KOREA. 



long. The total length is 287 miles, with 40 

 stations including terminals, and 20,500 feet of 

 bridges. The plans require six years for comple- 

 tion. The capitalization is 25,000,000 yen, with 

 power to issue debentures not exceeding 10,000,000 

 yen. A Japanese syndicate is building the road, 

 the Government at Tokio guaranteeing interest 

 on the bonds for fifteen years at per cent. Work 

 is proceeding at both ends. The railway to con- 

 nect Seoul with Wiju, on Yalu river, to tap the 

 coal and gold mining regions, has been surveyed, 

 and the concession given to French engineers to 

 use French material. Other important public 

 works are the establishment in Seoul, with Ameri- 

 can capital and workmanship, of a powerful elec- 

 tric-light plant, near the East Gate, which fur- 

 nishes 1,500 16-candle-power lights in the pal- 

 ace, besides illuminating the whole city. By 

 the same American company, a system of water- 

 works has been begun in Seoul. A reservoir hold- 

 ing 10,000,000 gallons pumped up by means of two 

 great engines, supplying 5,000,000 gallons a day 

 through a crib built in the center of the river Han, 

 will supply 059 hydrants, each having 2 discharge- 

 pipes. Seoul, once one of the filthiest cities in 

 the world, has now some of the finest and cleanest 

 streets in Asia. Since January, 1900, the Koreans, 

 besides increasing their domestic postal service un- 

 der French supervision, have added a foreign de- 

 partment. The business of the bureau of tele- 

 graphs for 1900 amounted to 72,443 yen, being an 

 increase of 21,756 yen over 1899. Two lines of 

 Japanese steamers ply between Japan and the 

 Korean ports. A native Korean steamship com- 

 pany operated three steamers in 1899, with profit- 

 able results. 



Finance. The budget for 1901 shows the rev- 

 enue to be 9,079,456 yen, and the expenditure 

 9,078,682 yen. A decree early in 1901 adopted the 

 gold standard, fixing a new coinage of 20-, 10-, 

 and 5-yen gold pieces, 50- and 20-sen silver coins, 

 5-sen nickel coins, and 1-sen copper coins. Japa- 

 nese currency is largely used. The First Bank of 

 Japan has substantial buildings of brick and 

 stone in Seoul and Chemulpo. In the former city 

 the American firm of Colbran, Bostwick & Co. are 

 building a fine brick structure in Seoul for the 

 bank for which they have a charter. At the sea- 

 port, the Hong-Kong and Shanghai banking cor- 

 poration has an agency. In 1899 the circulation 

 of Japanese money in Korea was in paper, 3,000,- 

 000 yen; gold, 10,000 yen; silver, 1,000,000 yen; 

 making a total of 4,010,000 yen. 



Trade. Foreign goods reach Korea chiefly 

 through Japan and Shanghai, but no detailed re- 

 port of trade has been published for seven years. 

 The chief item of American imports is petroleum, 

 which in 1900 amounted to $896,815. Next come 

 mining supplies, of which $150,000 worth was im- 

 ported in 1899. Trade with the United States is 

 increasing, American imports having doubled 

 within twelve months. The Standard Oil Com- 

 pany has extensive warehouses at Chemulpo and 

 Fusan. The total trade of Korea for 1900, includ- 

 ing native imports and reshipments, was 27,490,- 

 388 yen, the imports amounting to 13,335,273 yen, 

 the chief items being cotton goods, American kero- 

 sene, and sundries. The exports amounted to 

 9.439,867 yen, in which the chief items were rice, 

 beans, fish, ginseng, wheat, hides, seaweed, skins, 

 barley, bones, and gold, which latter amounted to 

 3,033,050 yen, compared with the export of gold 

 in 1894 of 950,703 yen. The published returns of 

 exclusively foreign trade for 1900 show a total of 

 19,380,327 yen: imports, 10,940,460 yen, and ex- 

 ports 9,439,867 yen; the business with Japan 

 amounting to 15,473,710 yen, with China 4,549,- 



354 yen, and with Russia (or Manchuria) 356,- 

 261 yen. 



Mining and Foreign Interests. For ages the 

 native gold seeker has washed the sands of the 

 rivers and exported the gold-dust and the nuggets 

 occasionally found on. the surface or in the moun- 

 tains. Scooping up sand in a wooden bowl, which 

 had ridges cut round its inner surface, he caught 

 the particles. In rock mining, even shafts have 

 been sunk to a depth of 300 feet, following a vein 

 of gold in its original matrix. The method was to 

 build a fire on the rock. When it was very hot, 

 the fire was drawn off and water thrown on, 

 which broke up the rock and enabled the laborer 

 to dig out a few inches of ore, which he crushed 

 by means of stone hammers or rollers. The use 

 of fire and the resulting smoke restricted him to 

 the use of perpendicular shafts. At Wonsan the 

 Americans have one 40-stamp mill, and two mills 

 \\ith 20 stamps in operation, with buildings and 

 machinery for larger enterprises, about 70 for- 

 eigners and 3,000 natives being employed. The 

 English mines are also prosperous. The Germans 

 work at Kimsung. Concessions have also been 

 granted to the Japanese and French to work the 

 coal-, copper-, and gold-mines. 



Open Ports.--Nine ports are open to foreign 

 commerce. Chemulpo, from a cluster of fisher- 

 men's huts in 1883, has grown to a thriving city 

 of more than 20,000 people, with lines of com- 

 munication open in all directions into the interior. 

 The Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and general for- 

 eign settlements make up the municipality. The 

 Japanese number 4,500, with their banks, steam- 

 ship and railway companies, and board of trade 

 and rice exchange offices in stone and brick. Five 

 hundred Chinese live in their own quarter. Many 

 handsome solid buildings are in the foreign quar- 

 ter, with club-houses, theaters, and hotels, besides 

 active missionary establishments. 



Wonsan, with a tidal rise of two or three feet, 

 in the northeast, near the center of Korea's 650 

 miles of eastern coast line, on an inlet covering 

 40 square miles, with a fine climate, has 15,000 in- 

 habitants. The native town has doubled in popu- 

 lation since the port was opened in 1883. The 

 Japanese, who number 1,600, have the foreign 

 trade, which in 1900 amounted to 1,425,570 yen. 

 About 40 Americans and Europeans are here. 

 There are excellent steamer accommodations, and 

 a telegraph to Sang-Gin, which was opened to for- 

 eign commerce in 1891. This, the poorest of all the 

 ports, lies between Wonsan and the Tumen river. 

 It has a tidal rise of 2 feet. 



The harbor of Fusan is formed by several 

 islands, the largest of which is Deer island, hav- 

 ing a rise of tide of 7 feet. In December, 1900, 

 8,758 Japanese lived at this port, the trade of 

 which in 1900 yielded to the Korean treasury 

 150,270 yen on imports, 158,249 on exports, and 

 tonnage dues 9,245. 



Mokpo, in Chulla province, the garden of Korea, . 

 was opened in 1897. The marshy foreshore has 

 been reclaimed, fine buildings have been erected, 

 and the Japanese steamers call here regularly. A 

 sea-wall has been built, and the anchorage is ex- 

 cellent. A fine vein of coal has been discovered 

 near by. At Pinnacle Rock, its western approach, 

 Mokpo has a tide rising 20 feet. The harbor is 

 at the mouth of the large stream, deep enough t'o 

 float steamers of considerable draught more than 

 20 miles from its mouth. 



Chinnampo, instead of a few straggling huts, 

 has now a population of 15,000, exclusive of the 

 Japanese and Chinese in the foreign concessions. 



At Masanpo are 228 Japanese, 18 Russians, 2 

 Germans, and 41 Chinese. 



