RELIGION AND INSTRUCTION-FINANCE-PRODUCTION 1075 The language of the people is intermediate between Mongolo-Tartar and Japanese, with a large admixture of Chinese words, and an alphabetical system of writing is used. Official correspondence, except with Korean provincial officials, is conducted in Japanese. The written language of the people is a mixture of Chinese characters and native script. Religion and Instruction. The worship of ancestors is observed with as much punctiliousness as in China. In the country there are numerous Buddhist monasteries, which, however, are looked upon with scant respect. The knowledge of Chinese classics and of Confucian doctrine, formerly essential to the education of the upper classes, is giving way under Japanese influence to a more practical system of instruction. There is a large number of Christian converts. In 1890 an English Church mission was established, with a bishop and 20 other members. The American missionaries have two hospitals in Seoul, where the Japanese have also established a large Government hospital. The total number of hospitals in the country was 177 on December 31, 1920; while the Red Cross Society has a numerous membership (about 35,900) among both Japanese and Koreans. There are over 250 Protestant missionaries (British and American), and 60 Roman Catholic, also a Russian Greek Church mission in Seoul. There are numerous Christian Mission schools for boys and girls throughout the country. All these schools are subject to the control of the Education Department. Technical and industrial schools are rapidly springing up. A model farm and agricultural school has been established at Suigen. In 1919 there were 996 public schools of all sorts, with 132,848 pupils; other schools, 24,720, with 310,895 pupils. In Seoul there are three daily Korean newspapers, and 2 Japanese, besides others published at Chemulpo and in other parts of the country. There is a Government-owned daily newspaper in English, published at Seoul. The Press is entirely in the hands of the Japanese, and a strict censorship is exercised. Finance.-The finances of Korea form a special account in the Budget of Japan. The estimated revenue for two years is shown as follows (1 yen= 2s. 04d. nominally) : The main sources of revenue are taxes and public undertakings. Production.-Korea is almost entirely an agricultural country; the cultivated area is about 10,599,000 acres. The chief crops are rice, wheat, beans, and grain of all kinds, besides tobacco and cotton. The rice crops for 5 years were (in bushels) :- 1915, 63,776,089; 1916, 69,149,878; 1917, 67,938,346; 1918, 68, 622,018; 1919, 62,561,761; 1920, 73,859,654. Whale fishing is carried on on the coast. Live-stock is raised as a by-product of agriculture. The cattle are well known for their size and quality. Gold mining is carried on and promises to be successful. There are four foreign-owned gold mines in active operation. Copper, iron, and coal are abundant in Korea, but the development of these resources is impeded by defective means of communication. An anthracite coal mine in the north of Korea is in operation. Graphite and mica also are found in considerable quantities. The total value of mineral products in 1920 was 24,245,100 yen The government has the monopoly of salt and tobacco. Commerce. The open ports are Seoul, Chemulpo, Fusan, Wousan, Chinnampo, Mokpo, Kunsan, Songchin, Ping-Yang (inland city), Wiju, Yong-Am-Po (1908), Yuki, Chung-jin and Shin-wi-ju. Trade (merchandise only) at the open ports: The imports in 1920 included cotton goods, 30,672,623 yen; cotton yarn, 3,246,329 yen; machinery, 6,538,058 yen; silk goods, 906,390 yen; timber, 3,322,005 yen; kerosene oil, 7,926,203 yen; grass cloth, 8,125,274 yen; sugar, 4,403,505 yen; paper, 4,462,182 yen; coal, 17,016,492 yen. The principal exports were rice (1919), 110,030,878 yen; beans, peas, pulse (1919), 23,068,301 yen; hides (1920), 3,170,965 yen; cattle (1920), 4,950,069 yen; gold ore (1920), 1,176,636 yen. Of the total imports in 1920, the value of 143,111,717 yen was from Japan; of the exports, the value of 169,389,887 yen was to Japan. From Great Britain and the United States of America respectively, imports amounted to 4,931,944 yen and 19,238,041yen. Shipping and Communication.-The foreign-going shipping entered at the open ports in 1920 had a tonnage of 736,346, and those that cleared a tonnage of 733,187. Transport in the interior is by porters, pack-horses and oxen, and by river. Improvements in road making are being effected. There are about 1,400 miles of road. Length of railways, 1920, 1,152 miles; number of passengers carried (1919-20), 12,184,485. The Korean system of railways is now connected with the Siberian and Chinese lines. A street electric railway in Seoul has been extended in four directions to points three miles outside the city. Number of post offices (1920) 562. There are 4,860 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; length of lines 3,258 miles. Money.-Regulations for banking were framed in 1906. there were 15 ordinary banks with 8,900,000 yen paid-up capital. In 1920 A central bank, the Bank of Chösen, was established in August, 1909, and in November it took the place of the First Bank of Japan (Dai-Ichi-Ginko) as the Government Treasury. Notes of this bank are permitted to circulate unrestrictedly within the jurisdiction of the Government-General of Chösen and are exchangeable with gold coin and convertible notes issued by the Bank of Japan. The Bank of Chösen has a paid-up capital (1920) of 50 million yen, the deposits amounting to 185,884,266 yen (June 30, 1921). Notes issued to June 30, 1921, 98,600,000 yen. Against their issue must be provided a reserve of the same amount, consisting of gold coin, gold and silver bullion, and convertible notes of the Bank of Japan; silver bullion, however, must not exceed one-fourth of the total reserve. The savings bank in 1919-20 had 1,406, 259 depositors with a total amount 14,925,990 yen. The coinage consists of gold pieces of 5-, 10-, and 20-yen, silver of 10-, 20-, and 50-sen, nickel of 5-sen, and bronze of 1-sen and 5-rin. The old nickel coin has been practically wholly withdrawn from 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 Consul-General at Seoul.-A. Hyde Lay, C. M.G. FORMOSA (TAIWAN). THE Island of Formosa, or Taiwan, was ceded to Japan by China by the treaty which was ratified on May 8, 1895, and Japan took formal possession on June 2 of the same year. Japanese civil government in the island began on March 31, 1896. The Island has an area of 13,839 square miles, with a population (1918 of 3,669,687 (1,899,474 males and 1,770,213 females). Census population 1920, 3,654,398. The chief towns are Taihoku (107,706 inhabitants in 1919), Tainan, Kagi and Taichu. Many improvements have been effected by the Japanese administration. A colonising scheme was commenced in 1909, whereby Japanese were settled in Taiwan. There are four villages containing (1916), 652 families consisting of 3,268 persons. An educational system has been established for Japanese and natives, for whom there are (1918) 576 elementary and other schools with 2,334 teachers and 132,963 pupils. There are also normal schools, a medical school, and a school for teaching the Japanese language to natives, and native languages to Japanese. The receipts of the Japanese administration are from inland taxes, customs, public undertakings, and also subsidies from Japan ranging from 5 to 9 million yen annually. The expenditure is chiefly for internal adminis tration and the working of public undertakings. 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19 1919-20-1 1920-211 Yen Yen Yen Yen Yen 55,765,688 65,425,497 80,500,731 70,305,452 94,368,309 Expenditure 42,686,562 46,166,559 55,334,779 70,305,452 94,368,309 Revenue 1 Estimates. The agricultural products of Formosa are rice, tea, sugar, sweet potatoes, ramie, jute, turmeric; while camphor is worked in the forests under a Government monopoly. The production of camphor was in 1917-18, 4,297,662 lbs. ; in 1918-19, 3,122,733 lbs. ; in 1919-20, 2,933,333 lbs. ; in 1920-21, 4,000,000 lbs. Production of rice in 1921, 24,625,422 bushels; production of sugar 1921-22, 5,564,739 piculs, produced on an area of 561,415 acres. There are active fisheries. The number of animals is estimated as follows:-sheep, 91; goats, 98,665; cattle, 130,000; caribou, 708. The industries comprise flour-milling, sugar, tobacco; oil, spirits, iron-work, glass, bricks, soap, and many other manufactures. Mining is making steady progress; the output of coal in 1918 was 801,520 tons. In 1919, the area planted with sugar was 286,348 acres, and the yield 6,868,779,636 pounds. There are 60 sugar mills in Taiwan. In The commerce of Formosa is largely with Japan, the chief foreign countries with which there is traffic being China and the United States. 1919 the imports from Japan amounted to 90,572,432 yen; exports, 142,208,290 yen. The chief exports in 1919 were tea, 8,208,664 yen; sugar, 7,542,252 yen; camphor, 3,073,735 yen; coal, 8,037,334 yen. chief imports were opium, 6,433,950 yen; rice, 7,728,376 yen; oil-cake, beans and tea-seed, 10,260,723 yen. The In 1919, 2757 vessels, of 1,117,899 tons entered and cleared the ports of Taiwan. Roads have been and are being constructed throughout the Island. There were, in 1920, 378 miles of railway open. In 1920 there were 168 post offices, through which passed 49,009,142 packets and 770,018 parcels. The telegraph service has 165 offices; length of line 692 miles; of wire, 3,082 miles; messages (1919), 2,388,891. Telephone line, 987 miles; calls, 30,376,783. At the end of 1920 the post office savings bank had 396,578 depositors with 6,313,142 yen to their credit. The coinage current in the Island is that of Japan. Hōkotō, or the Pescadores, consist of about 12 islands, with a total area of about 50 square miles. Japanese Sakhalin (or Karafuto) consists of that portion of Sakhalin which lies to the south of the parallel of 50° north latitude. It has an area of about 13,148 sq. miles, and, in 1918, a population of 79,131 (44,460 males and 34,671 females). Census population, 1920, 105,765. The most important industry of the island is the herring fishery, but large areas are fit for agriculture and pasturage, and Japanese settlers have been provided with seed and domestic animals. There is a vast forest area of larch and fir trees. The minerals found are coal and alluvial gold; coal raised in 1918, 104,695 tons. The revenue for 1921-22 is estimated at 13,953,806 yen, and expenditure the same. The leased Territory of Kwantung, the southern part of the Liaotung Peninsula, has an area of about 538 sq. miles, and a population (December 31, 1919) of 600,644 (341,673 males and 258,971 females), of whom 534,849 (228,834 females) are Chinese and 65,692 (30,093 females) Japanese (exclusive of army and navy). The Territory is under a Japanese governor-general, the seat of administration being at Dairen (or Tairend, formerly called Dalny), where in 1915 there were 77 schools with 14,984 pupils; also an American Presbyterian Mission with a church and a hospital. The estimated revenue and expenditure for 1921-22 balance at 15,947,658 yen. The chief agricultural products of the Territory are maize, millet, beans, wheat, buckwheat, rice, tobacco, hemp, and various vegetables. There is an active fishing industry. The chief manufactured product is salt, which is abundant in the Territory. Since July 1, 1907, the Territory forms a Customs district under the Chinese Imperial Customs, Dairen being the Customs port, with out-stations at Kinchow, Pulantien, Pitzewo, and Port Arthur. The port is free, goods being subject to duty only on crossing the frontier of the leased territory. The trade is mostly with Japan and China. Imports (1919), 107,186,929 haikwan taels (tael = about 4s. 4d.); exports, 103,733,007 yen. Dairen has a fine harbour, ice-free all the year, and protected by a breakwater 1,000 yards long. The harbour is provided with sheds and warehouses, under the control of the South Manchuria Railway Company. The railway connects Port Arthur and Dairen with Mukden, Kharbin, and the Eastern Chinese Railway System. In 1919 its total length was 687 miles. Gold and silver coin and the notes of the Yokohama specie bank are current. Kiau-Chau.-Kiau-Chau, on the east coast of the Chinese province of Shan-tung, was seized by Germany in November, 1897; the town, harbour, and district were by treaty transferred to Germany on a 99 years' lease, March 6, 1898; and the district was declared a Protectorate of the German Empire, April 27, 1898. In November, 1914, the territory was captured by Japanese and British forces, and is now administered by Japan under a mandate. Area, about 200 square miles, exclusive of the bay (about 200 square miles). There are 33 townships, and a population of about 227,000. Surrounding the district and bay is a neutral zone, whose outer limit is 30 miles from highwater mark on the coast of the bay, its area being about 2,500 square miles, and population about 1,200,000. At Tsing-Tau there is one middle school, one girls' high school, 2 higher primary schools, 2 schools for teaching Chinese to the Japanese, with a total of 152 teachers and 3,336 pupils in 1921. There are also 37 public schools for Chinese pupils, with 136 teachers and 3,293 pupils. For the year 1914 the revenue was estimated at 403,000l. and the expenditure 920,500l. The products are wheat, fruits, beans, ground-nuts, sweet potatoes, &c., and silk culture, coal mining, briquette-making, brewing, soap-making are carried on, and there is a prosperous silk factory. Over 1,000 Chinese were employed on the floating dock. At Kiau-Chau in 1920 the imports amounted to 65,533,521 Mexican dollars and the exports to 55,784,618 dollars. The chief imports were cotton goods, cigarettes, petroleum and lumber. The chief exports were ground nut, wheat, tobacco leaf, coal, beef, and hides. In 1920 1,283 steamers of 1,385,469 tons entered and cleared at Kiau-Chau. Of this total 1,016 steamers of 904,946 tons were Japanese and 138 steamers of 302,046 tons British. A railway, Tsing-Tau to Tsinan, is 277 miles long. The number of Japanese residents (exclusive of the military) was on July 31, 1921, 28,043 (14,984 males and 13,059 females). On August 6, 1915, an agreement was entered into between the Chinese and Japanese Governments providing for the re-opening of the Chinese Maritime Customs at Tsing-Tau on conditions similar to those in force during the German occupation. Books of Reference. Behme (F.) and Krieger (M.), Guide to Tsingtau and its Surroundings. 2nd ed. Wessel, 1906. Hesse-Wartegg (E. von), Schantung und Deutsch-China. Leipzig, 1898. Janson (A. von), Tsingtau: Erwerb, Blüte und Verlust. Berlin, 1915. Jones (J.), The Fall of Tsing-tau. London, 1916. Richthofen (F. von), Schantung und seine Eingangspforte Kiautschou. Berlin, 1898. |