CHOSEN 



1365 



CHOSEN 



in 1907, is aided by the government. In 1913 

 there were 281,946 Christian converts in 

 Chosen. 



The present government has established a 

 school system, embracing common, industrial 

 and special schools, and girls are now edu- 

 cated equally with boys. Many of the old 

 classical Chinese schools for boys still exist, 

 but the system is being rapidly Westernized. 

 There are also several hundred religious schools 

 established by Christian missionaries. 



Industry and Commerce . About three-fourths 

 of the population are engaged in agriculture. 

 Japan has introduced improved methods of 

 cultivation and irrigation, reforming the primi- 

 tive customs of the natives. Cattle raising is 

 becoming important, and butter and cheese, 

 formerly unknown, have also been introduced. 

 There has been a revival of the cultivation 

 of ginseng; the crop in 1913 was valued at 

 nearly $14,500,000. Rice is the most important 

 crop, but barley, oats, wheat, maize, tobacco, 

 cotton, hemp, sweet potatoes and other vege- 

 tables are raised extensively. Mulberry trees 

 grow in abundance, and the cultivation of the 

 silkworm is important. The seas teem with 

 fish, and Japan has recently passed regulations 

 protecting and encouraging the fishing industry. 

 Since the Russo-Japanese War the whale-fish- 

 ing industry of the northern waters has been 

 in the hands of the Japanese. Many fish, in- 

 cluding haddock, halibut, herring, sardines and 

 sharks, are caught. The Chosen Marine Prod- 

 ucts Association has been established and 

 receives an annual government subsidy. 



The Japanese government has also attempted 

 to develop the gold mines of the peninsula, 

 and an official mineral investigation of the 

 entire country was begun in 1916. Nearly all 

 of the important gold mines are controlled by 

 foreigners; the United States concession, cov- 

 ering 800 square miles in 1912, is the largest. 

 There are also valuable deposits of anthracite, 

 iron, graphite and copper. The value of the 

 mineral products is estimated at $4,500,000 per 

 year. The government encourages manufactur- 

 ing industries by financial assistance; the 

 manufacture of paper, sea salt, grass-cloth, 

 mats, bamboo screens and pottery is important. 



Korean highways are notoriously poor. 

 Wheeled vehicles are little used, baggage being 

 carried by porters, pack horses and oxen, while 

 the people travel on horseback or in sedan 

 chairs. The Japanese government appropriated 

 $4,980,000 for the improvement of roads in 

 1914, and paved streets were constructed in 



Keijo (Seoul) in 1915. There are three lines 

 of street cars in the capital. In 1913 there were 

 914 miles of railroad in the peninsula, connect- 

 ing with Chinese and the Russian Siberian 

 lines. By way of the Trans-Siberian system 

 it is possible to reach Moscow from Chosen in 



A LADY'S SEDAN CHAIR 



ten days, and Berlin in eleven and a half days. 

 There is good steamer and ferry service with 

 Japan, and fourteen treaty ports are now open 

 for trade, which is chiefly carried on with 

 Japan, Great Britain, China and the United 

 States. 



Government. Chosen is controlled by a 

 Japanese governor-general, assisted by the sec- 

 retaries of the several departments and the 

 central council, the latter consisting chiefly of 

 Koreans. Provinces, districts and villages are 

 largely administered by Koreans, and financial 

 aid and advice are furnished by the central 

 government through Japanese clerks. Courts, 

 prisons, customs, lands and railroads are all 

 controlled by the central government at Tokyo. 



History. Korea is believed to have been 

 founded in 1122 B.C. After many centuries of 

 independent life it was annexed to the Chinese 

 Empire in 108 B.C. Soon after the beginning 

 of the Christian Era it was divided into three 

 small kingdoms, the one called Kori becoming 

 paramount in A. D. 960, and for three hundred 

 years Kori, or .Korea, existed as an independent 

 kingdom. A revolution in 1392 interrupted this 

 period of prosperity, overthrew Buddhism and 

 established the Ming dynasty. Two centuries 

 later the country was invaded by the Japanese, 

 who were finally expelled by the Chinese. 

 For this military assistance Korea again be- 

 came tributary to China. At the close of the 

 Chinese-Japanese War in 1894 independence 

 was regained, and Japanese influence was estab- 

 lished. 



In 1895 there was a revolt against the Japa- 

 nese influence, and Russian influence existed for 

 a short time. The Russians secured a large 



