 pro-Japanese minister |
Staff Reporter
Yi Wan-yong (1858-1926), a pro-Japanese politician who played a critical role in the 1910 Japanese annexation treaty of Korea, is widely considered as a "traitor" by many Koreans.
In a show of his devotion to Japan, Yi dedicated a tombstone to a high-ranking Japanese official who was known to have been instrumental in initiating the country's occupation of Korea.
Japanese colonial rule lasted from 1910 through 1945. The existence of the tombstone was recently confirmed by a Hwang Baek-hyun, a private researcher and the head of a tour agency specializing in Tsushima.The tombstone, situated in a graveyard on Tsushima Island, Japan, was dedicated to Kokubun Shotaro, a secretary to Hirobumi Ito (1841-1909), a former prime minister of Japan and first Japanese resident general of Korea.
Fluent in Korean, Kokubun composed the draft of the Korea-Japan annexation treaty and earlier treaties that forced the merger of the two countries.
"Historians and scholars of Japanese language have visited the site and expressed their alarm after discovering evidence of Yi's pro-Japanese activities on Tsushima," Hwang told Yonhap. "The site could be a good educational tool for the younger generation."
The writings on the monument, written in Chinese characters, express Yi's sadness at Kokubun's passing. On the left side, it says "written by Marquis Yi Wan-yong."
It is the first time that evidence has been found in Japan to testify to Yi's pro-Japanese activities.
The two became close while co-writing a book on Korea-Japan relations.
Under Japanese Resident-General Ito Hirobumi, Yi was promoted to the post of prime minister from 1906-1910.
In 1910, Yi signed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty by which Japan took full control over Korea, despite the objections of Korean Emperor Sunjong.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
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