396 



KOREA. 



Political. Representatives in Congress and 

 judges of the Court of Appeals were to be 

 chosen in November. The contest for the Dem- 

 ocratic nomination for member of Congress from 

 the Seventh District attracted attention through- 

 out the country, on account of the fight against 

 the renomination of W. C. P. Breckinridge. 

 The returns from the primary gave the nomina- 

 tion to his principal competitor, W. C. Owens, 

 by a plurality of 255. Evan E. Settle was also a 

 candidate. At the meeting of the committee 

 where the returns were counted a resolution was 

 passed censuring Judge Cantrill for interference 

 with the primary proceedings the Breckinridge 

 party having charged him with abusing his 

 powers in granting an injunction, and thereby 

 contributing to fraud in regard to the vote. But 

 the resolution was reconsidered and the censur- 

 ing clause thrown out. Many supporters of the 

 defeated candidates went over to the Republican 

 nominee, but Owens was elected by a plurality 

 of 101. 



In the Eleventh District the present represent- 

 ative, Silas Adams, was a candidate for the Re- 

 publican nomination, but failed to secure it and 

 became an independent candidate. The regular 

 Republican nominee was elected. The Populists 

 had candidates in 9 districts, and the Prohibi- 

 tionists in 6. Six Democrats and 5 Republicans 

 were elected a great Republican gain, as there 

 was but 1 representative of that party from 

 the State in the Fifty-third Congress. The whole 

 vote is given as follows : Democrats, 156,195 ; 

 Republicans, 147,277; Populists, 18,437; Pro- 

 hibitionists, 2,215 ; total, 324,124. The congres- 

 sional vote in 1892 was 174,539 Democratic to 

 121,858 Republican, and 23,726 Populist. 



In the Third Appellate District B. L. D. Guffy, 

 Republican, was elected Justice by a plurality of 

 1,461. All the other judges of the Court of Ap- 

 peals are Democrats. 



KOREA, a kingdom in eastern Asia, between 

 Siberia, China, and Japan. Though usually reck- 

 oned as a peninsula, Korea is in reality an island. 

 From the Dragon Prince's Pool or lake, on the 

 summit of the Long White mountain, which is 

 bisected by parallel 42 of north latitude at east 

 longitude 127 42', streams flow east and west, 

 forming the Tumen and Yalu rivers, thus making 

 boundaries of water. The line of seacoast ex- 

 ceeds 1,700 miles, and the area is calculated at 

 82,000 square miles. No trustworthy figures 

 concerning the exact population are known, but 

 Government estimates show that between 10,000,- 

 000 and 12,000,000 of people inhabit the main- 

 land and the many hundreds of occupied islands. 

 Owing chiefly to less care in the rearing of female 

 children, the males are in an abnormally larger 

 proportion. The people are of a mixed stock, 

 and in physique, civilization, and language oc- 

 cupy middle ground between the Chinese and the 

 Japanese. They are taller than the latter, and 

 less Mongoloid in appearance than the former. 

 They still retain many traits of character and 

 temperament and features of political and social 

 organization from their ancient feudal life in 

 the northern highlands ; but they have received 

 most of their civilization from China, which 

 in early and mediaeval centuries they imparted 

 to Japan. In linguistic science the Korean is 

 recognized as most closely affiliated in structure 



to the Japanese, though the vocabulary differs 

 as greatly as do the history and the measure of 

 popular culture in the two countries. In cos- 

 tume and headgear, and at many points of life, 

 the Koreans seem to a Chinese visitor to be but 

 antiquated Chinamen ; for he sees many survi- 

 vals in the peninsula of what was long ago out- 

 grown in China. The Japanese also notices 

 many things that remind him of old and unre- 

 formed Japan, especially the existence of the 

 excessively large class of real or expectant office- 

 holders who live on the people. These Yang- 

 ban (civil and military) are nonproducers arid 

 scorn all manual or useful labor. The " four 

 classes" are the literary, agricultural, artisan, 

 and trading, but there is no fixed birth caste! 

 Roughly speaking, the northern half of Korea is 

 more Chinese in ideas and customs, while the 

 southern half shows clearly the influence of 

 Japanese blood, ideas, customs, and language. 

 Often faces that suggest Arab or Caucasian an- 

 cestry are noticed. 



History. The Koreans claim that their civili- 

 zation, founded in 1122 B. c. by Kishi, an ancestor 

 of Confucius, is nearly as old as that of China, 

 He built Ping Yang, and named his realm Cho- 

 sen, or Morning Beauty. The early history of 

 this peninsular people is one of race struggles, 

 in which the Asian highlanders, descending from 

 the northern regions, came into contact with 

 aboriginal hunters and fishermen, Chinese im- 

 migrants, and the invaders from the Japanese 

 islands. Three kingdoms issued Hiaksai, Korai, 

 and Shinra each having an interesting history, 

 the great civilizing influence being Buddhism. 

 Besides rivalries, jealousies, and wars, both inter- 

 nal and with Japan and China, this era is marked 

 by the introduction and dissemination of Chinese 

 ethics and culture, the various phases of Bud- 

 dhism, with its philosophy and its practical mis- 

 sionary work, trade with the Arabs, and a re- 

 markable development of art, literature, and in- 

 dustry. In 960, Wu Wang, by conquest, gave po- 

 litical unity to the peninsula under the name of 

 Koria. He fixed his capital at Sunto, and his suc- 

 cessors ruled until 1392. To this age belongs the 

 recorded use of the magnetic needle floating 

 on pith in water and used as a mariner's com- 

 pass ; the splendid Buddhist architecture, in 

 temples, monasteries, and cities (now obliterated 

 and often hidden in or under forests) ; those 

 colossal stone figures Mir-yek carved out of the 

 living rock ; the superbly chiseled marble pagoda 

 in Seoul ; the Mongol invasion ; the invention of 

 the unique Korean un-mun, a true alphabet, and 

 of printing with iron and wooden movable types. 

 Other proofs seem to demonstrate that the civf 

 zation was higher in this Koraian age than sul 

 sequently. The common people still call the 

 country Korai (Gaoli), in memory of forn 

 glories. In time of luxury and power the Bi 

 dhist priesthood became corrupt and extravt 

 gant. In 1392 the Mongol and Buddhist infli 

 ence was practically annihilated by Taijo, wl 

 founded the present dynasty at his seoul, royal 

 residence or capital, on Han river. Buddhism 

 was put under ban, and no priest was permitted 

 to enter a walled city. Confucianism beramu 

 the dominant cult, even to bigotry, and Chiiifsi- 

 scholarship the avenue to official promotion and 

 success through the professed methods of civil- 



