The Wilmington morning star., 1945-09-05
JAPANESE YOKE
ON KOREA HAS
BEEN REMOVED

M Va anu A''leflcahs IN the South.
this Far Eastern nation becor,a'
one of the first to drop the be.n,
made-in-Japan yoke. Kor.,
promised independence bv ~
Cairo Declaration of 1s43 u.;.
expectantly on the threshold ~ ~
new national life.
Korea, says the National cao,..
phle Society, is mountains,
peninsula shaped like a ,obs...
claw, reaching south from N.n
churla toward Kyushu, Southern
most home island of japan w;n
$4,000 square miles of area, Kor.,
is almost once and half tbo ,;
OF Florida which it roughly ressn,
Dles in shape. If moved 10 II.
east coast of the United STATE,
the country would stretch frou
Portsmouth, New Hampshire :,
Charleston, South Carolina
rugged mountain chain paran0I.
the east or Japan Sea cn.s4
eliminating in a central grorn n
magnificent Alplike granite neal, VI
The land slopes gradually woe, was,
and south, forming small oIair,
on which most of the faymins
population is concentrated, Rivor,
are short and rapid, and thrsa
are navigable for any distance
The east coast is jagged and
forblddlng, with only few goOd
harbors on the Sea of Japan
Forty-foot tides which race in and
out of the Yellow Sea make thp
west coast treacherous.
Though level land is rare, Kore.
is still chiefly an agricultural ma.
tion. Irrigated rice fields pattern
the valleys, and the small plains
are patched with fields of grain
SilkWorm cultivation thrives in
southern Korea, and fishing vii.
lagos dot the long coastline
Temperatures range about six de.
grees cooler than comparative
areas along the American east
coast. and the two regions receive
about the same amount of rain,
fall. But nearly all Korean rain
falls in two summer months, often
causing heavy crop damage.
Korean resources are largely un.
developed. Totally lacking in oil,
the country has an estimated coal
reserve of two billion tons. Like
Switzerland, it can count on tire.
mendous water power develop.
ment. Already tunnels have been
cut through the mountainous range
overlooking the east coast, divert.
ing rivers east instead of west,
sc that the water cascades swiftly
down sleeper eastern slopes.
Often erroneously considered an
unimportant country. Korea has
some Is million inhabitants, rank.
ing it thirteenth among countries
OF the world in population, Koreans
are a Mongoloid people, most Of
whom are taller. more robust, Ggh'
ter, and with more regular fea.
lures than other Mongol peoples
Their language is their own, quite
different from Chinese or Jap.
anese; and through centuries Of
foreign pressure and association
Korea has kept a distinctive cul'
ture and personality. Confucian'
ism written script, and most
forms of art are borrowed from
the Chinese.
No one religion dominates the
peninsula. Once Buddhism ana
Confucianism were boh strong
but most Koreans have no organlz'
ed religion, follow a vague spirit
worship. Christian missions have
done outstanding work there
claimed at one time half a million
followers. Old Korea, strange in
) oriental ways, is gradually fading
before the advance of modern
ideas. Town life and indusN
speeded by war, are repIaclns
simpler ways of life, but oldel
people and the inhabitants IN more
remote places cling to old GUS
toms and quaint costumes
Korea's origins are shrouded IN
the mists of legend. To "esf
erners it has always been a myS.
terious, out-of-the-way lana u
| Buddhist temples and monastellss'
of spirit-worship and queer stow
pipe hats. Recorded history De-
ginning in 81 B. c., tells OF num-
erous petty kingdoms and Succ'.
sive dynas,ies, eliminating ILL., III
golden age which held sway VIM VIM
European civilization was ecllP.s. ~.
by the Dark Age following rn. .n
fall of Rome. In 1892 Korea tuilt ,
ed back. the first Jap Wes'Walt ar.,
thrust and became for Ine i.." .o.
time a united country. Two :,'ii. ''n
turies of highly developed s;,, elsr,
zation followed, during .m why
Koreans invented movable NrI wy.
and devised an alphabet SO siii,r,n 81, ~,
that an average Korean chlla 49,. ~.
learn to read in a month: h sI,ed
ture and the arts showed ili'-A
development. N.
! Wars and invasions sweep e1pTnad
peninsula periodically. MqnS naSs
and Manchu overlords ruled rio5, snT,s
though the Chinese in long ,1o pel IN
! of domination interfered nue. ~, ~
Korean affairs. 1t remalneu .rGl,
Japan to attempt absolute eon a,
But for centuries Korea :.iors, WGo
stumbling block to Jap aHl0t;ro .ir9e,,
Mot once hllt several tii