Marriage

But, in fact, no one is married but once.  When a man loses his wife from any cause whatever and he wants another, he simply finds some woman that will go with him and he takes her to his house, and that settles it.

Widows Among the Non-Elite

In many cases a woman is compelled to go and live with some man when it is altogether against her will.  She is largely in the hands of her husband’s relatives, and they will dispose of her as they think best for their own interests.

When a widow is left with no one to protect her, it is no unusual thing for a crowd of men to come and take her away to be the wife of some one of their number.  This sometimes done the very day the husband is buried.

The Village Inn

The village inn is no small factor in most Korean villages which happen to be situated on one of the public roads.  It is often found in the more secluded country villages.   The Koreans as a people do much traveling, both on account of business and for pleasure. 

The merchants are itinerating merchants, and must have places to stop for the night as they travel from place to place.

Rural Markets

There are certain villages known as market towns which have been selected because of location and in these the market is held every five days.

…Here the people meet from all the country around, some to sell, others to buy, and still others to drink and gamble; while others come to see and to be seen and to hear what is going on in that part of the world which happens to lie beyond the borders of their own village.

(Image:  Shoe vendor)

Inn II

The inn can be told by the large front door, which is wide enough for the ponies [used as pack trains to transport goods for the traveling merchants] to enter with their loads on their backs…The house is built around a small court, which is used for the purpose of loading and unloading the packs. 

In the front the stalls will nearly always be found, and next to them come the rooms for the men, who always want to be near the ponies during the night to keep them from fighting.

The inns had two basically similar rooms – one for officials and elites and the other for the common man.

The guest room is usually about 8 to 16 feet, and is often occupied by 15 or 20 men at the same time.

Floor Heating System

The same fire that cooks the food for the ponies is also utilized in the warming the room where the guests sleep.  This is true in August as well as December, and adds no little discomfort to the guests when the weather is warm.

The warm floors contribute in another way to the discomfort of the guests:  They act as a sort of incubator for the hatching and rearing of innumerable insects and creeping things…

Sons in the Family

It is the desire on the part of the parents to train the boy so that he will not fail [in offering ancestral sacrifices] that leads them to humor the boy till he is spoiled.  They are afraid he will not look well to their interests after they are gone if they do not let him have his way while they are here.  According to their way of thinking, their eternal happiness will depend upon the way the ancestral worship is carried on after they are gone.  Daughters cannot perform these rites.

Eldest Sons

In the family circle he stands next to the father, and he lords it over his mother from the time he has the power of speech to command her.

So, we find him taking care of his little brothers and sisters while he is only a very small boy himself.  It is no unusual sight to see him with his baby brother or sister strapped hard and fast on his back, while he is engaged with the other boys of the village in the most exciting games of the season.