Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/92

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Village Life in Korea.

lar, you will be able to appreciate the statement. In recent years a new system of coinage has been adopted, and the old system is fast taking its place with the things that have been but shall not be again. However, less than two years ago I made a trip through a section of the country where the old cash was considered the best money in the world, and it was the standard by which all bills were settled.

There are certain villages known as market towns which have been selected because of their location, and in these the market is held every five days. In every district there are a number of these villages so arranged that they can be reached by the merchants as they make the rounds of the markets, attending one every day. Here the people meet from all the country around, some to sell, others to buy, and still others to drink and gamble; while others come to see and to be seen and to hear what is going on in that part of the world which happens to lie beyond the borders of their own village. In these markets all the different products of the country are placed on display, and bargains, sometimes hard ones, are driven from the time the market opens in the morning till the closing hours of the day.

In all these market towns there must be inns for the accommodation of the people who come and go. Then there are the overland freight, trains, which must find accommodation wherever night overtakes them. These freight trains are not such as are found in the United States, but are made up of men and ponies. It is no unusual sight to see twenty or more of these