Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-22
tspecial correspondence.,

EOUL, Korea, 1907 want to tell
a. you what the Japanese are doing
I'm Korea. They have taken the
Hermit Kingdom by the neck, and
are shaking its dry bones into action.
They are establishing courts, abolish
ing squeezing and reorganizing the fl
nances. They propose to build roads,
TO reforest the mountains, to open the
mines and to turn this half barren
country into garden. All these things
are in their beginnings, but start has
been made and signs Of progress are
everywhere to be seen
THE NEW CITY or Seoul.
The capital, Seoul is fast becoming
n new city. When | came here 20
years ago the tii'p from the seaport,
Cheniulpo, took over IL hours. and 1
had to have q pony and eight men to
bring myself ana wife To the walls.
rode the pnny 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
80 feet high. All that time this wall
was entered only by gates, and these
Were closed at night by heavy doors
plated with iron, which We're not
opened again unti 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 legs-
ton. and were uuartered 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 the one which
we entered, and another gate has
proved too small to accommodate the
traffic and has been cut out by the
Japanese, wide roads being made
through the walls on each side. The
gate itself, which is a tempe-like struc-
.ture with a double roof of heavy tiles,
has been faced with stone; and 1t is
now proposed to put a commercial mu- i
scum in the soldiers gnardroom above
it. In that old gate all the industries
of the new Korea will be shown side by
side with those of other nations, and
the people will thus be taught the vari- !
Gus methods OF manufacture and sale. |
SIGNAL Fires VS.. 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 We're 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 corln-
try was quiet and was at peace. Today
there are watch fires no longer, but in
their place Korea has its wireless tele-
graph stations and the capital Is COW
cred with telephone wires. Ono Of the
oldest buildings Of the palace In which
the emperor now lives, has been turned
Into telephone booth, and Japanese
hello girls sit there and take
messages from all parts of the city
There are telegraph wires to every large
line open. and cables across to japan.
]. ELECTRIC LIGHTS AND STREET
CARS
The old Seoul was pitch lark at
night. The laws We're that the ordin-
airy man should not go about after
dark, only officials and foreigners and
their servants being permitted TO do |
SO. Women We're never seen on the
streets III the daytime, and the night
was supposed to be their time for call
Ing. When We went out we took the
iseso of the legation to carry our Lam
tern, and this consisted OF a frame
work. holding q candle with a red,
white and blue gauze cloth thrown over
It The Seoul OF today la fairly well L
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