Directory_and_Chronicle_1905 — Page 655

SEOUL

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A railway connecting Chemulpo with Seoul, was opened on September 18th, 1899, and the Coreans have not been slow to avail themselves of modern conveniences for travelling. The third-class fare between Seoul and Chemulpo is 34 cents, about 14 cents or d. per mile.

In 1901 a contract was let for another line, from Seoul to Fusan, a distance of about 300 miles. The British Consul-General in his report for 1901, said :—After protracted negotiations the project for the construction of a broad-gauge railway from Seoul to Fusan has at length taken definite shape. Early in the year the Japanese Government guaranteed & per cent. interest on the subscribed capital for a period of 15 years ; a company was thereupon formed in Japan to carry out the enterprise, and on August 20th and September 21st work was begun at the Seoul and Fusan ends of the line respec- tively. The capital of the company is 25,000,000 yen, or about £2,500,000, each share being of the value of 50 yen, or £5. The 400,000 shares were readily subscribed for, and there is little doubt that the remaining 100,000 shares, when issued, will be eagerly taken up." This Company, known as the Seoul-Fusan Railway Company, has since absorbed the Japanese Company which has the control of the railway connecting the capital with Chemulpo, and thus a railway line running from the sea on the west to Fusan in the South, belongs to a single Japanese Company with a capital of between £2,500,000 and £3,000,000 when fully paid up. The work of laying the track of the line from Fusan has been vigorously pushed forward, from both ends, and sections were opened as the work progressed. The track was completed on November 10th, 1904, and through running is now feasible. The new electric tramway in Seoul has been extended to the river port of Riong-san. A Government project exists for a line of railway from Seoul to Wiju, and once or twice during 1902 and again in 1903 operations were commenced, but suspended owing to lack of funds. A Russian financier made an offer for the right to construct the line, but the Corean Government refused to grant the concession, preferring to wait until the state of the finances would admit of the Government completing the undertaking themselves. Wiju and also Yongampo on the Yalu River are to be opened to foreign trade, but until the war is over it is not probable that a date for their opening will be fixed.

The carrying trade of the country is practically in the hands of the Japanese. Out of a total of 3,611 sailing vessels (aggregating 102, 42 tons) entering the open ports of Corea in 1903, Japan was represented by 1,856 (70,478 tons), and by 2,507 steamers (1,295,223 tons) out of the total of 3,548 (1,643,963 tons). The Corean share in the shipping trade is increasing and Russian steamers were beginning to figure well in the returns before the outbreak of war. The sum of yen 1,000,000 was sanctioned by the Emperor in 1900 for construction of lighthouses. It is proposed to surround the coast with 31 lights, several of them are already provided and great benefit has accrued to navigation.

SEOUL

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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

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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN