Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Kim Dong-jin, chairman of Hulbert Memorial Society |
Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), an American teacher in Korea and a close acquaintance of Gojong, resisted along with the Emperor, who had declared himself Emperor Gwangmu in 1897 with the foundation of the short-lived Korean Empire. Hulbert was on a secret mission to deliver the Emperor's letter of protest to then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who refused to meet with him.
During his stay in Washington, D.C., though, Hulbert had an interview with the New York Times in which he criticized the U.S. government for turning a blind eye on the Korean Empire and appealing to the American public to shore up support for Korea.
 |
In the first article titled "Korea Repudiates Treaty," Hulbert was quoted as saying: "As my mission to America is no longer a secret, I may add that the Emperor, anticipating some such act of bad faith on the part of Japan, tried through me to forestall it by lodging an appeal with President Roosevelt. The object of my coming was surmised and the coup in Seoul was hastened so that it took place on the very day of my arrival in Washington."
In the second article, he blamed Japan and criticized the U.S. government for its indifference.
"It was because the Emperor of Korea understood the designs of the Japanese that he sent me to this country to deliver his protest against Japanese usurpation to President Roosevelt…. When I saw Secretary Root on that day, he informed me that the American Government was precluded from taking any action on my protest in view of the agreement which had been signed between the Emperor of Korea and the plenipotentiaries of Japan ... In the treaty between the United States and Korea it was agreed by the United States that if any power should seek to abuse Korea the United States would use its good offices in Korea's behalf. Has that been done?..."
 |
Kim retrieved original copies of the articles in April last year.
In 1907, the Emperor again sent Hulbert to the second Hague Conference, along with three other Korean envoys, to protest Japan's attempt to deprive Korea of its sovereignty.
Their access was denied due to the Japanese who had obtained the information of their travel in advance.
First arriving in Korea in 1886, Hulbert taught local students and researched and wrote extensively about Korean history and language.
He was an advocate of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and authored a geography textbook, called Saminpilji, in Hangeul.
He also joined Korea's independence movement and for that reason was forced to return to the U.S. by Japan.
He returned to Korea on the invitation of then President Syngman Rhee after the nation was liberated but he died of pneumonia in Seoul on Aug. 5, 1949.
The Korean government posthumously awarded Hulbert with the Taegeuk Order of Merit for National Foundation in recognition of his efforts towards the foundation of Korea's independence.
