Last Crown Prince of Korea (1897?1970)
Yi Un
[a]
(
Korean
:
이은
; 20 October 1897 ? 1 May 1970) was the 28th Head of the
Korean Imperial House
, an
Imperial Japanese Army
general and the last
Imperial Crown Prince
of the
Korean Empire
. Before becoming the
heir apparent
to
Sunjong of Korea
, who became the emperor in 1907, Yi Un was known as the title
Prince Imperial Yeong
(
英親王
). In 1910, the
Korean Empire
was annexed by Japan and Emperor Sunjong was forced to abdicate, and Yi Un married
Princess Masako of Nashimoto
, the eldest daughter of
Prince Nashimoto Morimasa
, on 28 April 1920 at
Tokyo
.
On 10 June 1926, upon the death of Emperor Sunjong, Yi Un received the late emperor's title, and became the
King Yi of Changdeokgung
(
昌?宮李王
), which referred to the palace
Changdeokgung
. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded Japanese forces in China and served as a member of the
Supreme War Council
. After
World War II
he was refused entry to Korea, and his Japanese titles were removed by article 14 of the new
Constitution of Japan
in 1947. After his death in 1970, Yi Un is alternatively known as
Crown Prince Uimin
(
醫민태자
), a
posthumous name
given by the
Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association
.
Early life
[
edit
]
The prince was born on 20 October 1897 at
Deoksu Palace
in
Seoul
as the seventh son of
Gojong
, the Gwangmu Emperor. His mother was the Honorable Princess Consort Eom Seon-yeong, a palace attendant, who was posthumously awarded the title of Princess Sunheon. He was also the younger half-brother of
Emperor Sunjong
and
Prince Imperial Ui
. He was titled
Prince Imperial Yeong
in 1900, and became the crown prince in 1907, despite being younger than Prince Ui. Prince Ui's support base at court was not strong because his own mother, Lady Jang, had already died.
In December 1907, he was taken to Japan on the initiative of
It? Hirobumi
to be enrolled at
Gakush?in
Peers' School. The move was meant to ensure that the Korean royal family would not take any further anti-Japanese actions following
The Hague Secret Emissary Affair
.
[1]
Japanese
Emperor Meiji
, who largely ignored his own grandchildren, devoted a lot of attention to Yi Un, acting as his guardian.
[1]
It? would bring Yi Un whenever he was visiting the princes
Hirohito
,
Chichibu
and
Takamatsu
.
[1]
Meiji apparently stopped seeing Yi Un so frequently after Ito's assassination.
[2]
Yi Un was allowed to visit Korea again only after the death of his mother in 1911.
[1]
Military career
[
edit
]
In September 1911, the prince was enrolled in the second year of the Army Central Youth School, a military preparation school located in Tokyo. He was poor in gymnastics due to his small stature, but excelled in music and martial arts. He was then enrolled in the 29th class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
, from which he graduated on 25 May 1917 with an excellent record.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry on 25 December, and steadily rose up the ranks, receiving promotions to lieutenant (April 1920), and captain (July 1923). He graduated from the 35th class of the
Army Staff College
in November 1923 and commanded a battalion of the Guards 2nd Infantry Regiment. He was assigned to the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
in December 1924, and to the staff of the
Chosen Army
in July 1926. In 1926, he visited Korea in order to visit
Sunjong of Korea
with his wife.
[3]
In May 1927, he was sent on an extensive European tour, visiting France, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Monaco, and returning to Japan in April 1928. In August, he was promoted to major and in August 1929 became commander of the IJA 1st Infantry Regiment. In December 1930, he was assigned to the
Inspectorate General of Military Training
and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in August 1932. He became colonel in August 1935 and commanded the
Utsunomiya
-based IJA 59th Infantry Regiment. From April 1937, he served as an instructor at the Army Academy.
In July 1938, the prince was promoted to
major general
and from December was assigned to the staff of the
North China Area Army
, which was engaged in combat operations in northern China following the start of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
. Throughout the first half of 1939, he made extensive inspection tours of front-line units throughout northern Japan, and reviewed
Kwantung Army
garrison units in
Manchukuo
. In August, he was appointed commander of the
Guards 2nd Brigade
and in May 1940 was commander of the reserve Fourth Depot Division. He was promoted to lieutenant general in December. In July 1941, he was appointed commander of the
IJA 51st Division
also based in Utsunomiya.
Under his command, the division relocated to Manchukuo to participate in the
Special exercise of the Kwantung Army
(actually a mobilization for the possible large-scale conflict with the
Soviet Union
). The preparations for the war with the
Soviet Union
were officially cancelled in August 1941. In September, the division was transferred to
Guangdong
under command of
IJA 23rd Army
. He returned to a post on the staff of the
Inspectorate General of Military Training
in November.
From August 1942, the prince was transferred to the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
and became commander of the
1st Air Army
from July 1943. In April 1945, he became a member of the
Supreme War Council
.
[4]
Later life
[
edit
]
Following the
surrender of Japan
, Yi Un lost his royal status under the American
Occupation of Japan
in 1947. He was also declared stateless, as Korea had become independent of the
Empire of Japan
, but
Korean President
Syngman Rhee
had refused his request to be allowed to return to Korea with his family. In May 1947, following the end of the American occupation, he acquired Japanese citizenship and travelled to the United States the same month. In March 1959, while still in the United States, he suffered from a
stroke
. He returned to Japan in May. In 1960, President Rhee again denied him permission to return to Korea, but instead offered the prince the position of Korean Ambassador to the
Court of St. James's
. He refused on the grounds of illness, but made a trip to New York from June to August 1960, and to Hawaii from March to May 1961. His health deteriorating rapidly, he was hospitalized in Tokyo from August 1961.
In November 1963, President
Park Chung Hee
granted permission for Prince Yi Eun and Crown Princess Bangja to return to Korea. By that time, Prince Yi Eun was unconscious from
cerebral thrombosis
. He received treatment at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul.
In his final years, Prince Yi Eun lived at Nakseon Hall,
Changdeok
Palace, the former residence of the
Korean Imperial Family
in Seoul, with Bangja and his younger sister
Princess Deokhye
. Seven years after returning to his country, he died on 1 May 1970 at Nakseon Hall, Changdeok Palace, Seoul. He was buried at Hongreung in Namyangju, near Seoul.
Children
[
edit
]
- Yi Jin (
李瑱
;
李晋
;
I Jin
;
Yi Chin
; born 18 August 1921 ? 11 May 1922), the elder son of Prince Eun and his wife,
Princess Bangja
. Yi Jin died abruptly during his infancy while on a visit to Korea with his parents. This fueled conspiracy theories about the circumstances of his death. His funeral was held on 17 May 1922 and he is buried in Korea.
- Yi Gu
(
耳垢
;
李玖
;
I Gu
;
Yi Ku
; born 29 December 1931 ? 16 July 2005), the second son of Prince Eun and his wife, Princess Bangja. Prince Gu became the 29th Head of the Korean Imperial Household upon the death of his father. He married an
American
citizen
Julia Mullock
on 25 October 1959 at St George's Church in New York, they had no issue but adopted a daughter, Eugenia Unsuk Lee (Eun-sook) (b. 1959).
Honours
[
edit
]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Yi Un is known posthumously as
Yi Un, Crown Prince Euimin of Korea
. Approved by the President
Park Chung Hee
, Yi Un's
spirit tablet
was put into
Jongmyo
shrine on 6 May 1973 according to the royal tradition.
[9]
Yi Un's residence
Kitashirakawa Palace
in Tokyo was originally built in 1930. After
World War II
, it was converted to Akasaka Prince Hotel, which opened in 1955 (later
Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka
). After the hotel was demolished in 2013, the building became part of
Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho
, refurbished as a banquet facility, now known as
Akasaka Prince Classic House
.
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Name also rendered as
Yi Eun
,
Lee Eun
, and
Un Yi
.
References
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Yi Un
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Herbert P. Bix, Hirohito and the making of modern Japan (New York 2016), page 35.
- ^
Herbert P. Bix, Hirohito and the making of modern Japan (New York 2016), page 697, note 38.
- ^
"朝鮮王朝實錄"
.
sillok.history.go.kr
. Retrieved
2022-05-01
.
- ^
"軍事참衣冠에 已往電荷 어영전"
(PDF)
.
Maeil sinbo
(in Korean). 1945-04-03.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-10-09
. Retrieved
2022-12-18
.
- ^
刑部芳則 (2017).
明治時代の?章外交儀?
(PDF)
(in Japanese). 明治聖?記念??紀要. p. 155.
- ^
Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1933) [1st pub.:1801].
Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1933
[
State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1933
]
(PDF)
. Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 21
. Retrieved
16 September
2019
– via
da:DIS Danmark
.
- ^
Sveriges statskalender
(in Swedish), vol. 2, 1931, p. 148
, retrieved
2018-01-06
– via runeberg.org
- ^
"?eskoslovensky ?ad Bileho lva"
(PDF)
(in Czech)
. Retrieved
2023-08-31
.
- ^
新城道? (2015-03-25).
朝鮮王公族―帝?日本の準皇族
.
Chuokoron-Shinsha
. pp. 229?230.
ISBN
978-4121023094
.
李垠は皇帝または王に?位していないので、本?ならば宗廟?の永寧殿に位牌が祭られることはなかった。しかし、新たに祠堂を設けるよりは永寧殿で空室となっている最後の最後の一室に位牌を納めたほうがよいとの判?から、朴正熙大統領の許可を得たうえで同所に安置された。
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Posthumous
[note 1]
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King of Joseon
(1392?1897)
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Emperor of Korea
(1897?1910)
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Crown Prince
[note 2]
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Daewongun
[note 3]
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Rival king
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King Yi
[note 4]
(1910?1947)
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Director of the
Royal Family Association
(1957?)
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Posthumous
recognition
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Pretenders
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- #
denotes that the king was deposed and never received a
temple name
.
- ^
Those who were listed were not reigning monarchs but posthumously recognized; the year following means the year of recognition.
- ^
Only the crown princes that didn't become the king were listed; the former year indicates when one officially became the heir and the latter one is that when one died/deposed. Those who ascended to the throne were excluded in the list for simplification.
- ^
The title given to the biological father, who never reigned, of the kings who were adopted as the heir to a precedent king.
- ^
The
de jure
monarch of Korea during the era was the
Emperor of Japan
, while the former Korean emperors were given nobility title "King Yi" instead.
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