Corea is often called the Hermit Nation, because it has wanted to keep foreigners away. In this respect it is what China, Japan, and Tibet have sometimes been; all of them have followed at times policies of exclusion. Still, Corea has had a good deal of contact with other nations; she has learned many things from China and has passed on much that she learned to Japan. Sometimes, too, Corea has been subject to China, sometimes to Japan.

The dress of Corea, while somewhat like that of China, and that of Japan, is still quite peculiar. The common people are all dressed in bluish white stuffs. Rich people dress in silks of the most gorgeous colors—blue, crimson, scarlet, orange. The chief garment worn by men is a long, loose gown that hangs from the neck quite to the ground. This is bound around, high above the waist, with a stiff, broad belt. No buttons are used in the fastening of garments, but strips of colored ribbons. The socks and shoes of the Coreans are like those of the Chinese, except that the shoe soles are thick-set with nail-heads. Nowadays these hob-nailed shoes are worn at all times, but formerly they were probably used only in winter to prevent slipping on ice and snow. About this the Coreans tell a story: long ago there was war between China and Corea, and the Chinese sent an army of eight hundred thousand soldiers; Corea’s army numbered but five thousand. It was in the midst of winter. The two armies met at a river, which was frozen solid, and the battle took place upon the ice. The Chinese wore their smooth-soled shoes, while the Coreans wore hob-nailed ones. When they fought on the ice the Chinese slipped helplessly, while the Coreans were able to fight well. The result was a great victory for the Coreans who, since then, have worn their hob-nailed shoes constantly in memory of their success.

But the most curious part of Corean dress is the hat. There are many different kinds. There are hats for young and hats for old, hats for out-doors and hats for the house, hats for people of different occupations. The commonest out-door hat is round, square-topped, and with the wide, flat, brim halfway up the crown. The hats worn at the royal court are like high skull-caps, with wide flaps or wings projecting at the sides. The straw hats worn by drovers and people in mourning are shaped like the top of a parasol and measure two feet and a half across.

Until lately people in Corea carried wooden blocks to show who they were. These blocks were carried by boys of fifteen and all older persons. They were called “name-tablets,” and were made of pear-wood or mahogany. They were about two inches long and a half inch wide. There was writing upon both sides. At the top on one side was the name of the ward where the boy lived; below it were the words “leisure-fellow,” meaning that he was not a servant; then came the boy’s name, and lastly his date of birth. On the other side was the date on which the tablet was issued, and the seal of the officer who gave it. When a boy was older his “name-tablet” was of box-wood; still later—after he had passed an examination—his tablet was cut from black horn; when finally he took highest honors, it was made of ivory. Poor people, of the lowest class, also carried tablets, but of a different sort; upon these the bearer was described.

In Corea there is much cold weather with ice and snow. Much clothing is needed for warmth, and several garments of one sort may be worn one over another. In the houses they have kangs for warmth at night. Under the house, or under a certain part of it, there is built a sort of oven or furnace; above this is a floor of stones and, perhaps, earth upon which oiled paper is smoothly spread. A fire is built in the furnace and the sleepers stretch themselves upon the heated floor. It is not a satisfactory mode of heating, but is used not only among the Coreans but also among their Tatar neighbors.

Everywhere in Corea, Japan, China, and Tibet the people are Buddhists. But in all these countries we find also much worship of demons or bad spirits. Nowhere is there more of this than in Corea. They believe that there are spirits everywhere, some good, some bad. They are afraid of these bad spirits and do many things to ward off their mischief. Upon the roof of the king’s palace are a lot of ugly figures of bronze that resemble pigs and monkeys. All are different, but all are as terrible as their makers could shape. These are intended to frighten bad spirits away. No one but the king may have just these guardian animals; other important persons have two pictures fastened at the door; at the doors of the poor are hung a bunch of rice straw, and a bit of old rag. The two pictures represent two great generals, one a Chinese and the other a Corean, who were such valiant fighters against demons that their very pictures scare them. As for the things on the poor man’s door, it is believed that the spirits will stop to eat the grains of rice, and that they will think the rag the man’s clothing and will do their harm to it without entering the house.

Among the Coreans the tiger is much admired and much feared. They believe that bad men and evil spirits can turn themselves into tigers, and they have many strange stories of these tiger-men magicians. Thus they say that once a man was travelling through a lonely and desolate region. Toward evening he was surprised to come upon a fine house. Entering and asking shelter he found an old man living alone there. He felt sure things were wrong and that the old man was a tiger-magician. He was right; it was the king of all the tiger-magicians. If he had shown his fear he would have been torn to pieces, but he pretended to be brave. When the old man asked him who he was and where he was going, he boldly declared he was hunting for tiger-magicians, of whom he meant to kill two hundred, that he might carry their skins to the king. When the old man—who you remember was king of the tiger-magicians—heard this bold talk he was terribly scared. Secretly he called his subjects together and told them of their danger. They advised him to kill two hundred tiger-magicians who were in jail and give their skins to the hunter, begging him to spare the rest. The traveller gladly accepted, and taking the skins sold them for much money. This man had a cowardly neighbor who heard the story and determined to try the same trick. When he reached the tiger-king’s palace, however, he got scared, the tigers knew his fraud, and falling upon him they killed him.