Yi Jae-gak (; 4 April 1874 – 11 May 1935) was a member of the Imperial house of the Korean Empire and an official of

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

. After the annexation of Korea, he was ennobled as Marquess.

Biography

Yi Jae-gak was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

as a member of

Jeonju Yi clan The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their Bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the former House of Yi which ruled the Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire. Their founder was Yi Han (). His des ...

. His father, Yi Sung-ung, was grandson of

Crown Prince Sado Crown Prince Sado (Hangul: 사도세자, Hanja: 思悼世子; 13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762), personal name Yi Seon (Hangul: 이선, Hanja: 李愃), was the second son of King Yeongjo of Joseon. His biological mother was Royal Noble ...

. Passing the Gwageo literary exam in 1891, Yi was posted to Seungjeongwon as a Ga Juseo. On 16 November 1897, Yi was appointed as 3rd class member of the Junchuwon; on September 21 1899, Yi was ennobled as Uiyang Dojeong (義陽都正), and on 19 November 1899, Yi was ennobled as Prince Uiyang (義陽君). Being appointed as Special official of the

Gungnaebu Gungnaebu (literally "Department of the Royal Household") was a Korean government office in charge of affairs related to the royal household of the late period of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. In the government organization during the Joseon Dynas ...

and Senior Imperial Appointee (4th grade), Yi resided in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from 22 June 1902 to 2 July 1902. While in Britain, he participated in the Coronation of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. After visiting, he met

Gojong of Korea Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

and reported about his journey. He reported Gojong about the

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. After returning to Korea, Yi was appointed as the director of the Artillery in Ministry of Military, contributing to the modernization of the army. When Japan became the victor of 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 ...

, Yi was sent to Japan to celebrate the victory, and stayed in Japan for 1 month. While in Japan, he received the

Order of the Paulownia Flowers The is an order presented by the Japanese government. Established in 1888 during the Meiji Restoration as the highest award in the Order of the Rising Sun; however, since 2003 it has been an Order in its own right. The only grade of the order ...

. In March 1905, Yi received

Order of the Plum Blossom The Order of the Plum Blossom (also called as Order of the Ehwa) was the Order of chivalry of the Korean Empire. It was the third highest order of Korean Empire. History Order of the Plum Blossom was the part of the establishment of orders in 1 ...

for his diplomatic careers. On 24 April 1905, Yi was appointed as the first president of

Korean Red Cross The Republic of Korea National Red Cross (more commonly known as the Korean Red Cross) is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside South Korea. It is the designated South Korean aff ...

. On 21 July 1906, Yi got removed from his office as the president of the Korean Red Cross. In January 1907, Yi was appointed as Special official of

. On 21 January 1907, Yi awarded

Order of the Auspicious Stars The Order of the Auspicious Stars was the second highest order of chivalry of the Korean Empire. It was established in 1900 with other orders by Gojong of Korea, Emperor Gojong, as part of reforms of the Korean Empire. History 1902, Gojong of Ko ...

. On 22 April 1907, he received the rank of Major General with Yun Taek-young and Yi Gi-hong. On 24 April 1907, he was again appointed as the president of the Korean Red Cross, and Yi guarded Korean Emperor during his visit to Southern Korea. He got

Order of the Golden Ruler The Order of the Golden Ruler or the Order of the Taejo was the highest Order of chivalry in the Korean Empire. It was established on 17 April 1900 by Gojong of Korea, four years after he established the Korean Empire. History In the summer of ...

on 27 August 1910. After the annexation of Korea, Yi got the title of Marquess. In 1911, Yi got 168,000 Won from the Japanese Government for the merits of annexation. On 1 August 1912, Yi got decoration for colonization of Korea from the Japanese Government. He was part of the state funeral of

. On 11 May 1935, Yi died in Keijiō.

Honours

on 25 March 1905 *

on 21 January 1907 *

on 27 August 1910 *

on 1 April 1905

Biography

Honours

References

Further reading