Under the Korean law, no wife can obtain a legal dissolution of her marriage. The privilege of divorce rests with the man; among the upper classes it is uncommon. The wife, however, may leave her husband and accept the protection of some relative, when, unless the husband can disprove her charges, he has no redress. Should the wife fail to establish her case against her husband, the cost of the marriage ceremony, a large sum usually, is refunded by her relatives. The law does not force a wife to cohabit with her husband; nor, so far as it affects the woman, does it take any cognisance of the matter. A man may divorce his wife, retaining the custody of the children in every case, upon statutory grounds, and upon the following additional counts: indolence, neglect of the prescribed sacrifices, theft, and shrewishness. There is no appeal against the charges of the husband for women of the upper classes, domestic disturbances being considered entirely reprehensible. Much greater latitude prevails among the lower orders, irregular unions of a most benign elasticity being preferred. Concubinage is a recognised institution, and one in which the lower, as well as the higher, classes indulge. [Illustration: JUSTICE IS NOT TEMPERED WITH MERCY] The rights of the children of concubines vary according to the moral laxity of the class in which they are born. Among the upper classes they possess no claim against the estate of their progenitors; entail ignores them, and they may not observe the family sacrifices. In the absence of legitimate issue, a son must be adopted for the purpose of inheriting the properties of the family and of attending to the ancestral and funeral rites. Great stress is laid by the upper classes upon purity of descent; among the middle and lower orders there is more indulgence. Save in the lowest classes, it is usual to maintain a separate establishment for each concubine. The fact that among the lower classes concubine and wife share the same house is responsible for much of the unhappiness of Korean family life. In every case the position of the children of concubines corresponds with the status of the mother.