Pak Yŏnghyo (; 12 June 1861 – 21 September 1939) was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n politician from the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

period, an enlightenment activist, diplomat, and pro-Japanese collaborator. He was one of the organizers of the 1884

Kapsin Coup The Kapsin Coup, also known as the Kapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating ...

, in which progressive political elements attempted to overthrow the conservative Korean government. He become Prince Consort Geumneung through his marriage to Princess Yeonghye, King Cheoljong's daughter.

Early life and education

Pak Yŏnghyo was born in

Suwon Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...

, south of

Hanseong The region now corresponding to Seoul, South Korea has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. It has been the capital of a number of kingdoms since it was established. Prehistoric It is believed that humans were living in the area that is n ...

. He was the third son of Pak Won-yang and his mother was Lady Yi of the Jeonui Yi clan. By birth, he also had a distant connection with the Royal Family: his 7th great-grandfather was Pak Se-gyo (; 1611–1663), the only son of

King Seonjo Seonjo (; 6 December 1552 – 6 March 1608), personal name Yi Yeon (), was the 14th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was known for promoting Confucianism and attempting reforms at the beginning of his reign. However, he later gained ...

's 5th daughter, Princess Jeongan (; 1590–1660), and Pak Mi, Prince Consort Geumyang (; 1592–1645). Pak Yŏnghyo was also an adoptive 16th great-grandson of Pak Eun (박은, 朴誾; 1370–1422) who was the great-great-grandfather of

Queen Inseong Queen Inseong (; 28 October 1514 – 16 January 1578), of the Bannam Park clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Ho, King Injong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1544 until her husband's death in 1545, after ...

, wife of King Injong, and the 4th great-grandfather of

Queen Uiin Queen Uiin (; 5 May 1555 – 5 August 1600), of the Bannam Park clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the first wife and first queen consort of Yi Yeon, King Seonjo, the 14th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1569 until her ...

, first wife of

. Thus making him distant cousins with the queens. On April 3, 1872, he was chosen to be the spouse of Princess Yeonghye, the only living daughter of King Cheoljong, the 25th King of

. However, the princess passed away just three months after their wedding. Together with

Kim Okkyun Kim Okkyun (; February 23, 1851 – March 28, 1894) was a Korean scholar-bureaucrat of the late Joseon period. He was a member of the reformist Gaehwa Party. He served under King Gojong, and actively participated to advance Western European i ...

, Pak was a strong supporter of the Dongnipdang, or "Enlightenment Party", which sought to reform the government, economy, and military by incorporating Western technology and methodology, so that Korea would become stable enough to withstand increasing foreign encroachment. He accompanied Kim on his visit to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, meeting with various influential Japanese politicians, including

Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio Gijuku, the newspaper ', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ideas about the or ...

Career

He is credited with creating the first Korean national flag, in 1882.

Kapsin Coup

Pak was one of the leaders of the 1884

that attempted to overthrow the government and institute Western-style reforms. The coup attempt lasted only three days before its suppression by Chinese troops. He was forced to flee to Japan, where he initially stayed with

, before moving on to

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

Subsequent career

Following the

Japanese Occupation of Gyeongbokgung Palace The Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung Palace () or the Gabo Incident occurred on 23 July 1894, during the ceasefire of the Donghak Peasant Revolution and the beginning of the First Sino-Japanese War. Imperial Japanese forces led by Japanes ...

, Pak returned to Korea with some of his entourage, such as

Lee Kyu-wan Yi Kyuwan (; November 15, 1862 – December 15, 1946) was a politician, philosopher, and revolutionist during Korea's Joseon period. His Japanese names were Asada Ryo () and Asada Ryoichi (). In 1884, he was one of several military leaders in the ...

and

Ryu Hyeok-ro Ryu Hyeok-ro (; March 9, 1851 – May 15, 1945) was a Korean officer during the age of Late Joseon Dynasty, and Korea under Japanese rule. Life Being born as a child of a soldier of Joseon Dynasty, Ryu passed the military civil service exami ...

. Arriving Seoul on 23 August 1894, Pak requested a discursive authority to reform the country to Gojong. But because public ideas about reforms remained so negative due to the

, Pak was not able to gain great political power, and instead fled to

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

. Following the Japanese victory of Battle of Pyongyang, the Korean public started to regard Japan as the new leading power in Asia. Finally on 9 December, Pak and his allies gained political independence. Furthermore, Pak successfully managed the coup of

Heungseon Daewongun Heungseon Daewongun (; 24 January 1821 – 22 February 1898) was the title of Yi Ha-eung, the regent of Joseon during the minority of Emperor Gojong in the 1860s. Until his death, he was a key political figure of late Joseon Korea. He was also ca ...

, who was trying to make Yi Jun-yong the king. Pak gained the trust of Gojong and the Japanese minister. The Second

Kim Hong-jip Kim Hong-jip (; 1842 – February 11, 1896) was a Korean politician best known for his role as prime minister during the Kabo Reform period from 1895–1896. His name was originally Kim Goeng-jip () which he later changed to Kim Hong-jip ...

cabinet was established, and Pak was appointed as Minister of Interior. Even though Pak was not the prime minister, he gained great authority to equal that position. Pak did not enjoy being a puppet of Japan; he started to build his own political basements by appointing

as the commander of police and

as the Director of Artillery. However, Pak once asked Gojong to replace his bodyguards with Hunryeondae, which was a Japanese-influenced organization. This proposal made the king furious; the Min regime identified Pak as an enemy, forcing Pak to flee to Japan again. After the removal of Pak, the new cabinet became pro-American, Russian, and English, consisting of Bak Jeongyang,

Ye Wanyong Yi Wanyong (; 17 July 1858 – 12 February 1926), also spelled Lee Wan-yong or Ye Wan-yong, was a Korean politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Korea. He is best remembered for signing the Eulsa Treaty and the Japan–Korea Ann ...

, Yi Bum-jin, and

Min Young-hwan Min Yeong-hwan (; 7 August 1861 – 30 November 1905) was a politician, diplomat, and general of the Korean Empire and known as a conservative proponent for reform. He was born in Seoul into the powerful Yeoheung Min clan which Heungseon Dae ...

. Following the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910, in which Korea was annexed to the Empire of Japan, Pak was awarded with the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' title of marquess (''koshaku'') in the Japanese peerage, and a seat in the House of Peers in the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. He served as Director of the

Bank of Chōsen The Bank of Chōsen (, ''Joseon Eunhaeng''), known from 1909 to 1911 as the Bank of Korea ( ''Kankoku Ginkō'', ''Hanguk Eunhaeng'') and transcribed after 1945 as Bank of Joseon, was a colonial bank that served as bank of issue for Korea under J ...

in 1918, Chairman of the Korean Economic Association in 1919, first president of '' The Dong-A Ilbo'' newspaper in 1920, president of the Kyungbang Corporation, chairman of the Korea Industrialization Bank in 1921, and advisor to the

Government-General of Korea Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

's Central Institute.

Family

Pak didn't remarry due to the connections he gained through his marriage to Princess Yeonghye. Thus having him to take in 3 concubines which produced 3 illegitimate children; 1 daughter, Pak Myook, and 2 sons, Pak Chinsŏ and Pak Ilsŏ. Among Pak's granddaughters was Park Chan-ju, who was married to Prince

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 kill ...

, and was the mother of Yi Cheong. Pak Chanju's younger brother, Pak Chanbŏm (박찬범, 朴贊汎; 17 August 1917 – 23 November 1986) eventually married, and later divorced,

Yi Kang Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui (; 30 March 1877 – 15 August 1955), also known as Prince Uihwa (1891–1900) or King Ui (1900–1955) was the second son of Emperor Gojong of Korea and his concubine, Lady Jang, who was a court lady-in-waiting. I ...

's third illegitimate daughter, Yi Haech'un (이해춘; 1921–2009), and had one son Pak Hyŏngu (박형우, 朴亨雨; 1937–2012). * Father – Pak Wŏnyang (; 1804–1884) * Mother ** Biological – Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan (; 1817–1884), Pak Won-yang's third wife ** Step – Lady Yi (; 1802–?) ** Step – Lady Song (; 1803–1822) * Siblings ** Older sister – Lady Pak of the Bannam Park clan (; 1847–?) ** Older brother – Pak Yŏnggyo (; 1849–1884) ** Older brother – Pak Yŏngho (; 1852–1897) ** Older sister – Lady Pak of the Bannam Park clan (; 1858–?) * Spouse ** Princess Yeonghye (1859 – 4 July 1872) – No issue. * Concubines and their issue ** Sun Kiltang (; 1861–?) – No issue. ** Lady Pŏm (; 1865–?) *** Daughter – Pak Myook (), Lady Pak of the Bannam Park clan (; 1884–?) *** Son – Pak Hŭngwŏn (; 1895–?) ** Pak Kyŏnghŭi (; 1870–?) *** Son – Pak Chinsŏ (; 1893–?) *** Son – Pak Ilsŏ (; 1897–1931) ** Unnamed concubine (1890–?) – No issue.

Writings

* '' Sahwa giryak'' ()

Notes

References

External links

Park Young-hyo:Daum

Park Young-hyo:Korean historical People's Information

Park Young-hyo:navercast

Park Young-hyo:naver

Park Young-hyo:nate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, Yŏnghyo 1861 births 1939 deaths 19th-century Korean people Korean revolutionaries People from Suwon Politicians from Gyeonggi Province Kazoku Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Political office-holders of the Korean Empire Government officials of the Korean Empire Joseon Kazoku The Dong-A Ilbo people Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan Members of the Government-General of Chōsen