Directory_and_Chronicle_1922 — Page 651

MASAMPO

浦山馬

Masampo was opened to foreign trade on the 1st May, 1899. It has a native population of roughly 35,000, and the Japanese inhabitants number approximately 3,000. The climate is very mild. The harbour is good and in summer it serves as an excellent sea-bathing place. The Masampo branch of the Seoul-Fusan railway besides several lines of small steamers connect with the port of Fusan, and the superior accommodation of the latter port greatly interferes with the commercial expansion of Masampo.

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 Cholla and has an excellent harbour capable of providing anchorage accommodation for thirty or forty vessels of large tonnage. Cholla 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 native huts surrounded by paddy fields and mud flats. At the end of 1917 the houses numbered 3,575 and the population exceeded 17,900, including 98 Chinese and 19 Europeans. A sea-wall has been built and a bund road over a mile in length has been made.

CHINNAMPO

浦南甑 Chin-nam-po

This port was opened to foreign trade on the 1st October, 1897, in pursuance f a resolution passed by the Council of State. The port is situated on the north bank of the Taitong inlet, about twenty miles from its mouth, in the extreme south-west of the province of Pyeng-yang. It is some forty miles distant by water from Ping-yang, the third city in the peninsula, with a population exceeding 40,000, and it is a place of considerable commercial activity. The railroad traffic between Ping-yang and Chinnampo was started in October, 1910, and the journey takes one hour and forty minutes, the distance being 35 miles. The province is rich in agricultural and mineral wealth, the latter being now developed by foreign enterprise.

The business of the port is increasing year by year, the rich hinterland holding out good prospects for the future. The foreign trade of the port for the nine months ended September 30th., 1918, was worth 14,280,000 yen, exports being valued at 12,888,000 yen and imports at 1,392,000 yen. In 1917 the total trade was 19,064,000 yen. The