Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1133

 V I i

KOREA.

(Ch'ao-hsien, or Chosen.) Government.

The reigning monavch, whose surname is Yi and name Heui, succeeded his predecessor — now known under his posthumous title of Ch'yelchyong — in 1864. On October 15, 1897, he assumed the title of Emperor. He is reckoned as the thirtieth in succession since the founding of the present dynasty in 1392 ; but four of the so-called Kings were Crown Princes Avho never ascended the throne. Up to July, 1894, when war was declared by Ja})an against China, tlie monarchy, which is hereditary, was practically absolute. The constitution, the penal code, and the system of otlicial administration were framed on the Chinese model, except that the government was in the hands of a hereditary aristocracy, exclusive and corrupt. Since early times Korea had acknowledged the suzerainty of China, a suzerainty which was denied by Japan and which was one of the alleged causes of the war between China and Japan, 1894. By the treaty of Shimonoseki, May, 1895, China renounced her claim, and under Ja})anese influence, with the aid cf money borrowed from Japan, many reforms were introduced, such as the payment of taxes in money instead of in kind ; lixed salaries for government officials ; a reduction in the number of useless liangers on, and an eiiort towards order in the departments of State. There exists, however, a strong reactionar}' tendency, especially in the Household Department, and various abuses have recently revived. The constitution as it at present exists may be briefly described as follows : — The Em^ieror is an independent sovereign, but his power is to a certain extent modified by the Cabinet, which passes resolutions and frames laws which must be submitted to the Emperor for ratification. The privileges of the aristocracy have been abolished, and the selection of ofiicers for government posts is made by the Ministers and officials of the first order, subject to the Emperor's approval. The central government consists of 8 departments or ministries of state. The departments are those of (1) the Cabinet, presided over by the Premier, (2) the Home Oflfice, (3) the Foreign Office, (4) the Treasury, (5) the War Office, (6) Education, (7) Justice, (8) Agriculture, Trade and Industry. A ninth department, that of the Household, does not confer upon the Minister in charge a seat in the Cabinet. The eight jnovinces into which Korea was formerly divided have been abolished, and local government is now administered in 13 tOy or provinces, these being sub-divided into 339 kiin, or districts. There is a separate government for the capital, while each of the five treaty-ports, Chemulpo, Fusan, Wonsan, Chinnampo, and Mokpo, and the Russo-Korean trading mart Kyenheung, is under a Superintendent or Kamni, who ranks with a Consul.

Area and Population.

Estimated area, 82,000 square miles ; population estimated at from 8, 000, 000 to 1 6, 000, 000. Recent statistics give 2, 356, 267 lamilies and 10,528,937 inhabitants— 5,312,323 males and 5,216,614 females. The capital, Seoul, has 200,000 inhabitants. The foreign population consisted, in 1897, of 10,000 Japanese, 4,000 Chinese, and about 300 others, of whom 73 are British and 130 Americans. At Chemulpo there are over 6,000 Japanese and Chinese. Ping- Yang has a population of about 30,000. The language of the people is intermediate between Mongolo-Tartar and Japanese, and an alphabetical systen) of writing is used to some extent. In all official writing, and in the coiTespondence of the upper classes, the Chinese characters were used exclusively, but in official documents a mixture of the native script is now the rule.