Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 580

Directories & Chronicles 香港指南 All

524

SEOUL

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 street, as wide as the main street, branches off to the south-west. The four wide streets which thus radiate from the "Bell Kiosk" are known as the four Chong-no or "Bell roads."

Another conspicuous feature of this central part of the city is the row of large warehouses, two storeys high, the lower portions of which are divided off into little shops, opening into a small courtyard instead of facing the street. The width of the main streets was formerly much reduced by the construction in front of nearly every house of a rude wooden shanty used for a workshop or for business purposes, which gave the streets a poor and squalid appearance, but some of the principal streets have now been cleared of these unsightly obstructions, and the people are gradually being taught the benefits of good roads and clean surroundings. A spacious market place has been erected in one of the busiest parts of the city. An annual appropriation of $50,000 has been made by the Finance Department for the maintenance and im- provement of the roads. The shops are small and unattractive, and contain no articles de luxe or curios. The population of the city is about 271,000. About 73,000 Japanese reside in Seoul and there are about 550 Europeans and Americans. An electric railway, running for seven miles along the main streets of Seoul and thence three or four miles into the country, was opened in 1899, and one extends to Riong-san and Mokpo. A railway connects Chemulpo with Seoul, and another line connects the city of Fusan.

Directory_and_Chronicle_1926 — Page 580

Comments

Private Research Note