The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1911-03-09
W0MMoNAJuNkE
Korean Party Breaks All Records
by Crossing Sea.
Expsd'tIon Planned by Japanese Mas
tsfs ~ Little Journey 81 EnIiahten.
Hnent for Fifty-odd Ysnsbans-
They Believed Everything.

~
msnt for Flfty-odd ,Yansbans-
They Believed Everything.
New York.-When a Korean woman
10 years old consents to take her first
sade on q railroad train there is oppor.
tuntty for marveling among her coun-
tys men and women. But. when that
Korean grandmother goes all the way
to Tokyo. across the sea and in the
land Of the conquerors, the Korean
conservatives may we'll shake his
hsads and prophesy that soon the stars
will begin to fall, says a correspondent
Of the Sun.
Such a trip was taken recently BY
such . daring old lady OF Chosen, and
not. only that, but there were many
Korean ladies Of younger years with
her. The Japanese looked upon the
excursion az a good augury of the
breaking down Of Korean prejudice
and the acceptance by them of the
new regime Of Japanese suzerainty.
Tho papers Of Tokyo were filled with
the most intimate details Of the doings
and sayings Of this unusual band of
pilgrims.
The expedition was planned by the
Japanese masters in Seoul as a little
Journey Of enlightenment for afty-odd
Korean yangbans, or scholars of leis-
ure. who had recently been in receipt
Of new titles in the peerage of Korea
and who were supposed to be thor
oughly reconciled to the absorption of
their land by the conquerors from the
eastern island.
The party was headed by the junior
Prince O Ii, theseldest son Of the last
shadow emperor of Korea, and the
Countess vi Chyong,. one of the ladies'
ofsthe old court, set the fashion for
her more shrinking sisters by an.
nouncing herself as one of the party.
The expedition set out from Seoul on
October "a. 80 as to be present in To
yo when the celebration of the birth
day of::the emperor Of Japan should &C.
cur. early in November.
For nearly all of the women in the
party q railroad journey and the cross
Ing Of the seas in a steamship was a
lev and somewhat terrifying adven-
turs. The high caste women of Korea
hay hitherto been subjected to a Sc
olusion even more rigorous than the
women of China. They never ven
tursd in the streets in the daytime un.
leSs behind the closed curtains of a
palanquin, and to make their appear
,ance In any public place was consider
adA;thing. SO sunseemly as to merit os-
tracism, even divorce.
But according to the statements
made by several of the women in the
Imperial junket and set forth glowing
" in the Japanese press, the world
beyond the women's quarter of a house
In Seoul was very marvellous. Why,
the Korean ladies even heard it said
In Tokyo that away of beyond the rim
Of: the; eastern ocean mon with wings
Jew above the earth. That. of, course.
was q Japanese joke.
The Tokyo papers did not neglect to
say that among the party was Ming
Chhong-sik, reformed bandit" A ban
DIT in Korea. according to Japanese un-
~defstanding, is a man who resents the
invasion Of his country by taking his
Old muzzle-loading tiger gun, retiring
TO the mountains and sniping Japan
Ne whenever the opportunity offers.
This Ming had been a leader in the
Wipyon or the righteous army Of the
i~nsurrection in 1906. and before he
ID been caught and condemned to
6safh he had killed many of his coun-
try's enemies. The death sentence
had been committed to Punishment,
and It was only after the general am
nssty had been proclaimed upon the
complete overthrow Of Korean inde-
psndence that Ming had dared go back
70 his country.
Ming IL quoted as having pleaded
With the japanese governor-general Of
Chosen, the Japanese name Of the
now province. to be allowed to join
the excursion In order that he might
see with his own eyes the civilization
and progress Of the empire Of which
Chosen has now become a part"