Yi Cheong (born 23 April 1936) is a member of the former

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

of Korea and was a Korean-Japanese noble during

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 ...

in 1945–1947. He is a great-great-grandson of Heungseon Daewongun and the eldest son of

Yi U 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

was defeated during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945; as the result, a new Japanese constitution was revised, in which Japanese nobility status was invalid since 1947, making Yi Cheong lost his nobility titles. He later graduated from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in the United States. In 2006, based on multiple historical sources including the Journal of the Royal Secretariat, Yi Cheong published a 4-volume compilation about the history of his ancestor, Heungseon Daewongun.

Biography

Born on April 23, 1936, 16:38 in the Tokyo residence from

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by ...

of the

, he is the eldest son of Duke

and Duchess

; he was later named, on April 29 of the same year, "Ri Sei" (リセイ) in Japanese and "Yi Cheong" (이청) in Korean. Yi U was the second son of Prince Yi Kang and the heir to

Yi Jun-yong Yi Junyong (Hangul: 이준용, Hanja: 李埈鎔), known as Prince Yeongseon (영선군, 永善君) (23 July 1870 – 22 March 1917) was a politician, thinker, and member of the Korean Joseon Dynasty's royal family, politicians, and later became ...

, and Park Chan-ju was 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, the son-in-law of

King Cheoljong of Joseon Cheoljong of Joseon (25 July 1831 – 16 January 1864) was the 25th king of the Joseon, reigning from 1849 to 1864. After Heonjong of Joseon died without male heir in 1849, Queen Sunwon chose Cheoljong, aged 19, to be the next king, as the heir t ...

. In 1942, as a member of noble family, Yi Cheong enrolled in Gakushuin; as of 1944, he returned to Keijō (now

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 ...

of Korea) and resided in his ancestral home,

Unhyeongung Unhyeongung (), also known as Unhyeongung Royal Residence, is a former Korean royal residence located at 114-10 Unni-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea. It was formerly the residence of the Heungseon Daewongun a prince regent of Korea during the Joseo ...

.《흥선대원군과 운현궁 사람들》
On August 7, 1945, Yi Cheong's father, Yi U, was killed by the atomic bomb Little Boy during his way to work in

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 ...

; as his heir, Yi Cheong succeeded his title as Duke Yi Cheong (李淸公) three days later. After the

, a series of nobility titles within Japan were abolished, including ''

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 ' ...

'' and Korean nobles, Yi Cheong lost his title in 1947 became a commoner ever since; around the same time, the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

was founded. A law was legislated regarding the property of the former Imperial family and many of which was confiscated, but after the negotiation by Park Chan-ju, Yi Cheong and his family were allowed to own Unhyeongung, which was returned in 1948, based on the fact that the origin of Unhyeongung was the private residence of Heungseon Daewongun and his family. Under their procession, nevertheless, the scale of current Unhyeongung is much smaller than it used to be, because parts of the land were sold in decades, for various reasons including debt settlement and road expansion. During the tenure of President

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

in 1950s, since Yi Cheong and Rhee are both from the Jeonju Yi clan and the latter was childless, Rhee asked to adopt Yi Cheong after they met, but this proposal was refused by the family of Unhyeongung. In 1954, Yi Cheong went to

Kyunggi High School Kyunggi High School () is the oldest modern high school in Korea, located in Gangnam District, Seoul. The school is an all-boys school, and its counterpart is , also located in Gangnam District, Seoul. Kyunggi High School has educated many lead ...

and later, in 1960, he acquired the decree from the Department of Civil Engineering of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On December 25, 1966, Yi Cheong's younger brother, Yi Jong, passed away in a traffic accident during his study career in the United States, making Yi Cheong the only remaining issue of his family. Since his graduation, Yi Cheong worked as an engineer in H.T. Spoden & Associates in 1960-64 and Boss H. Bryan, a united design office, in 1965-69; both were in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He also became a postgraduate in

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

for a year in 1970. As of 1974, he became the vice president of Dongwon Engineering Consultant Ltd. and he returned to Korea in 1991. In 1993, due to inability to maintain Unhyeongung, Yi Cheong and his mother decided to sell the palace to the municipal government of

, and he moved to

Bugahyeon-dong Bugahyeon-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Seodaemun-gu in Seoul, South Korea. See also *Administrative divisions of South Korea South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities (''gwangyeoksi'' ...

in Seodaemun District and later to

Pyeongchang-dong Pyeongchang-dong is a ''dong (neighbourhood), dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. Sometimes called the "Beverly Hills of Seoul" (a title shared with but more prominently held by the Gangnam District), due to it being a pref ...

. As of 1994, he was hired as a lecturer in Yonsei University as well as a visiting professor in the College of Business Administration of University of Seoul since 1998; he was a former member of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE) and Architectural Institute of Korea. In 2007, the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property (ICJCP), a Korean government institute existed in 2006-10, announced that Prince Imperial Heung and his son,

(both were Yi Cheong's adoptive ancestors), were both chinilpa, as they were the Korean Imperial representatives and they agreed to sign 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 ...

. As a response, Yi Cheong appealed a judicial case, asking to undo the decision and claiming that the act was unconstitutional; the court eventually announced that the plaintiff lost the case. After selling Unhyeongung, Yi Cheong still continues to donate relics and lands from his family. In 2007, he gave more than 8,000 artifacts to the

Seoul Museum of History Seoul Museum of History is a history museum located in Sinmunno 1 ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Seoul was the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, and the Museum depicts the evolution from its prehistoric period to the city it is today. It illu ...

; in 2018, the cemetery of Heungseon Daewongun, covered an area of 2,555

square metre The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter (American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square w ...

s, and its surrounding lands of 129,935 square metres were given to Gyeonggi Province; they would cost 5.2 billion

South Korean won The Korean Republic won, unofficially the South Korean won ( Symbol: ₩; Code: KRW; Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used f ...

(approximately $4.33 million) if the land were to be sold. For appreciation, the municipal government gave him a plaque as recognition.

Family

*Great-great-grandfather: Heungseon Daewongun (1820-1898) *Great-great-grandmother: Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok (1818-1898), the eldest daughter of Min Chigu from the Yeoheung Min clan. **Great-grandfather (adoptive): Yi Jae-myeon, Prince Imperial Heung (1845-1912), the heir to Heungseon Daewongun; he became the Duke Yi Hui (李熹公) in 1910. **Great-grandmother (adoptive): Lady Hong of Pungsan (1844-1887), daughter of Hong Byeong-ju and the first wife of Yi Jae-myeon. **Great-grandmother (adoptive): Lady Yi of Yeoju, later the Princess Imperial Heung (1883-1978); her father was Yi Yingu and she was the second wife of Yi Jae-myeon. She became the Duchess Consort of Yi Hui (李熹公妃李氏) in 1910. ***Grandfather (adoptive):

(Prince Yeongseon, 1870-1917), heir to Duke Yi Hui and succeeded the title in 1912 as Duke Yi Jun (李埈公). ***Grandmother (adoptive): Lady Hong of the Namyang Hong clan (1870-1897), daughter of Hong Jong-seok and the first wife of Yi Jun-yong. ***Grandmother (adoptive): Lady Kim of Guangsan (1878-1955), daughter of Kim Jae-jeong and the second wife of Yi Jun-yong. She became the Duchess Consort of Yi Jun (李埈公妃金氏) in 1912. **Great-grandfather (biological):

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 ...

(1852-1919), the 26th king of

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 ...

and the 1st emperor of the

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 ...

. **Great-grandmother (biological): Lady Jang of the Deoksu Jang clan, a lady-in-waiting of Gojong and his unofficial concubine.덕수장씨족보 德水張氏族譜
(Page 548-550) ***Grandfather (biological): Prince Yi Kang (1877-1955), the second son of Gojong. ***Grandmother (biological): Kim Heung-in, a concubine of Yi Kang; also known as "Lady Kim of Suindang" (修仁堂金氏, 수인당 김씨). ****Father:

(1912-1945), by birth the second son of Yi Kang. He became the heir to Duke Yi Jun in 1917 and succeeded the title in the same year. ****Mother:

(1914-1995), a granddaughter of Marquis Pak Yung-hio and the eldest daughter of Park Il-seo; she married in 1935 and became the Duchess Consort of Yi U (李鍝公妃賛珠). *****Spouse: Kim Chae-yeong (1949-), married in 1971. Their issue includes at least a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Cheong House of Yi 1936 births Living people Korea under Japanese rule Korean nobility Japanese nobility People from Tokyo