Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/20

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Village Life in Korea.

withstanding the free advertising she has had in the last ten years on account of her relation to the Japan-China and the Japan-Russia Wars.

No, Korea is not a lonely island in the midst of the tropics, as many seem to imagine; neither is it a province of China nor of Japan; though the last so-called treaty between Japan and Korea virtually makes Korea Japanese territory.

Korea is a peninsula extending out a little southeast from Manchuria, from which it is divided by the Yalu River, which is the largest and most important river in the peninsula. The extreme northeastern corner is bounded by Siberia, hence Russia's great desire to get possession of Korea and extend her borders farther south into a warmer clime. The eastern shore is washed by the waters of the beautiful Sea of Japan, which contributes much toward making it one of the most delightful climates in all the Far East. This shore is very regular, there being but few bays and islands on the entire coast. Gensan (or Wonsan, as the natives call it) is the exception to the above statement as regards bays, this being one of the best harbors in the East — a beautiful bay, almost landlocked — with an anchorage sufficient for a large fleet, and deep enough to accommodate the largest steamers. This shore is almost devoid of tides, the rise and fall not being more than three feet at any time. Owing to the principal range of mountains extending along this coast near to the shore, there are no large rivers; but there are many small streams which find their way to the sea, giving an abundant water supply to all the