Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/344

 The old-time yongma, or horse-relay system, was the precursor of the postal system, and it did its work well for over fourteen centuries. Government stables were established at frequent intervals along all the main routes, and official correspondence went by post-horse. Some of us have seen the messenger arrive at one of these stations, dismount from his jaded animal and leap into the saddle of another mount, and, with a cut of the whip and the clatter of hoofs, disappear down the road, bound city-ward or country-ward with some important missive. The trouble with this system was that the common people were not allowed to use it. The messengers were, of course, often bribed to take private letters, but as a rule the people made use of casual travellers to deliver messages in distant towns. The guild known as the " Peddlers'," a name that has come into disrepute during recent times, was much utilised for the delivery of letters. The wandering peddlers covered the country as a network, and one could very often communicate through them with distant friends. It hardly needs to be said that the establishment of steamship lines and the building of railroads is working wonderful changes in the Korean's ability to communicate with distant sections of the country. In former times it took weeks to get a letter to the northeastern part of the country, but now it is a matter of days only.