Under this Department has been placed the Confucian College, an institution of the old _régime_, the purpose of which was to attend to the Temple of Literature, in which, as in China, the Memorial Tablets of Confucius, Mencius, and the Sages are honored, and to encourage the study of the classical books. The subjects for study are the “Three Classics,” “Four Books and Popular Commentary,” Chinese Composition, Outlines of Chinese History--of the Sung, Yüan, and Ming Dynasties. To meet the reformed requirements, this College has been reorganized, and the students, who must be between the ages of twenty and forty, “of good character, persevering, intelligent, and well acquainted with affairs,” are in addition put through a course of Korean and foreign annals, Korean and foreign geography, and arithmetic. MINISTRY OF JUSTICE The Minister of Justice has charge of judicial matters, pardons and restorations to rank, instructions for public prosecution, and supervision over Special Courts, High Courts, and District Courts; and the Department forms a High Court of Justice for the hearing of certain appeals. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY The Minister of Agriculture has charge of all matters relating to agriculture, commerce, industries, posts, telegraphs, shipping, and marine officers. In this Department, besides the Minister’s Secretariat, there are Bureaux of Agriculture, Communications, Trade, Industry, Mining, and Accounts. The Bureau of Agriculture contains Agricultural, Forest, and Natural Products sections; that of Communications, Post, Telegraph, and Marine sections; and that of Trade and Industry deals with Commerce, Trading Corporations, Weights and Measures, Manufactures, and Factories. The Mining Bureau has sections for Mines and Geology, and the Bureau of Accounts deals with the inventories and expenditure of the Department. THE VILLAGE SYSTEM Besides the Reorganization of these important Departments of State, a design for a “Village System,” organized as follows, is to supersede that which had decayed with the general decay of Government in Korea. The country is now divided into districts (_Kun_), each _Kun_ containing a number of _myen_ or cantons, each of which includes a number of _ni_ or villages. The old posts and titles are abolished, and each village is now to be provided with the following officers:-- 1. _Headman._--He must be over thirty years of age, and is elected for one year by the householders. The office is honorary. 2. _Clerk._--He holds office under the same conditions as the Headman, under whom he keeps the books and issues notices. 3. _Elder._--Nominated by the householders, he acts for the Headman as occasion demands. 4. _Bailiff._--Elected at the same time as the Headman he performs the usual duties of a servant or messenger, and holds office for a year on good behavior.