Directory_and_Chronicle_1900 — Page 557

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 43rd parallels north. It is bounded on the north by Manchuria, on the north-east by Siberia, on the east by the Sea of Japan, on the west by the Yellow Sea, and on the south by the Channel of Corea. It has a coast line measuring 1,740 miles, and with its outlying islands is nearly as large as Great Britain." The name Corea is derived from 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 Calm." The eastern half of the peninsula is a sinuous range of mountains of which Western Corea is the slope. The chief rivers of importance are naturally to be found on the western side, and most of the harbours are situate on that coast. Corea is divided into eight do or provinces, named Ping-an, Whang-hai, Kiung-kei (which contains the capital), Chung-chong, Chulla, Kiung-sang, Kang-wen, and Ham-kiung. The climate is healthy and temperate, bracing in the north and milder in the south, where it is more exposed to summer 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 food; goats are rare, and sheep are only imported from China for sacrificial purposes. The pheasant, eagle, falcon, crane, and stork are common. 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 tradition 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-eighth sovereign of the present line. The kingdom 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 was formerly a vassal of the Emperor of China, and the Emperor of Japan also claimed his allegiance, but by the Treaty of Kokwa, concluded with Japan in 1876, the independence of the country was acknow- ledged, though China, which assented to Corea's conclusion of this and other treaties with foreign Powers as an independent kingdom, inconsistently continued to claim suzerainty. Upon the establishment of Japanese in the ports of Fusan and Yuensan, the prejudice against foreign intercourse 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 Treaty with England was signed by Sir Harry Parkes on the 26th November, 1883; in 1884 Treaties were also concluded with Germany and Russia, and later with France, Italy, and Austria. The population of Corea, according to the last Government census, was 10,518,937. The foreign trade of Corea shows a steady growth and in 1898 that portion of it coming under the cognisance of the Foreign Customs reached a value of $24,702,237 in 1898, as against $23,511,350, in 1897, $12,842,509 in 1896, and $7,986,840 six years ago, i..., in 1893. The principal articles of import are cotton manufactures, and of export, rice, hides and bones, beans, and gold. The export of gold is yearly increasing, in 1897 amounting to £240,047, and no less a sum than £100,000 is said to have been invested in one gold-mining undertaking alone.

In 1894, owing to a rebellion in the Southern provinces, application was made to China for assistance, and Chinese troops were sent to restore order. Japan also sent