Occupation Korean politician Name Min Won-sik | Role Politician | |
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Died February 17, 1921, Tokyo, Japan | ||
Min Won-sik (Hangul: 민원식; Hanja: 閔元植, July 12, 1886 – February 17, 1921) was a politician and journalist during the late Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese colonial era. He was an advocate for Korean political rights and autonomy. Also a noted writer and poet, he used the literary names of Chungam (정암, 正菴), Nankok (난곡, 蘭谷), Handong (한동, 韓東), Yangha (양하, 養何).
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under the Korean Empire
Min was born Yangpyeong County in Gyeonggi province. His real father was Min Young-jun, but as a child he was adopted by his relative Min Young-uk. His family belonged to the Yeoheung Min clan, a famous noble family of the Joseon Dynasty, and he was distantly related to Empress Myeongseong and Empress Sunmyeong. His wife was a niece of King Gogong.
In 1899, Min went to Japan to teach at the East Asia Foreign Language School (동아어학교). In February 1905, he returned to Korea and was appointed to a police post (Gyeongmucheong Chongsun (경무청 총순, 警務廳總巡), but resigned after a year. Under the Japanese protectorate over Korea, he was rapidly promoted under the sponsorship of Ito Hirobumi and Hasegawa Yoshimichi, becoming Secretary of the Ministry of Interior in July 1906, and Director of the Bureau of Health and Sanitation within the Ministry of Interior in April 1907. As part of his efforts to improve on the control of infectious diseases and hygiene in Korea, he introduced the system of state-regulated prostitution with mandatory testing of prostitutes for venereal disease.
Under the Japanese general government
In 1910, after the Annexation of Korea by Japan, Min served on the Central Advisory Institute of the Governor-General of Korea. From the start of the Japanese period, Min argues for increased Korean autonomy and political rights within the Japanese Empire. In July 1911 he was appointed Governor of Yangji County, and March 1914, Governor of Icheon County. On several occasions, he petitioned to Japanese Governor-General for Korean suffrage, but his petitions were rejected. From 1915 to 1917 Min served as Commissioner of the Land Survey Committee of Gyeonggi Province and in September 1917 was appointed Governor of Goyang County. In 1919, he spoke out against the March 1st movement, feeling that Korean independence at that time was impossible, and that the March 1st movement was creating needless violence and was detrimental to the cause of increased Korean autonomy, which he felt could be attained under the existing Japanese legal system. In November 1919, he resigned as Governor of Goyang County, and was immediately reappointed to the Central Advisory Institute of the Governor-General of Korea.
In July and in November 1920, and again from January to February 1921, Min went to Japan, to speak with lawmakers in the Diet of Japan, both in the House of Representatives of Japan and the House of Peers to promote the cause of Korean autonomy. He also met with numerous Japanese intellectuals. However, his efforts to promote autonomy and better rights for Koeans under Japanese rule were strongly opposed by the Korean independence movement. On February 17, 1921 while he was staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, he was stabbed by Korean independence activist Yang Keun-hwan who was disguised as a carpenter. Min was taken to the emergency room of the Tokyo Imperial University hospital, but died of his wounds shortly thereafter.