Directory_and_Chronicle_1901

102

SEOUL

The capital city of Han-yang, better known to foreigners as Seoul (which is merely the native term for capital), is situated almost in the centre of the province of Kiung-kei, on the north side of and about three miles from the river Han, about thirty- five miles from its mouth. It lies in 37 deg. 30 min. N. lat, and 127 deg. 4 min E. long. Han-yang means "the fortress on the Han." The city is enclosed by crenellated walls of varying height, averaging about twenty feet, with arched stone bridges spanning the watercourses. It is in the form of an irregular oblong, and stretches lengthwise in a valley that runs from north-east to south-west. The houses are about eight or nine feet high, built of stone or mud, and mostly roofed with tiles. Internally they are clean, for the Coreans, like the Japanese, take off their shoes before entering their houses. A long main street, about 100 feet wide, running east and west, divides the city into two nearly equal portions. In the northern half are the walled inclosures containing the King's Palace and the more important public buildings. A street about 50 feet wide intersects the main street at right angles, dividing the northern half of the city into eastern and western quarters. At the point of intersection stands a pavilion called Chong-kak (the "Bell Kiosk "), from a large bell about seven feet high which is placed there. This spot is regarded as the centre of the city; and from it another street, as wide as the main street, branches off to the south-west. The four wide streets which thus radiate from the "Bell Kiosk" are known as the four Chong-ro or "Bell roads." Another conspicuous feature of this central part of the city is the row of large warehouses two storeys high, the lower portions of which are divided off into little shops, opening into a small courtyard instead of facing the street. The width of the main streets was formerly much reduced by the construction in front of nearly every house of a rude wooden shanty used for a workshop or for business purposes, which gave the streets a poor and squalid appearance, but some of the principal streets have now been cleared of these unsightly obstructions, and the British Consul in his report for 1896 says the people are gradually being taught the benefits of good roads and clean surroundings. A spacious market place has been erected in one of the busiest parts of the city, and arrangements are being made for establishing two or three others at suitable centres. An annual appropriation of $50,000 has been made by the Finance Department for the maintenance and improvement of the roads, and a similar sum was appropriated for expenditure on drainage in 1897. The shops are small and unattractive, and contain no articles de luxe or curios. The population of the city is variously estimated at from 150,000 to 240,000 persons; official returns give the number of houses as 30,000. An electric railway, running for three miles along the main streets of Seoul and thence three or four miles into the country, was opened in 1899 and now extends to Riong-san. A railway to connect Chemulpo with Seoul has been constructed. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation have appointed an agent in Seoul and purchased a site for offices.

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