Colonel Prince Yi U (15 November 1912 – 7 August 1945) was a member of the
imperial family of Korea as a prince, the 4th head of
Unhyeon Palace, and a lieutenant colonel in the
Imperial Japanese Army during
World War II. He was killed during the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Biography
He was born the second son of
Prince Kang, the fifth son of
Emperor Gojong.
At the age of five, he was adopted to be the heir of deceased
Prince Yeongseon, the 3rd head of Unhyeon Palace and the only son of the elder brother of
Emperor Gojong,
Prince Hui. He was taken to Japan shortly afterwards under the pretense of educational purposes.
However, unlike his elder brother,
Prince Geon, he maintained his identity as a Korean, despite his Japanese education. This made him the favorite son of his father, Prince Kang, who himself attempted to escape from Korea to join the exiled Korean government. He overcame all attempts by the Japanese to marry him off to a minor Japanese noble, and married
Lady
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...
Park Chan-ju
Park Chan-ju (박찬주, 朴贊珠) (11 December 1914 – 13 July 1995), was the spouse of Prince Yi U of Korea.
She was a granddaughter of Marquis Park Yeong-hyo, who was a son-in-law of King Cheoljong of Joseon as a husband of Princess Yeongh ...
of the Bannam Park clan, a granddaughter of
Marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
Pak Yung-hio who was a husband of Princess Yŏnghye of Korea. They had two children,
Yi Cheong
Yi Cheong (born 23 April 1936) is a member of the former Imperial Family of Korea and was a Korean-Japanese noble during Korea under Japanese rule in 1945–1947. He is a great-great-grandson of Heungseon Daewongun and the eldest son of Yi U ...
and Yi Jong.
Prince Yi served in the
Japanese Army
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...
and was stationed in China. Commissioned a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
on 25 October 1933, he was promoted to lieutenant on 25 October 1935, to captain on 1 March 1938, to
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
on 15 October 1941 and to
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
on 10 June 1945.
Death
Prince U was transferred to
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
in 1945, and on 6 August 1945, he was mortally injured by
the atomic bomb blast on the way to his office, and died later that day at a medical aid station. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of
colonel. On August 8,
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
Lieutenant Colonel Yoshinari Hiroshi (吉成 弘) committed suicide on account of not being able to save Prince Yi.
Thereafter his body was moved to Korea and was buried in Heungwon on 15 August 1945, the day the war ended.
Popular culture
* Portrayed by
Go Soo
Go Soo (born October 4, 1978), also known as Ko Soo, is a South Korean actor. He has appeared in television series such as ''Piano'', ''Green Rose'' and ''Will It Snow for Christmas?'', as well as the films '' White Night'' and '' The Front Line' ...
in the 2016 film ''
The Last Princess''.
See also
*
Korea under Japanese rule
Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...
*
Korean Imperial Household
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, U
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Hibakusha
House of Yi
Korean nobility
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Japanese nobility
1912 births
1945 deaths
Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II
Deaths by airstrike during World War II
Imperial Japanese Army officers
Deaths by American airstrikes