In 1895 Korea was declared independent.
The geology of Korea is very imperfectly known.
The Church now has, besides these missions, others in India (1834), Siam (1840), China (1846),(1846), Colombia (1856), Brazil (1859),(1859), Japan (1859), Laos (1867),(1867), Mexico (transferred in 1872 by the American and Foreign Christian Union), Chile (transferred in 1873 by the same Union; first established in 1845), Guatemala (1882),(1882), Korea (1884)(1884) and the Philippine Islands (1899).
From Manchuria, it was assumed, the political influence and spontaneous infiltration would naturally spread to Korea, and on the deeply indented coast of the Hermit Kingdom might be constructed new ports and arsenals more spacious and strategically more important than Port Arthur.
From the Khingan ranges to the Pacific, south of the Amur, stretch the rich districts of Manchuria, a province which connects Russia with the Korea by a series of valleys formed by the Sungari and its affluents - a land of hill and plain, forest and swamp, possessing a delightful climate, and vast undeveloped agricultural resources.
