Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-24

! iSTA NI important bureau in the Jap
IM II anese government school at
IbA vi Scotland not the least in
IIRNAn teresting from the viewpoint
lEsA0Sz of the visitor to the residency
generals the officialE pub
licity department or press agency.
| Through this channel the imperial gov
ernment at Tokyo sends out to the
world its version of how Korea is being
governed by Japan, Much of the cor
respondence which gets into the press
of Japan, and sometimes into foreign
newspapers, under a Seoul date line, is
more or less directly moulded by the
powers in Seoul but the residency gen
eral publicity bureau directs it's major
efforts toward furnishing Europeanand
American editors with pamphlets and
books giving detailed accounts of jap
anese activity in this country. This
publicity bureau is excellently equip
ped.
The initial effort of the Japanese to
prevent the outside world from getting
an unfavorable impression of Japanese
methods in Korea failed. 1t consisted
! in the stoppage of cablegrams to Amer
! lean newspapers filed few hours after
the queen was murdered in 1895 by en-
ployes of the Japanese government ITO
secure the independence of the Korean
kingdom, and to maintain the prestige
| of Japan in Korea" Recognizing the
! extreme tactlessness of this method, as
we'll as it's utter futility, the authori-
! ties apologized for having held up the
dispatches In the interim the news
| had escaped the vigilance of the CEN
sors and appeared in newspapers
throughout the civilized world. That
this plan of handling an awkward situ-
alton was old-fashioned was plainly
demonstrated by the results. Since
that time Japan has learned a great
! deal. She has learned that it is wiser
to conciliate the press with copy than
to attempt to club it with censorship.
In her maxim book Is written, sweet
are the uses of publicity"
The residency general publicity bu-
reau was established by Prince Ito
when he became resident general. He
installed as it's head a bright young
japanese who had spent seven years in
| the United States and who had de-
gree from an American university, or
to be more exact, several degrees topped
| by Phi. D. His textbook education
was only part of his equipment. He
| had studied affairs as we'll as books in
America, and he brought to bear upon
the publicity problem in Seoul good
working knowledge of how govern
mental commercial and "artistic" en-
terprises are promoted by press agent
ry. His authorship of a book upon the
position and aims of Japan as factor
in the equation of world politics had
won for him more or less distinction as
litterateur and publicist. In his scrap
book he had congratulatory autograph
letters from Theodore Roosevelt, Will
liam H. Taft, John Wanamaker, Elihu
Root and many other notable Amert-
cans.
The headquarters of the press agency
are situated conveniently near the de-
, partmental headquarters Of the resi-
dent general and the pink palace oc-
cupied until recently by Prince Ito.
Through this office filters the story of
Japan in Korea, as the imperial gov
ernment wishes it written. Sitting in
this office, where the methods of the
up-to-date theatrical press agent upon
Broadway are duplicated, one realizes
just how modern Japan has grown, and
how intelligently she has studied the
west and appropriated the desirable.
Files of indeXed clippings from the
newspapers OF five continents, printed
in many languages, are at the elbow
of the publicity man. At a moemntS
notice the office can produce a clip
ping to show what the London Times,
Paris Temps, Novoe Vremya OF st.
Petersburg, any prominent European,
AInGTlCdus AlIlCdllt AuSlldliall VI <AS4-
attic journal has had to say from time
to time as to Japan's ordering of af-
fairs in Korea. Other files contain
clippings showing what space and
treatment has been accorded by for
eign newspapers to bulletins or
pamphlets sent out by the residency
general for review, together with such
editorial comment as may have been
from time to time bestowed upon them.
Inside of this office one might imagine
himself upon the New York Rialto,
where the latest successful prima
donna is being exploited in the press.
Outside of the office the slate-colored
sierras surrounding Seoul are etched
against the sky, and across the val
ley the eye sweeps acres of thatched
Korean houses which seem to belong
to another country and another world.
The major publication emanating
from the press bureau of the resi-
dency general is a neatly bound vol
ume detailing the work of the Jap
anese government as the reformer of
the Korean government for the bene-
fit of the Korean people as we'll as the
protection Of Japanese and other for
eign interests in the peninsula. Pre-
facing chapters dealing with various
reforms undertaken is a resume of the
diplomatic and military developments
that resulted in the status quo in Ko-
rea. This book states that during
several decades, many suggestions
were made, and sincere efforts eXerted
by Japan, with a view to reforming
the maladministration of Korea" Af-
ter the conclusion Of war with Rus