Korean Empire acting minister to Britain who died in protest in London in 1905
| Life | 1874 ~ 1905 |
| Era | 대한제국 |
| Clan | 전의 이씨 |
Yi Han-eung (李漢應, 1874-1905) was a diplomat and patriotic martyr of the Korean Empire, of the Jeonui Yi clan. His courtesy name was Gyeongcheon and his pen name Gugeun; he came from Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Born the second son of Yi Myeong-ho, he is said to have been made heir to his uncle Yi Gyeong-ho, magistrate of Gonyang, who was killed during the Donghak uprising.
He graduated from the government English school in 1892, passed the licentiate examination in 1894, served as a clerk of Hanseong and in 1899 became an instructor at the English school. In 1901 he was appointed third secretary of the legation to Britain and went to London with Minister Min Yeong-don (sources differ on whether the legation was also accredited to Belgium or Italy). When Min returned home in 1904 he became acting minister and alone handled relations with Britain.
In January 1904 he sent the British Foreign Office a letter analysing the situation on the peninsula and asking Britain to guarantee Korea's independence and territorial integrity, and as Japan eroded Korean sovereignty through the protocol and first agreement of 1904, he sought joint action by Korea's overseas legations and protested the Anglo-Japanese Alliance to the British government. As Britain strengthened the alliance and the legation's work was paralysed, he took his own life in London on 12 May 1905, leaving farewell letters in which he lamented that he could neither fully serve his country nor fully honor his parents. His death is regarded as the first in the series of martyrdoms, including those of Min Yeong-hwan and Jo Byeong-se, surrounding the Eulsa Treaty that year.
His remains were returned and buried in Yongin; Emperor Gojong posthumously appointed him vice minister of home affairs and enshrined him at Jangchungdan. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal) in 1962, his grave in Yongin is a designated local heritage site, and in 2023 a commemorative marker was placed on the former legation building in Earl's Court, London, where he died; he was also named Independence Activist of the Month in November 2016.
Yongin, Gyeonggi Province (Tomb of Yi Han-eung, Yongin local heritage site)