A Study on Yu Kilchun and His Network of Acquaintances (1881–1907)

Abstract

From the time of his studies in Japan until his return to Korea in 1907, Yu Kilchun’s acquaintances can be divided into three categories: people Yu met during his studies at Keio Gijuku, people Yu met to plan a coup during his exile, and people who participated in Tonga Ch’ŏngnyŏnhoe and Irhan Tongjihoe from 1906.Although his time at Keio Gijuku was not long, the people he met during his studies bonded strongly, and a network of academic contacts was formed through reunions. These connections played a crucial role when Yu was active in the political scene in 1894 during the Kabo Reform period. After Yu left Korea on an exile following Emperor Kojong’s flight to the Russian legation in February 1896, he established a new network of acquaintances. Specifically, his journals from 1901 revealed that Yu was searching for people in Shizuoka, Gifu, and Hokkaido, who would take part in his conspiracy. Since he came to Tokyo after serving his time at the Ogasawara Islands, he worked with Tonga Ch’ŏngnyŏnhoe and Irhan Tongjihoe. Additionally, this paper demonstrated that he had connections with the Tonghak Order, and that it was possible for Yu to express his opinions in the press through O Sech’ang and Yi Inchik, who were residing in Korea. Around the same time, he also traveled around Yamanashi, Nagano, Toyama, and Fukui, and made efforts to facilitate trade between Korea and Japan. Such efforts were feasible thanks to the network of collaborators in Korea.

Keywords

• Yu Kilchun
• network of acquaintances
• school ties
• address book
• new materials