Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/128

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114
Village Life in Korea.

gentleman came with his wife one evening to say good-by, as they were moving to another city. We had not been in Korea long at that time, and did not understand much of the language, but as the man could speak English it was easy to converse with him. But his wife could not speak English, and so in talking with Mrs. Moose it was difficult for them to understand each other, whereupon the man said: "O well, she hasn't any sense; that is the reason you can't understand her." As a matter of fact, she was a bright little woman, and had about as much sense as her self-honored lord and master, if he had only been able to recognize it. There are no schools for girls and women in all this land, or at least there were none when the first missionary found his way into the Hermit Nation, which was only about twenty-five years ago. It is true that a few of our village women can read, but it is not because they have been sent to school or given any chance to learn. They have learned in spite of circumstances, all of which tend to keep them from learning. Now that thousands of women have heard the gospel of hope, they are learning to read for the sake of being able to learn more and more of the precious truths of the Scriptures. Many of them have passed the age of forty or fifty years before they have heard of the gospel; but even then they learn to read, so they may read it for themselves. This in itself is proof positive that they have all the ability needed, if they can only be made to realize it.