2
1st. Thursday. Cloudy. Cool.
3
Seoul home. With 明燮, 璋善 and 琦善 visited 果川 ancestral graves. The grandfather of 明燮 now 77 years old told me that he had seen when a boy my grandfather. Walked 40 li―very tired.
5
2nd. Friday. Cloudy. Cool.
6
Seoul home. The Japanese observed and made the Koreans observe yesterday as the Memorial Day for the inauguration of Japanese Regime in Korea. Nobody can deny that Japan has done during the last 15 years more than the Koreans did during 15 centuries in the way of physical improvements. A Japanese has good reasons for being proud and happy. They are making Korea a beautiful home for the Japanese. But why should the Korean rejoice when he sees that Japan cooly works out its policy which reads: Korea for the Japanese; Let Koreans live if they can, but perish if they can, but perish if they must.
8
3rd. Saturday. Cloudy. Cool.
9
Left Seoul 8:05 a.m. with 璋善 and 琦善 for Song Do.
10
Received this morning a cable from 致旺 requesting me to "cable hundred". I remitted ￡150.00 in May which he must have received in June. I wonder what he wants ￡100 more for and that so soon. Besides he could have made the same request by mail costing him no more than ten or twenty sen. But cabling to and from Seoul it will cost him no less than ￥25.00. What! has he been in Scotland over 10 years without have learned the difference between 20 sen and 25 yen! Too bad.
12
4th. Sunday. Cloudy. Pleasant.
13
Left Song Do 2:25 p.m. for Seoul.
15
5th. Monday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
16
￡100.00 to 致旺=￥1,181.54.
17
Seoul home. 2:30 p.m. Song Do H.C. School B. of Control met at Mr. Gamble's to consider the best way meeting the debts of the Textile Dept. (1) To negotiate a loan of ￥125,000.00 from the Industrial Bank; (2) to appoint a Finance Committee of 3, (Revs. Gerding, Weems and Mr. Snyder) to take charge of the business and of the Dept. My great wonder is why didn't the mission take a step to prevent Deal form his reckless policy of borrowing money from everybody?
18
Dinner at Gov. General's given in honor of Bishop Boaz.
20
6th. Tuesday. Lovely. Warm.
21
Seoul home. As the wings of birds must have given the first suggestions to the inventers of flying machines, the tongues of women should furnish excellent ideas to the hunters after perpetual motion. Wife could accomplish ten times more of useful work if she would only hitch off the energies of her tongue to her hands. She begins scolding and nagging as soon as she opens her eyes in the morning until she closes them in the night. She make everybody uncomfortable around her. Yet she expects, nay, demands that everybody make her comfortable. O the meanness of human nature!
23
7th. Wednesday. Lovely. Pleasant.
24
Seoul home. Talked at 貞洞 Church on the "meaning of True Life"―a too big subject for me.
26
8th. Thursday. Cloudy. Pleasant.
27
Seoul home. Rain from 2:30 p.m. most p.m. until after dark. 尹明燮 left for 洪川 this noon.
29
9th. Friday. Cloudy. Cool.
30
Seoul home. Rain on and off.
32
10th. Saturday. Pretty. Pleasant.
33
Left Seoul 12:10 p.m. train for Song Do. On arriving at Song Do home, whom should I meet!―it was 朴秉源 of 完州 who had spent some eight months in the Seoul prison as my cell-mate in 1912. He is a brassware merchant. His calling on me after so many years' silence couldn't be a visit of friendship pure and simple. As fully suspected he asked me to lend him ￥4,000―! Remarkable nobody now calls on me for pure friendship.
34
Returned to Seoul by 7:55 p.m. train.
36
11th. Sunday. Pleasant.
39
12th. Monday. Pleasant.
40
Seoul home. Fosdick says "All the best in us is God in us". Then all the worst in us in what? According to him, every man is more or less God in him. Christ is therefore the ideal Son of God because He has 100% of God in him. That, however makes Christ only so many percent diviner than some other great and good man―like Confucius or Gautama. That is to say Christ is nothing more than a man only a perfect man. Nothing supernatural in Christ. If one have to believe Christ to be the son of God it is easier to take him as he is presented in the Gospels. Otherwise he can help us no more than Confucius or Buddha.
42
13th. Tuesday. Lovely. Pleasant.
43
Seoul home. Received a cablegram from 致旺 as follows: Through foul examinations got money safely. Thank God he stuck to it through.
44
彰文社重役會 in my study at 4 p.m. Messrs. 李商在, 朴勝鳳, 李昇薰 present. Results of the meeting. 朴 resigned as the 專務 and 李昇薰氏 was appointed in 朴's stead. In fact Mr. 李 recommended himself for the position. I am afraid the trick has been concocted between 朴 and 李昇薰. Pak is one of the meanest Koreans I have known. His Christianity seems to have him meaner. No reflection on Christianity―the sun purifies as well putrefies things. So all depends on what the things are in themselves.
46
14th. Wednesday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
47
Seoul home. Didn't have a wink of sleep.
48
Whether Shintoism whose Shrine is to be imposed on the Koreans is a Religion or a State Function has become an acute question. The Japanese officialdom through its organs insists that Shintoism is not a religion―though the words and phrases employed to describe what it is can be with a few modifications now in describing what Buddhism or Christianity is. However in as much as Christians invite non-Christians to the dedication services of a Cathedral or a Church and feel hurt when the invited don't come why should Christians attend, not participate in, the dedication services of other religions. Remember what the Golden Rule says.
50
15th. Thursday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
51
Seoul home. The powers that Be are making this a great day. The Enshrinement of the Midamashiro(the representatives of the soul) of the Amaderas Ohkami, the fabled Ancestress of the Imperial family of Japan and of the Emperor Meji in the new "Shrined of Korea, built on the 南山". The situation is superb. The Enshrinement ceremonies were for the most part puerile and tedious―from 9:30 to 12:30. There was nothing repulsive as in the food and meat offerings of Confucian worship or as in the bloody sacrifices of the Jewish Temple as enjoined in the Old Testament. The relics are (1) Sword, (2) a Mirror and (3) a Ball of Jude. As long as the Japanese nation worship the Sword and know how to use it Japan will stand, all right.
53
16th. Friday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
56
17th. Saturday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
57
Left Seoul 12:10 p.m. train Song Do.
59
18th. Sunday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
60
Attended 北部 Church. Pastor 吳 gave a strong talk on "What Christians ought to be proud of", (1) We must be proud of our religion―as the best of the kind in the world. (2) We must be proud of our Sonship of God. (3) We ought to be proud of the fact that the Kingdom of God will prevail at last inspite of all political oppositions and Bolshevist extremes.
61
Returned to Seoul 2:25 p.m. train.
63
19th. Monday. Cloud a.m. Lovely p.m. Decidedly cool.
64
Seoul home. A shower about 2:30 p.m.
66
20th. Tuesday. Cloud and sunshine. Cool.
69
21st. Wednesday. Cloudy. Cool.
70
Seoul home. The Second Sunday School Convention began its sessions tonight. 2,400 delegates from all over Korea. Have to sit in two sections―one in the Y.M.C.A. auditorium and another in the 勝洞 Church. Dr. Sweets spoke over an hour. Pity that even a sensible and good man often mistake the patience of a respectful audience for their enjoyment of his eloquence.
71
When one remembers that every large gathering of the Koreans is oftener than not marred by dissentions and quarrels, the orderliness and goodwill of these delegates filling a big auditorium to the limits are worthy of commendation. Certainly Christianity is more than a name in Korea.
73
22nd. Thursday. Gloomy. Very cool.
74
Seoul home. Our 琦善's birthday.
75
8:20 attended the S.S. Convention at 勝洞 Church.
76
Another great civil war is imminent in China between 張作霖 the Warlord of Moukden and 孫傳芳 a leader of the military party of the South. What are they fighting about anyway?
77
Selfishness is the root of all social evils; yet selfishness is the starting point of all social virtues, as is seen in the teaching "Love thy neighbor as thyself". When shall we learn to practice the truth that to love our neighbor is really to love ourselves.
79
23rd. Friday. Bright. Cool.
80
Seoul home. p.m. 3:30 the celebration of the 22nd Anniversary of the birth of Central Y.M.C.A. at 景武台 back of the 景福宮.
81
Twenty two year ago a handful of men met in a room in the house which stood on the site now occupied by the Central Church. Only a few of those men are now living. Twenty years hence, those of us who are above 60 now will be here no more.
82
The Japanese are rapidly filling up the vicinities around the 景福宮 with private and official residences. In a few years there will be no Korean living near the Palace. Of course that's what Japanese want.
84
24th. Saturday. Beautiful. Cool.
87
25th. Sunday. Beautiful. Warm.
88
Seoul home. Worshipped at 宗橋 Church.
89
An open anti-Christian campaign is launched by 漢陽靑年會.
90
Anti-Christian lectures are to be delivered in the City Hall today and tomorrow. This movement will do good to the Christian Church by purging unworthy elements and consolidating its friends and believers.
92
26th. Monday. Beautiful. Pleasant.
95
27th. Tuesday. Beautiful. Warm.
98
28th. Wednesday. Beautiful. Warm.
99
Seoul home. From 3 to 6 p.m. a baseball game between a Korean team and the Chicago nine. That the Korean boy would make no show was a foregone conclusion. Yet the disparity between the two teams was so glaringly great in favor of the Chicago aggregation that there was no fun to see the match.
101
29th. Thursday. Gloomy. Cool.
104
30th. Friday.Beautiful. Warm.
105
Seoul home. Mr. 洪忠鉉 died last night. Only two weeks ago I saw him strong enough to climb up and down the hundreds of stone steps of the Shinto Shrine. He wanted to live longer. He spared no money in buying drugs and concoctions that every quack claimed to be efficacious. He not only spent thousands of yen a year in medicine; but kept his second wife and her mother in perpetual torment night and day to prepare these medicines, for the last five or six years. But to what avail? Vanity and vanity, all is vanity.
107
31st. Saturday. Pretty. Warm.
108
Seoul home. 2 p.m. attended the Garden Party given by the Gov. General in honor of the Emperor's Birthday. Of the 2,700 guests the Japanese had every right and every reason to rejoice over the festivity. The few foreigners could have no possible reason to be depressed. But how many of the Koreans in the party could really enjoy the scene and the occasion? The sense of shame and sorrow over the fate of the Korean people was aggressive to me.
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