Chino-Japanese war, that the Korean Postal Service was at last established under the direction of a Japanese. For several years this service was confined to Korea herself, and did not undertake any foreign business. In 1897 the Korean Government determined to join the Postal Union, and to this end two representatives were sent to the Universal Postal Congress, held at Washington in May and June of that year. They signed the international agreement. Finally, in 1898, the Government secured the services of M. E. Clemencet, a member of the Postal and Telegraph Bureau of France, as adviser and instructor to the Postal Bureau, and on January 1, 1900, Korea entered the Postal Union.
The Service comprises, in addition to the central bureau at Seoul, thirty-seven postal stations, in full operation, and 326 sub-stations open to the exchange of ordinary or registered correspondence, whether domestic or foreign. Seven hundred and forty-seven letter boxes have been distributed throughout postal circuits in charge of these stations. Only the stations in full operation are carried on by agents or sub-agents under the control of the Director-General of Communications to the number of 756, of which 114 are agents and secretaries, and 642 are couriers, watchmen, &c. The management of secondary offices is in the hands of local country magistrates under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, and has no connection with the Department of Communications except in so far as the control and management of the postal system is directly affected. A network of land postal routes, starting out from Seoul along the seven main highways, is run daily in both directions by postal couriers. Each of the large country offices controls a courier service, which, in turn, connects with the smaller country offices. These secondary
