KOREA AND KOREANS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5288, 28 May 1904, Page 11

KOREA AND KOREANS

LITE AT SEOUL. THE EMPEROR AND HIS QUEEN. Air Angus Hamilton, in his book on Korea, has much tu say about the piciiiresciue country and its people. The-inhabitants of fie-m, he says, are peculiar! v proncient in the art of doing nuti.iiig gracefully. There is therefore, infinite cuarm and variety in tho daily life of Korea.

The natives take their pleasures passively, and their constitutional incapacity makes it appear as it there were little to do but fo indulge in a gentle - st roll in tho brilliant sunshine, or to sit cross-K-gged. within tho shade of their houses. Inaction becomes them; nothing coulu oe more unsuited to the character of their peculiar costume than vigorous movement.

Tho women are not less interesting than the men, and. their style of dress is like that of no other country on earth. The author describes it thus: —“The.upper garment consists of an apology tor a zouave jacket in white or cream material, which may be of silk lawn, lawn, or calico. A few inches below this begins a white petticoat, baggy as a sail, touching the ground upon ail sines, and attached lb a broad band.

“between the two there is nothing except the uaro skin, the breasts being fully exposed. It is not an agreeable spectacle, as tho women seen abroad are usually aged or infirm. "At all times, as if to emphasise their fadiug charms, they wear tho chang-ot, a thin, green silk cloak almost peculiar to ihe* capital, and used by the women to veil their faces in passing through the public streets. Upon the sight of man they cliucu Ic beneath the eyes. The neck of the garment is puiied over the head oi cue wearer, and die Jong. wide sleeves fall from her ears. Tue effect of the contrast between the_ hiudon lace and the naked breast is ludicrous. 55

The position of women in Korea is very low. A wuman may be reduced to slavery by the treasonable misdemeanours ol a relative. - TTi* lamily oi a mar; convicted of treason becomes the property of the Government, the women being allotted to high officials. - As in ancient Greece, the literary and artistic faculties of the wife and mother are left uncultivated, while among less reputable cius-es . the mental abilities are trained and developed with a view to making them brilliant and entertaining companions. Mr Hamilton remarks;—“The one sign cf their proiessiou is the culture, tne charm, ami the scope of their attainments. These 'leaves of sunlight,’ a feature of public iiie in ivorea, stand apart in a class of their own. ‘ They are called gisaing, and correspond to the geisha of Japan. Officially, ihey are atiacued to a department of ooveimmont, and aro controlled by a bureau of their own, in common with tho court musicians..

‘“They are supported from the national Treasury, and mey are in evidence at official dinners ana all palace entertainments. alley read and recite; they dance and sing; they uruss with exceptional taste; mey move with exceeding grace; tney are delicate in appearance, very frail, and very human; very tender, sympathetic, and imaginative.”

The Emperor, we are f old, is "the slave of the - superb immoralities of his women.”’ lie is not only the puppet of powerful Ministers, but swayed at will by his wife, “the mature and elderly Lady Um.” iiors is a career only equalled by that of tiie Empress .Dowager or China; '•Xu a Court which is abandoned to every phase of Eastern immorality, it is a little .disappointing t-* find that the fuse lady in the land .no longer possesses .those charms of face and figure, which should explain her position. •"There is no doubt that the Lady Om is mature, fat. and icebly, if freely, frolicsome. XXer face is pitted with smallpox; her teeth are uneven; her skin is of a saffron tint.

There is some suggestion of a squint in her dark eyes, a jmssibl© reminder of tho past which afflicts ail Koreans. She paints very little, and she eschews garlic, tier domination of the Emperor is wonderful. h-xcepc at rare intervals, and then only when the assent of Lady Om to the visit of a new beamy has been given, he has no eye for any other woman. “Nevertheless, the Lady Om has not always been a Palace beauty; she was not always the shining light of tho Imperial harem. Her an.ours have made ixorean histoiy; only two of her five children belong to the Emperor; yet one of these may become the mture occupant of his father's throne.”

Mr Hamilton g;>es on to narrate tho history of tnis remarkable woman, whom ten million people call Queen. She was, it seems, of hpmble birth; she became the partner of a Chinese; deserted him in favour ox a Cabinet Minister;,finally became a servant of the fate Queen, by which time sho had given birth to two Children. , .

Hero she secretly won the favour of the Emperor, and, tho "intrigue being discovered by the then Queen, fled the country. A third child, 1 borne in exile, lived, and Lady Ora at length returned as mistress of another high official. 1nT895, when the Queen was foully murdered. she again became a palace attendant, again won the Emperor’s favour, was raised to the rank of imperial concubine, again became a mother, and finally became Queon of all Korea. Hoi power now is almost absolute.

Apropos of the sad. fate of Kim Yuengchun, who opposed hia will to Lady Om’s, (ho author gives a curious list of penalties for various crimes, according to Korean law. Here it is:

Treason, man—Decapitated, together with male ■ relatives to the fifth degree. Mother, wife, and daughter poisoned or reduced to slavery. Treason, woman—Poisoned. Murder, man Decapitated. Wife poisoned. Murder,- woman—Strangled or poisoned. Arson, man—Strangled or poisoned. Wife poisoned. Arson, woman—Poisoned.

Theft, man—Strangled, decapitated, or banished. Wife reduced to slavery; confiscation of all property. Desecration of graves—Decapitated, together with male relatives to the fifth degree. Mother, wife, and daughter poisoned. Counterfeiting Strangulation or decapitation. Wife poisoned. -