Enlightens Joseon’s Spirit through Newspaper

In 1896, before most Korean people had the slightest idea of what a newspaper was, a man named Seo Jae-pil published the nation’s first non-government run newspaper printed in Korean, The Independent. The message conveyed through this newspaper enlightened the common people and instilled a sense of patriotism into them, contributing to overall advancement and independence of Korea.

Gapsin Coup and Philip Jaisohn

An advocate of reform, revolutionist, independence activist, medical doctor and journalist, Seo was born in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, on January 7, 1864. At the age of seven, he moved to Seoul to study Chinese classics at the house of his uncle, Kim Seong-geun, a man from the powerful Andong Kim clan.

While preparing for the state exam there, he had frequent contact with leading reformists, including Kim Ok-gyun and Park Young-hyo. He passed the state exam at 18, but he enrolled in a Japanese Army School in 1883 as Kim Ok-gyun recommended.

After eight months of modern military training there, Seo returned home and suggested the establishment of a military academy to the king. But the proposal did not work out due to the conservatives’ intervention. In 1884, he joined the Gapsin Coup aiming for reform and an independent, modern nation.

However, the revolt lasted a mere three days, and Seo came to the U.S. via Japan as an exile the following year. During the first year of his stay in the U.S., he performed physical labor during the day and studied English at night. He graduated with a degree in medicine at Columbian University (now George Washington University) in 1893 to obtain a medical license. Prior to that, in 1890, he became the first Korean to become an American citizen under the name of Philip Jaisohn.

The Joseon Dynasty in Korea, meanwhile, enacted the Gabo reforms and granted amnesty to the leaders of the Gapsin coup, including Park Young-hyo. At Park’s suggestion, Seo returned to Korea in 1895, ten years after he left his home country.

A Country Belongs to the People

Upon returning home, Seo assumed an advisory role to the government and pursued “reform from the below,” rather than “reform from the above,” keeping in mind the lessons from the failed Gapsin revolt.

He founded the first modern newspaper of Korea, The Independent, on April 7, 1896, with the purpose of letting the people know what the government was doing and letting the outside world know what was happening in Korea. Amid stronger intervention by external powers, including Japan, the newspaper cried out for national independence and democratic rights, leading the public from feudal times to the modern age.

He also established the Independence Club on July 2, 1896, and collected donations to help construct the Independence Gate in November 1897 on the site where Chinese envoys had been greeted.

Unfortunately, he left for the U.S. again in 1898 due to the opposition from the conservative government, which was intimidated by his activities.

Continued Independence Movement in the U.S.

In the U.S., Seo supported Korea’s independence movement persistently. He established the Korean Information Bureau in Philadelphia to appeal to the world for Korea’s independence. From April 14 to 16, 1919, he held a rally of Koreans in the U.S. to diplomatically denounce Japan’s invasion of Korea and its atrocities. He also mustered support from Americans who sympathized with calls for Korean independence and organized “The League of Friends of Korea.” After Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, he returned to Korea with a position in the Korean interim government and devoted himself to building a democratic state.

After liberation, however, Korea was bitterly divided, becoming an increasingly turbulent region. Deeply distressed, Seo came back to the U.S. again and died there on January 5, 1951. Half a century later, in 2008, his statue was erected in Washington D.C. in remembrance of his lifelong dedication to Korean independence and advancing the nation into the modern world.