ate with them. Their meals were served in their own rooms.

A servant would bring to each person a _sang_, or small low table.
Instead of a cloth, on each table was a sheet of fine glazed paper which
had the appearance of oiled silk. This paper was made from the bark of
the mulberry-tree. It was soft and pliable, and of such a texture that
it could be washed easier than anything else, either paper or cloth. On
this were placed dishes of porcelain and earthen ware. There were no
knives or forks, but in their place were chop-sticks such as the Chinese
used. Spoons also were on the table. A tall and long-spouted teapot was
always the finest piece of ware.

On the dining-tables of the poorer people of Korea the teapot was never
seen, for, strange as it may seem, in this land situated between the two
greatest tea-producing countries of the world, tea is not in common use.

All Koreans have splendid appetites, and probably if you should see Yung
Pak eating his dinner you would criticize his table manners. He not only
ate a large amount of food, but ate it very rapidly--almost as if he
feared that some one might steal his dinner before he could dispose of
it. And you would think that he never expected to get another square
meal!

But it was not Yung Pak's fault that he was such a little glutton. In
his youngest days, when his mother used to regulate his food, she would
stuff him full of rice. Then she would turn him over on his back and
paddle his stomach with a ladle to make sure that he was well filled!