Yi Sang-jae (Lee Sang-jae, 26 October 1850 – 29 March 1927) was a politician who served as Director-General of the General Affairs Bureau of the State Council of the [[Korean Empire]]. He was born in Hansan County (present-day Seocheon County), South Chungcheong Province, and was a descendant of [[Y
Born~Died Oct 26, 1850 ~ Mar 29, 1927Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:51 PM
Yi Sang-jae (李商在, 26 October 1850 – 29 March 1927) was a politician who served as Director-General of the General Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of State of the Korean Empire. He was born in Hansan County (present-day Seocheon County), South Chungcheong Province, and was a descendant of Yi Saek, a scholar and politician of the Goryeo period. In the late Joseon period and the Korean Empire, he was a politician and an activist of the Enlightenment Party. During the Japanese rule of Korea, he was an educator of the Joseon period, a youth movement activist, an independence activist, a politician, and a journalist. His courtesy name was Gyeho (季皓), and his art name was Wolnam (月南). He belonged to the Hansan Yi clan.
After failing the civil service examination in 1867, he entered government service as the private secretary of Park Chung-yang. In 1881 he toured Japan and was exposed to Enlightenment thought. After returning home, he worked as an Enlightenment Party official but was implicated in the Gapsin Coup and resigned from public office. After the decline of his political mentor Park Chung-yang, he retired to his hometown, and later took up the post of second-class secretary at the United States Legation in Korea. He then drove away the Qing dynasty envoy who had interfered in diplomacy on the premise that Joseon was a vassal state, and personally opened the path of direct diplomacy. After returning home, he carried out popular enlightenment activities in the Independence Club and the Man'min gongdonghoe.
However, in November 1899 the Independence Club and the Man'min gongdonghoe were forcibly dissolved. In 1902 he was implicated in the Reform Party incident, imprisoned, and later released. After the annexation of Korea by Japan, he resigned from public office. After 1905, he led the YMCA together with Yun Chi-ho. He refused to take part in the of 1919, but was named as a related person and was taken into custody. Thereafter, he stressed education, the enlightenment of youth, and their awakening, and in the mid-1920s he served as president of the and was active in . He was personally not greedy for wealth and moved from one rented room to another. He was later one of the political mentors of , who later served as .
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Yi Sang-jae was born on October 26, 1850, in Hansan-myeon, Hansan-gun (now Seocheon County), Chungcheongnam-do, as the son of Yi Hui-taek (李羲宅), who had served as acting assistant director (假監役) of the Seongongam, and his wife of the Milyang Park clan. He was born into a typical scholar-official family.
His family descended from Yi Saek, a scholar of late Goryeo. He was the 15th-generation descendant of Yi Jong-deok (李種德), the eldest son of Yi Saek. His 13th-generation bang-jo (傍祖) ancestor, Yi Gae (李塏), was one of the Sayuksin and was executed after he took part in the plot to restore King Danjong and failed. Also, among the descendants of his 12th-generation bang-jo ancestor Yi Gye-jeon were the mid-Joseon philosopher Tojeong Yi Ji-ham, the painter Yi San-bo, and Yi San-hae, who served as Yeonguijeong under King Seonjo.
His family had held official posts for generations, but after his great-great-grandfather Yi Ik-tae (李益泰) served as Left Magistrate of Hanseong and his great-grandfather Yi Deok-han (李德漢) served as a sama (司馬), the family no longer took office, until his father Yi Hui-taek entered public service as acting assistant director of the Seongongam. His childhood name and courtesy name was Gye-ho (季皓), and after he became an adult he changed his name to Sang-jae (商在). His pen name was Woolnam (月南).
유년기와 소년기
Although his family was poor, as a family of learned scholars they valued education, and under the influence of his grandfather and father, Yi Sang-jae studied Classical Chinese from an early age. According to the children's illustrated biography Yi Sang-jae published by Gyemongsa, the family was so devoted to learning that there is an anecdote in which his grandfather, while shopping at the market, spent the household money on his grandson's books.
As a child he studied Classical Chinese at a village school (seodang). In 1864 (the first year of King Gojong's reign), following the custom of early marriage, he married Jang of Mokcheon, who was three years older than him. His grandfather, Yi Gyeong-man, died and was buried at the family ancestral mountain, but a boundary dispute over that mountain with the Kim family ancestral mountain, whose member had served as Chamui (參議), led to his father Yi Hui-taek being imprisoned. During the early years of his marriage, he heard from his sixth-degree cousin Yi Gyeong-jae about his father's imprisonment. He rushed to Hansan-gun and asked the magistrate to let him serve his sentence in his father's place, and his father was released while he was imprisoned in his stead. He was thus a young man of strong principle.
과거 낙방과 개화파
과거낙방
Having studied since childhood, Yi Sang-jae took the gwageo at the age of 18, but he failed because the selection of successful candidates was determined by the connections and networks of the yangban aristocrats, a practice of selling offices and titles.1 Afterwards he gave up on the examinations, returned to his hometown, and lived in seclusion while engaged in agriculture.
개화파 박정양과의 만남
In Seoul, by chance, he met Park Jeong-yang (朴定陽) and became friends with him.2 In discussing the state of the nation with him, they agreed in their views on corrupt officials, the sale of offices, and reform measures for the people's livelihood, and Park Jeong-yang admired the insight of this commoner. However, he lamented the corrupt climate in which successful examination candidates were chosen through networks and connections, and he intended to withdraw to the countryside and cut himself off from the world. But at the urging of his relative Jang Jik (長稙) and at the request of Park Jeong-yang, he served as a private secretary at the home of Park Jeong-yang, who was then Seungji, until 1880.
His experience working as the private secretary of Seungji Park Jeong-yang was the period when Yi Sang-jae began to accumulate knowledge about how the world worked and about the domestic and international situation. Meeting Park Jeong-yang, a young scholar trusted by the court and a Gaehwapaintellectual, had a decisive influence on Yi Sang-jae's life. At the time, Park Jeong-yang valued the young Yi Sang-jae, who had an almost absurdly strong personality, and often called him over to drink liquor and debate with him,3 which influenced Yi Sang-jae in forming his own ideas.
청년 시절
일본 유학과 귀국
In 1881, Park Jeong-yang was selected as one of the members of the Sinsa Yuramdan, a delegation formed by the Joseon court to inspect Japan, and Yi Sang-jae went to Japan as his attendant. In Japan he became close to Enlightenment Party intellectuals who accompanied the delegation, including Kim Ok-gyun (金玉均), Hong Yeong-sik (洪英植), Jo Jun-yeong (趙準永), and Eo Yun-jung (魚允中). Twenty-six attendants, including Yu Gil-jun (兪吉濬), Yun Chi-ho (尹致昊), Ko Yeong-hui, and An Jong-su (安宗洙), who had studied in the United States, accompanied Yi Sang-jae on this trip.
At this time, in his free evenings, he walked through the busy downtown districts of Japan and was greatly shocked by the new material culture and the development of society. He came to believe that Joseon society also needed to open its ports. He became acquainted with Hong Yeong-sik and others who had been dispatched with him as students, and after returning home he laid the groundwork for taking part in the Enlightenment movement. During this time he got to know Hong Yeong-sik, Yun Chi-ho, and others, and his friendship with Hong Yeong-sik in particular greatly helped his career as an official.
In 1884, on the recommendation of Hong Yeong-sik, the Director-General (總辦) of the Uijeongguk (郵政局), he was appointed as a clerk (主事) of the Postal Office and was posted to work in Incheon.2 On October 11 of that year, he was appointed as a sasa (事) of the Postal Office. Just before the Gapsin Coup, he assisted the coup, but it failed after only three days. Because of the failure of the Gapsin Coup, he felt responsible, resigned from his post, and returned to his home district.
갑신 정변 이후
낙향
In December 1884, he was appointed head of the Incheon branch of the Postal Office. However, he was dismissed after three days. In December of that year, the Gapsin Coup carried out by the Enlightenment Party ended in failure after three days, and he too was suspected of being an accomplice. However, he met Han Gyu-seol (韓圭卨), who was in charge of the search, conducted himself with integrity, and returned to his hometown, thereby escaping punishment.4King Gojong recognized his outstanding scholarship and tried to appoint him as a local magistrate, but he refused to take office, saying that since Park Jeong-yang, who had led him into politics, had been exiled, he could not remain in government.
He returned to his hometown and farmed, but in early 1887 he was recalled to service by Park Jeong-yang.
미국공사관 서기관과 조선의 단독봉정
In 1887 he was appointed by Park Jeong-yang as a clerk (文案) of the Chingunyeong (親軍營). In June 1887, when Park Jeong-yang was appointed as a plenipotentiary minister to the United States, Yi Sang-jae accompanied him as second-class secretary of the American legation and worked for about a year in Washington, D.C.. According to the children's illustrated biography Yi Sang-jae (Gyemongsa), when Wolnam Yi Sang-jae, a diplomat serving as second-class secretary of the Korean legation in the United States, was pelted with stones by young Americans, he was questioned by the police. He asked for leniency, saying, "These are the thoughtless actions of young people; please forgive them." When the parents learned of this, they were grateful to Yi Sang-jae, and a newspaper reported the story of his good deed as a diplomat from Korea. It is said that this generous spirit later became the ideology of his anti-Japanese activism.
At this time, China tried to obstruct the direct diplomatic relations between Korea and the United States by hindering the delivery of the royal letter (國書), but Yi Sang-jae negotiated with the Chinese minister and had the letter delivered directly. In Washington, D.C., when the Chinese minister tried to present the royal letter himself, Yi Sang-jae negotiated with the Chinese legation's secretary so that Park Jeong-yang presented it alone.4 Through this, he eliminated the custom by which Joseon's diplomacy after the founding of Joseon (1392) had been subordinated to China. After returning home he left his post due to pressure from the Chinese government, but he took part in the Jeongdong Club (貞洞俱樂部), a friendship association of foreign diplomats in Korea.4 After returning to his hometown, he received word from the leaders of the Gaehwapa and went back up to Hanseong.
독립협회와 만민공동회 참여
만민공동회
Yi Sang-jae, who was once again recruited into government service, became a member of the Jeonhwan Office in 1892, and when Park Jeong-yang became Minister of the Interior, he was appointed in 1894 as Deputy Director of the Seungjeongwon and Chamchan-gwan (參贊官) of the Gyeongyeon-gak. That year he served as a counselor of the Ministry of Education (學部參事官) and of the Ministry of Justice (法部參事官),2 and after the government reorganization of 1894 he served as Chamui (參議) of the newly established Ministry of Education (學部衙問參議) and concurrently as director of the Bureau of Education (學務局長).
In December 1895, when Seo Jae-pil, who had been branded a traitor for the Gapsin Coup, returned to Korea, he became Seo's supporter. He recommended Seo, on the grounds that he understood international affairs, as chairman of the Jungchuwon and as Hyeopban of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, after Seo returned, he was shocked by Seo's attitude, as Seo claimed to be a U.S. citizen and treated Koreans coldly, and he gradually came to harbor resentment toward him.
While serving as Chamui of the Ministry of Education, Yi Sang-jae devised a new education system at this time, promulgated a new education decree, established normal schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and foreign language schools, and also served concurrently as principal of the foreign language school. At this time, the Japanese minister Inoue (井上馨) demanded that only Japanese be hired as teachers at the foreign language school, but he firmly refused,4 and he hired Americans and French instead. In 1896 he was appointed principal of the National Language School.2
In February 1896, King Gojong went to the Russian legation, the so-called Russian legation incident, and when the pro-Japanese regime collapsed, Yi Sang-jae became Chief Secretary of the Cabinet (內閣總書) and a first-class councillor (議官) of the Jungchuwon. When the government was reorganized again, in June he was promoted to Director of General Affairs of the Uijeongbu Cabinet, where he focused on rooting out and punishing corrupt officials and on auditing activities, working to remove corrupt and incompetent officials. In July 1896, he founded the Independence Club (獨立協會) together with Seo Jae-pil (徐載弼), Yi Seung-man, Yun Chi-ho, and Yi Wan-yong, became a member of the Independence Club, and devoted himself to the civil rights movement. He served as chairman and moderator of the Mass Joint Assembly (萬民共同會), a mass enlightenment rally. When the Man-min Gongdonghoe was held in Jongno, it passed six resolutions, including the expulsion of foreigners (斥外) and the establishment of royal authority (皇權), and submitted two memorials to the throne. However, due to impeachment by ministers from the royal in-law faction who claimed he had other motives, he was detained at the Police Office along with sixteen others, but he was released after ten days thanks to the earnest memorial of Vice Premier Sim Sang-hun (沈相薰).
Together with Yun Chi-ho, Seo Jae-pil, and others, he argued for the people's right to participate in politics. On May 17, Seo Jae-pil was forcibly expelled and returned to the United States, and together with Yi Wan-yong and Yun Chi-ho, he led the Independence Club.5 On October 28, as vice-chairman of the Independence Club, he held the Gwanmin Gongdonghoe (官民共同會) and adopted the Six Articles of Proposals (獻議六條), which called for limiting autocratic monarchical power and implementing cabinet-responsible administration, and he submitted them to King Gojong. On October 30 of that year, King Gojong accepted these, revised the Jungchuwon, and announced the Jungchuwon regulations, but he was then attacked by Jo Byeong-sik (趙秉式), Yu Gi-hwan, and others. On November 4 an order to dissolve the Independence Club was issued, and he was arrested together with Jeong Gyo (鄭喬), Nam Gung-eok (南宮檍), and fifteen others.
Because the Independence Club held the Mass Joint Assembly and staged protests, on November 10 he was released after receiving forty strokes of the taeg (笞). Afterwards, he led the Mass Joint Assembly in demanding the implementation of the Six Articles and confronted the Hwanguk Association. However, at the end of 1898 the Independence Club was dissolved by conservatives who relied on the Hwanguk Hyeop-hoe, a political organization of peddlers. On December 25 of that year, after the Independence Club was dissolved due to government repression and interference from the Hwanguk Association, he abandoned all official posts and returned to the countryside.
기독교에 귀의
Seo Jae-pil emigrated to the United States, and Yun Chi-ho devoted himself to his career as an official. But he refused government office and impeached the corruption and abuses of corrupt officials and the tacit approval of the internal government. On November 4, 1899, most of the leaders of the Independence Club were arrested by soldiers sent by the conservative faction, and the Independence Club was dissolved.
In 1902, when the Gaehyeokdang Incident occurred, in which many reform-minded figures were detained or fled to Japan, he was arrested in June of that year together with his second son Yi Seung-in (李承仁) and suffered imprisonment. His son Seung-in was tortured at that time and died after his release from prison due to complications from the torture. While in prison, he read the Bible given to him by Yi Seung-man and resolved to become a Christian. According to the youth Christian magazine Saebyeok Nara (published by Duranno), Yi Sang-jae was moved by the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, which says to love even one's enemies.
Immediately after his release, he went down to Jongji-ri, Hansan-myeon, Seocheon County, in his hometown of Chungcheong Province, established a church, and dedicated the "Thatched House Church" (초갓집교회) sanctuary. The Thatched House Church was later rebuilt as a modern new building in the 1970s.
In February 1904, Yi Sang-jae was granted a special pardon and released. Afterwards he looked after Yi Seung-man's needs in prison, and Rhee was also selected as a special envoy to be dispatched to the United States and was soon released. He became the political patron of Yi Seung-man, whom he had met through the Independence Club, the Mass Joint Assembly, and the YMCA, and later, when Rhee studied in the United States, he supported and financially assisted Rhee's living expenses.
공직 사퇴와 기독교청년회 활동
After his release from prison he remained in seclusion for some time. On September 26, 1905, at the residence of Min Yeong-hwan, the commander of the imperial guard, in Jeon-dong, Seoul, an unusual banquet was held to welcome Alice Roosevelt, daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.7 Yi Sang-jae also attended this banquet with great expectations. The guest of honor was Alice, daughter of the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt at that time, accompanied by Bae Bin, the naval admiral Train, and Congressman Cabin, a naval lieutenant general to whom Alice was engaged. In Korea, in addition to Min Yeong-hwan, many anti-Japanese, pro-American figures took part, including Yi Jun, Yi Sang-jae, Yi Yong-ik, Yun Chi-ho, and the American Hulbert (Heulbeoteu), editor of the Korean Review, who was wielding a pen against Japan in Seoul.7 They asked Alice to persuade her father, the president, to act as a bridge, and Alice readily agreed on the condition that a special envoy bearing the emperor's royal letter would be sent.7
Yi Sang-jae, a leader of the YMCA who had built ties with Christianity and the Enlightenment Party, believed that the maritime civilized nations across the sea would help Korea's freedom and liberation. However, when he heard about the Taft–Katsura agreement from his disciple Yi Seung-man and his friend Yun Chi-ho, Yi Sang-jae was greatly disillusioned with the United States. After the Eulsa Treaty was forcibly concluded in 1905, he was summoned by King Gojong. However, although he stated that he had no attachment to office, he could not refuse King Gojong's earnest plea for help, so he remained as a councillor (參贊) of the Uijeongbu. In 1907 he was approached by the Minister of Justice but declined, and after the disbandment of the army he resigned from office.
After the annexation of Korea by Japan in August 1910, he resigned from all public posts. After the annexation he took up educational and enlightenment activities, and he urged young people to gain insight, build their abilities, study abroad, and travel to observe other countries.
Shortly after the annexation, at the Joseon Art Exhibition held by the Governor-General's Office, he was unexpectedly chosen as chairman of the Joseon Art Exhibition. In his greeting he said, "Your Excellency should move to Tokyo." When the new novelModanbong described the Sino-Japanese War and portrayed a Japanese armymilitary surgeon as a benevolent benefactor who treated Okryeon, a orphan separated from her mother, and even adopted her, the novelist Yi In-jik, who had a strong pro-Japanese inclination, expressed doubt about this. Yi Sang-jae then retorted, "Aren't you ahead of the game in the ruin of the nation? If you move to Japan, won't Japan be ruined?" It is said that no one could answer his satire and ridicule.
Immediately after the annexation of Korea by Japan, he refrained from all public activities and devoted himself to journalism, writing, the YMCA, and missionary activities.
YMCA 활동과 선교 활동
In 1913 the Governor-General's Office, wary of the expansion of the YMCA, mobilized the collaborationist organization Yusinhoe (維新會) to try to destroy the Christian Youth Association, and as a result, its leaders were expelled, imprisoned, deported abroad, or forced into overseas exile. The government supported the stay of Yi Seung-man, who had left the country, in the United States with a scholarship, and also urged Yun Chi-ho to leave the country. However, Yun, whose elderly parents were still alive, hesitated to leave.
Nevertheless, in 1913 he took office as General Secretary of the Hwangseong YMCA, and amid the defections, arrests, and expulsions of its leaders, he kept the YMCA's name alive together with Yun Chi-ho and defended the youth association. In 1914, the Japan Korea YMCA, along with the Severance, Paichai, and Kyungshin school YMCAs, the Hanyoung Seowon in Kaesong, the Sungil YMCA in Gwangju, the YMCA Federation in Gunsan, the YMCA Shinheung in Jeonju, and the YMCA Federation in Gongju, joined the student YMCAs and merged with the Hwangseong Christian Youth Association to form the National Federation of Korean Christian Youth Associations. This became the cradle of the Korean YMCA.
He steadily took part in enlightenment movements centered on the Hwangseong Christian Youth Association, which reflected the fact that in the 1920s the Korean Christian community was engaged in social participation focused on enlightenment movements. The Korean Christian Youth Association (YMCA) played an important role in the March 1 Movement, and he too was singled out as a related figure and detained for six months, but he was released for lack of evidence. He served as the first president of the Korean Boy Scout Federation's predecessor, the Sonyeon Cheokdan Joseon General Federation, and as president of the Chosun Ilbo, carrying out various social movements. However, on March 1, 1919, he refused a request from the Thirty-Three National Representatives to sign the Declaration of Independence of Korea.
청년들과의 교유
Afterwards he took office as the second General Secretary of the YMCA Youth Association.8 Because he entered Christianity late in life, he carried out the youth association movement together with young people. Even in 1927, the year of his death, he served as the first president of the Singanhoe, an independence movement organization formed by the moderate right (non-compromising nationalism) and the left (socialism), and he continued to carry on vigorous Christian social activities until the end. Because of his humorous and bright personality, he was called "Eternal Youth" (만년청년). Conservatives at the time complained about his behavior, saying, "An old man of your age should keep up appearances," but Yi Sang-jae himself said, "I must become a young man; I cannot tell the young to become old," and he did not stop interacting with young people. Moreover, although he himself lived in a rented room, he was so devoted to developing young people as the leaders of the next generation that he would pay the tuition of a struggling student working his way through school.
기독교인으로서의 기독교 비판
Thus, although Yi Sang-jae had a generous and cheerful personality, he criticized injustice without reservation. As an example, in 1923 Yi Sang-jae gave a speech before Western Protestant missionaries in which he criticized the white supremacy of the missionaries, which was the cause of the conflict between missionaries and Korean believers in the Korean Protestant church at that time.
He foresaw that the arrogance and self-righteousness of some Protestant missionaries and church members would cause social division and conflict, and he advised that they should try to embrace one another with the tolerance and love of the Christian spirit. His foresight proved correct: in the early 1920s, when socialism was introduced into Korea in earnest, sharp conflicts emerged between the majority of Christians and the socialist and communist forces of Marxism–Leninism orientation. Socialists criticized Christianity as the opium of the people (narcotic, painkiller) and superstition, while the Christian community treated the socialists who criticized them as if they were Satan, with whom no dialogue or cooperation was possible. However, a small number of Christians advocated Christian socialism, which sought common ground between Christianity and socialism, and thereby considered cooperation and dialogue between socialism and Christianity. Some, like Yeo Un-hyeong (Monyang), who clearly recognized the limits of Christian social movements, converted to socialism.(Walking in Christian Socialism / by Lee Deok-ju / Hongsungsa)
교육, 강연 활동
However, after the March 1 Movement he was singled out as the instigator of the independence demonstrations and imprisoned, but he was soon released. At that time, the Japanese prosecutor Kamiuchi (上內) prepared various instruments of torture and tried to persuade him during interrogation, but he refused.9 When Prosecutor Kamiuchi laid out the torture instruments, he stated his intention to torture him unless he confessed without resistance. Then he shouted loudly.
Hearing these words, Prosecutor Kamiuchi thought of his elderly father in his hometown and did not dare to strike him.9 The Governor-General's police pressed him about his involvement in the March 1 Demonstrations, but he feigned ignorance, and since there was no particular evidence against him, he was released.
In 1920 he was elected chairman of the Korean Christian Youth Association Federation and was installed as advisor to the Joseon Central Christian Youth Association. Afterwards that same year, he was elected honorary General Secretary of the YMCA or chairman of the national federation. In 1920, when a delegation of American congressmen visited Korea, he took charge of YMCA activities such as the "second independence movement," the Product Promotion Movement, the Boy Scout movement, and the student youth association movement, and he attended various lectures, debates, Sunday courses, rural movements, and regional lecture tours.
In September 1920, there was a man named Gwon Seong-yeong (權聖英) in Yeongju County, North Gyeongsang Province. His wife had been extremely filial, and when her mother-in-law died she made food offerings (sangsik) morning and evening.10 Then, after her husband became a believer in the Jesus Church (Korean Protestantism entered Korea under the name 야소교, a transliteration of "Jesus"), he interpreted the words of Scripture strictly and claimed that morning and evening food offerings were superstition, and he strictly forbade them. His wife pleaded with him and tried to persuade him, but he never listened, so she decided that it was her filial duty to atone for her lack of filial piety with her own death, and she took her own life.10
At that time, Christians interpreted the Bible literally, and they considered even bowing to their parents' ancestral tablets, as well as bowing to living parents once a year at New Year's, to be idolatry. This was because they considered it a violation of the Ten Commandments, which say "You shall have no other gods before me."10 Because of this, the Confucian opposition to Christianity continued, claiming that the Western superstition would turn Korea into a society of beasts, and socialists also concentrated their attacks on the exclusiveness and blind faith of Christianity. The Governor-General's Office, which wanted to destroy the Christian organizations, which had such strong national consciousness that even Presbyterian elder Namgang Yi Seung-hun took part among the Thirty-Three National Representatives, either encouraged the attacks on Christianity or stood by and watched.
The incident was widely reported in the newspapers. On September 1, the Dong-a Ilbo10 published an article titled "Unreasonable Victim of Christianity: Husband Believed in Jesus and Abolished Food Offerings, Wife Died in His Place." After this, criticism of established churches, especially of missionaries, rained down in society.11 As anti-Christian demonstrations and protests spread, he explained that the essence of Christianity was not a rejection of honoring one's parents or paying respect to ancestors.11
이상재 선생의 의견
When the situation had reached this point, a reporter of the Dong-a Ilbo came to the YMCA headquarters to hear the reaction of the Christian community, and Wolnam was visited. Wolnam was greatly shocked and stated his opinion according to his own convictions.11 He said that Christianity does not reject filial piety, and that for a person who has not become a true human being, nothing changes merely because he professes faith.
Dong-a Ilbo welcomed his remarks and published an editorial titled "Ancestral Rites and Idol Worship: Joseon's Ancestral Rites Do Not Violate Monotheism." Meanwhile, Christian fundamentalism-oriented Protestant churches and missionaries treated Yi Sang-jae as a deserving target of censure, since in their view he honored ancestral rites, which they considered idol worship, as an expression of filial piety.12 At this time, Elder Park Seung-bong thoroughly examined the question of ancestral rites in Christianity, even writing a commentary on the Book of Leviticus of the Old Testament. He went further, arguing that Confucianism had been finished since the time of Zhou Dunyi and the Cheng brothers, and he criticized the ancestral rite views of Neo-Confucianism.12 Yi Sang-jae's remarks caused a great stir in the churches and in society, and he succeeded in calming the anti-Christian mood and mediating the situation.
Later life
Private university movement and missionary work
In 1922, he founded the Joseon Education Association and assumed its presidency. In the early 1920s, he took part in the movement to establish a private university, and together with Han Gyu-seol, Yun Chi-so and others, became one of the sponsors of the movement to establish a private university.13 Afterward, it developed into the private university founding association. In March 1922, he was elected to the central executive committee. In 1922, Yi Sang-jae, together with Yi Seung-hun, Yun Chi-ho, Kim Byeong-ro, Kim Sung-soo and others, took the lead, secured 1,170 sponsors, launched the private university founding association, and conducted fundraising activities.13 However, the private university establishment movement was thwarted by Japanese obstruction.
In 1922, he led a YMCA delegation including Shin Heung-woo, Yi Dae-wi, Kim Hwal-lan, Kim Pil-rye and others to the conference of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) held in Beijing. There he persuaded and appealed to YMCA representatives from various countries to allow the Korean YMCA to join the international YMCA federation independently. He also negotiated with the Japanese YMCA delegation so that the Korean YMCA could join the international YMCA on its own and participate independently in international YMCA events, thereby laying the groundwork for the Korean YMCA's admission to the international YMCA. In 1923, he became the first president of the Boy Scouts (Sonyeon Yeonhap Cheokhodae: Boy Scouts), and guided the Product Encouragement Movement, the temperance movement, the local evangelism movement, and the Changmun Sa movement. In 1924, he assumed the presidency of Chosun Ilbo, but soon resigned.
In February 1925, he attended the graduation ceremony of Paichai Higher Common School, a Methodisthigh school where his grandson Hong-jik studied. After Korean staff read the congratulatory addresses of the Governor-General of Korea and the Japanese governor of Gyeonggi Province on their behalf, he was called to read a congratulatory address as representative of the guests. He read it in Hangul, saying, "Everyone, do you understand Korean? I don't know Japanese, so I will speak in Korean."14
Election as Singanhoe president and death
On April 15, 1925, when the first national journalists' conference was held, he was elected chairman. On February 15, 1927, when nationalists, socialists, communists and leaders from various fields who transcended ideological differences gathered to form Singanhoe, he was elected its president. Yi Sang-jae was bedridden at the time, but accepted the post of president of Singanhoe.
In his later years, he suffered from old age and from edema caused by peripheral nerve problems. On March 19, 1927, he fell into a coma and then regained consciousness.
Having no property, he moved from one rented room to another. On March 29, 1927, he died of illness in a rented room in Gyeongseong, at the age of 78. Having moved from rental to rental, he owned no property, and at his death he left debts of 27 sacks of rice. These debts were repaid through fundraising efforts by Yun Chi-ho, Syngman Rhee, Kim Sung-soo, Ahn Chang-ho, Song Jin-woo and others. He was also unfortunate in his family life: three of his sons died before him, and only his fourth son, Seung-jun, attended him at his death.
A memorial stone praising his virtues was erected in Jongji-ri, Hansan-myeon, his hometown. After liberation, in 1956, by a special instruction from PresidentSyngman Rhee, the Brief Biography of Mr. Yi Sang-jae was published by the Office of Public Information.
Whenever he saw Koreans addressing one another as "Kim-ssi" or "Park-ssi" in the Japanese fashion, or as "Mister Kim" and "Mister Park" in the American fashion, he was very displeased. Why, he asked, did Koreans not address one another in their own native language and customs, but merely imitate the Japanese and Americans?15
At a gathering of many people, there were some who imitated foreign fashions. Yi Sang-jae suddenly spoke up and said, "These days, for some reason, there are many commoners and many madmen." Those who heard this were bewildered, not understanding what he meant.15
These days, for some reason, there are many commoners and many madmen. Those who knew a little Japanese began calling themselves "Kim-sang-nom" (Mr. Kim, the commoner) and "Park-sang-nom" (Mr. Park, the commoner), and now that American fashion has come in, some people say "Mad Mr. Kim" and "Mad Mr. Park"!
Only then did the audience understand his meaning and burst into laughter.15 Having been one of the Enlightenment Party, he opposed blind preservation of the status quo. He pointed out that the fall of the Korean Empire was caused by its rejection of new civilization and its implementation of the isolation policy. His conviction was that one should preserve what is ours while accepting what is good in foreign things.
Evaluation
Full of satire and wit, he refined a harsh social atmosphere with a high level of humor, and he checked the brutal aggression and injustice of Japan with sharp satire and aphorisms. As evidence, the biography of Yi Sang-jae published by Gyemongsa contains examples showing that he was a wit who resisted unjust realities through satire and aphorisms. When Yi Sang-jae accompanied the Sinsa Observation Mission, the Japanese displayed guns and swords to show their power, and he quoted Jesus' words to refute the militarism of the Roman Empire: "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword" (Gospel of Matthew 26:52). To the Eulsa Five Traitors, he delivered a stinging rebuke: "Gentlemen, go to Japan. You have a talent for ruining your own country."
Seo Jae-pil, upon hearing of Wolnam's death, wrote in a contribution to Chosun Ilbo: "He was a giant, and I could not help but be impressed by his extraordinary eloquence and upright spirit."16Song Jin-woo, former president of Dong-a Ilbo, said, "His satirical humor surpassed Dongbangsak, and in times of sorrow he brings to mind Qu Yuan," and commented, "He worried for the nation and did not worry for himself; his hair was white, but his heart was red." Yun Chi-ho said, "He personally showed how a person ought to live."
Kim Dong-gil, an educator and politician, highly praised his "frankness and lack of pretense."17 According to Kim Dong-gil, "I believe that Wolnam Yi Sang-jae stood out as a giant of his era because he was frank in all matters, free of pretense, and always showed things as they were in a natural way."17
Anecdotes
According to the testimony of independence activist Yi Won-sun, he advocated joy shared between old and young, and he liked to race with young people and play baduk and janggi. When he saw students playing baduk or janggi, he always liked to offer advice, and if someone seemed about to lose, he would have them give up their seat so that he could win on their behalf, laughing heartily with a face that looked like that of a rosy-cheeked youth.18
When Yi Sang-jae went on lecture tours and Christian missionary activities, military police and policemen dispatched by the Government-General of Korea came in to monitor him and watch the content of his lectures. At one lecture in winter, he exclaimed that the forsythia flowers had bloomed. At that time, the uniforms of the policemen and military police were yellow, and he had taken note of this: "Gae" (dog) meant they wore yellow uniforms, and "Nari" (lily) was a mockery of the military police.
Immediately after the annexation of Korea, a certain prominent figure voluntarily changed his name to a Japanese one, Ito (伊東). Upon hearing of this name change, Yi Sang-jae went to that person's house gate and relieved himself there. When that person protested to Yi Sang-jae, he ridiculed him as a man like this excrement and left.
Japan YMCA incident
In early spring of 1911, the Japanese YMCA invited Wolnam. Although it professed to promote friendship between Korean and Japanese Christians, it contained within it a political scheme to break his will to pursue independence. Wolnam and his party, having traveled to Japan, were treated with great courtesy and toured famous scenic and historic sites. One evening, they attended a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister. Attending the banquet were the Prime Minister and the other ministers. At the end of the banquet, the Prime Minister asked the most ordinary and common-looking Wolnam to share his views.19 Responding, Wolnam left the following famous words.19
Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang
Around 1918, Suju Byeon Yeong-ro, then a student in the middle school division of the YMCA, was walking along Jongno Street with friends instead of attending class, when someone behind them called out, "Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang, Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang," using his father's name. Turning around, he saw Yi Sang-jae calling out and following them.15Byeon Yeong-ro was displeased and waited until Yi Sang-jae came up.15
Byeon Yeong-ro protested to him: "Sir, are you not senile? You cannot tell father from son. Even though my father is your friend, where in the street is it proper to call someone by name?"20 Hearing this, Yi Sang-jae said, "You fool. Then are you not Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang's son? Your spirit is quite enough."20
According to him, you must keep the dignity befitting the Byeon family's lineage, and since you are Koreans, you must have the spirit of your lineage; this was his teaching, delivered half in jest.20
Yi Sang-jae (李商在, 26 October 1850 – 29 March 1927) was a politician who served as Director-General of the General Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of State of the Korean Empire. He was born in Hansan County (present-day Seocheon County), South Chungcheong Province, and was a descendant of Yi Saek, a scholar and politician of the Goryeo period. In the late Joseon period and the Korean Empire, he was a politician and an activist of the Enlightenment Party. During the Japanese rule of Korea, he was an educator of the Joseon period, a youth movement activist, an independence activist, a politician, and a journalist. His courtesy name was Gyeho (季皓), and his art name was Wolnam (月南). He belonged to the Hansan Yi clan.
After failing the civil service examination in 1867, he entered government service as the private secretary of Park Chung-yang. In 1881 he toured Japan and was exposed to Enlightenment thought. After returning home, he worked as an Enlightenment Party official but was implicated in the Gapsin Coup and resigned from public office. After the decline of his political mentor Park Chung-yang, he retired to his hometown, and later took up the post of second-class secretary at the United States Legation in Korea. He then drove away the Qing dynasty envoy who had interfered in diplomacy on the premise that Joseon was a vassal state, and personally opened the path of direct diplomacy. After returning home, he carried out popular enlightenment activities in the Independence Club and the Man'min gongdonghoe.
However, in November 1899 the Independence Club and the Man'min gongdonghoe were forcibly dissolved. In 1902 he was implicated in the Reform Party incident, imprisoned, and later released. After the annexation of Korea by Japan, he resigned from public office. After 1905, he led the together with . He refused to take part in the of 1919, but was named as a related person and was taken into custody. Thereafter, he stressed education, the enlightenment of youth, and their awakening, and in the mid-1920s he served as president of the and was active in . He was personally not greedy for wealth and moved from one rented room to another. He was later one of the political mentors of , who later served as .
Yi Sang-jae was born on October 26, 1850, in Hansan-myeon, Hansan-gun (now Seocheon County), Chungcheongnam-do, as the son of Yi Hui-taek (李羲宅), who had served as acting assistant director (假監役) of the Seongongam, and his wife of the Milyang Park clan. He was born into a typical scholar-official family.
His family descended from Yi Saek, a scholar of late Goryeo. He was the 15th-generation descendant of Yi Jong-deok (李種德), the eldest son of Yi Saek. His 13th-generation bang-jo (傍祖) ancestor, Yi Gae (李塏), was one of the Sayuksin and was executed after he took part in the plot to restore King Danjong and failed. Also, among the descendants of his 12th-generation bang-jo ancestor Yi Gye-jeon were the mid-Joseon philosopher Tojeong Yi Ji-ham, the painter Yi San-bo, and Yi San-hae, who served as Yeonguijeong under King Seonjo.
His family had held official posts for generations, but after his great-great-grandfather Yi Ik-tae (李益泰) served as Left Magistrate of Hanseong and his great-grandfather Yi Deok-han (李德漢) served as a sama (司馬), the family no longer took office, until his father Yi Hui-taek entered public service as acting assistant director of the Seongongam. His childhood name and courtesy name was Gye-ho (季皓), and after he became an adult he changed his name to Sang-jae (商在). His pen name was Woolnam (月南).
유년기와 소년기
Although his family was poor, as a family of learned scholars they valued education, and under the influence of his grandfather and father, Yi Sang-jae studied Classical Chinese from an early age. According to the children's illustrated biography Yi Sang-jae published by Gyemongsa, the family was so devoted to learning that there is an anecdote in which his grandfather, while shopping at the market, spent the household money on his grandson's books.
As a child he studied Classical Chinese at a village school (seodang). In 1864 (the first year of King Gojong's reign), following the custom of early marriage, he married Jang of Mokcheon, who was three years older than him. His grandfather, Yi Gyeong-man, died and was buried at the family ancestral mountain, but a boundary dispute over that mountain with the Kim family ancestral mountain, whose member had served as Chamui (參議), led to his father Yi Hui-taek being imprisoned. During the early years of his marriage, he heard from his sixth-degree cousin Yi Gyeong-jae about his father's imprisonment. He rushed to Hansan-gun and asked the magistrate to let him serve his sentence in his father's place, and his father was released while he was imprisoned in his stead. He was thus a young man of strong principle.
과거 낙방과 개화파
과거낙방
Having studied since childhood, Yi Sang-jae took the gwageo at the age of 18, but he failed because the selection of successful candidates was determined by the connections and networks of the yangban aristocrats, a practice of selling offices and titles.1 Afterwards he gave up on the examinations, returned to his hometown, and lived in seclusion while engaged in agriculture.
개화파 박정양과의 만남
In Seoul, by chance, he met Park Jeong-yang (朴定陽) and became friends with him.2 In discussing the state of the nation with him, they agreed in their views on corrupt officials, the sale of offices, and reform measures for the people's livelihood, and Park Jeong-yang admired the insight of this commoner. However, he lamented the corrupt climate in which successful examination candidates were chosen through networks and connections, and he intended to withdraw to the countryside and cut himself off from the world. But at the urging of his relative Jang Jik (長稙) and at the request of Park Jeong-yang, he served as a private secretary at the home of Park Jeong-yang, who was then Seungji, until 1880.
His experience working as the private secretary of Seungji Park Jeong-yang was the period when Yi Sang-jae began to accumulate knowledge about how the world worked and about the domestic and international situation. Meeting Park Jeong-yang, a young scholar trusted by the court and a Gaehwapaintellectual, had a decisive influence on Yi Sang-jae's life. At the time, Park Jeong-yang valued the young Yi Sang-jae, who had an almost absurdly strong personality, and often called him over to drink liquor and debate with him,3 which influenced Yi Sang-jae in forming his own ideas.
청년 시절
일본 유학과 귀국
In 1881, Park Jeong-yang was selected as one of the members of the Sinsa Yuramdan, a delegation formed by the Joseon court to inspect Japan, and Yi Sang-jae went to Japan as his attendant. In Japan he became close to Enlightenment Party intellectuals who accompanied the delegation, including Kim Ok-gyun (金玉均), Hong Yeong-sik (洪英植), Jo Jun-yeong (趙準永), and Eo Yun-jung (魚允中). Twenty-six attendants, including Yu Gil-jun (兪吉濬), Yun Chi-ho (尹致昊), Ko Yeong-hui, and An Jong-su (安宗洙), who had studied in the United States, accompanied Yi Sang-jae on this trip.
At this time, in his free evenings, he walked through the busy downtown districts of Japan and was greatly shocked by the new material culture and the development of society. He came to believe that Joseon society also needed to open its ports. He became acquainted with Hong Yeong-sik and others who had been dispatched with him as students, and after returning home he laid the groundwork for taking part in the Enlightenment movement. During this time he got to know Hong Yeong-sik, Yun Chi-ho, and others, and his friendship with Hong Yeong-sik in particular greatly helped his career as an official.
In 1884, on the recommendation of Hong Yeong-sik, the Director-General (總辦) of the Uijeongguk (郵政局), he was appointed as a clerk (主事) of the Postal Office and was posted to work in Incheon.2 On October 11 of that year, he was appointed as a sasa (事) of the Postal Office. Just before the Gapsin Coup, he assisted the coup, but it failed after only three days. Because of the failure of the Gapsin Coup, he felt responsible, resigned from his post, and returned to his home district.
갑신 정변 이후
낙향
In December 1884, he was appointed head of the Incheon branch of the Postal Office. However, he was dismissed after three days. In December of that year, the Gapsin Coup carried out by the Enlightenment Party ended in failure after three days, and he too was suspected of being an accomplice. However, he met Han Gyu-seol (韓圭卨), who was in charge of the search, conducted himself with integrity, and returned to his hometown, thereby escaping punishment.4King Gojong recognized his outstanding scholarship and tried to appoint him as a local magistrate, but he refused to take office, saying that since Park Jeong-yang, who had led him into politics, had been exiled, he could not remain in government.
He returned to his hometown and farmed, but in early 1887 he was recalled to service by Park Jeong-yang.
미국공사관 서기관과 조선의 단독봉정
In 1887 he was appointed by Park Jeong-yang as a clerk (文案) of the Chingunyeong (親軍營). In June 1887, when Park Jeong-yang was appointed as a plenipotentiary minister to the United States, Yi Sang-jae accompanied him as second-class secretary of the American legation and worked for about a year in Washington, D.C.. According to the children's illustrated biography Yi Sang-jae (Gyemongsa), when Wolnam Yi Sang-jae, a diplomat serving as second-class secretary of the Korean legation in the United States, was pelted with stones by young Americans, he was questioned by the police. He asked for leniency, saying, "These are the thoughtless actions of young people; please forgive them." When the parents learned of this, they were grateful to Yi Sang-jae, and a newspaper reported the story of his good deed as a diplomat from Korea. It is said that this generous spirit later became the ideology of his anti-Japanese activism.
At this time, China tried to obstruct the direct diplomatic relations between Korea and the United States by hindering the delivery of the royal letter (國書), but Yi Sang-jae negotiated with the Chinese minister and had the letter delivered directly. In Washington, D.C., when the Chinese minister tried to present the royal letter himself, Yi Sang-jae negotiated with the Chinese legation's secretary so that Park Jeong-yang presented it alone.4 Through this, he eliminated the custom by which Joseon's diplomacy after the founding of Joseon (1392) had been subordinated to China. After returning home he left his post due to pressure from the Chinese government, but he took part in the Jeongdong Club (貞洞俱樂部), a friendship association of foreign diplomats in Korea.4 After returning to his hometown, he received word from the leaders of the Gaehwapa and went back up to Hanseong.
독립협회와 만민공동회 참여
만민공동회
Yi Sang-jae, who was once again recruited into government service, became a member of the Jeonhwan Office in 1892, and when Park Jeong-yang became Minister of the Interior, he was appointed in 1894 as Deputy Director of the Seungjeongwon and Chamchan-gwan (參贊官) of the Gyeongyeon-gak. That year he served as a counselor of the Ministry of Education (學部參事官) and of the Ministry of Justice (法部參事官),2 and after the government reorganization of 1894 he served as Chamui (參議) of the newly established Ministry of Education (學部衙問參議) and concurrently as director of the Bureau of Education (學務局長).
In December 1895, when Seo Jae-pil, who had been branded a traitor for the Gapsin Coup, returned to Korea, he became Seo's supporter. He recommended Seo, on the grounds that he understood international affairs, as chairman of the Jungchuwon and as Hyeopban of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, after Seo returned, he was shocked by Seo's attitude, as Seo claimed to be a U.S. citizen and treated Koreans coldly, and he gradually came to harbor resentment toward him.
While serving as Chamui of the Ministry of Education, Yi Sang-jae devised a new education system at this time, promulgated a new education decree, established normal schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and foreign language schools, and also served concurrently as principal of the foreign language school. At this time, the Japanese minister Inoue (井上馨) demanded that only Japanese be hired as teachers at the foreign language school, but he firmly refused,4 and he hired Americans and French instead. In 1896 he was appointed principal of the National Language School.2
In February 1896, King Gojong went to the Russian legation, the so-called Russian legation incident, and when the pro-Japanese regime collapsed, Yi Sang-jae became Chief Secretary of the Cabinet (內閣總書) and a first-class councillor (議官) of the Jungchuwon. When the government was reorganized again, in June he was promoted to Director of General Affairs of the Uijeongbu Cabinet, where he focused on rooting out and punishing corrupt officials and on auditing activities, working to remove corrupt and incompetent officials. In July 1896, he founded the Independence Club (獨立協會) together with Seo Jae-pil (徐載弼), Yi Seung-man, Yun Chi-ho, and Yi Wan-yong, became a member of the Independence Club, and devoted himself to the civil rights movement. He served as chairman and moderator of the Mass Joint Assembly (萬民共同會), a mass enlightenment rally. When the Man-min Gongdonghoe was held in Jongno, it passed six resolutions, including the expulsion of foreigners (斥外) and the establishment of royal authority (皇權), and submitted two memorials to the throne. However, due to impeachment by ministers from the royal in-law faction who claimed he had other motives, he was detained at the Police Office along with sixteen others, but he was released after ten days thanks to the earnest memorial of Vice Premier Sim Sang-hun (沈相薰).
Together with Yun Chi-ho, Seo Jae-pil, and others, he argued for the people's right to participate in politics. On May 17, Seo Jae-pil was forcibly expelled and returned to the United States, and together with Yi Wan-yong and Yun Chi-ho, he led the Independence Club.5 On October 28, as vice-chairman of the Independence Club, he held the Gwanmin Gongdonghoe (官民共同會) and adopted the Six Articles of Proposals (獻議六條), which called for limiting autocratic monarchical power and implementing cabinet-responsible administration, and he submitted them to King Gojong. On October 30 of that year, King Gojong accepted these, revised the Jungchuwon, and announced the Jungchuwon regulations, but he was then attacked by Jo Byeong-sik (趙秉式), Yu Gi-hwan, and others. On November 4 an order to dissolve the Independence Club was issued, and he was arrested together with Jeong Gyo (鄭喬), Nam Gung-eok (南宮檍), and fifteen others.
Because the Independence Club held the Mass Joint Assembly and staged protests, on November 10 he was released after receiving forty strokes of the taeg (笞). Afterwards, he led the Mass Joint Assembly in demanding the implementation of the Six Articles and confronted the Hwanguk Association. However, at the end of 1898 the Independence Club was dissolved by conservatives who relied on the Hwanguk Hyeop-hoe, a political organization of peddlers. On December 25 of that year, after the Independence Club was dissolved due to government repression and interference from the Hwanguk Association, he abandoned all official posts and returned to the countryside.
기독교에 귀의
Seo Jae-pil emigrated to the United States, and Yun Chi-ho devoted himself to his career as an official. But he refused government office and impeached the corruption and abuses of corrupt officials and the tacit approval of the internal government. On November 4, 1899, most of the leaders of the Independence Club were arrested by soldiers sent by the conservative faction, and the Independence Club was dissolved.
In 1902, when the Gaehyeokdang Incident occurred, in which many reform-minded figures were detained or fled to Japan, he was arrested in June of that year together with his second son Yi Seung-in (李承仁) and suffered imprisonment. His son Seung-in was tortured at that time and died after his release from prison due to complications from the torture. While in prison, he read the Bible given to him by Yi Seung-man and resolved to become a Christian. According to the youth Christian magazine Saebyeok Nara (published by Duranno), Yi Sang-jae was moved by the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, which says to love even one's enemies.
Immediately after his release, he went down to Jongji-ri, Hansan-myeon, Seocheon County, in his hometown of Chungcheong Province, established a church, and dedicated the "Thatched House Church" (초갓집교회) sanctuary. The Thatched House Church was later rebuilt as a modern new building in the 1970s.
In February 1904, Yi Sang-jae was granted a special pardon and released. Afterwards he looked after Yi Seung-man's needs in prison, and Rhee was also selected as a special envoy to be dispatched to the United States and was soon released. He became the political patron of Yi Seung-man, whom he had met through the Independence Club, the Mass Joint Assembly, and the YMCA, and later, when Rhee studied in the United States, he supported and financially assisted Rhee's living expenses.
공직 사퇴와 기독교청년회 활동
After his release from prison he remained in seclusion for some time. On September 26, 1905, at the residence of Min Yeong-hwan, the commander of the imperial guard, in Jeon-dong, Seoul, an unusual banquet was held to welcome Alice Roosevelt, daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.7 Yi Sang-jae also attended this banquet with great expectations. The guest of honor was Alice, daughter of the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt at that time, accompanied by Bae Bin, the naval admiral Train, and Congressman Cabin, a naval lieutenant general to whom Alice was engaged. In Korea, in addition to Min Yeong-hwan, many anti-Japanese, pro-American figures took part, including Yi Jun, Yi Sang-jae, Yi Yong-ik, Yun Chi-ho, and the American Hulbert (Heulbeoteu), editor of the Korean Review, who was wielding a pen against Japan in Seoul.7 They asked Alice to persuade her father, the president, to act as a bridge, and Alice readily agreed on the condition that a special envoy bearing the emperor's royal letter would be sent.7
Yi Sang-jae, a leader of the YMCA who had built ties with Christianity and the Enlightenment Party, believed that the maritime civilized nations across the sea would help Korea's freedom and liberation. However, when he heard about the Taft–Katsura agreement from his disciple Yi Seung-man and his friend Yun Chi-ho, Yi Sang-jae was greatly disillusioned with the United States. After the Eulsa Treaty was forcibly concluded in 1905, he was summoned by King Gojong. However, although he stated that he had no attachment to office, he could not refuse King Gojong's earnest plea for help, so he remained as a councillor (參贊) of the Uijeongbu. In 1907 he was approached by the Minister of Justice but declined, and after the disbandment of the army he resigned from office.
After the annexation of Korea by Japan in August 1910, he resigned from all public posts. After the annexation he took up educational and enlightenment activities, and he urged young people to gain insight, build their abilities, study abroad, and travel to observe other countries.
Shortly after the annexation, at the Joseon Art Exhibition held by the Governor-General's Office, he was unexpectedly chosen as chairman of the Joseon Art Exhibition. In his greeting he said, "Your Excellency should move to Tokyo." When the new novelModanbong described the Sino-Japanese War and portrayed a Japanese armymilitary surgeon as a benevolent benefactor who treated Okryeon, a orphan separated from her mother, and even adopted her, the novelist Yi In-jik, who had a strong pro-Japanese inclination, expressed doubt about this. Yi Sang-jae then retorted, "Aren't you ahead of the game in the ruin of the nation? If you move to Japan, won't Japan be ruined?" It is said that no one could answer his satire and ridicule.
Immediately after the annexation of Korea by Japan, he refrained from all public activities and devoted himself to journalism, writing, the YMCA, and missionary activities.
YMCA 활동과 선교 활동
In 1913 the Governor-General's Office, wary of the expansion of the YMCA, mobilized the collaborationist organization Yusinhoe (維新會) to try to destroy the Christian Youth Association, and as a result, its leaders were expelled, imprisoned, deported abroad, or forced into overseas exile. The government supported the stay of Yi Seung-man, who had left the country, in the United States with a scholarship, and also urged Yun Chi-ho to leave the country. However, Yun, whose elderly parents were still alive, hesitated to leave.
Nevertheless, in 1913 he took office as General Secretary of the Hwangseong YMCA, and amid the defections, arrests, and expulsions of its leaders, he kept the YMCA's name alive together with Yun Chi-ho and defended the youth association. In 1914, the Japan Korea YMCA, along with the Severance, Paichai, and Kyungshin school YMCAs, the Hanyoung Seowon in Kaesong, the Sungil YMCA in Gwangju, the YMCA Federation in Gunsan, the YMCA Shinheung in Jeonju, and the YMCA Federation in Gongju, joined the student YMCAs and merged with the Hwangseong Christian Youth Association to form the National Federation of Korean Christian Youth Associations. This became the cradle of the Korean YMCA.
He steadily took part in enlightenment movements centered on the Hwangseong Christian Youth Association, which reflected the fact that in the 1920s the Korean Christian community was engaged in social participation focused on enlightenment movements. The Korean Christian Youth Association (YMCA) played an important role in the March 1 Movement, and he too was singled out as a related figure and detained for six months, but he was released for lack of evidence. He served as the first president of the Korean Boy Scout Federation's predecessor, the Sonyeon Cheokdan Joseon General Federation, and as president of the Chosun Ilbo, carrying out various social movements. However, on March 1, 1919, he refused a request from the Thirty-Three National Representatives to sign the Declaration of Independence of Korea.
청년들과의 교유
Afterwards he took office as the second General Secretary of the YMCA Youth Association.8 Because he entered Christianity late in life, he carried out the youth association movement together with young people. Even in 1927, the year of his death, he served as the first president of the Singanhoe, an independence movement organization formed by the moderate right (non-compromising nationalism) and the left (socialism), and he continued to carry on vigorous Christian social activities until the end. Because of his humorous and bright personality, he was called "Eternal Youth" (만년청년). Conservatives at the time complained about his behavior, saying, "An old man of your age should keep up appearances," but Yi Sang-jae himself said, "I must become a young man; I cannot tell the young to become old," and he did not stop interacting with young people. Moreover, although he himself lived in a rented room, he was so devoted to developing young people as the leaders of the next generation that he would pay the tuition of a struggling student working his way through school.
기독교인으로서의 기독교 비판
Thus, although Yi Sang-jae had a generous and cheerful personality, he criticized injustice without reservation. As an example, in 1923 Yi Sang-jae gave a speech before Western Protestant missionaries in which he criticized the white supremacy of the missionaries, which was the cause of the conflict between missionaries and Korean believers in the Korean Protestant church at that time.
He foresaw that the arrogance and self-righteousness of some Protestant missionaries and church members would cause social division and conflict, and he advised that they should try to embrace one another with the tolerance and love of the Christian spirit. His foresight proved correct: in the early 1920s, when socialism was introduced into Korea in earnest, sharp conflicts emerged between the majority of Christians and the socialist and communist forces of Marxism–Leninism orientation. Socialists criticized Christianity as the opium of the people (narcotic, painkiller) and superstition, while the Christian community treated the socialists who criticized them as if they were Satan, with whom no dialogue or cooperation was possible. However, a small number of Christians advocated Christian socialism, which sought common ground between Christianity and socialism, and thereby considered cooperation and dialogue between socialism and Christianity. Some, like Yeo Un-hyeong (Monyang), who clearly recognized the limits of Christian social movements, converted to socialism.(Walking in Christian Socialism / by Lee Deok-ju / Hongsungsa)
교육, 강연 활동
However, after the March 1 Movement he was singled out as the instigator of the independence demonstrations and imprisoned, but he was soon released. At that time, the Japanese prosecutor Kamiuchi (上內) prepared various instruments of torture and tried to persuade him during interrogation, but he refused.9 When Prosecutor Kamiuchi laid out the torture instruments, he stated his intention to torture him unless he confessed without resistance. Then he shouted loudly.
Hearing these words, Prosecutor Kamiuchi thought of his elderly father in his hometown and did not dare to strike him.9 The Governor-General's police pressed him about his involvement in the March 1 Demonstrations, but he feigned ignorance, and since there was no particular evidence against him, he was released.
In 1920 he was elected chairman of the Korean Christian Youth Association Federation and was installed as advisor to the Joseon Central Christian Youth Association. Afterwards that same year, he was elected honorary General Secretary of the YMCA or chairman of the national federation. In 1920, when a delegation of American congressmen visited Korea, he took charge of YMCA activities such as the "second independence movement," the Product Promotion Movement, the Boy Scout movement, and the student youth association movement, and he attended various lectures, debates, Sunday courses, rural movements, and regional lecture tours.
In September 1920, there was a man named Gwon Seong-yeong (權聖英) in Yeongju County, North Gyeongsang Province. His wife had been extremely filial, and when her mother-in-law died she made food offerings (sangsik) morning and evening.10 Then, after her husband became a believer in the Jesus Church (Korean Protestantism entered Korea under the name 야소교, a transliteration of "Jesus"), he interpreted the words of Scripture strictly and claimed that morning and evening food offerings were superstition, and he strictly forbade them. His wife pleaded with him and tried to persuade him, but he never listened, so she decided that it was her filial duty to atone for her lack of filial piety with her own death, and she took her own life.10
At that time, Christians interpreted the Bible literally, and they considered even bowing to their parents' ancestral tablets, as well as bowing to living parents once a year at New Year's, to be idolatry. This was because they considered it a violation of the Ten Commandments, which say "You shall have no other gods before me."10 Because of this, the Confucian opposition to Christianity continued, claiming that the Western superstition would turn Korea into a society of beasts, and socialists also concentrated their attacks on the exclusiveness and blind faith of Christianity. The Governor-General's Office, which wanted to destroy the Christian organizations, which had such strong national consciousness that even Presbyterian elder Namgang Yi Seung-hun took part among the Thirty-Three National Representatives, either encouraged the attacks on Christianity or stood by and watched.
The incident was widely reported in the newspapers. On September 1, the Dong-a Ilbo10 published an article titled "Unreasonable Victim of Christianity: Husband Believed in Jesus and Abolished Food Offerings, Wife Died in His Place." After this, criticism of established churches, especially of missionaries, rained down in society.11 As anti-Christian demonstrations and protests spread, he explained that the essence of Christianity was not a rejection of honoring one's parents or paying respect to ancestors.11
이상재 선생의 의견
When the situation had reached this point, a reporter of the Dong-a Ilbo came to the YMCA headquarters to hear the reaction of the Christian community, and Wolnam was visited. Wolnam was greatly shocked and stated his opinion according to his own convictions.11 He said that Christianity does not reject filial piety, and that for a person who has not become a true human being, nothing changes merely because he professes faith.
Dong-a Ilbo welcomed his remarks and published an editorial titled "Ancestral Rites and Idol Worship: Joseon's Ancestral Rites Do Not Violate Monotheism." Meanwhile, Christian fundamentalism-oriented Protestant churches and missionaries treated Yi Sang-jae as a deserving target of censure, since in their view he honored ancestral rites, which they considered idol worship, as an expression of filial piety.12 At this time, Elder Park Seung-bong thoroughly examined the question of ancestral rites in Christianity, even writing a commentary on the Book of Leviticus of the Old Testament. He went further, arguing that Confucianism had been finished since the time of Zhou Dunyi and the Cheng brothers, and he criticized the ancestral rite views of Neo-Confucianism.12 Yi Sang-jae's remarks caused a great stir in the churches and in society, and he succeeded in calming the anti-Christian mood and mediating the situation.
Later life
Private university movement and missionary work
In 1922, he founded the Joseon Education Association and assumed its presidency. In the early 1920s, he took part in the movement to establish a private university, and together with Han Gyu-seol, Yun Chi-so and others, became one of the sponsors of the movement to establish a private university.13 Afterward, it developed into the private university founding association. In March 1922, he was elected to the central executive committee. In 1922, Yi Sang-jae, together with Yi Seung-hun, Yun Chi-ho, Kim Byeong-ro, Kim Sung-soo and others, took the lead, secured 1,170 sponsors, launched the private university founding association, and conducted fundraising activities.13 However, the private university establishment movement was thwarted by Japanese obstruction.
In 1922, he led a YMCA delegation including Shin Heung-woo, Yi Dae-wi, Kim Hwal-lan, Kim Pil-rye and others to the conference of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) held in Beijing. There he persuaded and appealed to YMCA representatives from various countries to allow the Korean YMCA to join the international YMCA federation independently. He also negotiated with the Japanese YMCA delegation so that the Korean YMCA could join the international YMCA on its own and participate independently in international YMCA events, thereby laying the groundwork for the Korean YMCA's admission to the international YMCA. In 1923, he became the first president of the Boy Scouts (Sonyeon Yeonhap Cheokhodae: Boy Scouts), and guided the Product Encouragement Movement, the temperance movement, the local evangelism movement, and the Changmun Sa movement. In 1924, he assumed the presidency of Chosun Ilbo, but soon resigned.
In February 1925, he attended the graduation ceremony of Paichai Higher Common School, a Methodisthigh school where his grandson Hong-jik studied. After Korean staff read the congratulatory addresses of the Governor-General of Korea and the Japanese governor of Gyeonggi Province on their behalf, he was called to read a congratulatory address as representative of the guests. He read it in Hangul, saying, "Everyone, do you understand Korean? I don't know Japanese, so I will speak in Korean."14
Election as Singanhoe president and death
On April 15, 1925, when the first national journalists' conference was held, he was elected chairman. On February 15, 1927, when nationalists, socialists, communists and leaders from various fields who transcended ideological differences gathered to form Singanhoe, he was elected its president. Yi Sang-jae was bedridden at the time, but accepted the post of president of Singanhoe.
In his later years, he suffered from old age and from edema caused by peripheral nerve problems. On March 19, 1927, he fell into a coma and then regained consciousness.
Having no property, he moved from one rented room to another. On March 29, 1927, he died of illness in a rented room in Gyeongseong, at the age of 78. Having moved from rental to rental, he owned no property, and at his death he left debts of 27 sacks of rice. These debts were repaid through fundraising efforts by Yun Chi-ho, Syngman Rhee, Kim Sung-soo, Ahn Chang-ho, Song Jin-woo and others. He was also unfortunate in his family life: three of his sons died before him, and only his fourth son, Seung-jun, attended him at his death.
A memorial stone praising his virtues was erected in Jongji-ri, Hansan-myeon, his hometown. After liberation, in 1956, by a special instruction from PresidentSyngman Rhee, the Brief Biography of Mr. Yi Sang-jae was published by the Office of Public Information.
Whenever he saw Koreans addressing one another as "Kim-ssi" or "Park-ssi" in the Japanese fashion, or as "Mister Kim" and "Mister Park" in the American fashion, he was very displeased. Why, he asked, did Koreans not address one another in their own native language and customs, but merely imitate the Japanese and Americans?15
At a gathering of many people, there were some who imitated foreign fashions. Yi Sang-jae suddenly spoke up and said, "These days, for some reason, there are many commoners and many madmen." Those who heard this were bewildered, not understanding what he meant.15
These days, for some reason, there are many commoners and many madmen. Those who knew a little Japanese began calling themselves "Kim-sang-nom" (Mr. Kim, the commoner) and "Park-sang-nom" (Mr. Park, the commoner), and now that American fashion has come in, some people say "Mad Mr. Kim" and "Mad Mr. Park"!
Only then did the audience understand his meaning and burst into laughter.15 Having been one of the Enlightenment Party, he opposed blind preservation of the status quo. He pointed out that the fall of the Korean Empire was caused by its rejection of new civilization and its implementation of the isolation policy. His conviction was that one should preserve what is ours while accepting what is good in foreign things.
Evaluation
Full of satire and wit, he refined a harsh social atmosphere with a high level of humor, and he checked the brutal aggression and injustice of Japan with sharp satire and aphorisms. As evidence, the biography of Yi Sang-jae published by Gyemongsa contains examples showing that he was a wit who resisted unjust realities through satire and aphorisms. When Yi Sang-jae accompanied the Sinsa Observation Mission, the Japanese displayed guns and swords to show their power, and he quoted Jesus' words to refute the militarism of the Roman Empire: "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword" (Gospel of Matthew 26:52). To the Eulsa Five Traitors, he delivered a stinging rebuke: "Gentlemen, go to Japan. You have a talent for ruining your own country."
Seo Jae-pil, upon hearing of Wolnam's death, wrote in a contribution to Chosun Ilbo: "He was a giant, and I could not help but be impressed by his extraordinary eloquence and upright spirit."16Song Jin-woo, former president of Dong-a Ilbo, said, "His satirical humor surpassed Dongbangsak, and in times of sorrow he brings to mind Qu Yuan," and commented, "He worried for the nation and did not worry for himself; his hair was white, but his heart was red." Yun Chi-ho said, "He personally showed how a person ought to live."
Kim Dong-gil, an educator and politician, highly praised his "frankness and lack of pretense."17 According to Kim Dong-gil, "I believe that Wolnam Yi Sang-jae stood out as a giant of his era because he was frank in all matters, free of pretense, and always showed things as they were in a natural way."17
Anecdotes
According to the testimony of independence activist Yi Won-sun, he advocated joy shared between old and young, and he liked to race with young people and play baduk and janggi. When he saw students playing baduk or janggi, he always liked to offer advice, and if someone seemed about to lose, he would have them give up their seat so that he could win on their behalf, laughing heartily with a face that looked like that of a rosy-cheeked youth.18
When Yi Sang-jae went on lecture tours and Christian missionary activities, military police and policemen dispatched by the Government-General of Korea came in to monitor him and watch the content of his lectures. At one lecture in winter, he exclaimed that the forsythia flowers had bloomed. At that time, the uniforms of the policemen and military police were yellow, and he had taken note of this: "Gae" (dog) meant they wore yellow uniforms, and "Nari" (lily) was a mockery of the military police.
Immediately after the annexation of Korea, a certain prominent figure voluntarily changed his name to a Japanese one, Ito (伊東). Upon hearing of this name change, Yi Sang-jae went to that person's house gate and relieved himself there. When that person protested to Yi Sang-jae, he ridiculed him as a man like this excrement and left.
Japan YMCA incident
In early spring of 1911, the Japanese YMCA invited Wolnam. Although it professed to promote friendship between Korean and Japanese Christians, it contained within it a political scheme to break his will to pursue independence. Wolnam and his party, having traveled to Japan, were treated with great courtesy and toured famous scenic and historic sites. One evening, they attended a banquet hosted by the Prime Minister. Attending the banquet were the Prime Minister and the other ministers. At the end of the banquet, the Prime Minister asked the most ordinary and common-looking Wolnam to share his views.19 Responding, Wolnam left the following famous words.19
Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang
Around 1918, Suju Byeon Yeong-ro, then a student in the middle school division of the YMCA, was walking along Jongno Street with friends instead of attending class, when someone behind them called out, "Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang, Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang," using his father's name. Turning around, he saw Yi Sang-jae calling out and following them.15Byeon Yeong-ro was displeased and waited until Yi Sang-jae came up.15
Byeon Yeong-ro protested to him: "Sir, are you not senile? You cannot tell father from son. Even though my father is your friend, where in the street is it proper to call someone by name?"20 Hearing this, Yi Sang-jae said, "You fool. Then are you not Mr. Byeon Jeong-sang's son? Your spirit is quite enough."20
According to him, you must keep the dignity befitting the Byeon family's lineage, and since you are Koreans, you must have the spirit of your lineage; this was his teaching, delivered half in jest.20