The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-15
Al THE KOREAN CAPITAL
By BISHOP E. E. Hoss

It was 10 o'clock when we reached tne
 railroad station at Seoul a city of over
 20o00O inhabitants. The name is ordinari-
 ly pronounced exactly like our English
 word soul, though some Americans with
 an Irish twist in their tongues insist on
 calling it Sowl Educated Koreans al
 ways sound both the vowels in the first
 syllable, giving. however, the chief em-
 phasis to the latter one. It is difficult
 for a foreigner to follow them with ab-
 solute accuracy. At least, it was difficult
 for me to do so. Nor did I find any
 body else that was more successful. The
 city occupies chiefly the irregular level
 spaces at the foot of encompassing noun
 tains The older part of it is surrounded
 by high but ill-built wall, many miles in circumference and running right on
 without much reference to grades. At
 not a few places this wall, which must
 have cost immense sums of money for it's
 construction and maintenance, is now
 falling down, and at not few others it is being torn down, and beaten up into material for paving the streets. In time it will all go to some practical use, ex- cept perhaps a few of the picturesque
 gateways, which may be preserved as reminders of the old order. Never again will 1t serve to keep out a foreign foe. A battery of mountain howitzers could tear 1t all to pieces in an hours time. Nearly half the present population, as
 far as I could gather from pretty care full observation, Is outside the walls. This includes nearly the whole of the Japanese settlement, which is said to
 number approximately 5000 souls, and of which more anon.
 The mountains all around are the first thing to catch the eye. Many of the peaks are over 25OO feet high. In spite of the fact that they are mostly without trees, and here and there are simply stretches of naked granite, they have an attraction that Is wonderful, and that grows on the visitor. The col bring of them changes with every hour Of the day. Seen when clouds are trail- Ing low over them, or by moonlight, they are indescribably beautiful. The Jap anese authorities, which must be credited with some things at any rate. are now and with great success, an eff fort to cover these slopes once more with forests. I confess to being amazed at some of the results that have been brought to pass in a few years. The soil ma dImOSpDere lena lne eJSelVeS lO luS -apid growth of vegetation. Certain Sinds of pine trees, in particular. need ,nly to be stuck into the ground Nature ioes all the rest. In fact, the process ,f forestation, In many districts. goes ,n rapidly of it's own accord. If the vandalism of cutting down all the young growth year after year were only stopped ,y law Korea would soon again shake ike Lebanon.
 But the city itself at first glance is lot fascinating. With the exception of one very long and broad avenue and ! few other moderately wide ones the streets are mere alleys. The houses, llmost without exception. are shabby lffairs, an endless succession of straw matched huts. Untidiness runs riot. On every hand are repellent sights and Offensive smells. The old imperial pal tees were magnificent in their way md were surrounded by lovely parks md gardens. But even they are now n state of decay; and many of the ,uthouses are being demoltsh ed to get for buildings in other quar-
 CTS. I saw a whole army of Korean ,oolies under Japanese overseers en- gagged In this work. The cottage in which the late queen was so foully as sassinated has been utterly razed. witt the thought perhaps of obliterating as lar as possible the memory of that horrible event. But 1t cannot be ob- liberated. The action of the Japanese government in failing to inflict any on its own am bassador who was the chief agent in the crime las left @ stain upon its escutcheon which neither time nor anything else ,an ever wholly efface. Dr. George F. Ladd in his partisan book, with darquis Ito in Japan" seeks to min mize the whole affair by calling at ention to the undeniable fact that the lueen was herself cruel woman, and lad sent many persons to death. The ,lea Is too thin. Two wrongs can lever make one right, and nations, hat expect to meet with the approval If civiliged mankind, must utterly re- ,udiate the use of such barbarous meth ods in the attainment of their ,nds.
 The nav palace. begun some years lgo for the Emperor. has now been inished and furnished In great style. But neither the old Emperor nor the lew one rules in 1t. Though occu- ,ying assigned quarters In the enclos- Ire, they are as truly prisoners as f they were locked up in the French 3astile. Nobody ever sees them. All
 heir conduct Is closely watched. Not sven at their meals nor in their bed chambers are they free from espion- lge It must be confessed that they deserve little sympathy. The old Elm oeror especially tempted fate in every way possible Selfish cruel, careless of the rights of the people over whom le ruled, sinking the welfare of the ,ountry into the attainment of his per sonal gratihcations, he was as unkingly | ! man as ever wore a crown. Yet one cannot avoid a sort of sorrof for him
 n his low estate. and wonder whethr | 1e now sees the unutterable folly of the | policies that have brought him to his present estate. The Koreans never
 owed him in the days of his power;
 It Is to their credit that they pity aim in the days of his misery.
 Some of the foreign legations-nor- ably the Russian-have the grounds md buildings. But the American con sul general, MT. Scidmore, the embassy having been abolish ed, lives in a most old structure. Some day pr other our foreign representatives will be decently housed at the public expense. Then 1t will be possible for