The Face of Manchuria, Korea, & Russian Turkestan by Emily Georgiana Kemp

Our friends had kindly begun before our arrival at Wonsan to make arrangements for the trip which we wished to take through the Diamond Mountains, so that a few hours sufficed to complete them. An attractive route was suggested by a native who knew the passes; the time at our disposal was only eight days, so we were obliged to give up all hope of doing the principal pass, which is lofty and very arduous for travellers. The one selected took us through a fine part of the chain of mountains which runs down the eastern coast of Korea, and enabled us to visit an important monastery. We started with four ponies and three men to look after them, and the price stipulated was 64 yen (a little over £6), the distance to be covered being approximately 225 miles. It was probable that the men would get some loads for the return journey, but that could not be counted on. We had no saddles, so our bed bags had to take their place, but they made precarious seats. At first one thought it would be only possible to retain one's seat by holding on all the time, and the thought of the necessity of using a handkerchief owing to a severe cold in the head was an anxious one, but time soon made us able to dispense with any grip. Mr. Chiao found his bedding a much more satisfactory seat than ours, for the usual Chinese bed bag seems to have been specially devised for the purpose; he looked completely at his ease, though he had never ridden before, and he hopped on and off his pony with astonishing rapidity. The fourth beast carried our two modest baskets of stores and clothing, and the cots which had been kindly lent to us for the occasion. Having lost our umbrellas we bought Korean paper waterproof coats, at the cost of about one shilling each, and waterproof paper for lining our other things, as there was some fear of wet weather on the mountains.

We set off about 2 o'clock with the intention of doing fifteen miles that evening, but it is always difficult to make a good start, and various hindrances delayed us, such as a ferry-boat with no ferryman, and the boat on the wrong side of the river. After a little time a woman came slowly down to the ferry and got into the boat, so our men exhorted her to pull herself across by means of the rope; this, however, she declined to do, and sat patiently waiting for some one else to come and take her across. It was only when we saw her close at hand that we discovered she was blind, so probably that had made her afraid of crossing alone. We became very impatient as time went on and no one appeared; I urged our men to ford the stream higher up, which was evidently a frequented route. However, they were too timorous, and were afraid of trying an unknown path, so we lost much valuable time. It was only at the close of our journey that we learned that none of the men had traversed any part of our route previously; naturally the result was that they constantly made mistakes and took us out of the direct route. At last, just as we were beginning to despair, some one arrived who towed the ferry-boat over the river, and we set off across some ploughed fields towards the foot of the hills. It was dusk when we reached a village which our men said was the halting-place, and only next day we discovered that they had stopped three miles short of the right stage. We were shown into a small room about twelve feet square, from which the women of the house were ejected though their clothing draped the walls, and big chests further diminished our space.

All Korean houses have a small platform outside them, either planking or made of dried mud, on which the shoes are left before any one enters. The floors are heated from below and covered with matting, so that chairs are considered unnecessary, and the Koreans enjoy the heat which penetrates through the bedding on which they lie at nights. We found it decidedly trying, despite having the door open and cots to sleep on; but we were delighted to find the houses so much cleaner than we expected. On the whole they look unquestionably cleaner in the country villages than in the corresponding ones at home. It was a little difficult to sleep, what with the heat and the noise, for the men require two hours to get up and breakfast, and we were off by 6 o'clock.