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(introduction missing)
every sign of progress one notes in the place is due to these purposeful and tenacious islanders. The port was formally opened to them by the treaty of 1876, and since then its trade has increased so that now it amounts to upward of 16 million yen a year. It is being so rapidly Japanned out of its decadence and insularism that now one third of the exports and two thirds of the imports of the entire country pass through it. The dominating note is Japanese, and those familiar with it two decades ago would scarcely recognize it now with its pretentious station and big commercial buildings. Of the 50,000 inhabs. 29,000 are Japanese, and each one is busy doing something. Wide areas are being reclaimed from the sea; solid retaining-walls dredged to permit the entrance of ships of deep draught; a million tons of rock have been drilled from the granitic sides of the forbidding Yon-san, and 7 million yen are being spent to make Fusan the biggest entry port of the peninsula. The entire place resembles a transplanted bit of the hustling Island Empire. Waterworks, industrial schools, postal facilities, a good hotel, and a host of modern conveniences are among the improvements introduced, and more are to come.
Only a small section of the town can be seen from the bay, as it is packed snugly between the hills that rise abruptly around it. The old Korean town of Pusan stands at the other extremity of the narrow pass through which the main street leads, facing an arm of the bay that makes in there. The streets are narrow and unsavory, and the shops small and poor. The wares of many of these are displayed on mats stretched on the street, and over the tawdry collections the Koreans haggle and considerable screeching. The traveler with time to spare can get a comprehensive view of the twin settlements by climbing the low Ryuutou-san ('Dragon-Lantern Hill') which faces the landing. Several paths lead up beneath grateful shade. Jut below the small park the summit is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the spirit of Katou Kiyomasa. The stone slab commemorates the soldiers who died in the Japan-China War. The surrounding hills are said to contain gold. -- About 50 M. N. of Fusan is the old town of Kyönju, anciently the capital of the Kingdom of Silla, and the home of everything that was greatest and best in Korean art and literature. From here many of the artistic inspirations of the early Japanese were drawn.
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