Directory_and_Chronicle_1889 — Page 526

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COREA.

Corea, or Chosen (the native name), is a peninsula situated to the north of China which hangs down between that Empire and Japan, separating the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, between the 34th and 3rd parallels north. It is bounded on dhe north by Manchuria, on the north-east by Siberia, on the east by the Sa of Japan. on the west by the Yellow S ́a, and on the south by the Channel of C-rea. It has a coast line measurin : 1,740 miles, and with its outlying islands is nearly as large as Great Britain. The name Corea is derived hom the Japanese Korai (Chinese Kaoli); and the Portuguese, who were the first navigators in the Yellow Sea, called it Koria. Chosen is translated into Morning Caim." The eastern half of the peninsula is a sinuous range of mountains of which western Corea is the slope. The chief rivers importance are naturally to be found on the western side, and most of the harbours are situate on that coast. Coren is divided into eight do or provinces, named Ping-an, Whang-hai Kinng-kei (which contains the capital), Chung-chong, Chulla, Hiung-sang, Kang-wen, and Ham-kiung. The climate is considered healthy and temperate, bracing in the north and milder in the south, where it is more exposed to sunimer breezes. The Han river at Seoul is often frozen for two months in the year. The fauna includes tigers, leopards, wild deer, wild hogs, and in the south monkeys are to be found. A stunted breed of horses exists, and immense numbers of oxen are raised as fod; goats are rare, and sheep are only imported from Chica for sacrificial purposes.

The pheasant, eagle, falcon, crane, and stork are com

moon.

A great portion of the soil is fertile, and the mineral wealth of the kingdom is believed to be considerable. The history of Corea, like that of its neighbours, is lost in the mists of obscurity, but according to native and Chinese tra lition a Chinese noble named Kishi or Ki-tsze, who migrated with his followers to Corea in 1122 B.C., was the founder of the Corean social order and the first monarch. His descendants are said to have ruled until the fourth century before the Christian era,

The present dynasty is descended from Ni Taijo, a young soldier who was the architect of his own fortunes, and who succeeded in deposing the Wang dynasty. It was at this time, in the 14th century, that Han-yang, known as Seoul, was selected as the national capital. His Majesty King Li Fin is the twenty-ighth sovereign of the present line. The kinglom is governed, under the King and three Prime Ministers, by six boards, or departments-namely, Office and Public Employ, Finance, Ceremonies, War. Justice, and Public Works. The general method of procedure is modelled on that of Peking. The State revenue is derived from the land tax, and it is estimated to amount to about £200,000.

For many centuries the Coreans successfully resisted all efforts to induce them to hold intercourse with foreigners. The King of Corea is a vassal of the Emperor of China. In former times Corea was invaded by both Chinese and Japanese, but for some centuries she enjoved rest and seclusion, and not until 1876, when she signed the Treaty of Kokwa with Japan, were any foreigners admitted to the kingdom, Upon the establishment of Japanese in the ports of Fusan and Yuensan, the prejudice against foreign intercours gradually abated, and on the 22nd May, 1882, a treaty of Friendship and commerce was signed by the Corean Government at Jenchuan_with Commodore Shufeldt on behalf of the United States. A Trea'y with England was signed by Sir Harry Parkes on the 26th November, 1883; in 1881 Treaties were also concluded with Germany and Russia, and later with France, Italy, and Austria. The population of Cored, according to the last Government census, was 10,518.987. The value of the foreign trade of Corea is between three and four million dollars per anuum. The principal articles of import are cotton manufactures, and of export, rice, hides and bones, beans, and gold. A Foreign Customs service on the model of that of China, and subordinated to it, has been established.