The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-04

Cemeteries Often Are Scenes of
Dissertation Owing to Super
stitions.

seoul. Korea Oct A curious So
rial fact about Korea is that the most
numerous crimes committed by Ko-
reans are connected in some way with
ror,bs and burials. This is the con-
ciusion OF NJ Kokubu, Chief Public
= Procurator of the Supreme Court
here a common occurrence is for
Koreans TO bury their dead in
ground belonging to other people
Without first obtaining the consent of
the owner This is sometimes &C
Accomplished in secret, sometimes by
force, and it is almost Invariably done
under cover of darkness.
The underlying reason for these Of
fences is the Korean superstition that
1.-THE prosperity or unhappiness of the
Surviving members of the family in
which death has occurred, as well as
l1z1e hzppineSs of the departed person
ldepen6s upon the selection or the bur
lfa1 ground of the dead Therefore
when Koreans are told by soothsay-
isxs that a certain spot is good for
the burial place they do not hesitate
ito take possession OF the indicated
ground
Blackuaan concerning tombs also is
lxrequent- The criminals first open up
the toznbs belonging to some wealthy
Family then remove the head of the
tcorpse and hold IL for ransom. In
former times the blackmailer sue
lcseded, as Koreans believe that the
dissertation of tombs brings woe to
those who allowed them to remain in
a ruined condition. Recently these
icrfres have decreased, owing to the
activity of the police
Mr. KoEzubu has recorded another
lfzvor1te Korean custom, namely, the
carrying on by force of widows by
bachelors VINO are unable to marry in
the regular way on account of their
poverty
Influenced by Confucianism, Ko-
irean women in general believe that
they are morally bound not to mar
~ second time On the other hand
many men cannot marry on account
Of the great expense attached to the
ceremony These two conditions have
fcombined to bring about abductions,
which are very often nothing more
than Opponents Immediately
woman loses her husband some Don
tain to undertake her rescue from
zTfdow-hood- Accompanied by friends
he goes to the womans house at mid
night and bears her away After
Z ward the marriage is announced at
Banquet and nobody blames the alb
ductor or the abducted, who are sup
posed TO be happy for ever afterward.
The investigation of crime and
criminals in Korea by Procurator Ko-
kuhu. and the tradition of the widows
abduction. led him to study marriage
customs in general. These he finds
have not been changed by the an
uexation of the peninsula to Japan.
All classes OF Koreans marry very
early Not infrequent1y one meets in
Korea boys and girls of fourteen or
fifteen already married. These boy
and-gfrI marriages are arranged by
their parents, the young people haV-
ing no voice in the matter. The de-
cision rests with astrologer, to
whom the parents of a prospective
couple go for advice. If the astro1-
orer decides against the pact the mat
ter is dropped If his advice be IA
rerabIe, presents are exchanged be-
tween the two families and the COM
ing wedding is announced to the ac-
tual parties to the alliance. They
are. however. still not allowed to see
each other
In Korea, girls are kept confined in
an inner chamber and are not al
lowed to go out They are entirely
cut of from society, and consequent
u are melancholy and unsociable. The
wedding announcement is accepted by
the prospective bride as heart-break-
ing news. for she has to leave her
own family and join strange people.
On the wedding day she says good
bye to her parents and goes to the
bridegroom's house, carried in a Ko-
rean chair. covered with a tigers skin.
This the Koreans believe keeps away