Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/472

 him father, or become his heir or sacrifice to him after death.

He may have half a dozen sons by concubines, yet when the time comes to die he will adopt a son from some more or less distant branch of the family, and it is this adopted son who will call him father, worship him after death and inherit all his property. The sons of concubines have no rights whatever, nor would any gentleman think of adopting his son by a concubine to be his legal heir. Great stress is laid upon purity of blood in the upper class. Among the common people, however, where the restraints are very much less, the son by a concubine may become the heir. In such case the man and his concubine belong to the same grade of society. The children always take the status of the mother.

If a man of the upper class has one or more concubines, he must keep a separate establishment for each of them. It would be unheard of for a gentleman to introduce a concubine into the home where his genuine wife lives. Among the common class, however, the wife and the concubine may occupy the same house. Human nature is the same the world over, and it is needless to say that oftentimes the result is most distressing. No other one thing is so conducive to domestic discord as this evil custom. The Koreans recognise its baneful effects and condemn it, but money and leisure offer great temptations in Korea even as elsewhere.

The commonest form of amusement in which women indulge is called kugyung. This word cannot be exactly translated, but it may mean to "look see" or to "take a walk," or both of these combined. In other words, it means the satisfaction of curiosity in any form. When the Korean says kugyung kapsita, he means, "Let us take a stroll and look about a bit." Now, this, in the uneventful life of a Korean woman, is one of the highest forms of pleasure. It makes no difference though she sees nothing more exciting than a passing bicycle or electric car. It is amusing and entertaining. Of course, such pleasures are mostly limited to the lower classes, who are less secluded. Ladies amuse