Hong Yi-sup

Hong Yi-sup (Korean: 홍이섭; Hanja: 洪以燮; Korean pronunciation: [hoŋ.i.sʌp̚]; December 6, 1914 – March 4, 1974) was a historian from South Korea. Hong has contributed to studies on Korean history, the history of Silhak, and the intellectual history of Korea. One of his notable books is The History of Science in Joseon (조선과학사, 1944), which is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the Joseon period's scientific advances. It was first published in the Japanese language in Tokyo, Japan, in 1944. The History of Science in Joseon was later translated into Korean and published by Jeongeumsa (정음사) in 1946. Hong is also known for his book, History of Korea (1970), which was written collaboratively with Pow-key Sohn and Chol-choon Kim and funded by the Korean National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This book has been widely used as a comprehensive source for studying Korean history around the world. Hong later translated History of Korea (1970) into Korean and later published Korean Modern History (한국근대사, 1975). Hong contributed to diverse areas of Korean history during the colonial period through his research. He established a foundation for the studies of the history of Korean science and provided a new perspective that helped overcome the misrepresented history of Korean that stemmed from the Japanese colonial period. Through his works, he wanted to depict the true Korean history to the public that resisted the colonial Japanese gaze and criticized the distorted history of Korea written by Japan, which justified Japanese colonialism in Korea.