The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-06-15
HOW THEY ARE ADVANCING
FROM SLAVERY TO FREE
DOM.

DOM.
The Empress Appears in Public Tn
veiied-COurt Ladies at a Garden
Parry-Scilools and Athletics for
Giri,-Oueer Customs Which Now
Prevail-Giris Married at Seven, or
Old Maids at Eighteen-Brides'
Eyes Glued S1lut During the We'd
din9-HoW the Ladies Dress and
Live-Strangc Pictures of High Life
Among the Most Secluded of h
Worlds Semi-C Civilized people.
Copyright, 1893, by Frank c.. Car
penter.)
Seoul. 1909.
The Empress Of Korea rode
yesterday in an open car
riage through the streets OF
Seoul. She was on her way from one
Of her palaces to another. She sat
beside the emperor on the back seat.
The sun shone bright. her face was
unveiled, and all the world could see.
There were thousands of men upon
the streets at the time. They form
ed long lines OF white against the
black huts. With their big hats and
long gowns, their yellow faces were
turned straight oward her majesty
n their almond eyes almost popped
out in surprise.
Such an event would mean little in
any European country. 1t marks one
of the most striking changes that are
going on in Korea. 1t indicates that
the new woman is on the ground With
both feet and that from now on the
sex Will gradually max its way up
ward out of its present state of de-
gradation. Until now, no man out
side the emperor and the eunuchS of
the palace has ever seen the features
of Koran female royalty. When |
was here twenty years g a young
& m arioGO oirl ho6 il1Ct nnnon ONT To
act as physician to the queen. She
was the first woman doctor ever
known in Korea, and her majesty
awaited her coming rather than nav
the foreign medical missionaries.
who were at thai time all men, exam
inc her. When the latter were called
in consultation they were not allowed
to see the queen, and when they felt
her pulse her hand was thrust out
through a screen and nothing else
vas shown.
Where h Ladies Stay at Home
The Korean women are not gada-
bouts. Until now all those of the
high and middle classes have been
more secluded than the families of
the Mohammedan harems. They
have quarters of their own, which are
in the backs of the houses or in spe-
cial establishments far off from those
of the men. Some of the noblest
have never been outside their own
compounds, n of the middle classes
very few go out today except in closed
chairs. In the past it has been a
crime for q man to lay his hand on a
woman outside his own family, and
any man who looked over the wall of
a garden to see the women within
was sure to be punished. The hus-
band has had absolute power over
the wife ~concubines. They have been
bound to him by letters Of iron, and
today have practically M rights which
he has to respect. Indeed, the ten
million women who inhabit this COun-
try are still, as far as the laws and
the customs which now prevail go,
practically slaves. 1 am told that
many of them ave lei strength of
character that they rule their homes.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that
the men can beat and mutilate them
with little fear of the law.
The New Woman Appears.
All this has been SO for ages, and
the arrival of the new woman is there
fore the more striking. One sees in
dlcatlons of changes everywhere, both
in city and country. When L first
came here the common women and
slave girls working in the fields car
ried cloaks with them to shield their
faces from the men. Some of them
turned their backs and IAN away as
/ approached. On the streets of
Seoul those who came out wore green
cloaks over their heads, which they
held close together in front of their
faces, leaving only a crack for one
eye. These cloaks had fiat, we'll
ironed sleeves which were bordered
with white. The sleeves were merely
pasted into the garments and were
not intended for the arms to go
through. The cloak themselves were
so thin as to be of no value for
warmth, n they were used only as
wells. Today the commo women use
the same sort of cloak, but they are
not held tightly, and one can see a
score of female faces on any of the
main streets during any working