliixtnce ,scr .,
smoltion. cneminacyj deeencracy
-. Ia1luDvuQ11VSvhe(W Women show.
NIX more character than their lords.
When one seeks in the customs OF
,hc people and the history of the ma.
Vion toi the reasons tor korea's back.
ward condition. they are not hard "a
md. One cannot expect much OF n
people In whose country concubinags
a. atm n legal institution: whore, un.
III the other day. n mans wife. and
rftcn his mother aud daughters and
hts male relatives. to the hith degree
suffered with him 10 the penalty oi
his crimes Concubinago is practIccd
Va Korea among all classes. even III,
poorest and IL responsible for much
si the decay. both physical and moral
IN the nation. until they roach man
estate, and sometimes even then. Il
Is practically impossible To tell boy,
from girls, so ehcminate are the
formers faces
The Korean man is ignorant. i'm
moral. unprosreHslve and lazy II.
works because he must have food
Vie does M much work as ts neccssar,
to keep him alive. but his principa
Joy in life IA tc stroll idly along tn,
roads, or squat in the sun smokin.
Ais long pipe. When one reads OF III,
mighty deeds of The Korean warrio,
al the olden times. he cannot bcliev,
that this degenerate, loiling along III,
roads or on the ridges between III,
paddy ncids. belongs to the same race
To N llieung, the retiring mon
arch, who ascended the throne II
1864. is due most of the credit To-
thc downlall of his country. although
he has been ably assisted by a corrup
ministry and dchauchcd advisers
For years he has been controlled en-
tirciy by the i.sdN ON. whom he mar
fieu after the murder OF the Empress
she instlgation ot which crime Is TAI,
a, the door OF the Japanese. Lad
cms intflgucs have since been many
almost rs many as her love affair
before her marriage with the Empcr
or. about which the Koreans san
'lhald songs until they were prohihi,
ed hy imperial decree. Her sole am
hilton has been Ia secure for her so
she throne which rirhtfull, belong
~ vi Sich, surrounded by her IN
stigucs aud those of the desenerat
aud vicious mobiles who composed in
spurt and s,,taaas a., ~. ..,........