Korea had as intense a determination to seclude herself from foreign influences as an cient Egypt, and practically the first knowledge obtained of it by modern Europe was through the shipwreck of some Dutch on the coast in 1653, though the Jesuit missionary Cespedes had entered it in 1594. In 1784 new mission aries came and planted Christianity in the peninsula, despite steady persecution; in 1835 the French missionaries reinforced them. But in 1864 came a fiercer blast. The then king died childless, and his oldest widow set aside the natural successor, her nephew, and nom inated Yi-Hevi, the present king—the 12-year old son of a royal prince, whom she made re gent. The latter was a savage reactionist, and let loose fire and blood to extirpate the for eigners, rigidly excluding all new ones. A futile French expedition was sent against him in 1866; the same year a stranded American schooner, the General Sherman was burned and her crew murdered in sight of Pingyang. An American expedition sent in 1871 had slight success. Meantime several nations were at tempting to force Korea into treaties of com merce and gain trading privileges, but Japan was the first, in 1876, to succeed, having the ports of Gensan and Fusan opened in 1876 and Chemulpo in 1880. Meantime the "neutral strip;' for many years a nest of brigands and pirates, was abolished by Li Hung Chang in 1875. In 1882 Commodore Shufeldt negotiated a treaty of friendship between the United States and Korea, and thence on, other nations were rapidly admitted—Great Britain and Germany in 1883, Italy and Russia in 1884, France in 1886, Austria in 1892 and China in 1897.
The flood of new ideas and habits aggra vated the conflict between the progressives and the reactionaries, in which the former won, and Korean embassies began to visit other countries — Japan in 1880, the United States in 1883. The nativists raised an insurrection in 1884. The greatest breach with the past, how ever, was the result of the Chino-Japanese War of 1894-95, one of the pretexts of which was the action of China in reasserting her an cient suzerainty over Korea. It was at Ping yang that the first heavy defeat was inflicted on the Chinese, and off the Yalu River that the Chinese fleet was destroyed. On 8 Jan. 1895 the king of Korea proclaimed its inde pendence, and the Chinese gate near Seoul was publicly destroyed with impressive ceremonies. In 1897 the king proclaimed the country an empire, named it Dai Han and took the title of emperor. Under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Korea became a "sphere of influence)) for the Japanese, whose struggle against Russian en croachments culminated in the war of 1904-05. (See MANCHURIA). By the Treaty of Ports mouth (q.v.) Japan's preponderating interests in Korea were acknowledged, and a Japanese protectorate was established in November 1905. On 18 July 1907 the emperor abdicated in favor of the crown prince, but Japan's pro tectorate continued until, by virtue of a treaty made with the Korean emperor, the sovereignty and territory of Korea passed to Japan. Fol lowing this act, the royal family of Korea re ceived "such titles, dignities and honors as are appropriate to their respective ranks and suffi cient grants to be made for the maintenance of such titles, dignities and honors)) Relatives, meritorious Koreans and men of rank, old per sons, virtuous widows, etc., to the number of 87,643, also received monetary rewards. Since the Japanese occupation, new public buildings, roads, a national coinage, survey, systems of banking, postal communication, taxation, edu cation, encouragement of agriculture, com merce, fisheries, etc., have given Korea most of the features of a modern state. Consult Annual Report of Reforms and Progress in Chosen, for 1913-14.
As Korea passes out of existence as an in dependent state, and her people increasingly conform, both in outward circumstances and inward characteristics, to modern conditions and requirements, it may be well to inquire as to Korea's place in history, to note her con tributions to civilization and to survey the progress made in the 20th century. The Koreans rebuilt Kija's (Kitse's) tomb at Ping yang, which was injured during the Chino Japanese War of 1894, because they consider this historical character as the founder of their social order in 1122 B.C. Their literature, con tains many references to him as their national hero, while popular and especially local tradi tion, in the north especially, concerning him is abundant and voluble. To him is credited the name of •the country, Chosen, or Morning Splendor, which is now the modern, as it was the ancient, name. Critical scholars, however, incline rather to the belief that it was from some centuries later reading, in Chinese annals of the story of Kija, that the Koreans became acquainted with the name and work of this ancient patriarch. In any event, only a small part of modern Korea lay within the area of the Kija domain, which came to an end in 203 In 108 B.c. Korea formed a part of the Chinese Empire under the Han dynasty, but the people revolted in 30 B.c. paying tribute to China, however, until 9 A.D. The early history of Korea resembles that of Britain, in which, after the Romans, men of three ethnic stocks contended for centuries together, Welsh, Scot tish, English. Three states arose (Chinese, Kaokuli, Sinlo and Petsi; Japanese Korai, Shinra and Pechi) and for 10 centuries border wars, with alternate invasions and succor from China and the mixed people of the eastern islands, who, later known as Japanese, were gradually attaining political unity. There were long intervals of peace, also, during which more or less trade and communication with China and Japan are noted in the annals of the three countries and by comparison many of the events and dates, asserted to be historical, may be verified. In the modern reconstruction of the state under Japanese auspices, very inter esting antiquities, in the form of mortuary art and literary relics, have been recovered and scrupulously cared for. Although Korea's in terior history is interesting, yet the story of progress and civilization is best expressed in that of Buddhism which, introduced into the peninsula in the 4th century, was destined to enjoy a thousand years of successful propaganda. Its career of material and spiritual splendor lends strong color to the idea held by scholars that the story of Korea and its civilization dur ing the last 500 years forms a chapter of decay rather than of the progress, the Koreans from about 1500 A.D. having steadily degenerated. However this may be, it is certain that in the train of the faith, imported from India and China and Tibet, came elements that fertilized the Korean imagination and supplied the spirit ual forces in which early Confucianism was lacking. Art, literature, folklore, noble monu ments in sculpture and architecture, splendid temples and monasteries followed with the coming or as the result of this vast synthesis of Asiatic beliefs, forces, intellectual achieve ments, science and craftsmanship, called Bud dhism. Not content with the spiritual conquest of the peninsula, the Buddhist missionary activ ities overflowed into the islands of the Rising Sun. Japan received at the hands of Buddhist teachers those prinoipia, of art, literature and civilization which link her history with the great world of the West, besides thousands of Korean colonists, many of them skilled artists and craftsmen. This explains why, until lately, the Koreans were apt to look on them selves as vastly superior and the Japanese as semi-savages. The political outcome of the factors of evolution in these early centuries was the strong state of Silla (Shinra). whose
people, beside having the richest soil, were nearest to China, had first received Buddhism, traded with the Arabs and sent their students to Nankin in China for study. One of their literary statesmen invented what (except the Sanskrit letters imported from India) was a new thing in Chinese Asia—a true alphabet, of 14 consonants and 11 vowels (the en-mun), classified according to the organs of speech. This system, however, was not perfected and put into general practice until the 15th century, nor ever made nation-wide until the Christian missionaries made reading democratic and popular. With Confucianism the system was never given opportunity to develop. In the 10th century Shinra's rule extended over the entire peninsula, but in the north the hardy men of Korai were uniting under Wang-gon (Chinese, Wu Wang) who made himself master of the rival states and unified the penin sula, making his capital at Song-do (Sunto). All historians agree that luxury was the chief cause of the downfall of Silla. Buddhism was now endowed as the state religion and the country was divided for administrative pur poses into eight districts based on the river basins, provinces and capitals having the first syllable of their names in common. The evolu tion of government was away from feudal forms to centralized monarchy, after the Chi nese model. The mariner's compass is recorded as used on Chinese ships voyaging to Korea, 1122 A.D. The Mongol invasions of the 12th and 13th centuries made apparently little im pression on the country. In 1392. a new dynasty coming into power banned Buddhism. The first half of the 15th century was a period of inventions, the improvement of the alphabet (en-mun), printing by means of movable or (livings metal types, notable literary produc tions, the casting of great bells and improve ments on agriculture being among these. In politics, political parties arose. Yet while both China and Japan felt, for evil and good, the contact of Europe, Korea became, in spirit and fact, more and more a hermit kingdom, for eign trade being tabooed and the educated classes shrivelling into self-conceit and the pride of ignorance. The invasions of the Jap anese, 1592-97, called forth the inventive powers of the Koreans. Admiral Yang invented an ironclad, propelled by oars, which destroyed the enemy's fleets. The use of bomb shells ((heaven shaking thunders) by the Koreans hampered the enemy's siege operations. The Manchus in 1627• the entrance of Roman Christianity in 1777, through books, and by French priests (in 1836), and of Reformed Christianity in 1884, with the treaties made since 1876 and the presence of large armies on her soil during the Chino-Japanese War of 1894, form the nuclei around which recent events may be grouped. Repeated endeavors, made by Japan during 30 years, to have the Korean dynasty and nobility reform their cor rupt administration and create a modern state were made, during which the Japanese legation was twice attaciled and burned and the. Jap anese driven from Seoul. Plot, counterplot, insurrection and foreign complications followed in monotonous repetition. Japan, to maintain the independence of Korea as necessary to her own existence, was compelled to engage in two foreign wars—with China and with Rus sia. Finding Korea never free from anarchy and incapable of governing herself, Japan felt compelled to assume that responsibility of a protectorate. It had been made evident by the logic of events, that the interests of Japan and Korea were identical — a view that was recog nized almost immediately and unanimously in the West, all governments promptly withdraw ing their legations from Seoul. Japan, sending her ablest statesman, Prince Ito, as resident general, assumed the control of Korea's for eign affairs and during three years attempted internal reforms according to an agreement signed 24 July 1907. The Korean soldiery re sisted the attempts to disarm them and in the two years of intermittent fighting 21,000 natives and 1,300 Japanese lost their lives. At Har bin, 26 Oct. 1909, Prince Ito, and shortly after ward, in California, Mr. D. W. Stevens, an American adviser, were shot to death by Korean assassins. To this date, 1910, Japan's outlay of money for railways, military and reforms in Korea had amounted to $72,000,000. Driven by necessity to the final step of annexa tion, which was taken 22 Aug. 1910, the Mikado declared that Koreans under his sway shall enjoy growing prosperity and wel fare and be assured of repose and security,s while he called upon (all his officials and au thorities to fulfil their duties in appreciation of his will?' How thoroughly Japan has carried out her purpose of reconstruction, in every department of human activity and the opening to the Koreans of all avenues to prosperity— the purpose being to give, in time, to Koreans the same privileges as Japanese subjects en joy — may he seen in the annual reports, issued by the resident-general from 1908 to 1914 and copiously illustrated. In Count S. Terauchi, born in Choshi in 1852, the year of Com modore Perry's arrival, a worthy successor of versatile ability and indomitable energy was found to Prince Ito. The first work was in sanitation and cleanliness. Smallpox, always epidemic (exactly as in old Japan), and formerly an almost annual visitant, causing at times nearly a Thousand deaths in a day in Seoul alone, is now only sporadic. In one year 5,400,000 Koreans were compelled to receive vaccination. Cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, diphtheria were also chronic visitants—often brought from China—and have almost ceased to be epidemics. Housecleaning twice a year is now compulsory. In 1913, with cholera almost unknown, the cases and deaths from all epi demic diseases were 4,06$ and 805, respectively. In 1913, 384,006 patients were treated in the government charity hospitals and 2,408,126 visits made to patients. Silk raising is now a native industry, over 13,000,000 mulberry seedlings furnished the food material for the worms. The annual rice, wheat and barley crops have been doubled. In 1915, a great national exhibition was held in Seoul which showed that in every one of the 13 divisions of Korea modern methods in sanitation, agri culthre, education and.industry were in opera tion or had made beginnings. The revenue for 1914-15 was 59,412,966 yen. The total trade for 1914 was 97,620,248 yen. In March 1913, 49,328 native pupils attended the government schools and 2,190 the private schools, besides 28,173 Japanese were under instruction; the official expenditures being 1,141,952 yen. The work of railways, road-making, harbor im provements and survey, sanitation, silk culture, agricultural development, banking (one family in 600 having a savings account) and finance, and the general prosperity and. uplift of the people, as shown in annual publications both official and private, are remarkable. Japan, as a devotee of science and a pastmaster in the art of rejuvenating nations, profits by her own ex perience in renewing her own body politic, after The long marasmus and anmnia of centuries brought on in all three countries under Chinese culture by hermitage and bad government. Hence the vigor and thoroughness with Korea — apart from any question of political moral ity — for Japan is scarcely less severe with Korea than she has been with herself. Great as is the work done for the Koreans, their con tact with the world, by changing the status from one of hermitage and degeneration to one of brotherhood and progress, bids fair to pro duce even greater ultimate results for the good of themselves and the race.