Yun Chi-ho

Yun Chi-ho
Yun with his family c. 1910. Yun Chi-ho is standing at the rear. His father, Yun Ung-nyeol is seated, wearing the western uniform of the Korean Empire.
Born(1864-01-23)23 January 1864
Died6 December 1945(1945-12-06) (aged 80)
Korean name
Hangul
윤치호
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYun Chi-ho
McCune–ReischauerYun Ch'iho
Art name
Hangul
좌옹
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJwaong
McCune–ReischauerChwaong
Courtesy name
Hangul
성흠, 성흠
Hanja
聖欽, 成欽
Revised RomanizationSeongheum, Seongheum
McCune–ReischauerSŏnghŭm, Sŏnghŭm

Yun Chi-ho (Korean윤치호; January 23, 1865 – December 6, 1945) was a Korean politician. His name is sometimes spelled Yun Tchi-Ho,[1] his art name was Jwaong (좌옹), and his courtesy name was Seongheum (성흠).

Yun was born a member of a prominent aristocratic (yangban) family.[2] He was the son of General Yun Ung-nyeol, who served as a minister in the Joseon government.[3] 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[2] and Emory University.[4]

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.[5] He served in various government positions. He was also an ardent Methodist Christian,[6] 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 1st Movement. As such, many recent Koreans remember him as a collaborator ("chinilpa").[7]

  1. ^ "Yun, Tchi-Ho [Chi'-ho] (1865-1945)". Boston University.
  2. ^ a b "100 Koreans Freed; But Baron Yun Chi-ho and Other Prominent Men Are Found Guilty," New York Times. March 21, 1913.
  3. ^ "Changing Sides," National Geographic. July 2003.
  4. ^ Loftus, Mary J. "A Search for Truth; Yun Chi-Ho's Legacy is Rediscovered by his Great-granddaughter," Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Emory Magazine, Vol 80, No. 1, Spring 2004.
  5. ^ Clark, Donald N. Yun Ch'i-ho (1864-1945): “Portrait of a Korean Intellectual in an Era of Transition”. Source: Occasional Papers on Korea, No. 4 (September 1975),pp 37-42, 46-50, 54-56, 57, 58
  6. ^ Chandra, Vipan. “Imperialism, Resistance, and Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Korea: Enlightenment and the Independence Club”. (1988) Regents of the University of California ISBN 0-912966-99-8, pp 89-91, 137, 172
  7. ^ Caprio, Mark (2007). "Loyal Patriot? Traitorous Collaborator? The Yun Ch'iho Diaries and the Question of National Loyalty." Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Volume 7, Number 3.