헐버트(Homer B. Hulbert)의 在美 한국독립운동

Abstract

Hulbert was a foreign teacher of The Royal English college. He had studied Korean history and culture since he had had special bond with Korea. He also was appointed the first foreigner envoy by Emperor Gwangmu to restore national rights of Korea. As the estimation about his activities were mostly limited to those of the national humiliation times, the activities for all his life, especially in America were never arranged well. This manuscript set importance on his Independence Movements for Korea in America which had been roughly treated on the existing research performances. Hulbert devoted his remaining years for Korean independence after he settled down in America. He exposed Japan’s real intention toward the compulsory ‘colonization of Korea’ and censured Japan’s plot which tried to stop the spread of christianity and democracy suppressing Korean christianity. He also criticized sharply about the act of betrayal that broke the faith between Korea and America based upon Korean American Treaty raking up the then president Roosevelt’s mistakes in foreign policy toward Korea during the ‘Eulsa Treaty’. The criticism like this is for American government not to follow the same bad methods as before and to support independence of Korea which was in the state of colonization. The activities of Hulbert to help Korean independence were actively pursued through The League of Friends of Korea, The Korean American Council and the lectures aimed at American media, congress and general public. He also aggressively helped diplomatic activity of Kim, Kiusic, pursuing plans to report Korean Independence issue all around world through Paris Peace Conference. He participated in the publication of the English magazine The Orient with Syngman Rhee and encouraged Koreans that Korean independence was not long in the Korean Liberty Conference held in Washington DC. His activities like this was so active and continuous that no Korean independentista in America could carry out until the liberation. Korean Independence Movement by Hulbert was very special and precious under the situation that the people who persistently brought forward Korean issues to the American society were rare. For this reason, we have to estimate him highly as a fighter for Korean independence out of the limitation that bound him as a man of the The Movement to Restore National Sovereignty in the Late Period of Chosun.