The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-14
COREA'S. NEW WOMEN
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

lcopyright 1909, by Frank c. carpenter)
 Seoul, 1909.
 TYHE Empress of corea rode yester-
 day in an open carriage through l the streets of Seoul. She was on ber way from one of her palaces to an- other. She sat beside the Emperor on inc back seat The fsun shone bright, her face was unveiled. and all the world could see. There were thousands of men rnon the streets at the time. They formed long lines of white against the black huts. With their big hats and long gowns their yellow faces were turned straigbt toward her majesty and their almond eyes almost popped out in sur such an event would mean little in any European country. 1t marks one or fhe most striking changes that are going on in Corea It indicates that the new woman is on the ground with both feet, and that from now on the sex Will grad ually make its way upward out Of It's 1resent state of degredation. Until now, no man outside the Emperor and the eu- nuchs of the palace has ever seen the features of Corean female royalty when I was here 20 years ago. young Amerl- can girl had just come out to act as phy- stefan to the queen. She was the first woman doctor ever known in Corea, ana her majesty awaited her coming rather than have the foreign medical mission aries, who were at that time all men, eX- anime her When the latter were called in consultation they were not allowed to see the queen, and when they felt ler nnlse her hand was thrust out through n screen and nothing else was shown
 Where the Ladies Stay at Home.
 The Corean women are not 3adabouts. ITntil now aA those of the high and mld- de classes have been more secluded than the females of the Mohammedan harems' They have quarters of their own, Whlch 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, ana of the middle classes very few go out today except in closed chairs. In the past it has been a crime Tor man 10 lay his hand on woman outside ms own family, and any man who looked over inc wall of a garden to see the women within was sure to be punished. The nus hand has had absolute power over ms wife and concubines. They have been bound to him by letters of iron, ana to- day they have practically no rights wnlch he has to respect. Indeed, the l0,OoOO0O women who inhabit this country are still, as far as the laws and the customs which now prevail go, practically slaves am told that many or them nave sucn strength of character that they rule tnelr homes Nevertheless, the fact reihdlns ; 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 therefore the more striking. One sees lndlcatiohs of changes everywhere, both in city anu country. When I first came here the common women and slave girls Worklns i in the fields carried cloaks with theIll l lo sbieId their faces from the men, some of them turned their backs ana rals e.., eway ae I anproached On the streets or oeoui shosa who came out wore green cloaks over their heads which they held close together in front of their faces leaVllls onjv a. crack for one eye. These cloaks had flat. well-ironed sleeves which were hordered with white. The sleeves Were ,oarelv pasted into the garments anu ,uara moi intended for the arms 10 go +broueh The cloaks themselves were so thin as to be of no value Tor warmth and they were used only as wells. Iooay Che common women use the same sort or cloak. but they are not held tightly ana one can see a score of female races OH , anv of f,e main streets during any Work- ing hour of the cay. The street women belong to the laboring classes Many or them are slaves and they are as d ruie homely. dirty and frowsy. 4o
 So far, the new woman oelohss eo the nobility or the upper classes. olle is usually the daughter or solpe vans
 hon who Is pro-Japanese or is anxious to ape foreign ways. Many ol .no9o y, santiemen now dress In European clothes and not few are anNlouS n lo have their wives do likewise IheV