In Chemulpo, as in all the ports of the kingdom which are open to foreign trade, there is a branch of the Imperial Korean Maritime Customs, an offshoot of the excellent service which exists in China under the administration of Sir Robert Hart. The working of the Korean Customs, for which Mr. McLeavy Brown is primarily responsible, is singularly successful, and redounds greatly to the credit of the comptrolling power. In an epoch characterised by the extraordinary ineptitude, indifference, and weakness of our public men, it is much to be deplored that the services of this distinguished Englishman are not more directly dedicated to the needs of his country. The careers of these two admirable officials fill me with mingled regret for the remoteness of their sphere of action, and high appreciation of their unremitting zeal—feelings few public servants may more fitly inspire than these two isolated, hardworking chiefs of a sister service, whose work, carried on in an atmosphere of treachery and deceit, too often meets with the blackest ingratitude.
The advance which the trade of Korea has made is proof sufficient of its innate possibilities under honest administration. If the revenues of the Customs are not diverted in the meantime to less important objects, there is every hope to believe that facilities will be given to its development. The Emperor has lately sanctioned the grant of one million yen from the Customs revenue for the provision of aids to navigation. Thirty-one lighthouses are to be built; the two earliest being placed upon Roze and Round Islands off the entrance to the Han river, upon which Chemulpo lies. When this work is accomplished, the increase of shipping in the harbour is sure to create some sympathetic development in the resources of the country.
CHEMULPO
The net value for 1901 of the combined export and import direct foreign trade throughout the kingdom, exclusive of gold export, was more than twenty-three million (23,158,419) yen, the value of the gold export being a little in excess of four million (4,993,351) yen. The exchange rate of the Japanese yen is roughly two shillings and a half-penny, which gives the combined values of the total foreign trade as 2,873,827 pounds sterling. The trade of Chemulpo during this time was 11,131,060 yen, being an increase of nearly one million yen upon the trade returns of the last three years. The exports were gold, rice, beans, timber and hides; the imports comprised American and Japanese goods for the most part, and a small and decreasing trade with England. The total foreign imports reached a value of 5,573,398 yen, and the total exports were 4,311,401 yen. The returns for the year following, 1902, were, in brief: exports, £269,747; imports, £814,470. Foreign interests in the total trade passing through Chemulpo, in comparison with those since 1891, show a great and steady advance. The total revenue for 1891 was a little less than 300,000 yen, and in the year 1900 this sum had advanced to more than 550,000 yen, the increase in the general prosperity during these years correspondingly affecting the total revenue of the kingdom.
Compared with 1901 there was a falling-off in the total trade of the country for the year 1902. In 1902 the entire foreign trade amounted to £2,745,346 sterling, which was composed as follows:
| Imports. | Exports. | Exports of Gold. |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ |
| 1,382,351 | 846,034 | 516,961 |
The balance of trade was against Korea, therefore, to the extent of only £16,356 sterling, whereas the average excess of imports over exports for the past five years was £107,309. Only in 1900 were the exports greater than the imports. The average of trade for the past five years was £2,370,075 sterling, a return which in reality credits the year 1902 with £378,271 more than the average. As a matter of fact, the month of December 1902 showed a larger volume of trade and more duty collected at Chemulpo than ever before. Specifically, in comparison with the previous year, the imports of 1902 were less in the amount of £117,914, while exports had declined £7567. Large stocks were carried over from 1901, hence some depreciation in the volume of the trade was inevitable. However, for the better comprehension of the economic relations of Korea with the trade of foreign countries, I have collected the returns of the years, with which I have dealt here, in one simple table, to which is added a quinquennial average, covering a period which begins with the year 1898.
PAVILION ON THE WALL OF THE CAPITAL