Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/52

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Village Life in Korea.

Although I die in body, I shall not be dead in soul, and even after death I shall ever endeavor to assist you in your good efforts. Therefore exert yourselves to the utmost, redouble your natural power and strength, educate yourselves, and restore our independence and liberty. Then I shall be happy forever, even though I lie in my grave.

Let me urge you again, do not he discouraged in the least. Be determined to realize your fondest hopes.

Now remember what I say, for I die to make your minds firm; and now farewell, my twenty million compatriots, farewell!

To write the history that has been made in Korea since the signing of the above so-called treaty would require a large volume. I shall therefore attempt nothing more than a brief outline of some of the principal facts.

Marquis (afterwards Prince) Ito was stationed in Seoul as the resident general. Marshal Hasegawa was left in charge of the Japanese army in Korea.

In the summer of 1907 the king secretly sent a delegation to The Hague with the hope of obtaining help from the powers. As soon as this was known in Seoul the king was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, the crown prince.

At this time the Korean army, consisting of eight or ten thousand foreign-drilled troops, was disbanded. One company of this army, stationed inside the Little West Gate, refused to lay down their arms. They took their stand in the barracks, and were soon fired upon by the Japanese soldiers, who took their stand on the near-by hilltops. For something like two hours a fierce battle raged between them, resulting in a com-