The passing of Korea

by Homer Bezalee Hulbert

THE

PASSING OF KOREA

BY

HOMER B. HULBERT

A.M., F.R.G.S.

Author of "The History of Korea," "Comparative Grammar of Korea and Dravidian," "A Search for the Siberian Klondike," etc.

Illustrated from Photographs

NEW YORK

Doubleday, Page & Company

1906

Copyright, 1906, by

Doubleday, Page & Company

Published, September, 1906

All rights reserved,
including that of translation into foreign languages,
including the Scandinavian

Dedicated

TO HIS MAJESTY

THE EMPEROR OF KOREA

AS A TOKEN OF HIGH ESTEEM AND A PLEDGE OF
UNWAVERING ALLEGIANCE, AT A TIME WHEN
CALUMNY HAS DONE ITS WORST AND
JUSTICE HAS SUFFERED AN ECLIPSE

AND

TO THE KOREAN PEOPLE

WHO ARE NOW WITNESSING THE PASSING OF OLD KOREA
TO GIVE PLACE TO A NEW, WHEN THE SPIRIT OF THE
NATION, QUICKENED BY THE TOUCH OF FIRE,
SHALL HAVE PROVED THAT THOUGH
"SLEEP IS THE IMAGE OF DEATH"
IT IS NOT DEATH ITSELF

PREFACE

MANY excellent books have been written about Korea, each of them approaching the subject from a slightly different angle. In the present volume I have attempted to handle the theme from a more intimate standpoint than that of the casual tourist.

Much that is contained in this present volume is matter that has come under the writer's personal observation or has been derived directly from Koreans or from Korean works. Some of this matter has already appeared in The Korea Review and elsewhere. The historical survey is a condensation from the writer's "History of Korea."

This book is a labour of love, undertaken in the days of Korea's distress, with the purpose of interesting the reading public in a country and a people that have been frequently maligned and seldom appreciated. They are overshadowed by China on the one hand in respect of numbers, and by Japan on the other in respect of wit. They are neither good merchants like the one nor good fighters like the other, and yet they are far more like Anglo-Saxons in temperament than either, and they are by far the pleasantest people in the Far East to live amongst. Their failings are such as follow in the wake of ignorance everywhere, and the bettering of their opportunities will bring swift betterment to their condition.

For aid in the compilation of this book my thanks are mainly due to a host of kindly Koreans from every class in society, from the silk-clad yangban to the fettered criminal in prison, from the men who go up the mountains to monasteries to those who go down to the sea in ships.

H. B. H.

NEW YORK, 1906.

CONTENTS

Introductory. The Problem		Page 3
Chapter
I.	Where and what Korea is above and below ground	10
II.	The People	27
III.	Government	45
IV.	Legendary and Ancient History	69
V.	Medieval History	78
VI.	The Golden Age of Korea and the Japanese Invasion	90
VII.	The Manchu Invasion and Early Christianity	103
VIII.	The Opening of Korea	114
IX.	The Assassination of the Queen	129
X.	The Independence Club	148
XI.	Russian Intrigue	169
XII.	The Japan-Russia War	185
XIII.	The Battle of Chemulpo	199
XIV.	The Japanese in Korea	208
XV.	Revenue	225
XVI.	The Currency	234
XVII.	Architecture and Building	241
XVIII.	Transportation	252
XIX.	Korean Industries	269
XX.	Domestic and Foreign Trade	281
XXI.	Monuments and Relics	288
XXII.	Language	300
XXIII.	Literature	306
XXIV.	Music and Poetry	314
XXV.	Art	330
XXVI.	Education	335
XXVII.	The Emperor of Korea	343
XXVIII.	Woman's Position	349
XXIX.	Folk-lore	372
XXX.	Religion and Superstition	403
XXXI.	Slavery	432
XXXII.	Funeral procession—Geomancy	437
XXXIII.	Burial Customs	445
XXXIV.	Modern Improvements	456
XXXV.	The Future of Korea	461
INDEX		467

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
 

The Emperor of Korea	Frontispiece
	FACING PAGE
The faithful Fuel-Carriers of Korea	18
Shoeing a Bull	20
American Bridge across the Han	28
A dancing-girl Posturing	40
Otium sine Dignitate	62
Relics of Ancient Korea	72
Three Bridges of Korea	74
Ruins of "Golden Pagoda," Ancient Silla	82
Bas-Relief on Door of Ancient Silla Pagoda	82
Astronomical Observatory of Ancient Silla	82
The Marble Pagoda in Seoul	86
A Buddhist Relic in the South	86
The Late Regent, Prince Tai-Wun	116
Buddhist Abbot	130
A Picturesque Nook in the Old Palace	132
A Palace-Woman in Full Regalia	138
Two of the Foreign Legations in Korea	150
The Japanese Legation	190
The French Legation Building	204
Martial Law	210
Views of Picturesque Korea	216
Min Yong Whan, Prince and General	222
The Korean Farmer	226
A Corner Grocery	244
How they Shovel Dirt	246
Building a Dirt Wall	248
Art and Religion	250
Water-Carriers at a Neighbourhood Well	258
The Shipyard	260
Two Industries of Korea	264
Automatic Water-Mill	266
Hulling Rice	270
Poultry Peddler	270
Boys who Gather Grass for Fuel	272
Dead Child Tied to Tree	272
Placer Gold-Mining	274
An Archery Tournament	278
An Interesting Chess Problem	282
Swinging	286
Stone Dog, Guardian of Palace against Fire	290
A Boundary Stone	294
Symbols of Korea's Religion	296
A Member of the Body-Guard of the God of War	302
Village Devil-Posts	302
Mural Decorations in Old Palace	332
Woman's Correct Street Costume	354
The Laundry	356
Imperial "funeral Baked Meats"	440
A Prince's Tomb	448
The South Gate, Seoul	450
Stone Image near Tomb	452
The American Methodist Church, Seoul	454
Residence of the American Consul-General	458

THE EMPEROR OF KOREA