Yun Ch'iho
Yun Ch'iho was a Korean politician. His name is sometimes spelled Yun Tchi-Ho, his art name was Chwaong, and his courtesy name was Sŏnghŭm.
Yun was born a member of a prominent aristocratic family. He was the son of General Yun Ung-nyeol, who served as a minister in the Joseon government. Yun's connections earned him the rare opportunity to study abroad, and he did so in China, Japan and the United States. In the United States, he attended both Vanderbilt University and Emory University.
Yun was a prominent politician during the late Joseon and Korean Empire periods. He was a member of a number of reformist organizations, including the Independence Club, the People's Joint Association, and the New People's Association. He was a strong nationalist especially in his early years. He served in various government positions. He was also an ardent Methodist Christian, and an early leader of the Korean YMCA.
Although Yun was widely considered a nationalist for much of his early career, as Japan tightened its grip over Korea and eventually colonized it in 1910, Yun began to support the cause of the Japanese. He notably did not support many of the actions of the Korean independence movement, such as the March First Movement. As such, many recent Koreans remember him as a collaborator.
Early life
Yun Ch'iho was born on 26 December 1864, in a small village in Dunpo-myeon, Asan, Chungcheong Province. His father, Yun Ung-nyeol, was an official in the Joseon government and as a member of the yangban aristocracy saw that Ch'iho received a proper education. Yun Ch'iho excelled in his studies of the Confucian classics at the local seodang and even tried to apply to take the civil-service exams at age twelve.From 1871 to 1878, Yun studied Confucianism at Chang's private village school.
Trip to Japan
Because of Yun Ung-yeol's position in the government, he was able to arrange for Yun Ch'iho's participation in a delegation of representatives from Korea to observe the process of modernization in Japan in 1881. Yun was only sixteen years old at the time, but this experience greatly influenced his thoughts on modernization and opened his eyes to world beyond the isolated "Hermit Kingdom" that Korea had become. He frequently compared the lack of progress in Joseon Korea to the rapid modernization of Japan and often lamented in his diaries that he wanted nothing more than for Korea to become the kind of advanced, modern nation that Japan had become.Studying in China
Yun would later travel to Shanghai, China in 1885 where he would attend the Anglo-Chinese College studying English and mathematics, among other things. While in Shanghai he also converted to Christianity, something that would play a major role throughout the rest of his life. Yun Ch'iho viewed Christianity as a strong progressive philosophy that could help Korea catch up with the advancements of Japan and the West.Time in America
He eventually even studied in America, starting in 1888 at Vanderbilt University and then Emory University. He strongly admired many aspects of American culture, but was also frustrated with the racial prejudices he experienced while living in the South. In particular, he would identify tensions and contradictions between Christian universalism, and the belief that any individual could earn respect and equality as long as they were pious, and the arbitrary demonstrations of white supremacy that he routinely witnessed and experienced. One such instance was his election to a month-long term as President of the Few Society at Emory, an honorary position. Yun tried to deny accepting this position, in part because of the dissatisfaction of his election by several classmates due to their white supremacist beliefs. While in America he studied English, theology and speech and he gained a great deal of proficiency in the English language; writing most of his diaries in English.Roles in government
Interpreter
Yun served in several important government positions throughout his life. He served as an interpreter for the first American Foreign Minister in Korea, Lucius Foote. Upon arriving in Korea Foote had inquired to the Japanese Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru about finding someone to interpret for him while in Seoul, and Minister Inoue, who knew Yun Ch'iho from his days in Japan, recommended Yun to help serve Minister Foote. It was also Foote who helped Yun with arranging his studies in Shanghai.Travel to Russia
Yun traveled to Russian Empire to participate in coronation of Nicholas II with some government officials including Min Young-hwan. They fled to Europe from the fort of Incheon.Vice President of the Privy Council and banishment
Yun also served as the Vice President of the Privy Council of the Joseon Court from 1898 until he was banished in 1899 due to pressure from opposing factions in the government. While banished to the countryside, Yun served as magistrate for a town called Wonsan in Northern Korea. His banishment was not long lived and in 1903 he was called to serve as the Vice Foreign Minister.Reform organizations
The Independence Club
When Yun arrived back in Korea from his studies abroad, there were small groups of scholars who were beginning to call for social and political reform in Korea. One such group was the Independence club, which Yun began to participate in. Among other things, the club promoted educating the Korean people on their unique history, promoted the use of Hangeul, the Korean vernacular alphabet, and pushed for government reform. While in the Independence Club Yun called for the government to be more representative of its people and even supported the elevation of King Kojong to the title of Gwangmu Emperor. Eventually the group was met with pressure from opposing factions in the government that believed the club was gaining too much influence and so in 1899, the club disbanded.The Enlightenment Movement
As Japanese influence on the Korean peninsula began to tighten, Yun also began to support groups that were part of the Enlightenment movement. These groups, such as the Korean Self-Strengthening Society and the New People's Society, were picking up the pieces where the independence club had left off, and Yun Ch'iho helped them out by giving speeches and writing pamphlets for them. During his time of Banishment, these groups gave Yun something to work for in the hopes of creating a stronger Korean society.Yun signed the Japan–Korea Agreement as an acting Minister of Foreign Affair since Yi Ha-young was out of office that day. Yun was against the signing of Eulsa Treaty, which made Korea as a protectorate of Japan. He said to Durham Stevens who was in Korea that those who sign the treaty will be hated by Koreans like Benedict Arnold as a traitor. However when the treaty was actually signed, Yun was surprised. What baffled him the more was that Pak Chesoon signed the treaty. He praised Han Kyu-seol, who was the only one against the signing of treaty until the end. When Min Young-hwan committed suicide, Yun paid respects to his courage.
Japanese colonial period
From his early years, he was disappointed in the Joseon people for always having an emotional response and frustrated in their irrationality. In January 1910, he participated in the World Missionary Conference in America and that May, he attended the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference in England. In December 1910, he returned to his country.When the Korean Empire was overrun by Japanese military forces in 1910, Yun Ch'iho joined with others in resisting Japanese occupation. He became an anti-Imperialist speaker and independence activist. In 1911, he was Judgment for alleged assassination of the Governor General of Korea. He suffered from malicious punishment and torture as a result of the 105-Man Incident.
In 1913, along with 104 others, he was charged with conspiracy against the Japanese Governor-General at the time, Count Terauchi. He was one of six who were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms. His experiences in prison tempered his willingness to express his nationalist ardor, but he was still considered active in the independence movement.
Conspiracy, trial, and imprisonment
In 1911 Yun was implicated in assisting with an assassination attempt on Japanese Governor-General, Terauchi Masatake. Sources from within some of the Enlightenment Movement groups that Yun had taken part in had informed Japanese officials that he had a hand in planning this attempted assassination. He was put on trial and given the maximum sentence. However, after a series of retrials his sentence was shortened and he eventually gained amnesty after only six years in jail. During this time, he didn't write down anything in his diaries, but his experience in the Japanese prison system seemed to have a significant effect on his actions after his release. In fact, his release can be seen as a turning point for Yun Ch'iho where he began to make many pro-Japanese statements and gives much less support to Korean nationalistic movements.March First Movement
Inspired by Woodrow Wilson's idea of "self-determination" presented at the Paris Peace Conference the previous year, on 1 March 1919, many Koreans took to the streets in a peaceful protest to demonstrate that Korea was ready for independence from Japan. Yun knew that the European nations would not take this demonstration seriously. Yun said the following about the movement:"He who buys a field and keeps it from falling into irredeemable hands is a wiser patriot than he who sells his lands to finance the independent movement. He who sends a poor boy to school to become more intelligent than his fathers is doing a greater service than he who stirs up students for political agitations. He who leads an erring man into decent religious life is serving the Korean race better than he who sends ignorant folks to jail for yelling 'mansei'. Now is the time for Koreans to learn and wait."