2
1st. Thursday. Beautiful.
3
Seoul home. Attended the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Joong Ang Higher Common School. The celebration began at 10 a.m. with speeches etc., etc., usual to such occasions.
5
2nd. Friday. Beautiful. Hot.
6
Seoul home. Left Seoul with 光鉉 for Pyong Yang per the 1:48 p.m. train. After a hot and tedious ride in a crowded car for 10 hours, arrived at Pyong Yang about 30 to 11. Mr. 鄭在命 and his elder son 鄭斗鉉 met us at the station. Went to their new home which is in the midst of being built. Only one section of the house was finished and the rooms all papered in a great hurry on the day we arrived to accommodate us―or rather, me. Very kind of them. Went to a clean bed quite tired.
9
Pyong Yang. After breakfast went to the Methodist Church on the hill to attend the Annual Conference of the Western Section of the Korean Methodist Church. I, as a representative of the Central Conference, saluted the Western Conference wishing them godspeed in the name of the Central Conference.
10
Took lunch at a Japanese café with 光鉉 to save his people from the trouble and expense of preparing lunch for me.
11
At 8:30 gave a talk to the Conference on Church and its finance. left Pyong Yang per 11 a.m. train for Seoul.
13
4th. Sunday. Beautiful. Hot.
14
Had a nice rest during the night. Reached Seoul about 7:30 a.m. Found all well at home, thank God.
16
5th. Monday. Beautiful. Hot.
19
6th. Tuesday. Rain more or less all day.
21
I used to believe him when he bemoaned himself with groanings unutterable for his crushing debts etc. How about his lending 4,000 bags of unhulled rice at the exorbitant interest of 50% per annum! The richer he gets the more miserly he becomes and the more unctuous his prayers get. With individuals as well as with nations it is not wickedness that hurts but wickedness on small scales and the unskilfully managed.
22
Y.D.Y. is one of the 10 richest Koreans in Seoul. He owes his official honors and his great wealth to his being a descendant of a famous ancestor. That ancestor's tomb and the hill on which the tomb is located, are in a desperate state of neglect. A few thousands of yen will put the hill and the tomb in a decent form of repair. Yet this great yangban living luxuriously in two or three palacial homes refuses to do anything for the tomb. He is said to be a strong believer in Buddah.
24
7th. Wednesday. Pale. Cool.
27
8th. Thursday. Lovely.
31
Seoul home. Invited to supper at Dr. Avison's Messrs. 宋鎭寓, 洪錫厚, 朴永均, 曺秉鶴, 吳兢善, 方應模, besides myself were present. The purpose of the meeting to start a Friendly Association(後援會) for the Severance Hospital and School. ￥300,000⁰⁰ to raise!
33
10th. Saturday. Lovely―hot.
34
Seoul home. Went to the Corner-stone laying ceremony of the Ewha College.
36
11th. Sunday. Sun. Hot.
37
Seoul home. From 9 to 10:30 a.m. the formal organization ceremony of the National Defense Righteous Association(國防議會) took place in the front of Shrine of Korea with the usual written congratulatory addresses from Tokyo etc., etc., etc. The priest performing some sort of tricks for cleansing, purifying or blessing the function, the protestations of doing everything for the peace of the Orient and the happiness of the world etc., etc., etc. all sounded so unreal. All this would be simply childish but for the serious fact that 99 of every 100 Japanese man and woman will gladly commit harakiri to support these protestations. A violent shower about 4:30 p.m.
41
"Morality in international relations", seems to be topic on which much ink is being wasted in America and Europe. To me the problem is simple enough; viz: Morality in international relations is nothing but morality in inter-indivisual relations enlarged. Confusion arises in our minds from the fact that among individuals some of the basic principles of morality―as justice, kindness, honesty, generosity etc.―exercise some degree of authority in the conduct and life of men, but that the law of jungle reigns supereme in international relations. This confusion or contradiction, disappears once we clearly and firmly grasp the fact that the principles of morality are inforced among individuals only by and through various means of coercion―such as the police, the court, the jail, religious and social checks of different kinds. Remove these restraints, the individuals in any community will fly back to the law of jungle in no time. It is literally true that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom―of order and peace among men. Now in international relations, where is the police, the court, the jail to make nations strong nations―to behave? Fear keeps most individuals on good behavior and fear alone will make nations behave.
43
13th. Tuesday. A little rain a.m.
46
14th. Wednesday. Cloudy a.m. Sun shine p.m.
47
Seoul home. A note from 致昌 tells me that he and his expensive wife-were to leave America on the 8th June per a Japanese steamer scheduled to arrive at Yokohama on the 22nd inst. this is the first letter he has ever written me since he left Korea last August. his more than ten year American education has given no higher ideal of life than to keep his wife at her desired avoirdupois, whatever that may be. She, a daughter of a Methodist preacher, educated in America, has learned no higher mode of life than to live like an extravagant American woman. This couple typify the generation of Korean young men and women educated abroad.
49
15th. Thursday. Beautiful.
50
Seoul home. The Posung College(普成專門學校) is organizing a Hoo Won Hoi(Friends' Association) for erecting an auditorium and a library. To raise ￥300,000.00 Hoo Won Hoi is the fashion of the day. The Ewha College is trying to raise ￥500,000.00. The Severance Hospital wants ￥300,000.00. Now the Posung College is going to make a drive for ￥300,000.00. These three institutions alone are going to ask the Korean people for a donation of ￥1,000,000.00. The Gov. General, by using the police force can raise that much. But mere private persuasions will never squeeze that much out of the dry pockets of the Koreans. Of the three institutions in the begging contest the Posung College stands the best chance.
52
16th. Friday. Cloudy. Showers noon.
53
Seoul home. From 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. a general meeting of the Central Council of the Korean Meth. Church. Bishop Welch was present.
55
17th. Saturday. Beautiful.
56
Seoul home. For the last four days or rather nights, an air defence manoeuvre has been carried on a big scale.
57
At 1 p.m. a garden party was given by the Gov. General on the North Palace ground in honor of the Army officials who made the air-defence manoeuvre such a success etc.
59
18th. Sunday. Beautiful.
60
Seoul home. 11 a.m. went to the 龍鳳亭 Restaurant on the Southern bank of the Han River at the invitation of Mr. 車載厚 who celebrated his 61st birthday. About 60 guests all directly or indirectly connected with the Korean Archery Associations. Lunch served on boats. Songs and dances. Supper on shore. Returned home nearly 7:30 p.m.
61
The 龍鳳亭 Restaurant is beautifully located. The house used to be a way side palace 行官 where the Kings of Yi Dynasty―from King Jung Jong down―took lunch when they went to pay their respect to their ancestral graves in Soo Won and Kwang Ju(廣州) . The present iron bridge is built exactly at this place where boat bridge used to be built for the roya! processions. The Ex-Emperor gave the palace building and all to Gen. 趙東潤. He sold the beautiful place to a Japanese for a mere song.
63
19th. Monday. Beautiful.
64
Seoul. home. went to the 龍鳳亭 Restaurant to attend the Athletic Assotiaion's meeting of the Board of Managers. I learned that what I heard about the connection of Mr. 趙 with the Palace was all wrong. The property was given to Mr. 兪吉浚. After his death, the valuable property, through the mismanagement of some of his friends went into the hands of Mr. 宋秉晙 who sold it to a Japanese. 兪億兼 the son of the 兪吉浚 ought to know it.
66
20th. Tuesday. sun and Heat.
67
Seoul. home. A real hot day may be above 90°. 4:30 p.m. the Severance Friends Association had its formal organization perfected. A score of people were present, mostly the alumni of the School.
69
21st. Wednesday. Sun and hear.
72
22nd. Thursday. Sun. Very hot.
73
Seoul home. Sultry. Papers report mercury 86°F. at noon. That means 90°F. in ordinary Korean homes in the heart of the city.
74
Reported in the papers that an Indian Messiah has appeared or has broken his silence after 7 years of speech-less meditations. India has been a hot-bed of all sorts of religious vagaries, hence one needn't be surprized at any sort of new fangled religion that may appear in that religion ridden land. But seriously and really do we of East or West need any more systems of religion. Absolutely none. Why should we want or invent another religion when we have made such a poor use of the religions we have already? If we could find a religion that would and could so strengthens a man's will as soon as he has sincerely resolved to turn a new leaf, that he finds it practically inconceivable to change his mind, we should welcome it. As a matter of daily fact, no matter how sincere or honest a man may be in his determination to live a new and higher life, he finds himself utterly unable to overcome his pet sin, his will being weaker than the temptation. What Christianity has failed with the human nature, no other religion, old and new, can or will do better.
77
Seoul home. A welcome rain from about 1 a.m.
79
24th. Saturday. Cloudy. A little rain a.m.
80
Seoul home. From 12 to 5 p.m. at the Seoul Stadium for the 6th "All Korea Land Athletic Meet" the event attracted very little attention of the people.
82
25th. Sunday. Pretty a.m. Rain late afternoon.
83
Seoul home. Went outside of the North Gate to 傅巖亭 with our little children. Rain began about 5 p.m.
85
26th. Monday. Cloudy―Rain on and off.
86
Seoul home. The rainy season has come.
87
12:30 went to the Chosen Hotel to attend the luncheon given by the Luncheon Club in honor of Dr. Nitobe who is now in Seoul on his way to Manchuria. He gave a talk―the burden of which was : If you understand us―Japanese―better you will like us. The audience composed mostly of missionaries was very appreciative. But the good old man seemed to be laboring under the difficult task of so sugar coating the Manchurian pill as to make it easy for the hearers to swallow it. He gave two good stories. (1) when you tell a good story the first time, the Scotchman laughs. When you tell it twice, the Englishman laughs. When you tell it the third time, the American laughs-because he heard it before. (2) when an "Elephant" is given as a subject to write on, the English man gives a book on "Hun King Elephants in South Africa". A French man on"the Love making among elephants". An Italian writes an "Ode to Elephant". A German comes with a book 600 pages closely printed with copious footnotes under the title"An Introduction to the Study of an Elephant". A Pole on "The Relation between an Elephant and Poland". An American on "Elephant, the Biggest Animal in the world". A Japanese on the "Duties of an Elephant".
89
27th. Tuesday. Cloud. Rain on and off.
90
Seoul home. A number of Koreans gave a Korean supper to Dr. Nitobe at 天雲庄.
92
28th. Wednesday. Rain―sultry.
93
Seoul home. A pouring rain last night up to 4 or 5 a.m.
94
Brother 致昌 and wife arrived at home this morning. Glad to see them well, she looking healthier than I had ever before seen her to be.
95
致昌 tells me that the anti-Oriental prejudice runs so high in California that last Summer a landlord who had an apartment building was compelled to beg brother 致昌 wife to leave his house simply because the white occupants threatened to quit the house if the Korean couple were to live in the same building. All this in the land of the free. Yet the Japanese, who suffer similar humiliations in California, are treating the Koreans, in Korea with exactly the same kind of discriminations. All men are sinners, white or yellow, black or red.
98
Seoul home. Rain all night last night and all morning today.
99
The other day the Jung Shin Girls' Higher Common School (貞信女學校) under the Presbyterian management started a Hoo Won Hoi or Friends Association, its object being to raise ￥30,000.00 for the endowment! Missionaries who used to oppose the creation of endowment or reserve fund on the ground that Christ taught us to pray for daily bread and not for bread to be reserved for months are beginning, too late, to realize that God is not a thoughtless and improvident God.
101
30th. Friday. Sunshine―Sultry p.m.
102
Seoul home. The other night, I heard Mr. Wadanabe, the President of the Seoul Normal School and of the Primary Schools affiliated with it to say to Dr. Nitobe in evident pride: "In our Normal School, 80 per sent of the students are Japanese and only 20% are Korean". This is the ratio in all Government Schools. In the Government Medical College(醫學專門學校) even the 20% ratio for the Korean students was reduced to 12% this year to make room for 8 Manchurian students! Dr. Nitobe pleads every where: "Understand us and you will like us better". In the face of such glaring discriminations, we Koreans can't help understanding the Japanese policy!
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