The Life of Philip Jaisohn (So Chae-pil)

An interesting account of the reforms undertaken in Korea from 1896 to 1898 can be found in the book Dr. Philip Jaisohn's Reform Movement 1896-1898 - A Critical Appraisal of the Independence Club by Se Eung Oh.

The reforms per se were of course interesting but what fascinated me most was the life of Jaisohn as well as Yun Chi-ho, another key player in the Independence Club - the main vehicle for that particular reform movement.

Born So Chae-pil in 1863 to a high-ranking yangban (aristocratic) family, Jaisohn reportedly studied the Confucian classics yet retained independence in thinking. Described as a "boy genius", Jaisohn was sent to a military institute in Tokyo when he was 19 and upon his return, he so impressed the king that he was appointed principal of a new military institute. But the institute never got off the ground due to opposition from the Queen, who was reportedly anti-Japanese.

After his involvement in the failed 1884 coup, Jaisohn headed to the United States where he became a devout Christian. In 1888, he became an American citizen - the first Korean to be naturalized in the U.S. - and adopted the name Philip Jaisohn. He also became the first Korean medical doctor in America when he received his degree in pathology from Columbia Medical School (or today's George Washington University).

Jaisohn was a reformist who advocated an open door policy in order to protect Korea's sovereignty from being trampled upon by western imperialists. His vision was to create a modern government structure with new institutions.

At the request of the Korean government, Jaisohn returned to Korea in 1896. Though he was offered the post of foreign minister, he rejected the offer and instead founded a newspaper to educate the Korean people on a wide range of national, policy and civic issues. Through the newspaper and other activities, he help instilled a growing national consciousness among many Koreans.

Naturally, Jaisohn's nationalistic views did not endear him to the Japanese and Russians, and he soon became a target of the ruling powerful conservatives aligned with the said foreign powers who later deported him to the United States.

When Korea came under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945, Jaisohn organized various independence activities for Korea in America. He served as diplomatic affairs advisor for the Coalition of Korean-American Associations and sought various ways to obtain independence for Korea.

He died in Philadelphia in 1951, in the midst of the Korean War. His ashes were moved back to Korea only in 1994 under the Kim Young Sam administration, where he was put to rest at the country's national cemetery.