The Tragic Life of the Last Prince of Korea
When Japan annexed Korea in 1910, many of Korea’s ex-royals were given noble titles by the Japanese imperial government to ease the anger of the Korean people. Although from the outside it seemed like these royals were treated exceptionally by Japan, many of them lived tragic lives. One of the more famous stories is the story of Prince Yi U, who was the grandson of King Gojong and the nephew of King Soonjong.
Yi U was born on November 15, 1912, in Gyeonseong (present-day Seoul), two years after the annexation of Korea. Unlike his older brother who hated his Korean ancestry and aspired to become Japanese, Yi U despised Japan and wanted to keep his Koreanness from a young age. Yi U refused to marry a Japanese woman and married the daughter of a Korean nobleman in 1935, the same year he graduated from Imperial Japanese Army Academy. Japanese officials were furious at his decision but it was approved as the bride’s father was a well-connected man in the Japanese government.
Yi U was forced to join the Japanese military like every other male member of the former Korean royal family. The same year he married, he was forced to join the…
