Song Byeong-jun (

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n:송병준,

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

:宋秉畯, August 20, 1857 – February 1, 1925) was a

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

politician, noted for his role in the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, was made by representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire on 22 August 1910. In this treaty, Japan formally annexed Korea following the Jap ...

. His clan was the Eunjin Song clan. His

literary name A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

was Jeam (제암;濟庵).

Biography

Song was born in

Changjin County Changjin County is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. Geography Changjin lies on the Rangrim Mountains, Rangrim and Pujonryong Mountains, Pujŏllyong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to ...

of Hamgyong Province in what is now

South Hamgyong Province South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kore ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. He was an eighth-generation descendant of the famous Neo-confucian philosopher Song Si-yeol, albeit from an illegitimate line as his mother was a Kisaeng. Despite the handicap of his birth, he passed the Korean Imperial Examination in 1871 and obtained a post at the Board of Examination in 1873. Following the failure of the Gapsin Coup of 1884, he went to Japan intending to assassinate Enlightenment Party leader Kim Ok-gyun, but was instead won over to the pro-reform movement by Kim and his followers. On his return to Korea, Song was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the Enlightenment Party, and although soon released, he continue to face ongoing official harassment, and returned to Japan again, where he adopted the Japanese name of . Song returned to Korea in 1904 as an interpreter for the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. He was one of the founders of the ''

Iljinhoe The Iljinhoe (一進會; 일진회) was a nationwide organization in Korea formed on August 8, 1904. A Japanese record states the number of party members was about 800,000, but another survey record by the Japanese Resident-General of Korea in 19 ...

,'' a pro-Japanese political society promoting the merger of Korea and Japan, and which was instrumental in bringing about the

. From 1907, he served as Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry in the last cabinet of Emperor Gojong. Following the annexation of Korea, Song was awarded the Japanese ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage title of viscount (''shishaku'') and a seat in the House of Peers of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

. He later served on the Central Advisory Institute of the

Government-General of Korea Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, and his title was subsequently raised to count (''hakushaku''). Under the ''

Special law to redeem pro-Japanese collaborators' property The special law to redeem pro-Japanese collaborators' property (Hanja: 親日反民族行為者財產의國家歸屬에關한特別法, literally "''Special Law for the Nationalization of Pro-Japanese Race Traitors' Assets''") is a special South ...

'' enacted in 2005, the property of the descendants of nine people who had collaborated when Korea was annexed by Japan was confiscated by the Korean government.

Honours

Order of the Taegeuk Order of the Taegeuk was an order of chivalry of the Korean Empire that was given to military or civil officials. It was divided into eight classes. It was part of the establishments of orders on 17 April 1900. From 22 April 1900, order of the taege ...

1st Class on 25 October 1907

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Byeong-jun 1857 births 1925 deaths People from Changjin County Kazoku Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan Korean politicians 19th-century Korean people 20th-century Korean people Song clan of Eunjin Officials of the Korean Empire Traitors in history Politicians of the Korean Empire