Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1151

 MONEY — BOOKS OF REFERENCE 1029

Transport in the interior is by porters, pack-horses and oxen, and by river. Improvements in road making are being effected. There are abont 1 400 miles of road. There is a railway from Seoul to Fusan (2/5 miles). The Seoul -Chemulpo railway (24 miles) is a branch of the hne.^ /^°*^f branch running from near Fusan to ^tasampo is open, and a third branch win run from Taiden to Mokpo. The Seoul-Wiju Imo is 310 miles in length. The construction of a railway from Seoul to Geusan (or Wousan, a port on the East Coast) has been commenced and about 50 miles is alieady open to traffic It is expected that the line will be finished by 1914. The Yalu Bridge was completed in the autumn of 1911. The Koix^an system is now connected with the Siberian and Chinese lines, a through express tram ot the latest type running thrice weekly from Fusan to Chang-chou, via Seoul, Ping-Yang, Autung, and Mukden. From Chang-chou a Russian tram connects at Harbin with the Trans-Siberian express All these milways belong to the Japanese Goverument. Total length of Ime, /67 miles

^^^A~st?e\^telectric railway in Seoul has been extended i^^^-ee directions to points three miles outside the city. Number of post offices (1912) 465 There are 1,414 miles of telegraph line open, and the lines connect with the Japanese and the Chinese systems. The telephone has been introduced at Seoul, Chemulpo, and several other towns, ^. , ^^. i • i qas

Monev— Regulations for banking were framed m 1906, and m 190« there were^ in Korea 3 ordinary banks organised by Koreans and 4 organised 1)y Japanese. At the same time there were 9 agricultural and industrial banks fostered bv Government subsidies. ,,i., j. » ^ lono o,..l

A central bank, the Bank of Korea, was established m August 1909 and in November it took the place of the First Bank of Japan (Dai-ichi-Gmko) as the Government Treasury. Notes of tliis bank are gradually replacing those of the First Bank of Japan, now current in the country.

The coinage consists of gold pieces of 10- and 20-yen, silver of 10-, 20-, and 50-seS, nickel of 5-sen, and bronze of 1-sen and 5-i-in. The^e are also in circulation notes of the Dai-ichi-Gmko (First Bank) of 1, 5, and 10 ven The old nickel coin has been practically wholly withdrawn trom circulation, and the cash currency is now used only for petty transactions. Under certain regulations, bills of exchange and cheques may pass into the currency In the more important commercial towns there are authorised note associations ' of merchants for the transaction of business relating to bills.

British Consid- General at Seoul— A. M. Chalmers.

Vice-Consul at Seo^U.—C. J. Davidson. British Consul at Chemulpo.— J. Twizell Wawn.

Books of Reference concerning Korea.

Foreign Office Reports on the Trade of Korea. Arnual and Miscellaneous Series. London.

^IZZen (Dr. H. N.), Things Korean. 1907. t ^«^«,, isoq

London, 1894. „, -o „ ^Qc\a

Gourant (M.), Bibliographie Coreenne. 3 vols, i'ans, i«yt).

information concerning the old political and social life, geography, and language ot Coi eaj. Gale (Rev. J. S, D.D.), Korean Sketches.

(?en,«ft« (S.), Korea : Reiseschilderang. Berlin, 190.>. „^^ „, „ . t „„..„ -.oi^ (inj?is(W. E.), Corea: the Hermit Nation. 10th ed. New York and London, i.»i-.