Ha Young, are you watching? Lee Wan-yong = A far more proactive traitor... "Proposed 'Deposing Emperor Gojong' to Japan first" [History Special - Time Traveler]

*This content was translated by AI.

On December 22, 1909, toward the end of the Korean Empire, a shocking event turned the entire nation upside down. An assassination attempt occurred in broad daylight at a Myeong-dong hanbok store. The blade of Dr. Lee Jae-myung was aimed at Lee Wan-yong, Prime Minister of the Korean Empire Cabinet. This plot, occurring eight months before the forced annexation by Japan and Korea, ended in failure. Lee Wan-yong survived.

In the first part of the Liberation Day special titled "Lee Wan-yong's Choice," airing on KBS 1TV's 'History Special - Time Traveler' at 9:30 p.m. on the 16th, the program traces Lee Wan-yong's trajectory as he relentlessly adapted to the powerful figures of his era, based on newly discovered historical documents and records.

A traitor to the nation, Lee Wan-yong. What kind of person was he? He was not initially a pro-Japanese collaborator. Once a top-tier elite reformist bureaucrat, a staunch pro-American, and a key leader in the Independence Club, how did he become the symbol of a "pro-Japanese traitor"?

◆ Lee Wan-yong was originally not a pro-Japanese collaborator

Lee Wan-yong was originally far removed from being a pro-Japanese collaborator. In 1887, he was dispatched to the United States as Emperor Gojong's envoy for foreign affairs with America, where he directly witnessed the development of the emerging superpower. He subsequently grew into a representative "pro-American" reformist bureaucrat. Lee Wan-yong, once praised in the Independent Newspaper as one of the most distinguished statesmen, was at that time a key leader of the Independence Club, donating more funds than any other official and taking the lead in establishing the Independence Gate. The rumor that the current inscription on the Independence Gate is written in Lee Wan-yong's handwriting originated from these very reasons. Why did Lee Wan-yong, who once championed Korea's independence, later become a traitor who sold out his country to Japan?

"It was already three years ago.

I heard strange rumors circulating within the historical community.

The rumor claimed that Lee Wan-yong had written the Independence Gate inscription."

- August 1998, 'Magazine Mal'

◆ "Japan is the rising tide" The untold story of Lee Wan-yong's pro-Japanese conversion in 1904

Once a core figure among pro-Americans, he turned into a pro-Japanese collaborator following the Russo-Japanese War. However, how could Lee Wan-yong, who had previously opposed Japan as a pro-American, suddenly transform into a pro-Japanese collaborator? The production team discovered new records in 1930s newspaper articles that offer insight into Lee Wan-yong's process of converting to pro-Japanese collaboration.

According to the article, during the height of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Lee Wan-yong sent an acquaintance to Tokyo to consult with a high-ranking Japanese official he had previously known about his future plans. He secretly engaged in behind-the-scenes work to transform himself into a pro-Japanese collaborator. Thereafter, Lee Wan-yong moved more actively than anyone else in the direction desired by Japan to solidify his political position as a pro-Japanese collaborator.

Lee Wan-yong later justified his choice by promoting the so-called "Theory of Change" (변역론), stating that one must adapt their conduct according to changing times and circumstances. The production team examines how quickly Lee Wan-yong transformed into a pro-Japanese collaborator to determine whether he was a realist who conformed to the flow of history or merely an opportunist.

◆ Records overturning conventional wisdom! Did Lee Wan-yong propose "Deposing Emperor Gojong" to Japan before the 'Hague Special Envoy Incident'?

It is commonly believed that Japan, angered by the 1907 'Hague Special Envoy Incident,' led the forced abdication of Emperor Gojong. However, according to records from the Japanese Legation in Korea confirmed by the production team, there exists a record showing that at the end of 1906, half a year before the Hague incident occurred, Lee Wan-yong visited Japanese Army Commander Hasegawa and proposed deposing Emperor Gojong first. The program traces Lee Wan-yong's actions as he transformed from a favored official under Emperor Gojong into a pro-Japanese collaborator who first proposed his deposition.

◆ Lee Wan-yong's six-month diary written immediately after the forced annexation by Japan and Korea

Recently, 'Il-dang Seon-gyo Ilgi' (Diary of Daily Life), a six-month diary personally written by Lee Wan-yong from early 1911, shortly after the forced annexation by Japan and Korea, has been revealed to the public. What was he thinking during that period?

The diary records an extraordinarily peaceful daily life. There is no trace of sorrow or anguish over the fall of the nation. He enjoyed lavish banquets with acquaintances, appreciated paintings and calligraphy, and inspected lands across the country. According to actual records from the 1920s, Lee Wan-yong was one of Korea's wealthiest individuals, owning land five times the size of Yeouido Island.

◆ The question Lee Wan-yong's choice poses to us in the 21st century

Lee Wan-yong, who most rapidly aligned himself with immediate power and the rising powers of his era. His choices were purely opportunistic decisions made solely to protect his own vested interests. At the same time, countless individuals sacrificed their lives for the nation without expecting any reward. What message does Lee Wan-yong's life convey to us today? Lee Wan-yong's choice at a crossroads is not merely a story of the past.

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*This content was translated by AI.