Lee Man-gyu (; 1889–1978), was an educator, linguist of Korean, and

Korean independence activist The following is a list of known people (including non-Koreans) that participated in the Korean independence movement against the colonization of Korea by Japan. Early activists People whose main independence activities were conducted before ...

. After the Japanese colonial period, he aligned himself with North Korea. 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 Yaja (也自, "myself" in Japanese). He was an educator, scholar of Korean literature, and researcher of Korean language during the Japanese colonial period. He stayed in North Korea following the Inter-Korean negotiations in April 1948, and participated in the establishment of North Korea.

Life

He was born in

Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...

, Gangwon,

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 ...

. He studied medicine for three years at Daehan Hospital, graduating in 1910, but practised medicine for only 7 months. He served as the principal of Baehwa Girls' Middle School, and was a friend and in-law of Yeo Woon-hyung. As a member of the

Korean Language Society The Korean Language Society () is a society of hangul and Korean language research, founded in 1908 by Ju Sigyeong. It promotes hangul exclusive writing. Hangul Day was founded in 1926 during the Japanese occupation of Korea by members of the K ...

he was arrested in 1942 by the Japanese colonial authorities, and imprisoned. He was also involved in the Hanyeongseowon patriotic song incident, the March 1 Independence Movement, the incident, and for these was arrested four times and imprisoned three times, spending more than 18 months in prison. After participating in inter-Korean negotiations in April 1948, he remained in North Korea and participated in the establishment of the government of North Korea in September of that year. Until his death in 1978, he was a socialist politician and unification activist who served as a representative of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

, the chairman of the Joseon Character Reform Committee, and the president of the History of the Unification of the Fatherland. He served as the director of general education in North Korea, and led the translation project of

Goryeosa ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is an extensive historical record of the Goryeo dynasty, compiled by the officials of Goryeo's successor state, Joseon. Its compilation started during the reign of Taejo of Joseon, Taejo (the founding ...

and Rijo Annals early on.

Works

The History of Joseon Education
(published, 1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Man-gyu Activists for Korean independence Korean writers North Korean politicians 1889 births 1978 deaths People from Wonju Politicians from Gangwon Province, South Korea Linguists of Korean Korean Language Society people Korean Language Society incident Linguists from North Korea

Life

Works

See also

References