Isabella Bird (Mrs Bishop, 1831–1904) was recommended an open-air life from an early age as a cure for her physical and nervous difficulties. Her accounts of travel in America, Hawaii, Japan and Persia were best-sellers. This two-volume work, first published in 1898, was one of the books arising from Bird's visit to Korea and China between 1894 and 1897, the other being The Yangtse Valley and Beyond (1899), also available in this series. Korea was a battleground during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–5, and subsequently became increasingly dominated by Japan, being annexed fully in 1910. Bird provides vivid descriptions of the Korean people, their way of life and customs at a time when the country had only recently opened up to the West. In Volume 1 she gives her first impressions of Seoul, and travels down the Han river, commenting especially on the lowly position of women.
Contents
Preface; Introductory chapter; 1. First impressions of Korea; 2. First impressions of the capital; 3. The Kur-Dong; 4. Things in Seoul; 5. An outfit. A Korean sampan; 6. The Han and its neighbourhood; 7. The Han and its people; 8. Natural beauty. The rapids; 9. Korean marriage customs; 10. The Korean pony. Korean roads and inns; 11. The monasteries of the Diamond Mountain; 12. From Chang-An Sa to Wön-San; 13. Impending war. Excitement at Chemulpo; 14. Newchwang. Manchuria; 15. A Manchurian deluge. Muk-Den; 16. Muk-Den; 17. Excitement at Muk-Den; 18. Nagasaki. Wladivostok.
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