Hong Jong-u


Hong Jong-u was a Korean assassin, reformer, activist and statesman during the Korean Empire. He assassinated Kim Ok-gyun in Shanghai in 1894.

Biography

Hong Jong-u was born in Ansan circa 1850. His father died in 1886. Afterwards Hong decided to study in France. In Paris the 40-year-old student worked at the Guimet Museum, where he translated the Chunhyangjeon, Shimcheongjeon and the Jikseong haengnyeong pyeonram into French.
In 1893, Hong traveled to Japan where he decided to assassinate Kim Okgyun and Pak Yeong-hyo, two reform-minded Koreans. In 1894, he shot and killed Kim Okgyun aboard ship en route to Shanghai. He later returned to Korea where he was appointed to high office. With the growing influence of Japan over Korean affairs, the anti-Japan Hong Jong-u resigned his official position. He died in 1913.