In retrospect, Sǒ's unqualified championship of the elective principle may seem somewhat naive. At the time, however, he believed his conviction was vindicated by the example of the self-governing Korean émigré settlements in Russian Manchuria (Siberia). After visiting them and observing their daily activities, British geographer Isabella B. Bishop had praised their contented lives and attributed this situation to the good leadership of their elected headmen.
1991, Vipan Chandra, “Korean Human-Rights Consciousness in an Era of Transition: A Survey of Late Nineteenth-Century Developments”, in William Shaw, editor, Human Rights in Korea: Historical and Policy Perspectives, page 70