It was devastating for Kim Jung-hui (1786-1856), a member of the royal family born into the prestigious Gyeongju Kim clan, to be imprisoned inside a shabby house with a thorn fence on a remote island as punishment. Exiled to Moseulpo in the southwestern part of Jeju Island, he suffered from chronic…

An activist for Korean independence, a hero who did what a million Chinese troops could not and a terrorist against Japanese imperialism -– thus is Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932) evaluated in three East Asian countries. Yun threw a bomb at the Japanese dignitaries attending a ceremony commemorating the…

A monument to a scholar that stands in the center of Sejong city, South Korea's administrative capital, is inscribed with a long letter to King Hyojong. The letter, considered to be the most notable appeal of its kind, was unprecedented at the time. More than 20,000 characters long, it contains a…

"Even if your husband blames and leaves you, do not be too critical of yourself if you think that it was not your fault. Do not harm the self, given to you by your parents, with concerns and deep worries when you have nothing to be ashamed of before the sky and sun, even though no one may recognize…

"If my appeal to the king is improper, hit my neck with an axe." Jo Heon (1544-1592), who came to Seoul from Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, appealed to the king in front of the palace for three days to behead the Japanese envoy who demanded that Joseon make way for the Tokugawa shogunate --…