The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-29
The Status of Woman.
8I C.Z COLLLER ERG GSe

This is called a ssi-chi-na Skirt worr
 from the head.) It is always made o1 | cotton goods except in the case o1 l brides and the very wealthy who wear | silk
 | The bride of but a. few months pullf | her si1ken veil so closely over her face
 and figure that but one eye is left t1n- | covered whereWith to see her way l about.
 In the far North the veil is seldom | or never seen, it's place being taken by | an immense bell-shaped hat which ie
 of such a height that when the wo-
 man sits on the floor she is completely
 hidden from view. This hat is called 1 the sa-kat because it is made Of the 1 sa, kind of reed, and is said to have l come down from the time the Chinese l first came to Korea eleven centuries 1 before the Christian era.
 | FROM CHILDHOOD TO MATRON
 In the majority of cases the girl passes with but one step from the | freedom of childhood to the cares of l the matron, hence 1t is that the girls
 in Korea know nothing of that prep | aration or training for life that in the 1 West is considered to be indispensa bIe
 1t is only the children of the highest | and wealthies classes that ever have any opportunity of education and these l form but a very small portion of the
 entire nation.
 Like their brothers, when they study | they have to commit to memory se1ec- l tfons of the Chinese classics. It is es- | tinated that not above four per cent. l Of them ever take a book into their | hands to study, while of these not more than one in a hundred acquire ksumcient Chinese to be able to read
 interigently. The portion of all other | classes is the common round, the
 daily task relieved by scarcely any thing of variety.
 It was not always that women were kept in seclusion. Again and again | Koreans of both high and low stand | ing havs stated that the origin of the | seclusion%of women lay in the fact that a man could not trust his netghbors. History tells of the 1awIessness that used to abound, of the immortality | and insecurity of life; hence having no means of protection it is no wonder 1 that the Koreans forbade their wives intercourse with men and the freedom of the streets.
 While as compared with the inmate of India's zenana, the Korean woman has great deal of freedom, yet there is a very positive segregation of the sexes. For the missionary to insist upon what he has been used to in America would be put to drive the people away from him. The Korean idea of propriety is met by the build ing of a high screen down the center of the church. In some places the churches have been built in the shape of an 'tL'' with the pulpit in the angle; the men occupy one wing while the women sit in the other Thus does the minister have the unusual experience of preaching to two audiences at one and the same time.
 This matter of secIusion is hoary with age, but it is doomed to fall, for in the country and capita 1alike, we find the women are restive under it's restraint A few years ago there was a very interesting movement initiated by the wives of some of Korea'e lead ing men. It is taking the form of an educational club, though spoken of as a school An increasingly large mum Der of women attend it's gatherings. They go to it closely yelled, or else in sedan chairs. When there they give free expression to their thoughts and are earnestly and vigorously studying the life of women in Europe and Amer ica. From time to time various nnis- sionary ladies (the only foreign women in Korea that can speak the language) have been invited to attend these gath erings, to address and instruct the wo- none.
 The potentialities of this movement are great. It is entirely of Korean origin and receives no fostering care from the outside. It Is not political, 1t it not religious, it is the natural crav- ing of the human heart for enlighten- ment and greater freedom.
 THE WIPES TITLE.
 Most girls are betrothed before they are twelve and married within the fol- lowing two or three years From the time of marriage the childhood name is dropped and until she becomes the mother of a son there is no name by which she can be called. Then she will be so-and-so's mother.
 In the event of having no son she will be called so-and-so's auntie, or else MT. Kim's inside house, but never his wife. She, in speaking of her husband, calls him the father of her child, or else her "IandIord.''
 In the more remote country districts