Directory_and_Chronicle_1902 — Page 641

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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, and $7,986,840 in 1893; but in 1899 trade declined to the extent of 2,627,068 yen, one yen equal to 2s. In his report on the trade of Corea for the year 1900 the British Consul- General remarked :-"With regard to the trade of 1900, it is satisfactory to be able to note that in spite of the troubles in China the value of the total trade of Corea for the year under review has not only not decreased, but has exceeded that of any previous year. This result is explained to a large extent by the fact that although the export of Corean produce to China, which is in Chinese hands, decreased, and importations of foreign goods by Chinese merchants likewise diminished, these disadvantages were more than counterbalanced by the stimulus given to the export of Corean cereals by the interruption of the export trade of Newchwang, and by the demand for food supplies for the foreign troops employed in military operations in China. So far as imports alone are concerned, the figures for 1900 were exceeded by those for the year 1898, while the customs revenue for the year fell short of that for the year 1897. The large increase in the trade of 1900, which occurred chiefly under the head of exports, may therefore be regarded as the result rather of exceptional circumstances than of the normal development of trade.”

The principal articles of import are cotton manufactures, and of export, rice, hides and bones, beans, and gold. There is a considerable paper making industry, which is entirely in the hands of the peasantry, its great drawback being lack of capital. The export of gold is yearly increasing, in 1897 amounting to £240,047, and in 1899 the import increased by £55,765. No less a sum than £100,000 is said to have been invested in one gold-mining undertaking alone. There are several gold mines now being worked owned by British, American and German syndicates. The Pritchard Morgan Concession is now developing the Gwendoline mine, and the Unsan district, over the whole of which this Company possesses mining rights, has been shown to contain silver, copper and coal deposits. The German concession is at Tangokae (Kim-song).

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 troops and invited China to co-operate in reforming the government of the country, but China declined, and war resulted, Japan driving the Chinese out of Corea and carrying the war into China itself.

Regarding the currency of Corea the British Consul-General in his report for 1900 said :—” Since 1898 the tendency has been towards an increasing use of Japanese paper yen, Fusan alone showing an importation during last year of this currency to the extent of over 700,000 yen (£70,000). Referring to this importation of treasure Mr. Laporte, the Acting-Commissioner of Customs at that port, observes:-To the evident suspicion with which this currency was first received by the Coreans outside of the settlement, when introduced extensively two years ago to replace the silver yen, has succeeded a great confidence now that the natives understand that seldom, if ever, counterfeited, the Japanese paper yen is the safest to accept, the lightest to carry, and the easiest to hoard and to conceal. This testimony to the ready acceptance of Japanese paper money in Corea is the more striking, since the Coreans, unlike their Japanese neighbours, have never in past years been accustomed to use paper money, silver ingots, gold-dust and cash having served as currency, and the fact that the prejudice against Japanese paper is disappearing may have an important bearing on the solution of the currency difficulty. The amount of Japanese paper now in circulation is estimated to be roughly about 2,500,000 yen (£250,000). At the end of 1899 the Corean Government issued a new coinage law, which is copied, with a few changes, from the Japanese Coinage Law of 1897, under which the gold standard was introduced. The declared object of this law is to reform the currency by establishing a new coinage based on a gold unit, and silver bullion to the value of some 300,000 yen (about £30,000) has already been purchased for the minting of the new subsidiary silver coinage. But in the absence of any adequate gold reserve and of any effective arrangements for the working of the new system, it is difficult to see how thi law is to be brought into operation, and, even if nominally operative, the insertionof provision enabling the present debased coins to remain current side by side with th new coinage will, of itself, be sufficient to defeat the professed object of the measure."

In 1896 work was commenced on a railway to connect Chemulpo with Seoul, but financial difficulties have been experienced by the Japanese syndicate who agreed to take over the line from the original American concessionnaire, and the work made slow progress. On September 18th, 1899, the railway was successfully opened.

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