No. 68
Sir. H. Parkes to Earl Granville.—(Received August 12)

(No. 77 Confidential)
Tôkiô, July 5, 1882

My Lord,

WITH reference to my proceeding despatch No. 76 of this day’s date, I have now the honour to place before your Lordship a copy of Mr. Aston’s Report on his recent visit to Corea, accompanied by a Memorandum in which he has carefully examined the relative merits of Asan and Inchhyön as a port of trade. Inchyön is the Corean of Jin Chuen, which latter is an approximate Chinese pronunciation of the name.
The Corean Government are under an engagement with the Japanese Government to open Inchhyön in September next, and Mr. Aston is of opinion that a more thorough examination of the Asan anchorage should be made before Inchhyön is definitely fixed on as the open port for that part of Corea. I am aware, however, that Admiral Willes attaches importance to Inchhyön for the same reason that induced the Japanese Government to select it, namely, its proximity to the capital.
I beg to invite your Lordship’s attention to the friendly communications which passed between Mr. Aston and Mr. Hanabusa, the Japanese Minister of Corea. He made two journeys from the capital in order to visit Mr. Aston at the anchorage of Inchhyön, and also at Asan, and stated that he would offer no objection to the surrender of Inchhyön in case another port, should be preferred by the foreign Powers. It was obviously politie on his part, as Mr. Aston points out, to show the Coreans that he was disposed to make common cause with those Powers, but it was creditable to him to bear so well the disappointment he doubtless felt at finding that Corea had openly acknowledged the suzerainty of China, and that all his endeavours to negotiate a low Tariff had been defeated by the new Treaties. There is good sense in his remarks that as the dependent relationship of Corea to China was an indisputable fact―a fact, however, which the Japanese Government have hitherto disputed―one acknowledgement of it, more or less, did not much matter, although he thought it would have the effect of causing his Government to withdraw their Minister and to appoint a Consul-General instead. Mr. Hanabusa also supplied some useful particulars as to the political conditions of the country, the leading men of the recently formed Administration, and the opposition with which the liberal-minded King has to contend. He also dwelt pointedly on the necessity of any foreign diplomatic officer appointed to reside at the capital being supported by a strong guard.
Mr. Aston draws attention to the difficulty which, owing to the poverty of the land, will be experienced in obtaining house accommodation for foreign officers either at the capital or the ports. He also points to the importance of foreigners in Corea being restrained by strict rules from intruding into the dwellings of the Coreans, in consequence of the great jealousy entertained by the latter for the privacy of their women, and he observes that Commodore Schufeldt mentioned to him, as his reasons for discarding the intervention of Japan, and for preferring the friendly offices of China, that Japan having free trade with Corea, would not make the concessions in favour of a high Tariff with which he wished to propitiate the Coreans. From China, it appears, he could readily obtain the desired concurrence in the imposition of high import duties, especially when accompanied by an acknowledgement of the suzerainty of China over Corea, to which Commodore Schufeldt affects to attach but slight importance.
It is evident, from Mr. Aston’s description of the country, that the capacities of Corea for commerce are exceedingly limited, and, as what little foreign trade she now has, though comparatively free from duties, is not increasing, it is not probable that it will be developed by the high Tariff which has been successfully promoted by Commodore Schufeldt and his influential coadjutor, Li Hung Chang.
I feel that I may confidently recommend Mr. Aston’s Report and proceedings to your Lordship’s approval, and I only regret that he could not possibly arrive in time to be of service to Admiral Willes, who had to trust to the kind and gratuitous offices of a Chinese officer for the means of interpretation.

I have, &e.
(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES

Inclosure 1 in No. 68

Mr. Aston to Sir H. Parkes
Yedo, July 5, 1882

Sir,

I HAVE the honour to submit to you the following notes of information collected by me during my recent visit to Corea in Her Majesty’s ships “Kestrel” and “Flying Fish.”
I arrived at Roze Island anchorage on the 7th June, and on the same day received a visit from Mr. Kondo, the Secretary of the Japanese Legation in Corea, who said he had come down to express to Admiral Willes the regrets of Mr. Hanabusa, the Japanese Minister, that ill-health had prevented him from coming to call on him sooner. Mr. Kondo was very sorry that Admiral Willes’ departure had now made it impossible for him to do so at all. Mr. Kondo could not conceal his annoyance at the manner in which the Treaties had been negotiated, and was full of curiosity as to their provisions, but, as I had had no opportunity of seeing them myself, I was unable to gratify his desire for information. I subsequently found that the Japanese Minister had soon after made himself acquainted with all their principal stipulations.
As I was aware that the anchorage of Inchhyön had only been selected by the Japanese Government owing to their inability to find a better port on the west coast, and that it was open to some obvious objections, I thought I could not employ my time better than by collecting what information I could respecting any alternative port in this neighbourhood. I accordingly dispatched a message to the authorities asking that some Corean official who knew this part of the country might be sent to me, but the stay of Her Majesty’s ship “Flying Fish” at this anchorage was so short, and the Corean authorities are so slow to move, that there was no time to carry out this arrangement satisfactorily. The information gathered on this subject will be found in the separate Memorandum inclosed along with this Report. It will be seen that it points to the desirability of a thorough examination of the Asan anchorage before Inchhyön is definitely fixed on as the open port for this part of Corea.
Having written to Mr. Hanabusa, the Japanese Minister to Corea, an old acquaintance of mine in Japan, asking him to communicate to me any remarks he might have to make on the choice of Inchhyön as an open port, he was good enough to come down to Chémulpho, and to visit me on board the “Flying Fish,” where he staid over night in preference to sleeping in the very poor quarters available on shore. Mr. Hanabusa showed none of irritation betrayed by Mr. Kondo at the recent negotiations. He remarked that, personally, he had been treated with greater courtesy than on any previous visit, and had received invitations to the houses of some of the leading officials, a civility which none of them had ever effered him before. As to the recognition by Corea of the suzerainty of China, it was an indisputable fact that the dependent relation existed, and one acknowledgement of it more or less did not matter. He thought, however, that one effect of it would be that his own Government would take the firm opportunity of having a Consul-General in Corea instead of a Minister, and he presumed the British Government would not appoint a Minister to a country which had so pointedly brought to their notice its dependent condition. Mr. Hanabusa has evidently determined to resign himself to the situation, and to make the best of it, and I fancy his two visits to the “Flying Fish,” one at Chémulpho, and a week later at Asan, were intended not only as a friendly attention to ourselves, but as a little demonstration to the Coreans of his intention to make common cause with European Powers. On both visits he came attended by a suite of seven or eight persons, consisting of Secretary, Attachés, Interpreter guard, and servants.
Mr. Hanabusa informed me that the political state of affairs in Corea remained unaltered. A great blow had been struck at the anti-foreign party for or five months before, from which he believed it would not soon recover. Some had been imprisoned, some executed, and the remainder banished to provinces remote from the capital. The leader of this party was an elder brother of the King, the present Sovereign, though a younger son, having been chosen by the late King as his successor. The king is himself the principal leader of the movement in favour of opening the country, and his efforts are seconded by a number of his own relations (mostly young men) who hold many of the high offices of State. It is expected that the Foreign Department (“Tongumusa”) which is now being organized, will be presided over by a brother of the King named Ni Chè-Myön. An uncle of his, Ni Chhoi-ung, is now Prime Minister, or Keni-mu-Puthongri-Taisin. There is another official whose position is somewhat like that of Prime minister. His name is Heung Syun-mong, and his title is Lyǒng-sy-ang. To him Mr. Hanabusa attributes a good deal of the convert opposition to the pro-foreign movement of which a strong under-current is still felt when any important step has to be taken. Cho-nyöngha, the younger of the two men who signed the English Treaty, is a cousin of the King. The Heir-Apparent, a boy of 9 years of age, has recently been married to a cousin of his own by the mother’s side. Ning-yöng-ik, the Queen’s nephew by adoption, is considered one of the most influential members of the party of progress. He is at present in mourning for his mother, and this, according to the Corean custom, will exclude him from public life and the discharge of official duties for some time to come.
Mr. Hanabusa said he had had a good deal of difficulty in persuading the Corean Government to accept Inchhyön as the port for the west coast of Corea. They would have preferred one further from the capital. He said fe{he} felt some reluctance to give it up after all the trouble he had had to obtain it, but that, if the other foreign Powers preferred a different port, he would not allow his own personal feelings to stand in the way. He had said so to the official who at present discharges the duties of Foreign Minister, at an interview which was the consequence of my message asking that an official should be sent to supply me with information. Mr. Hanabusa had urged that my request should be complied with, but this trivial matter appears to have been made a Cabinet question, and so many people had to be consulted that it was impossible to make arrangement in time. The only result of it was that Mr. Okam, a young man who has been studying in Japan for the last two years, came down to Asan with informal instructions to find out the ideas of Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn and myself on the subject. I said to him that the advantages of Inchhyön and Asan seemed pretty equally balanced, and that we would report any information which we might be able to collect.
Mr. Hanabusa spoke with some emphasis of the necessity of any Diplomatic Agent stationed at Söul being provided with a foreign guard, less for safety, though there is occasionally some danger of being stoned by the populace, than to keep off the Coreans, whose intrusive curiosity is intolerable. Their own countrymen cannot be depended on to do this. Besides, all Coreans of rank are accompanied, when they go out, by a crowd of fifteen or twenty retainers, who are fond of shouting and hustling out of the way any passenger who seems of less consequence than their own masters. The Japanese Legation has a guard of ten mounted police, and Mr. Ma Taotai was escorted by a guard of ten men on his visit to the capital before the conclusion of the Treaties.
Mr. Hanabusa was satisfied with this house accommodation in Söul, but one of his Attachés said their Legation was no better than a pig-stye, and, from all I have heard, I am inclined to believe that it will be no easy matter to find any native buildings suitable for the residence of foreign Diplomatic Officers.
At the various places touched at by the “Flying Fish” in the course of her surveying work, I had frequent opportunities of conversing with the local officials and people, but as our conversation was chiefly confined to an exchange of civil speeches, and to my answering some out of the multitude of questions constantly being put to me on all manner of subjects, it does not afford much material for a Report.
The ship was also visited by a good number of people, but, proportionally, far fewer than would have been the case under similar circumstances in Japan. The visitor of highest rank was the chief civil and military official of the district, which contains the Island of Yöng Jong. He came alongside in a large junk, accompanied by his three sons and a suite of thirty or forty persons of different ranks. He had on a purplish-coloured outer dress, and his girdle had a leathern strap hanging from it, with a knob containing a wooden ticket, on which was inscribed his name and office with the seal of the Government―his commission, in short. As usual in the case of Corean officials of rank, he was attended everywhere by two pages, who supported him under the arms whenever the least exertion was required, and took care that his dress did not get entangled in anything. They carried the tiger-skin which he sat on, which also served to indicate his rank. In a second junk were a bullock, twenty fowls, and 100 eggs, a very acceptable present for the ship’s company. In acknowledgment he was given a binocular glass, with which he seemed much pleased. On coming on board he sent me his card, and was conducted to the bridge, where he did his best to make himself agreeable, asking all our names and ages, and producing a stanza of Chinese poetry, which he had composed for the occasion. It ran as follows:-

“From afar you have crossed the wide sea,
Already your toils and miseries have been many.
To your honourable self I wish ten thousand happinesses.
Peace and prosperity be with all your followers.”

He received with every mark of respect and interest photographs of Her Majesty the Queen and of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales which were presented to him by one of the officers. This gentleman staid on board for two or three hours conversing with myself in Corean, and, in my absence, with one of the Chinese stewards on board by means of the Chinse written character. His courteous and friendly behaviour left a very favourable impression on every one on board.
On another occasion I landed on the Island of Ny-önheung with Mr. Jenkins, Paymaster of Her Majesty’s ship “Flying Fish.” We were soon surrounded by a crowd of people of lower class, one of whom introduced himself as Mr. Min, and said he was a salt manufacturer and had a small farm. He was 23 years of age, and had a fair acquaintance with the Chinese character, which he occasionally resorted to when his Corean was not understood. He wore a clean unbleached hempen upper garment and a large basket hat with scolloped edges. His other clothes were of the usual white cotton materials almost universal in Corea. We walked inland some distance towards a small village, the crowd increasing as we weat, and constant appeals being made to me at every grassy knoll we came to sit down and have a talk. Our clothes, watches, money, etc., were closely scrntinized, and innumerable questions put to us. Here are a few of them―Of what country are you? Japanese? Russian /European? What is your name? Why have you come ashore? What has your ship come here to do? There are the invariable questions everywhere, and are the ones usually written in Chinese on slips of paper handed to foreigners who land on the Corean coast. At the Sir James Hall’s group Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn had received a number of them. These with England, that trading vessels would come next year, and as they did not know these coast, our Government had sent this ship to make a survey of them. Other questions were: What age are you? Why are your skins whiter than ours? Why don’t you wear a mang-kön? Have you rice, wheat, cattle, rain, &e., in England? What is the price of a cow there? Have you a King? When she (the Queen) returns to the place from whence she came, who will be her successor? and if her eldest son dies, who will then succeed to the Throne? Have you a Government? What kind is it? Are your hearts like ours? What do you think of our way of life? our scenery? Where did you learn Corean? Are you really a foreigner? When is your ships going away? What makes your steamers move? How is it they sometimes get along without making any smoke? These are but a tithe of the constant stream of questions which were put to us. Mr. Min, the salt-maker, was very anxious to trade. He was pleased to be able to exchange his Corean pen for Mr. Jenkins’ lend pencil, and wanted to barter a large pair of horn-rimmed spectacles, quite innocent of any enlarging powers, against my watch. He was most eager, however, to get possession of Mr. Jenkins’ many-bladed knife, for which he offered a number of things in exchange, finally writing out in the Corean alphabetical character, “Please say to this gentleman that I wish very much to make the exchange. He is going on board the ship where he can get plenty of knives, but I shall never have another chance. If he does not care for the bargain, let us make an exchange out of friendship, so that we may have something to remember each other by.” Mr. Min made as many polite speeches at parting, expressing his regret that we were going, and hoping that we would come back to Corea when the ports are opened―all which we duly reciprocated. Here, as at other places, I found the people decidedly friendly, though they want the polished manners which are found even among the lowest classes in Japan. The officials we met with were in all cases not only friendly, but most courteous. No armed men were seen anywhere. On no occasion, however, did any of our Corean friends invite us into their private houses, and the only interiors I had an opportunity of seeing were those of official residences. This is owing to the seclusion in which they keep their women, who are supposed never to see any man except their own near relations. It is important that this jealousy of strangers entering their houses should be respected. The French draft Treaty of Kanghoa, 1866, contains the following provisions on this subject, no doubt inserted at the suggestions of the French Missionaries to Corea, who were well acquainted with the feelings of the people on this point:-
“(1) L’entrée de toute maison Coréenne, sauf les auberges et les édifices publiques, leur (i.e., to foreigners) est absolument interdite, s’ils ne sont pas invités à entrer par le maître de la maison.”
“(4) Si un étranger viole la maison d’un noble, . . . . le peuple pourra, s’emparer de sa personne, et le conduire aux autorités locales, qui en aviseront le Gouvernement, lequel pourra réclaimer l’expulsion du délinquant du royaume et même une peine plus sévère, s’il y a lieu.”
We have no difficulty in getting supplies of cattle, fowls, eggs, and occasionally fish at reasonable prices. Mexican dollars were preferred to japanese silver yen in payment.
Two German men-of-war, a corvette with a commodore’s flag at the fore, and national ensign at the main, and a gun-boat arrived at the Roze Island Anchorage on the 21st June. I afterwards learnt that t hey had been expected earlier.
The United States’ ship “Monocacy” left Nagasaki about this time with orders to show the flag for 48 hours at Pusan, Wöusan, and the Söul River, and then to proceed to Chefoo.
A French gun-boat left Nagasaki for Corea on the 29th June.
On my arrival at Kobé I saw Commodore Schufeldt, and he was subsequently a fellow passenger with me in the mail-steamer to Yokohama. He mentioned to me in conversation that he believed the reason the French had not made a Treaty with Corea was that they wished first to obtain some satisfaction for the murder of French missionaries.
He also said that the Japanese had not supported him heartily in his attempt to make a Treaty with Corea two years ago. They had got free trade themselves and would not make Corea the concessions in the direction of customs duties, which would have enabled them to support him effectively. Mr. Hanabusa had told me that the difficulty between Schufeldt and himself had been that the former had insisted on addressing a letter to the King, which, as he had no regular credentials, Hanabusa thought he had no right to do. Commodore Schufeldt said he had objected to the clause describing the dependent relation of Corea being inserted in the Treaty. He seemed desirous of attaching as little importance as possible to the letter of the King to the President of the United States which referred to this dependent position. He thought that the United States would appoint a Minister Resident and Consul-General to Corea.
The trade of Corea has been falling off of late. The total imports and exports to and from Japan for the whole country for last year are now estimated by Mr. Hanabusa at 3,000,000 paper yen, or about 2,000,000 dollars, and as the prospects of the grain crops are not very favourable at present, the current year is thought unlikely to show an increase

I have, &e.
(Signed) W.G. ASTON

Inclosure 2 in No. 68

Memorandum of Considerations bearing on the Selection of a Port to be opened on the West coast of Corea.

IT may be premised that a choice in this matter is still open, no final determination having been yet come to on this point between the Japanese Minister at Söul and the Corean Government. It is true that Inchhyön has been provisionally fixed upon by them, but I gathered from Mr. Hanabusa and from the Corean officials with whom I had some conversation on the subject that if any other port were considered preferable by the other Treaty Powers, there would be no objection to the question being reopened. The date fixed upon for opening Inchhyön to Japanese trade is September next, and arrangements are now being made for sending over a ship in advance of that date with materials for the erection of a Japanese Consulate. It is, therefore, important that steps should be taken at once to ascertain whether some other port would not be preferable, more especially as there are some obvious objections to Inchhyön, and there is another port which, on a cursory examination, seems to present at least equal advantages. If a decision cannot be come to at once, I believe that the Japanese Government would readily consent to postpone the opening of Inchhyön for the present, and to act in concert with the other Powers in this matter. It is, I think, desirable for many reasons that they should do so.
Several places on the west coast of Corea which have been suggeseted as suitable for opening to foreign trade may be briefly noticed.
Sonto, Sunto, or Syong-to, one of the places named in the draft Treaty prepared by the French in 1866, is another name for Ke-Syöng, a city in the metropolitan province, a short distance north of the capital. It is a place of some commercial importance, but it is difficult to see why an inland city, close to the capital, should have been selected for opening to foreign commerce.
Kang-hoa, on the Söul River, another place mentioned in the French Treaty, is open to the objection that it is on an island, and I also understand that the channel at this point is no narrow and the tide so strong as to render this place quite unfit to be selected as a port for foreign trade. A Corean book describing Kanghoa gives the population of the town at 5,402, and of the island at 31,285.
Basil Bay. The river which falls into the sea at this point was examined by two officers of the Japanese navy in 1879, and from their Report, a translation of which is annexed to this Memorandum, it will be seen that they found no anchorage here capable of accommodation any except very small vessels. They found a considerable native trade here, and the banks of the river are lined with large villages. Syöpho, the town near the entrance, is reckoned by the Coreans with Wönsan (Gensan), Pusan (Fusan), Masampho (on the south coast near the head of Ashby inlet), and the capital itself, as one of the chief commercial ports of the country.
Ping-yang, Commodore Schufeldt mentioned to me that he thought Ping-Yang, in the province of Hoang hé do, was the best port on the west coast to open to foreign commerce.
There only remain the anchorage of Chémulpho, in the district of Inchhyön and the port at the head of Prince Jerome Gulf to which the Japanese, who surveyed it, gave the name of Asan, a town lying some distance inland, and it may be assumed that the choice will be between these two places.
Inchhyön (ö as in German) called by the Japanese Jinsen, and also written Jinchuen, Inchen (Jenshan is a mistake), is the name both of a Pu (the Chiness Foo) or city, and of the district belonging to it. This district borders on the southern branch of the Söul estuary, and at high tide the sea reaches within a mile or two of the city, but the extensive mud banks which are left dry hear at low water shut out all communications with the sea except from the direction of Chémulpho, the village near which the Treaties were signed.
I visited Inchhyön, and found it to be a straggling village of 185 houses. As the number of inhabitants to each house is small in Corea, this may be taken to represent a population of about 750 souls. I may mention here that I inquired the population of Pupiöng, Nam Yang, Kimpho, and a number of other so-called cities in this neighborhood, and found that none of them were of much greater importance than Inchhyön. Inchhyön has a decayed, desolate appearance. The streets are unpaved and, in the more open parts, overgrown with grass. The houses are built of small stones, with a liberal allowance of mud for plaster, and are thatched. I only saw three houses with tiled roofs. One was the house of Pusa, or chief civil and military officer; the second, of his Lieutenant; and the third was the temple of Confucius. I was told that one or two more existed, but, though I had a tolerably complete view of the city from a rising ground, I could not see any others. There was not the smallest sign of any trade going on. No shops were to be seen, and the fact that neither chairs nor saddle-horses were procurable is a significant indication of the slender resources of the place. As in other Corean towns, what trade there is conducted at periodical fairs or markets. I was informed that, if Inchhyön is selected as the open port in this part of Corea, it is intended by the Government to incorporate with it several of the other Pu in the vicinity, so as to add to its importance, and justify the appointment to it of an official of higher rank.
Chémulpho, the nearest point in the district of Inchhyön to the anchorage where foreign ships must lie, and the only point where it is practicable to load and discharge cargo, is a hamlet of fifteen houses, or rather cabins, built of stone, with mud plaster, and thatched. I visited two of these houses, which, as they had been selected, one as the stopping-place of the Japanese Minister and his suite when travelling to or from Japan, and the other as the official residence of the principal native authority, were, no doubt, not unfavourable specimens of the houses of the Corean peasants. The former of these consisted of three rooms, with a small kitchen. One of these rooms was open to the air on two sides, and in winter would count for nothing. The chief room was about 12 feet by 8 feet, the roof being barely high enough to stand upright in. The flues from the kitchen pass under the floor of this room into a chimney at the other side, and by this means it can be efficiently heated in winter―a matter of great importance in a country where the rivers are frozen a foot thick for two months of the year. This room has a mud floor, covered with matting, and the walls were covered with mud and plaster. It had two small windows, of the same construction as the Japanese paper slides. The other room was smaller, and had no arrangement for heating. It had one window, a foot square, and a small door, some 2 and 1/2 feet by 3 and 1/2 feet. This, I was told, was the women’s apartment. The other house I visited was, if anything, worse. I mention these details that it may be seen that there is absolutely no accommodation here fir for even the temporary use of Europeans, and that some steps must be taken in advance of the opening of the port to provide houses in which they can lodge. The same remarks apply still more strongly to Asan. Chémulpo is 5 or 6 English miles distant from Inchhyön. There is a tolerably level road to it, 3 to 6 feet wide, leading through a gently undulating country. A few small clusters of houses are seen here and there, but the land is only cultivated in patches, and the agriculture is much below the Japanese standard. Judging from what I could see of the district in this neighbourhood, it supplies no material for commerce; and if Inchhyön, or rather Chémulpho, is selected as the open port, it must be regarded simply as a depôt for the trade with the Corean capital. Another road, 4 to 7 feet wide, levelled with a ditch in parts to caryy off water, and made of soft earth, without macadam or gravel, leads from Chémulpho direct to the capital, which is 18 miles distant in a direct line and about 21 miles by the road. This road is used only by foot-passengers and horses, and no traces of wheeled vehicles were visible. The 3 or 4 miles of it which I walked over could easily be made practicable for jinrikishas. The whole way to the capital is through a gently undulating country, without any high mountains to cross or other difficulties of travel, except the Söul River, on the north bank of which Sangé, the commercial port of Söul, is situated. The castle and official quarter lie a mile or two further north, on the other side of a hill. The capital is by far the most important commercial town of Corea. It is said to contain 60,000 houses, which would give a population of about 250,000 persons, and 400 to 500 junks are sometimes seen lying in the river here at one time.
By water, Chémulpho is 55 miles distant from the capital. The Söul River, which forms the channel of communication, is well known from the charts which have been made of it; and I need only say that although the strength and great rise and fall of the tides, and the narrowness of the channel, render it unsuitable for navigation by large vessels above Chémulpho, it is well sheltered, and affords great convenience for communication with the capital by means of lighters or small steamers, in which latter class of vessels the traffic in foreign goods will doubtless be ultimately conducted.
Chémulpho means “creek for the ferrying over of merchandize,” and the place, no doubt, received this name from the fact that it is the point through which communication is kept up with the mainland from the opposite Island of Yöng-jong. The statement in one of the charts that the road to the capital from Kanghoa passes through this village is incorrect.
As there is a plan of the anchorage of Wölmi (Roze Island) prepared by Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn and the officers of Her Majesty’s ship “Flying Fish,” it is unnecessary for me to enter into a detailed description of it. It is safe, roomy, and accessible, with good holding-ground. There are, however, two objections to it. One is the strength of the tide, which runs about 3 knots at springs and about 2 at neaps. This would, of course, be of little consequence to ships at anchor, and would not much interfere with well-manned ships’ boats, but in view of the distance between the anchorage and the landing-place it would be a very serious obstacle to the movements of heavy cargo boats, and might necessitate the aid of small steam-tugs or steam-lighters. The native boat and junk men here never attempt to do anything against an adverse tide, and the question of how the tide will serve is constantly being discussed among them. But the great objection to this anchorage is its distance from the landing-place of Chémulpho, which is about 1 and 3/4 miles. Under ordinary circumstances of wind and tide, this takes a man-of-war’s boat twenty to twenty-five minutes, and the Japanese Minister, when he came on board the “Flying Fish” here in a large Corean boat propelled by sculls, said he had been an hour on the way. To obviate this objection it had occurred to Mr. Hanabusa, the Japanese Minister to Corea, to have the foreign settlement on Wölmi (Roze Island), and to connect it by a causeway with the mainland. The same idea had presented itself to Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn and myself, but, apart from other objections to this scheme, it would involve an expense which all that we know of the prospects of trade here would not justify. The rise and fall of the tide at springs is 30 feet, and the causeway for a considerable part of its length (nearly half-a-mile) would have to be a good deal higher than this.
In the Report on this place made by Commanders Aoki and Yamazaki, of the Japanese navy, who surveyed it in 1879, considerable prominence is given to the creek, called by the natives Ankol (the Olbee Strait of the charts), between Roze Island and the mainland, where small vessels, they say, might be moored bow and stern even at low-water springs. The Japanese survey makes the depth of this creek, opposite Chémulpho, at low-water springs, 2 fathoms, and their plan shows a continuous channel of a somewhat less depth connecting it with the outer anchorage. The survey of the “Flying Fish,” however, gives the depth at 1 and 1/2 fathoms only, showing that either the Japanese surveyors did not reduce their soundings to a sufficiently low level, or that this channel is silting up. The latter alternative is by no means improbable in a river which always holds suspended a large quantity of mud, and Mr. Hanabusa mentioned to me that the channel had altered for the worse during the last three years. On the other hand, a channel of this kind could doubtless be improved by judicious treatment, if there were any funds available for such a purpose. I believe that Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn's opinion is that, however useful such a channel might be for keeping up the communication by cargo boats between the ship and the shore at low tides, it could not be depended on for the accommodation of larger vessels.
There is a sufficiently convenient site for a foreign settlement at the village of Chémulpho. I examined this neighbourhood along with Mr. Hanabusa, and quite agree with him that the site which he has selected, and which is shown in the annexed plan prepared under his directions, is unquestionably the best obtainable at this place.
As at every other part of this coast, there is here a wide foreshore of mud at low water, but at one point the distance between high and low water mark is inconsiderable, and it would not be difficult to construct a pier for the use of cargo boats. The black dotted line on the Japanese plan shows the present high-water mark, and Mr. hanabusa has proposed, as will be seen from his plan, that the foreshore should be reclaimed, so as to give a water frontage to the settlement of a little less than half-a-mile in a straight line between the islet of Nap-szöm and Chémulpho Head, at which last-named place this proposed pier would be situated. This whole frontage would be available as a wharf for landing and loading cargo except at low tides. Something of this kind is highly desirable, but it would, I fear, entail a heavy expenditure, which the Corean Government would doubtless expect to be reimbursed to them by increased ground-rents. I have some doubts of its feasibility. The filling-in of this part, however, would probably have some tendency to create scour, and so deepen the channel in from of the settlement.
Asan.―As Her Majesty’s ship “Flying Fish” arrived at this port on the forenoon of one day, and was obliged to leave on the following morning, there was little opportunity for an examination of this place. However, Lieutenant-Commander Hoskyn and I climbed Norui-san, the highest hill (600 feet) of the promontory in the centre of this inlet, from the top of which we had an extensive view of the Prince Jerome Gulf and the surrounding country. Four of five branches of this gulf were seen running far up into the adjoining country, and although we were told that the most navigable of these creeks was available for not more than 30 miles, and for small craft only, they must be of some value as means of communication with the interior. The promontory in question, which occupies a conspicuous place in the Japanese chart of this anchorage, is about 3 miles long by half-a-mile broad. Though it is hilly, there are plenty of level spaces, and there is an excellent site for a settlement, with just enough slope for drainage, in front of the anchorage on the south side of the promontory, and near its western end. It is protected by a hill from the north-west winds, which are much felt in Corea during the winter. There is the usual foreshore of mud, but it slopes down steeply near the low-water level, and much of it is little below high-water mark, so that it could be reclaimed at very small expense. At one end of the suggested site is a projecting reef which could be converted into a pier without much difficulty.
All works of this kind at Asan are rendered easier by the fact that the rise and fall of the tide here is much less than at Chémulpho, being only 22 feet at spring tides instead of 30 feet, as at the latter place. The Japanese plan shows that vessels can anchor here in 5 fathoms, two cables’ length from the shore. The cost of preparing this site would be very much less than that of the plan of the Chémulpho settlement, proposed by Mr. Hanabusa, and this, I could gather, is a point of great importance with the Corean Government. Vessels anchored here would probably escape the full force of the tide, which is in any case less in this harbour than at Chémulpho. There is also a basin to the north of the promontory with 3 to 3 and 1/2 fathoms at low water, closed by a bar, on which there are 1 and 1/2 fathoms of water. If the trade here developed much, this would be found a very useful anchorage for native craft. There are several very easy paths from one side of the promontory to another. Commanders Aoki and Yamazaki, of the Japanese navy, who spent three weeks in surveying this harbour, formed a somewhat unfavourable opinion of it, as will be seen by their Report. But the only positive objection to it which they urge is that there are sand-banks in the channel leading to it. No complete survey has yet been made of the Prince Jerome Gulf, but we already know that a deep practicable channel of no great difficulty exists, and it is almost certain that Asan anchorage is perfectly easy of access for vessels of the largest size. The Japanese plan itself goes far to show that this harbour is, in all respects, an excellent one. I was informed by a native fisherman that it is the only place for a long distance approachable by large ships. The country in the neighbourhood of this inlet presents a somewhat more cultivated aspect than the district of Inchhegön, but there are no large towns, and Asan itself, which is a village of 200 houses, is 18 or 20 miles from the anchorage. The Prince Jerome Gulf is the northern limit of Naipho, which has the reputation is Corea of being the most fertile grain-producing district in the country; and as rice is one of the staple exports, there would be an obvious convenience in having an open port situated in this neighbourhood. But, on the whole, it is safer to disregard the local trade, and to consider Asan mainly as a port for the capital, and in a less degree, as a depôt for supplying European goods to the other native ports on the western coast of Corea. Regard should be had to the fact that a foreign trade with Northern Corea already exists through Newchwang and Wöusan (Gensan), and that, although the capital is far the most important commercial town, the commercial centre of gravity, as it, were, of the country is much to the south of this point, so that there is not the same objection to a port situated some distance south of the capital as there would be to one an equal distance to the north of it. All the writers on Corea agree in describing the three southern provinces as the most fertile and prosperous part of Corea, and this opinion is borne out by the following statement of the number of houses, militia, and extent of cultivated land derived from native sources :-

- | Houses | Militia | Cultivaled Land | Remarks
- | - | -| Kyöl. | The Kyöl is the limit of assessment for purposes of taxation, and varies according to the quality of the land and other curcumstances.
Phyöng-an-do, or North-West Privince | 218,019 | 29,465 | 103,802 | -
Ham-Kiöng-do, or North-east Province | 93,482 | 30,209 | 304,043 | -
Hoang-hè-do, west coast, north of Metropolitan Province | 116,151 | 13,499 | 209,244 | -
Kang-wön-do, east coast, Middle Province | 67,012 | 9,636 | 203,802 | -
Kiöng-ki-do, Metropolitan Province | 160,615 | 19,180 | 103,466 | -
Chung-Chöng-do, west coast, south of Metropolitan Province | 219,768 | 23,399 | 315,181 | -
Chölla-do, South-west Province | 286,598 | 31,949 | 538,888 | -
Kyöng-syang-do, South-east Province | 388,629 | 41,775 | 436,477 | -
Total | 1,550,274 | 199,112 | 2,254,910| -

The number of houses in the three southern provinces alone is 894,995, or more than half the number for the entire kingdom, and a glance at a map of Corea shows that in extent they comprise about one-third of it. Allowing four inhabitants to every house, this estimate would make the entire population a little over 6,000,000, and though this may be an under-estimate, it is probably far nearer the truth than the estimates of 15,000,000 or 16,000,000 found in some books on Corea. An estimate prepared by the French missionaries in 1850 gives 1,705,920 (adding 60,000 houses for the capital, which is omitted in it) as the total number of houses in the country. This would make the population about 7,000,000. The distribution of it between the northern and southern provinces is the same as in the estimate already given.
The chief objection to Asan is its distance from the capital, which, measured from the anchorage, is 95 miles by water, Inchhyön being only 55. The whole way is sheltered by islands, and it would be only in exceptionally bad weather that small river steamers could not make the passage. Such weather would naturally be principally in the winter months, when the Söul River, for fifty to sixty days, is frozen 1 or 1 and 1/2 feet thick between the capital and the bend above Kang-hoa, and all traffic is interrupted. Possibly a shorter and more sheltered passage may yet be discovered.
By land the anchorage is 40 miles in a direct line from the capital, and by road about 50 miles. Asan itself is said to be 220 Corean li, or 60 miles, from the capital. Mr. Hanabusa, to whose courtesy I am indebted for much of the information contained in this Memorandum, was good enough to furnish me with some notes of his journey from the capital to Kowonpho, a small village on the north side of the Asan harbour. From these notes I have taken the following account of the road between these places:-
From capital to north bank of river, 1 Japanese ri (2½ English miles); road level.
North bank of river to Namthé-regöng, 1 ri; half bed of river, half level road.
(At the capital the river passes through a gorge between two hills, but the river valley widens about this point, leaving a broad, level space covered by water in floods, and at other times a waste of sand and gravel.)
Namthé-regöng to Kwa-chhyön, 1 ri; half hilly, half level, one small pass.
Kwa-chhyön to Syu-wön, 4 ri; level road, 24 to 30 feet wide, compared by Mr. Hanabusa to the Tokaido in Japan.
Syu-wön to Toll-yöng, 4 ri; for 20 chô (1½ miles) a wide road, the remainder a narrow bye-road with numerous low hills and acclivities.
Toll-yõng to Palan-chang, 1 ri; numerous hills.
Palan-chang to Kowonpho, 4 ri; half hilly, with numerous slight ascents and descents, half level but narrow road.
The whole distance Mr. Hanabusa reckoned at 16 ri, or 40 English miles. He said that although much of the road was hilly, there were no mountain-passes or other serious difficulties. He was two days on the way, leaving the capital at 7 A.M. on one day, and arriving at Kowonpho at 3. P.M. on the following day. He travelled with a suite of six or seven persons, some in chairs and some on horseback.
The road from the capital as far as a little to the south of Syu-wön is one of the three great roads which, leaving the capital, gradually diverge as they go southwards. It passes about 20 miles in a direct line east of the anchorage at Asan. There are two other roads from this port to the capital. The promontory where the suggested site is situated is now used pasturage. There are only half-a-dozen houses on it, and two or three small patches of cultivation. A dozen native junks were anchored near it, and perhaps forty or fifty more were seen in various parts of the inlet.
Mr. Hanabusa’s first visit to Asan Harbour with Commanders Aoki and Yamazaki was in very unfavourable weather, which may have prejudiced them against it, and they seem to have given their attention to the anchorage off Kowonpho, hardly noticing that on the southern side of the Asan promontory.

(Signed) W. G. ASTON
Yokohama, July 4, 1882

Inclosure 3 in No. 68

Memorandum by Japanese Naval Officers on Chémulpho as a Port on the West Coast of Corea.

(Translation)

WITH a view to examine the ports on the west coast of Corea, our two ships proceeded in the first place to Basil Bay, and explored the Chinkang River, which forms the boundary between the Provinces of Chöllado and Chung-chong-do. This is rather a fine river. It has numerous large villages and towns on both banks (such as Syöpho, 150 houses; Ungpho, over 300 houses; Kang-kyöng, 700 houses, which are seen along the banks within the space of 20 English miles), and is therefore visited by a considerable number of junks. As will be seen by the “Amaka Kan's” rough survey, the width of the river is about 2 miles, and at first sight it presents a favourable appearance. At its widest part, however, shoals appear at various places at low tide, amongst which there is an unequal depth of from 1 to 3 fathoms, where even a small steamer would get aground, and the place is quite unfit for an anchorage for vessels like ours. There are several places with a depth of 5 to 6 fathoms, where the river winds and forms bays, but they are all of so limited an extent that it would be unsafe to remain here without mooring bow and stern. From the mouth of the river, as far as the Island of Keyado, the water is shallow, with numerous sand-banks and hidden reefs, so that in order to enter the river it is necessary to wait for high tide. Again, the anchorage of Yöndo, though well sheltered against north-east winds, is exposed to a heavy sea when the wind blows from the south-west. This happened just while we were there, to our no small distress. Neither the bay nor river can therefore be thought good as harbours, and so we abandoned the survey of them.
We next proceeded to Asan Bay. There are few large towns or villages here in comparison to the River Chinkang, and not more than one-tenth as many junks are to be seen entering and leaving. There are also sand-banks in the bay, and it is of course not a good harbour, but from Fourmier Island as far as the Kowompho anchorage, it is inclosed on all sides by points and islands, and there is no danger from a heavy sea. There are also places where the shore can be closely approached, so that, if no better alternative offered, this place might be accepted as a tolerable port, and we therefore made a survey of it, to which we beg to refer you.
We next proceeded to Inchhyön Gulf. At this place the Wölmi (Roze Island) anchorage seems exposed on all sides, but it is really inclosed by Yöng-jong, Tèpu, Sopu, and other islands, so that even in gales of wind there is nttle danger from any heavy sea. The strength of the tide also does not exceed 3½ knots, which cannot be called excessive, and there is nothing to prevent large vessels anchoring here at all times. There is also, as shown in a separate plan, a second river at low tide between Wölmi and Chémulpho, and near the Wölmi Bluff there is a depth of water at low spring tides of more than 2 fathoms (italics in original). By putting down buoys here, vessels with a draught of 12 feet might, by waiting for the tide, safely lie moored bow and stern and discharge and take on board cargo. The facilities for communicating with the shore here are such as are not to be found at Chinkang or Asan, and from the natural formation of the place a pier could easily be constructed at no great expense. In addition to these considerations, it is near the capital by land and sea, and communication with it is easy. For these reasons, we consider it the most suitable place for an open port on the coast of the various provinces. We have the honour to present this as an opinion.

(Signed) AWOKI SUMISADA, Commander, His Imperial
Japanese Majusty’s ship “Takao-maru.’
YAMAZAKI KAGENORI, Commander, His Imperial
Japanese Majusty’s ship “Ho-Sho-kan.”
June 25, 1879.
To his Excellency Hanabusa Yoshimoto,
Minister Resident