What has been previously written in this book regarding missions has become ancient history already in the swift onward march of events in Korea. Great political changes have occurred, referred to elsewhere, and these have doubtless been used in the Providence of God to turn the people toward the American teachers whom they have learned to trust. They have been humiliated, afflicted, distressed and perplexed and in their trouble and anxiety they have been eagerly searching on all sides for some light on a dark problem. Their cry has been, “What shall we as a nation do to be saved?” Some of their advisers have said, “Educate your people;” others, “Make friends with English and Americans;” others again have said, “Our old religions have never helped us. Perhaps this doctrine taught by the missionaries is the truth. If so, we have for centuries been offending the Almighty. He has permitted this curse to fall upon us. Let us hasten to repent and obey and worship only Him and perhaps He will be gracious and restore to our nation her ancient place and name and deliver us.” But whatever the remedy suggested, the relief seemed to lie, for one cause or another, as was said in a previous chapter with the missionaries, and so the people have been groping, reaching out lame hands of faith towards what seemed to them the only hope, and turning in increasing numbers to the missions, to those who are there to “bind up the broken-hearted, to bid the oppressed go free, and to publish the acceptable year of the Lord,” and those who come to find help have found far more than they sought; for earthly freedom, fellow-citizenship with the saints of the household of God; for their ignorance they receive the wisdom that knows the love of Christ that passeth knowledge; and instead of their poverty and emptiness, all the fullness of God. As we try to give some idea of the religious status of the people, perhaps it would be as well to consider the field at first station by station. Let us begin, then, with Seoul, the oldest station, the largest city, and looked at from many points, the most difficult, and also in some respects the most interesting. It is most difficult because here for centuries have been the headquarters of a corrupt government. Here reside numberless officials with their retainers and sycophants, their concubines and dancing girls, and round them seems to revolve most of the political, social, religious and business life of the majority of the citizens. Graft plays a large part in the life of Seoul. Multitudes of its people are living in the hope of making money out of the government or some of its officials, the idle and the wicked of all classes and both sexes seem to gravitate naturally toward the capital and now it is crowded with thousands of foreigners of the most depraved morality. Yet here the first missionaries settled, perhaps as much because no other center was then open as for any other reason.