Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/223

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The Village Lawsuit.
187

This, of course, makes running out of the question and walking very difficult. One seldom sees a more pitiful sight than these poor creatures walking about the prison yards with the kangs about their necks.

The usual method of punishment is by spanking or beating with a paddle. It is for his honor to say how many blows shall be given and how often the dose shall be repeated. The amount of cash that can be raised by the prisoner and his friends may work wonders in fixing the number of blows and the number of times necessary to repeat the treatment in order to effect a cure.

I have not seen the paddle remedy fully administered, but was one time near enough to form a good idea of what it is like. I shall never forget the time. It was one Sunday morning in the dead of winter, with snow on the ground, and the wind blowing as if it were behind time and doing all in its power to catch up. I was visiting one of our churches in a magisterial town. The church was near the official quarters, being separated only by a high wall and a small field. Early Sunday morning I heard a peculiar sort of calling about the official quarters. I shall not attempt to describe this noise, but those who have once heard it will understand what I mean. I learned afterwards that this is a peculiar sort of way that the servants about the place have of announcing the orders of his honor when he is about to begin a trial. It was not long till I heard the "whack" of the paddle, followed by a suppressed cry, as if some one was uncomfortable. I went out where I could get a better view of what was going on.