Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-10
BY GIDEON A. LYON.

will quote 1t literally, in part, it being
printed In English, surrounded by ko-
rean text:
"The Korean public extend a hearty
welcome to the group Of prominent
American journalists who are whiting
this land Of ours Just now. Moreover,
their visit is considered more important
than any other such occasion, because
we believe. as expert and wide-eyed Of
servers, they will surely see things as
they are, and even see through the
things to the bare reality. And this
will result in a better and sympathetic
understanding between the two nations,
American and Korean, about what Is
really going on in this land of suffering.
Want Them to See Truth.
I'VE do not ask them to see our land
and people under any other light than
the real If there has been change and
progress on any line, we want them to
look at it and value 1t. If there has
been retrogression and poverty, we want
them to observe IL, too, and ponder Tor
the cause.
I'VE regret that we have no freedom
even to print here some statistics show
ing the real conditions of this country.
But we are sure that 1t is not difficult to
obtain such material If our honored VS.
lUOIS WdIlICU W fiiQ. d1bC1
we may safely say that under the pres
ent regime what Korea has accom-
plished and what is done for Korea
may not always be what Koreans have
accomplished and Is done for Koreans.
Such distinction may or may not have
been observed by travellers before
The real meaning of this is that the
So-called Korean press, the native press,
is working for national independence as
strongly as it can. 1t claims that the
Japanese administration &C Korea has
been solely for exploitation, and hat It
Is the purpose of Japan to crush out all
national spirit by eliminating the Ian
guage and by denying Koreans any part
in the government Of the country. This
is not a militant nationaliSm, but Is
rather an intellectual movement.
Nationalist Spirit Deep.
was told yesterday py one who has
been In Korea for good many years
in evangelical work that the nationalist
spirit is deep seated ard fundamental
among the common people, The :4literate
as we'll as the literate. I was given
some figures by the same person that
serve to show that the Korean agricul-
tural situation, despite the improve
ments inaugurated by Japan, is pretty
bad. Here they are:
The average income of the average
agricultural family of five persons in
Korea is SIS a year, with $40 as the
minimum and 5000 as the maximum in
the richest parts of the peninsula. The
average family consists Of S LIS persons
The average family deficit is 50 year.
About 80 per cent of the Koreans are
farmers, and of these rs per cent are
either wholly or partly tenants. 1t is
asserted by an investigator, an Ameri-
can, that during the past 10 years ten
ancy has increased by 20 per cent. The
majority of the farmers cannot meet
expenses at the end of the harvest year
and must borrow money at exorbitant
rates of interest so per cent being COM
mon, despite the law against usury.
with much higher rates paid in many
cases At harvest time the tax collector
and the usurer demand payments. The
farmer cannot make his payments, and
finally cannot borrow money to make
them. and foreclosure follows. The
"middleman" hovers around at this sea-
and buys the little farm of a few
''tsubo''-1 tsubo is feet square-for