Song Pyŏngjun (; August 20, 1857 – February 1, 1925) was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n politician. He is remembered for his role in signing the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, was made by representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire on 22 August 1910. In this treaty, Japan formally annexed Korea following the J ...

. His clan was the

Eunjin Song clan Eunjin Song clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their ''Bon-gwan'' is in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province. In a 2015 estimate, they numbered 226,050. Their founder was , a descendant of Song Ju eun. See also * Korean clan names of foreign or ...

. His

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

was Cheam ().

Biography

Song was born in Changjin County,

Hamgyong Province Hamgyong Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hamgyong was located in the northeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Hamhung. Names The province was first established as Yŏnggil () in 1413. It wa ...

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

(now in North Korea). He was an eighth-generation descendant of the famous

Neo-confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768� ...

philosopher

Song Si-yeol A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

, albeit from an illegitimate line as his mother was a ''

kisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

''. Despite the handicap of his birth, he passed the ''

gwageo The () or ''kwagŏ'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge ...

'' in 1871 and obtained a post at the Board of Examination in 1873. Following the failure of the

Gapsin Coup The Kapsin Coup, also known as the Kapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating ...

of 1884, he went to Japan intending to assassinate

Enlightenment Party The Kaehwa Party (), sometimes written as the Kaehwapa or Kaehwadang, was a Liberalism, liberal and Progressivism, progressive party in the Korean state Joseon. It was also called the Independence Party of Joseon, the Innovation Party of Joseon, a ...

leader

Kim Ok-gyun Kim Okkyun (; February 23, 1851 – March 28, 1894) was a Korean scholar-bureaucrat of the late Joseon period. He was a member of the reformist Gaehwa Party. He served under King Gojong, and actively participated to advance Western European ...

, but was instead won over to the pro-reform movement by Kim and his followers. On his return to Korea, Song was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the Enlightenment Party, and although soon released, he continue to face ongoing official harassment, and returned to Japan again, where he adopted the Japanese name of . Song returned to Korea in 1904 as an interpreter for the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. He was one of the founders of the '' Iljinhoe,'' a pro-Japanese political society promoting the merger of Korea and Japan, and which was instrumental in bringing about the

. From 1907, he served as Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry in the last cabinet of

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myeongbok (), later Yi Hui (), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor (), was the penultimate List of monarchs of Korea, Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 19 ...

. Following the annexation of Korea, Song was awarded the Japanese ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage title of viscount (''shishaku'') and a seat in the House of Peers of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. He later served on the Central Advisory Institute of the

Government-General of Korea Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, and his title was subsequently raised to count (''hakushaku''). Under the '' Special law to redeem pro-Japanese collaborators' property'' enacted in 2005, property of the descendants of nine people who had collaborated when Korea was annexed by Japan, including Song Pyŏngjun, was confiscated by the South Korean government.

Honours

Order of the Taegeuk Order of the Taegeuk was an order of chivalry of the Korean Empire that was given to military or civil officials. It was divided into eight classes. It was part of the establishments of orders on 17 April 1897. From 22 April 1897, order of the taege ...

1st Class on 25 October 1907

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Pyŏngjun 1857 births 1925 deaths People from Changjin County Kazoku Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan 19th-century Korean people 20th-century Korean politicians Pyŏngjun Government officials of the Korean Empire Political office-holders of the Korean Empire Koreans in the Imperial Japanese Army Joseon scholar-officials