Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-23

~ ~ - WV J
where to be seen.
The New City of Seoul.
The capital, Seoul, is fast becoming a new
city. When I came here twenty years ago
the trip from the seaport, Chempulo, took
over twelve hours, and / had to have a
pony and eight men to bring myself and
wife to the walls. l rode the pony and the
madame came in a chair, borne on the
shoulders Of four coolies, with a relay of
four others to help them. Toward the end
Of the journey we had to push on for fear
we might not get to Seoul before the gates
closed. The city is surrounded by a mas
sive wall nine miles in length and thirty
feet high. At that time this wall was en-
tered only by gates, and these were closed
at night by heavy doors plated with iron,
which were not opened again until the
next day. We got in just in time to see the
gates close. There was no hotel, and we
had to be met by the soldiers OF our lega-
ton, and were quartered there during our
stay.
The city still has its walls, but the gates
now stand open day and night, and an
electric street car line runs through two
of them and on out into the country. An
electric light globe prevents the closing of
one which We entered, and another gate
has proved too small to m the
traffic and has been cut out by the Jap
anese, wide roads being made through the
walls on each side. The gate itself, which
Is a temple-like structure with a double
roof Of heavy tiles, has been faced with
stone; and 1t Is now proposed to put q
commercial museum in the soldiers guard
room above 1t. In that old gate all the in
dustries Of the new Corea will be shown
side by side with those of other nations,
and the people will thus be taught the va
rious methods of manufacture and sale.
.
Signal Fires against Electricity
As we came into Seoul that night we
could see the signal fires blazing on the
mountains which surround the city, and
We're told that they were the last Of the
long series OF watch fires built upon the
hills of the other parts of Korea to notify
the king that the country was quiet and
all was at peace. Today there are watch
fires no longer, but in their place Korea
has its wireless telegraph stations and the
capital Is covered with telephone wires.
One OF the oldest buildings of the palace.
In which the emperor now lives, has been
turned into a telephone booth, and Japan
ese hello girls sit there and take messages
from all parts of the city. There are tele-
graph wires to every large village, with
more than 1900 miles OF line open, and
cables across to Japan.
Electric Lights and street Cars.
The old Seoul was pitch dark at night
The laws were that the ordinary man
should not go about after dark, only Off
Gals and fDfaiRnpyS and THAR .r,ya,t
being permitted to do so. Women were
never seen on the streets in the daytime
and the night was supposed to be their
time for calling. When We went out we
took the keso Of the legation to carry our
lantern, and this consisted OF a framework.
holding a candle with a red, white and
blue gauze cloth thrown over II. The Seoul
OF today is fairly well lighted. Many OF
the stores keep open during the evening
and most Of the houses have an oil lamp
or an electric light globe at their front
gate. Looking down the wide main streets
of the city makes one think of one OF the
larger towns of our country, for the lights
alone are to be seen, and the low one
story buildings are lost in the darkness.
Seoul has now an electric car line run by
Americans. 1t was put In long before the
japanese took hold Of the government, and
about half OF the stock belongs to the re-
tired emperor, who has refused to sell out
20 the japanese capitalists. The Koreans
are now patronizing the road. At first
they said It was magic, and a mob de.
stroyed some of the cars, Their theory
was that the line would prevent the spirits
giving them rain. They said the cars were
boats, and that the gods, looking dowr
from the skies, seeing them swimming e
and fro through the streets, would say
These people need no rain, for their Cit
is swimming in water"
A somewhat similar feeling prevailed a.
TO the magic in the telephone and telegraph
systems. Many Of the Korean women
knowing that speech went over the wires
thought the poles must contain spirits an,
that the sound buzzing on the wires wa.
their voices. Indeed, some said their pray
ers to the telephone poles at the time.
.
ChIn-GO-Kai.
Have you ever heard OF Chin-Go-Kai
1t is a section OF Seoul which contain
5000 Japanese people. II has big officia
buildings, many two-story houses and lonl
streets of stores, which would be a credi
70 Toxic. Some of the stores have plate
glass windows, and nearly all carry larg
stocks OF goods, Here everything is clean
The roadways are swept, and most OF then
are as smooth as a floor. There are banks
brick school buildings, a postoffice and al
sorts OF business establishments.
At one side OF this seton is a gea
frame office structure devoted to the resi-
dent general, who governs Korea. with tn
emperor as the nominal head, and back o
Il is the home OF this high official. with
thousand acres or more OF Nam-san noun
I'll. nl-nrt Il Tha ola mountain had lal