Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/349

 as in our own land. The Korean would no sooner think of killing a good, strong, healthy bull for beef than the reader would think of killing a valuable dog for its pelt. But the consumption of fish, especially in its dried or salted form, is very great throughout the country. Off the northeast coast enormous quantities of ling are caught. These are dried and taken into every hamlet in the country. Everywhere along the coast, and in towns easily accessible therefrom, fresh fish are largely consumed. Everything is fish that comes to the Korean's net ; sharks, cuttle-fish, sea-slugs and all. They have never developed the enterprise or the daring to engage in the lucrative whale fisheries off the eastern coast, but the Japanese and Russians have reaped golden harvests there. The former have secured the right, by concession from the Korean government, to fish anywhere along the Korean coast, and their brutal methods are rapidly driving the Koreans out of the business.

The work of gathering and transporting fuel engages the attention of many thousands of people. The Koreans differ from the Japanese in that, while the latter keep themselves warm by the use of heavy blankets, and in winter are most frequently seen crouched about their charcoal braziers, the Korean heats his house generously and depends upon his hot stone floor for comfort. The effect, while perhaps no better from a hygienic standpoint, is decidedly more comfortable. It is also much more costly. People have wondered why Korea looks so barren compared with Japan. The reason lies right here. Koreans keep their wood cut down to the quick, to provide themselves with fuel, while the Japanese let the forests grow. The Japanese are the more picturesque, but the Koreans are more comfortable. Wood forms but a small part of Korean fuel. The common people usually burn grass or small fagots. This they feed slowly into the fire, utilising every particle of the heat.

One firing in the morning and one at night suffice to cook the food and to keep the stone floor warm. One of the most characteristic sights about Seoul is the long lines of bullocks and