Homer Hulbert
Homer Bezaleel Hulbert was an American educator, missionary, historian, journalist, linguist, and Korean independence activist. Although a U.S. citizen, much of his professional life and scholarly work was devoted to Korea, where he became closely involved in education, language reform, historical scholarship, and diplomatic advocacy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Hulbert played an active role in Korea’s early modern educational reforms, teaching at several of the country’s first modern institutions and promoting education as central to Korea’s future. He also contributed to the early development of Korean studies through his research on the Korean language, history, and culture. He authored Saminpilji, Korea’s first modern-style textbook written in Hangeul, as well as major English-language works on Korean history, including The History of Korea and The Passing of Korea.
Hulbert twice served as a special envoy of the Korean emperor, traveling to the United States in 1905 and to the 1907 Peace Conference in The Hague to represent Korea’s sovereignty. After his participation in the Hague mission, he was expelled by Japanese authorities and settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, from where he continued to advocate for Korea until its liberation in 1945.
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Hulbert was born in New Haven, Vermont, in 1863 to Calvin and Mary Hulbert. His father, Calvin B. Hulbert, was a congregational church minister and served as president of Middlebury College from 1875 to 1879. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Woodward Hulbert, was the great-granddaughter of Eleazar Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College.Childhood
From an early age, Hulbert displayed a strong sense of curiosity, along with a deep appreciation for nature. He was also an avid reader. His sister Mary later recalled that their father’s extensive library functioned as a “playground” for him. He completed high school in Middlebury in 1879 and spent a year studying at St. Johnsbury Academy.Higher Education
In 1880, Hulbert matriculated at Dartmouth College, where he was an active participant in campus life. He served as president of the music club, sang in the college choir, and played varsity football. He was also a member of the Tri-Kappa fraternity, which at the time functioned as a literary and debate society. Following his graduation in 1884, Hulbert enrolled at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.Arrival in Joseon and Early Educational Work (1886-1891)
In 1884, Hulbert’s father, who had been consulted by U.S. Commissioner of Education John Eaton, was asked to recommend one of his sons to serve as a teacher in the first Western-style modern school in Joseon. Homer readily accepted this proposal. However, Joseon’s plans were abruptly suspended following the outbreak of the Gapsin Coup in December 1884. During the delay, Hulbert continued his studies at Union Theological Seminary while independently pursuing knowledge of East Asia. He later wrote in his memoir that from this period onward, Korea became “the absorbing topic” of his life.In the winter of 1885, Hulbert received confirmation that Joseon intended to revive its educational initiative. Eaton summoned Hulbert, along with George W. Gilmore and Dalzell A. Bunker, to Washington, D.C., where they were briefed on their teaching responsibilities. On May 21, 1886, the three teachers departed from San Francisco, bound for Yokohama. Hulbert spent several weeks in Japan, where he observed what he described as a high level of modernization. On July 2, he boarded the Tsuruga Maru, crossing the Korea Strait and arriving at Jemulpo.
Working at Yukyeong-gongwon (육영공원; Royal College)
On September 23, 1886, the Joseon court formally established Yukyeong-gongwon, the first state-run modern school. The school’s initial curriculum emphasized English reading, writing, and spelling, later expanding to include grammar, geography, and mathematics. In correspondence dated September 24, 1886, Hulbert described his early classroom experiences, noting that he made an immediate impression by calling students by their Korean names on the first day of instruction.The inaugural cohort consisted of thirty-five students, many of whom were officials who had passed the gwageo, lending the school considerable prestige. Hulbert credited King Gojong with a strong commitment to the institution, noting that the King insisted it operate entirely according to American educational standards and made the court cover all student expenses. In an 1889 article for the New York Tribune, Hulbert described the King’s unprecedented practice of personally conducting annual student examinations at the palace, a gesture Hulbert viewed as emblematic of royal support for educational reform.
As a teacher, he emphasized building personal relationships with students, frequently inviting them to his residence, introducing them to foreign items, such as typewriters and violins, and organizing picnics near Dongdaemun.
Despite its daily success, the school encountered certain obstacles. In late 1886, court officials ordered a reduction in instructional hours. Hulbert submitted a petition objecting to the decision, arguing that it would undermine academic outcomes. When he discovered that the petition had been intercepted, he sought assistance from George C. Foulk, acting minister of the U.S. legation. Foulk brought the matter directly to King Gojong, who reversed the order.
Studying the Language and Culture
Hulbert approached Korean language acquisition with determination. Upon arriving in Seoul, he resolved to achieve fluency within a month and hired a tutor who spoke no English, relying entirely on gesture-based instruction. By December 1886, he was intermittently teaching students in Korean. Beyond language study, Hulbert immersed himself in Joseon culture. He collected folk tales, traditional games, and legends. He frequently visited palaces and recorded detailed observations of court examinations, street life, and material culture. By 1890, Hulbert was also an active participant in Seoul’s foreign intellectual community.Writing "The Korean Language"
Hulbert quickly recognized the accessibility and pedagogical value of Hangeul. Within four days of arriving in Joseon, he had learned to read and write the script, and within a week he became acutely aware that Hangeul remained marginalized in elite society. Hulbert emerged as a vocal advocate for the expanded use of Hangeul, arguing that it was essential for broadening education, advancing social development, and undermining the rigid class hierarchy that privileged Classical Chinese literacy.In 1889, Hulbert published an article titled “The Korean Language” in the New-York Tribune. The article constituted one of the earliest systematic introductions of the Korean language and its writing system to a Western readership and is regarded as the first scholarly discussion of Hangeul in an international newspaper. The article examined the structural features of the Korean alphabet, emphasizing its phonetic organization and internal consistency. Hulbert described the vowel system and explained how sounds were represented in writing, presenting Korean as a language governed by coherent linguistic principles. He contrasted the regularity of Korean spelling with the irregularities of English orthography to illustrate the relative ease of learning the Korean script.
Marriage
In the summer of 1888, Hulbert returned briefly to the United States to marry Mary Belle Hanna, whom he had met through the Sunday School choir at Union Theological Seminary. Hanna, a graduate of Teachers College in New York City, was a trained educator. The couple married on September 18, 1888, and soon returned to Joseon, where Mary Hulbert adapted quickly to life in Seoul.Departing from Joseon
Hulbert departed Joseon in December 1891 following unsuccessful contract renewal negotiations with both the Joseon court and the U.S. legation. In correspondence with his parents, he expressed dissatisfaction with revised terms that included a salary freeze and relocation to inferior housing. He subsequently returned to the United States, settling in Ohio, where he served as principal of Putnam Military Academy.''Saminpilji'' (사민필지)
One of Hulbert’s most consequential contribution to the promotion of Hangeul was the publication of Saminpilji in 1891. A 161-page world gazetteer, Saminpilji was the first textbook written entirely in Hangeul. Its title, translated to Knowledge Necessary for All, reflected Hulbert’s conviction that people of all social classes in Joseon should have access to foundational global knowledge comparable to that taught in the West. The book was groundbreaking not only for its use of Hangeul but also for its scope. Moving beyond conventional geography texts, Saminpilji addressed astronomy, political systems, social organization, customs, industry, state revenue, education, religion, and military power for each country discussed.Hulbert began preparing the manuscript in early 1889 and spent nearly a year drafting it. In correspondence with his family, he emphasized his commitment to factual accuracy, noting that he had “smoothed over no national defect” and written strictly according to observed realities. He personally financed the project, spending approximately three hundred dollars to print an estimated 2,000 copies. The completed book consisted of 161 pages of text and included nine maps, six of which were hand-colored to indicate capitals, rivers, and mountain ranges. This represented a landmark achievement in Korean geographical publishing and the first major cartographic work to appear in roughly thirty years following the creation of Daedongyeojido.