Directory_and_Chronicle_1908 — Page 713

MOKPO

浦木 Mok-po

Mokpo, which, like Chinnampo, was opened to foreign trade on the 1st October 1897, in pursuance of a resolution of the Council of State, is a seaport in the province of Chulla, and has an excellent harbour capable of providing anchorage accommodation for thirty or forty vessels of large tonnage. Chulla is a great rice-growing district, and has the reputation of being the wealthiest province in the country, and Mokpo lies at the mouth of a river which drains nearly the whole province. Mokpo has undergone a great transformation since it was opened. In 1897 it consisted of a few Corean huts surrounded by paddy fields and mud flats. The foreign settlement, which comprises about 225 acres of ground, was bought up within a couple of years, and the mud flats were rapidly converted into a town, with well laid out streets, occupied by about 1,200 Japanese and a number of substantial Chinese residents. A seawall was built and a bund road, over a mile in length, was made. The climate of Mokpo is healthy and salubrious; the scenery much resembles that of South Japan and is picturesque in the extreme. Good shooting may be had, pheasants, geese, ducks, deer, wild boar and leopards abounding. Even tigers will be met with by those who care to hunt for them. Instances are not at all rare in which pigs, dogs and even men are carried off by these beasts. Many of the natives are experts in training eagles to hunt smaller birds, like pheasants, &c.

The anticipations which were entertained of Mokpo at the time of its opening have proved over-sanguine, doubtless because the port of Kunsan was subsequently opened to foreign trade, and has flourished at the expense of Mokpo. The trade of Mokpo, which had been growing steadily, suffered by the late war. The exports in 1904 amounted to £67,731, and imports to £20,433; and while imports improved in 1905 to £32,360, exports declined to £48,696; in 1906 the imports amounted to £41,494, and exports to £43,210.

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CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Chairman-T. Nishikawa Clerk-K. Tanigaki

DIRECTORY

-COREAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY

S.S."Hyenik," s.s. "Changriong P"

Kim Pong-kui, agent

CUSTOMS

Assistant-in-charge-L. A. Hopkins Clerks S. Nakamichi Namkung Hyek, Yun Tai Yung, Yi Heng-nai Medical Officer--C. Shimidzu Assistant Examiner-Chow Shih-yung T'waiters N. Kurokawa, T. Sugiura,

T. Suzukawa

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF JAPAN (Dai Ichi

Ginko, Ldl).

M. Haroda, manager

HORI STEAMSHIP COMPANY

s.s. "Keiki," s.s. "Kyengpo," s.s. “Goyo"

Takeuchi, agent

HOSPITAL-Japanese

C. Shimizu, physician in charge

INSURANCE COMPANIES

Meiji Kasai Hoken Kaisha (Fire)

Dai Ichi Ginko, agents Tokyo Kaijio Hoken Kaisha (Marine)

Dai Ichi Ginko, agents

Nippon Kaijio Hoken Kaisha(Marine)

Kimura, agent

Meiji Seimei Hoken Kaisha (Life)

Y. Fukuda, agent

Teikoku Seimei Hoken Kaisha (Life)

T. Kimura, agent

Nippon Kasai Hoken Kaisha (Fire)

T. Kimura, agent

R. Ishiguro, M. Wakamatsu, S. JAPANESE ASSOCIATION

Ishii clerks

Chairman-N. Takane

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