78
COREA
matters. Two small foreign papers, Korea Daily News and Seoul Weekly Press, are now published in the capital.
The foreign trade of the country continues to exhibit steady growth. In 1904 it reached the highest figures yet attained both as regards imports and exports. The value of the trade amounted to £3,444,381 of which £2,736,383 represents imports and £707,795 exports. To this must be added the gold export amounting to £511,396, making a grand total of £3,955,574. The net increase of £616,797 was wholly in imports; exports showed a decrease.
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 was until last year increasing. In 1897 it amounted to £240,047, in 1902, £516,961, and in 1904 to £511,396 a drop of £45,610 since 1903. There are several gold mines now being worked owned by British, American and German syndicates. The Pritchard-Morgan Concession is 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).
The Corean standing army, which used to consist of about 5,000 men, badly armed, drilled, clothed and fed, is now stated to number 10,000 men. For a few years the army was trained by a Russian colonel who was assisted by three commissioned and ten non-commissioned officers, but in 1898 their engagement came to an end. There is no conscription in Corea, but there is no difficulty in obtaining recruits, the pay, 6 yen a month with free equipment and kit, being considered high, and, moreover, there is no standard of age or physical qualities. The army consists entirely of infantry, but though the standard of training is low, the young officers make a very favourable impression on foreign military experts.
The chief difficulty in the way of trade is the lamentable state of the currency in Corea. The monetary system lacks a reserve of precious metal and reliance is placed on a nickel coin of small intrinsic value. In 1901 and 1902 an enormous number of spurious 5 cent coins were put into circulation in Corea. As many as 3 573,138 pieces (coins and blanks) were confiscated by the customs officers at Chemulpo during 1902, and it was considered that fully ten times that number must have been smuggled into the country. It seemed to be clearly established that large numbers of these counterfeit coins were coming from Japan, and the Government of the latter country issued a stringent ordinance which gave Japanese customs officers power to prevent the ship- ment of counterfeit coins and enabled the Corean customs to institute proceedings against Japanese found guilty of importing nickels of this description. During 1903 this traffic seemed to have practically ceased. This may be set down as due, perhaps not so much to the Japanese ordinance as to the fact that the coin fell to a value which rendered counterfeiting an unprofitable occupation. For a short time in November, 1903, it was possible to obtain 245 cents for a Japanese yen. The British Consular report for 1902, commenting on this currency question, rightly reinarked that "while the counterfeiters and the passers of debased coin cannot be too severely censured, the Corean Government have paved the way for fraud by filling the country with a depreciated currency of insignificant value, as they have issued without stint permits enabling private persons to undertake the work of coining. Thorough reform of the financial system is the only remedy, and the longer it is delayed the greater will be the plight of the people." The Japanese Government, which is now expected to take the administration in hand, will probably put an end to this state of things. Meanwhile the notes of the Japanese bank, Dai Ichi Ginko, are being received with confidence in Corea. The largest of the copper cash continue to be exported to Japan, where they are melted down for the value of the copper they contain.
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 used to be 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 269 miles. This track, "well and solidly constructed," was com- pleted on November 10th, 1904, and is now in operation. The new electric tramway in Seoul has been extended to the river port of Riong-san. There is also a railway from Seoul to Wiju, 300 miles, in course of completion. Another railway, connecting Seoul with Wonsan, the principal Eastern port, has been begun by the Japanese. Wiju and Yongampo on the Yalu River, are to be opened to foreign trade.
The carrying trade of the country is practically in the hands of the Japanese.
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