Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-06-26

ONE OF KoREAs NEW SCHOOLS.


!. Carpenter.
sSss
ming to appreciate our civilization
Their almond eyes are opening to the
needs OF modern education, and
schools are being started in all of the
cities. Those of the missions. which
have been in existence for years are
ovcrcrowded and the new ones OF the
japanese government have more than
they can do. There are several thous-
and boys and as many girls now in
attendance ut the public schools of
Seoul. They ali wear uniforms, and
night and morning streets are filled
with the boys wearing caps and gowns
and barefaced and bareheaded girls
with their books in their hands. Each
boy has a little brass badge on his
cap which marks the school to which
he belongs. All the boys have their
hair cut short, instead of wearing j
in long brads down their backs. as
was the old Korean custom, and the
girls wear no wells, which is quite
contrary to the ideas OF the older
Koreans.
The government school buildings are
much like those of Japan. They arc
equipped with furniture like ours,
and each has its gymnasium. There is
large manual training school. run
by the Japanese government. ana there
is a Japanese academy where young
men are taught Korean III order that
they may act as advisers to the native
officials.
Our mission schools are scattered
over Korea. There are. all told, $50
primary graded schools. which are
supported by the Koreans themselves
and Ii intermediate schools and aca-
denies. The primary schools ha1
about 10000 pupils last year, and at
that time there We're nine high
schools for young women with 500
students. There are also industrial.
schools and schools for the blind.
The Y. NJ. C. A. is doing greai
educational work here in Seoul, and
, one of the finest OF the new buildings
which is now going up. is a Korean
college being built by Korean money
and backed by Koreans. The natives
realize that the Japanese are now
brighter than they are, and they feel
that their success comes from the new
education. III the past the Chinese
classics were the only standards OF
scholarship. Today our modern stu
dies have taken the place of the
classics, and all Korea is studying the
multiplication table.
MISSION SCHOOLS VS.. THE Gov.
ERNMENT.
Just now there is some excitement
among the missionaries on account of
an imperial edict which provides that
ali private schools shall be under
government direction, The authoritie.
require full information as to the
names and character of the teachers
and also as to the receipts and es
penditures. All books have to be pass
ed upon by the educational depart
ment and the teaching must be as
the government directs. This seems
rather severe, and it causes unfavor-
able comment.
A LITERARY AWAKENING
The Koreans have always been G.
literary people. Much of the old learn
ing of Japan came from them, and
they still hold scholarship in the
highest respect. Indeed, the common
word here for Mr. is "Schoolman."
The Koreans call each other School
man PAX, Schoolran Ye or Schools
man Kim, instead of MI. PAX. Mr..
ter classes of the people have been
we'll up in Chinese. and I have
seen picnic parties of young Korean
gentlemen engaged in writing Chinese
poetry under the trees They would
take text ard try who could make.
the best rhymes. Such young men
are now studying the modern langu-
aside Confucius and Mencius and are
reading the New Testament, which has
been translated by the missionaries
and also a number of other books
which are being turned into Korean
a life Of Garfield was recently publish
Roland" popular book is Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress, which was trans
lated by the late Mrs. Gale and a
Young Korean named Yank-Ki-Taill
who recently had some trouble with
the Japanese government. This Pill
grim's Progress has had a large sale
and 1t is going into a new edition.
I understand that several Korean
novels have been issued. the two
most popular now current being
spirit Voices" and Dead Tree
Flowers"
THE KOREAN DICTIONARY,
One of the greatest works performed
BY Americans in Korea WAS the max
ing of the korean-English dictionary.
| This was done by DR.. j. S. Gale, Il
Presbyterian missionary. He began it
in 1892, after four years residence in
! the country, and completed 1t within
five years. Prior to that there was no
means of accommodation between
| the foreigners and the natives except
| through the Chinese language. The
work of making the dictionary was
| enormous. The definitions were in
Korean. Chinese and English. and
every character had to be just so, for
| the variation of a stroke or a pcint
might perhaps turn the word Lord"
| into devil" The original edition of the
dictionary has long since been sold out
| and new one is now being prepared.
DR.. Gale tells me that 1t is necessi-
| tated by the thousands of new words
! which have come into the language.
! caused by the changes in civilization
and life of the people. Scientific words
| such as telephone. telegraph, dynamite
and radium have had to be
| added. All of these have now their