Yi U: Difference between revisions

Yi U
Hangul	이우
Hanja	李鍝
Revised Romanization	I U
McCune–Reischauer	Yi U

Yi U
Yi U
Prince of Korea; Head of Unhyeon Palace
	Prince Yi when serving Japanese Army
Duke of Unhyeongung
Reign	1917–1945
Predecessor	Yi Jun-yong
Successor	Yi Cheong
Born	15 November 1912; Keijō, Keiki-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan; (today Seoul, South Korea)
Died	7 August 1945 (aged 32); Ninoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Empire of Japan
Burial	15 August 1945; Heungwon
Spouse	Lady Park Chan-ju (m. 1935)
Issue	Yi Cheong; Yi Jong
Father	Prince Imperial Ui
Mother	Lady Suin, concubine
Military career
Allegiance	Japan
Service / branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1933–1945
Rank	Colonel (posthumous)
Unit	Information officer, China; GSO at Hiroshima
Battles / wars	Second Sino-Japanese War; Second World War Home Front Atomic bombing of Hiroshima †; ; ;
Awards	Order of the Chrysanthemum; Showa Enthronement Medal (1928); Tokyo Earthquake Rehabilitation Medal (1930); Japanese Red Cross Order of Merit; China Incident Medal (1937)

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Colonel Prince Yi U (Korean: 이우; 15 November 1912 – 7 August 1945) was a member of the imperial family of Korea as a prince, the 4th head^{[clarification needed]} of Unhyeon Palace, and a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was killed during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Biography

He was born the second son of Prince Kang, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong.

At the age of five, he was adopted to be the heir of the deceased Prince Yeongseon, the 3rd head^{[clarification needed]} of Unhyeon Palace and the only son of the elder brother of Emperor Gojong, Prince Hui. He was taken to Japan shortly afterwards under the pretense^{[clarification needed]} of educational purposes.

However, unlike his elder brother, Prince Geon, he maintained his identity as a Korean, despite his Japanese education. This made him the favorite son of his father, Prince Kang, who himself attempted to escape from Korea to join the exiled Korean government. He overcame all attempts by the Japanese to marry him off to a minor Japanese noble, ^{[citation needed]} and married Lady Park Chan-ju of the Bannam Park clan, a granddaughter of Marquis Pak Yung-hio who was a husband of Princess Yŏnghye of Korea. They had two children, Yi Cheong and Yi Jong.

Prince Yi served in the Japanese Army and was stationed in China. Commissioned a second lieutenant on 25 October 1933, he was promoted to lieutenant on 25 October 1935, to captain on 1 March 1938, to major on 15 October 1941 and to lieutenant colonel on 10 June 1945.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Prince U was transferred to Hiroshima in 1945, and on 6 August 1945, he was mortally injured by the atomic bomb blast on the way to his office, and died later that day at a medical aid station. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel.^[1] On August 8, Adjutant Lieutenant Colonel Yoshinari Hiroshi (吉成弘) committed suicide on account of not being able to save Prince Yi.^[2] Thereafter his body was moved to Korea and was buried in Heungwon on 15 August 1945, the day the war ended.

Popular culture

Portrayed by Go Soo in the 2016 film The Last Princess.

References

^ "His Highness Prince Ri Decorated, Promoted To Rank Of Colonel". Nippon Times. August 15, 1945 – via The Japan Times Archives.
^ "Army Officer Kills Self". Nippon Times. August 30, 1945 – via The Japan Times Archives.

[1] "His Highness Prince Ri Decorated, Promoted To Rank Of Colonel". Nippon Times. August 15, 1945 – via The Japan Times Archives.

[2] "Army Officer Kills Self". Nippon Times. August 30, 1945 – via The Japan Times Archives.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Prince of Korea (1912–1945)}}
-{{koreanname|
+{{Expand Korean|topic=bio|fa=yes|date=May 2019}}
-image=|
+{{Infobox royalty
-hangul=이우|
+| name = Yi U
-hanja=李玗|
+| title = Prince of Korea<br>Head of [[Unhyeongung|Unhyeon Palace]]
-rr=I U|
+| native_lang1_name1 = 이우
-mr=Yi U|
+| image = Prince Yi Wu 01.jpg
+| caption = Prince Yi when serving Japanese Army
+| succession = Duke of [[Unhyeongung]]
+| predecessor = [[Yi Jun-yong]]
+| successor = [[Yi Cheong]]
+| reign = 1917–1945
+| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|11|15|df=y}}
+| birth_place= [[Keijō]], [[Keiki-dō]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea, Empire of Japan]]<br /><small>(today [[Seoul]], South Korea)</small>
+| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|8|7|1912|11|15|df=y}}
+| death_place= [[Ninoshima]], [[Hiroshima Prefecture]], [[Empire of Japan]]
+| date of burial = 15 August 1945
+| place of burial = Heungwon
+| father = [[Prince Imperial Ui]]
+| mother = Lady Suin, concubine
+| spouse = Lady [[Park Chan-ju]] (m. 1935)
+| issue = [[Yi Cheong]]<br>Yi Jong
+| module =
+{{Infobox military person
+ |embed =yes
+ |nickname =
+ |allegiance = {{flag|Japan}}
+ |branch = {{army|Empire of Japan}}
+ |serviceyears = 1933–1945
+ |rank=[[Colonel]] (posthumous)
+ |unit = Information officer, China; GSO at Hiroshima
+ |commands =
+ |battles =
+{{tree list}}
+* [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]
+* [[Second World War]]
+** [[Home Front (World War II)|Home Front]]
+*** [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki#Bombing of Hiroshima|Atomic bombing of Hiroshima]]{{KIA}}
+{{tree list/end}}
+ |awards = [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]]<br/>Showa Enthronement Medal (1928)<br/>Tokyo Earthquake Rehabilitation Medal (1930)<br/>Japanese Red Cross Order of Merit<br/> China Incident Medal (1937)
+ |relations=
+ |signature =
+}}
 }}
-'''Prince Wu of [[Korea]]''' ([[1912]]-[[1945]]), was the 4th head of [[Unhyeongung|Unhyeon Palace]] and a member of the [[Imperial family]] of Korea. He was born the second son of [[Gang, Prince of Korea|Prince Gang]], the fifth son of [[Emperor Gojong]].
+{{Infobox Korean name
-At the age of five, he was adopted to be the heir of deceased [[Prince Jun]] (or ''Prince Yeongseon'', &#27704;&#23459;&#21531;&#63969;&#22472; ''yeong seon gun i jun''), the 3rd head of Unhyeon Palace and the only son of the elder brother of Emperor Gojong, [[Prince Hui]] (or ''Prince Heung'', &#33288;&#35242;&#29579;&#63969;&#29113; ''heung chin wang i hui'' or ''Yi Jaemyeon, Prince Wanheung of Korea'', 完興君李載冕 ''wan heung gun i jae myeon''). He was taken to Japan shortly afterwards in pretence of educational purposes.
+|hangul=이우
+|hanja={{linktext|李|鍝}}
+|rr=I U
+|mr=Yi U
+}}
+{{family name hatnote|[[Lee (Korean name)|Yi]]||lang=Korean}}
-However, unlike his elder brother, [[Prince Yi Kun|Prince Gun]] (&#63969;&#37749; &#51060;&#44148; ''i geon''), he maintained his integrity as a Korean, despite his Japanese education. This made him the favourite son of his father, Prince Gang, who himself attempted to escape from Korea to join the exiled Korean Government. He overcame all attempts by the Japanese to marry him off to a minor Japanese noble, and married [[Lady]] [[Park Chan-ju]], a granddaughter of [[Marquis]] [[Park Yeong-hyo]] who was a husband of [[Princess Yeonghye]] of [[Korea]]. They had two children, [[Yi Chung]] (&#63969;&#28152; &#51060;&#52397; ''i cheong'') (born [[23 April]] [[1936]]) and [[Yi Jong]] (&#63969;&#28121; &#51060;&#51333; ''i jong'') (born [[9 November]] [[1940]] - death)
+[[Colonel]] Prince '''Yi U''' ({{Korean|hangul=이우}}; 15 November 1912 &ndash; 7 August 1945) was a member of the [[House of Yi|imperial family]] of Korea as a prince, the 4th head{{clarify|date=July 2015}} of [[Unhyeongung|Unhyeon Palace]], and a lieutenant colonel in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] during [[World War II]]. He was killed during the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]].
-Prince Wu was forced to serve in [[Japanese Army]] stationed in [[China]]. While in China, he is reputed to have supported the guerilla resistance movement by exiled Korean and Chinese people. He also supposedly fathered a child of [[Yu Jung-soon]] in [[1943]], the daughter of General [[Yu Dong-ryul]], a minister in [[Korean Provisional Government]] in exile. The child, named [[Yi Chonam]], asserted and still asserts the parentage of Prince Wu, though Princess Wu refused to recognise him during her lifetime.
+== Biography ==
-Prince Wu was restationed to [[Hiroshima]] in [[1945]], and on [[6th August]], [[1945]], he was killed by the [[atomic bomb]] blast on the way to his office. His body was moved to Korea and was buried in [[Hongneung]] Imperial tomb on [[15th August]], the day of Korean Liberation.
+He was born the second son of [[Yi Kang|Prince Kang]], the fifth son of [[Gojong of Korea|Emperor Gojong]].
+At the age of five, he was adopted to be the heir of the deceased [[Prince Yeongseon]], the 3rd head{{clarify|date=July 2015}} of Unhyeon Palace and the only son of the elder brother of [[Emperor Gojong]], [[Prince Imperial Heung|Prince Hui]]. He was taken to Japan shortly afterwards under the pretense{{clarify|date=July 2015}} of educational purposes.
+However, unlike his elder brother, [[Kenichi Momoyama|Prince Geon]], he maintained his identity as a Korean, despite his Japanese education. This made him the favorite son of his father, Prince Kang, who himself attempted to escape from Korea to join the exiled Korean government. He overcame all attempts by the Japanese to marry him off to a minor Japanese noble, {{Citation needed|reason=Lack of primary source|date=March 2022}} and married [[Lady]] [[Park Chan-ju]] of the Bannam Park clan, a granddaughter of [[Marquis]] [[Pak Yung-hio]] who was a husband of Princess Yŏnghye of Korea. They had two children, [[Yi Cheong]] and Yi Jong.
+[[File: Prince Yi Wu.png|thumb|Prince Yi U in 1933]]
+Prince Yi served in the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese Army]] and was stationed in China. Commissioned a [[second lieutenant]] on 25 October 1933, he was promoted to lieutenant on 25 October 1935, to captain on 1 March 1938, to [[Major (rank)|major]] on 15 October 1941 and to [[lieutenant colonel]] on 10 June 1945.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
+== Death ==
+Prince U was transferred to [[Hiroshima]] in 1945, and on 6 August 1945, he was mortally injured by [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|the atomic bomb blast]] on the way to his office, and died later that day at a medical aid station. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of [[colonel]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 15, 1945|title=His Highness Prince Ri Decorated, Promoted To Rank Of Colonel|work=Nippon Times|via=The Japan Times Archives}}</ref> On August 8, [[Adjutant]] Lieutenant Colonel Yoshinari Hiroshi (吉成 弘) committed suicide<!--[[seppuku]]--> on account of not being able to save Prince Yi.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 30, 1945|title=Army Officer Kills Self|work=Nippon Times|via=The Japan Times Archives}}</ref> Thereafter his body was moved to Korea and was buried in Heungwon on 15 August 1945, the day the war ended.
+== Popular culture ==
+* Portrayed by [[Go Soo]] in the 2016 film ''[[The Last Princess (film)|The Last Princess]]''.
 ==See also==
-*[[List of Korea-related topics]]
+* [[Korea under Japanese rule]]
-*[[History of Korea (1900-1950)]]
+==References==
-*[[Rulers of Korea]]
+{{reflist}}
-*[[Joseon Dynasty]]
+{{Commons category|Yi Wu}}
+{{King Yi of Korea}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, U}}
+[[Category:1912 births]]
+[[Category:1945 deaths]]
 [[Category:House of Yi]]
+[[Category:Korean nobility]]
+[[Category:Japanese nobility]]
+[[Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded]]
+[[Category:Imperial Japanese Army officers]]
+[[Category:Imperial Japanese Army personnel killed in World War II]]
+[[Category:People killed during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]]
+[[Category:Korean people in the Imperial Japanese Army]]