Directory_and_Chronicle_1941 — Page 221

CHOSEN (KOREA) KEIJO (SEOUL)

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cations, much has been done in providing telegraghic and telephonic communication on modern lines, and highways now connect village with village and town with town, the best roads being in the South. A network of railways around the country is steadily moving towards completion. First class roads are 24 feet wide, connecting the capital with the provincial governments, second class roads are 18 feet wide, and run between the provincial governments and the ports and prefectural magistracies. The total length of roads on March 31, 1938 was 27,731 kilometres. The total length of railways at the end of March, 1938 was 4,066 kilometres of Government Railway and 1,212 kilometres of private. (Fusan-Antung, 950 kilometres; Keijo-Kainei, 862 kilometres; Taiden-Mokpo, 260 kilometres, etc). Waterworks exist at Keijo and other places. The total population of Korea at the end of March, 1938 was 22,355,485 of whom 21,682,855 were Korean, 629507 were Japanese and 43,123 were foreigners (including Chinese).

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KEIJO (SEOUL)

The old city of Keijo (formerly known as Hanyang or Seoul) (the native term for capital), lies in 37 deg. 30 min. N. 1st., and 127 deg. 4 min. E. long. and is situated almost in the centre of the province of Keiki about thirty- five miles from the mouth of the River Han. Formerly the city was surrounded by crenelated walls of varying height, averaging about twenty feet, with arched stone bridges spanning the water-course. The crumbling remains of these walls still cling picturesquely to the hills at various points outside the city, and two of the largest gates, the South Big Gate (Nadaimon) and the East Big Gate (To- daimon) have been preserved as monuments in situ. The boundaries of the urban prefecture of Keijo were widely extended in 1936 and now included of Eitoho, south of the Han river. The old city was divided into two nearly equal portions by a long

main Street (the modern Shoro), running east and west, the King's Palace and more important public build- ings being situated in the northern half, which was divided into east and west quarters by a road intersecting the main street at right-angles, the point of intersection being marked by a pavilion, the Chong Kak (" Bell Kiosk"), containing a large bell, about seven feet high. This spot was re- garded as the centre of the city, and from it a further road bore off to the south and south-west, leading to the Nandaimon. All these roads have been widened and improved, the present Nandaimon-dori being a fine highway nearly 120 feet wide. The principal thoroughfare of the city now is the great Taihei-dori. running from the Nandaimon northward to the palatial build- ings of the Government-General, situated in front of the old Imperial Palace. This thoroughfare intersects Shoro somewhat to the west of the old centre, and to the south of and parallel to Shoro another wide thoroughfare has been driven from in front of the City Office on the Taihei-dori eastwards (Kogane- machi). About midway between this Kogane-machi and the South Gate along the Nandaimon-dori there is a fine square, where stand the Central Post Office, the Dai Ichi Ginko, the great Mitsukoshi Department Store and other im- portant buildings. This is the Japanese shopping centre, many of the important Japanese retail firms having branches in and around Honmachi, the very typically Japanese shopping street that branches off from this square. On the opposite side, running back to the Northwest past the Chosen Hotel into Taihei-dori in front of the city Office, is another broad thoroughfare, calied Hasegawa-cho. In this central part of the city the roads, public buildings and shops can bear favourable comparison with the great towns of Japan proper. Many other roads have been made and widened in different parts of the city, particularly in the vicinity of the new Imperial University, which