Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/451

 head, but is not allowed to use the pad or cushion on top of the head by which the change t is supported.

Besides these women of the lower orders, there are a few others that never cover the head and who, although entirely respectable, may be seen by men without reproach. These are lady physicians, of whom there are many in Korea, and blind female exorcists. Women of even the upper class may enter the medical profession, and it is said that many of them are very expert at acupuncture, which is about all the surgery that the Esculapian art can boast here.

Although women of the upper and middle classes cover the face on the street, yet this concealment is by no means so complete as among the women of Turkey, for the changot is simply held together before the face with the hand, and frequently the entire face is exposed. Elderly women of entire respectability often take little or no pains to observe the rule strictly, but one would seldom have an opportunity of catching a glance at more than one eye and a small portion of the face of a young woman.

In an afternoon's walk through the streets of Seoul you will see hundreds of women going about without any head covering whatever. They are mostly slaves. Now and then a dancinggirl will be seen riding on a pony or in an open chair with uncovered face, and, if a wedding procession passes, a large number of unveiled women with enormous piles of hair on their heads will be seen carrying gaily decorated boxes in which are kept the " plenishings " of the bride. These all belong to the low class.

It may be said in a general way that the chief occupation of the respectable Korean woman, whether of high or low degree, is motherhood. Like the ancient Hebrew woman, she says, " Give me children or I die." This springs from the instinct for self-preservation. The Confucian code renders male offspring a sine qua non of a successful life, and a woman who brings her husband no children is doubly discredited. There is no more valid cause for divorce in Korea than barrenness.