Philip Jaisohn

Seo Jae-pil (Korean: 서재필; Hanja: 徐載弼; January 7, 1864 – January 5, 1951), better known by his English name Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean American politician, physician, and Korean independence activist. He was the first Korean to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He also founded the Tongnip sinmun, the first Korean newspaper written entirely in Hangul.

Jaisohn was one of the organizers of the failed Kapsin Coup in 1884. He was thus convicted for treason and sought refuge in the United States where he became a citizen and earned a medical doctorate. Upon returning to Korea in 1895, Jaisohn was offered a position as a chief advisor of the Joseon government. He declined, choosing to focus on reform movements where he advocated for democracy, Korean independence and self reliance from foreign intervention, numerous civil rights and universal suffrage. Jaisohn was forced to return to the United States in 1898, from where he participated in the First Korean Congress and advocated for the March First Movement and U.S. Government support for Korean independence. Jaisohn became a chief advisor to the United States Army Military Government in Korea after World War II and was elected as an interim representative in South Korea in the 1946 legislative election.

He died in 1951 shortly after returning to the United States during the Korean War. His remains were reinterred at the Seoul National Cemetery in 1994.

Jaisohn was an admirer of American-style liberalism and republicanism. He was also reform-minded, and sought to revise Confucianist culture and institutions in Korea.

Jaisohn was born on January 7, 1864,^{[citation needed]} in Boseong County, Jeolla Province, Joseon. He was born into the Daegu Seo clan [ko]. Jaisohn was the third son of Seo Gwang-hyo, who was a local magistrate, but was raised by his relatives in Seoul.

At a young age, Jaisohn was adopted by his father's second cousin, Seo Gwang-ha, and his wife. Jaisohn studied at Kim Seong-geun and Park Kyu-su's private school during his adolescence, where he was exposed to the reformist ideals of Kim Okkyun.

Jaisohn passed the civil service exam at the age of 18, becoming one of the youngest people to ever pass this exam, and as a result became a junior officer in 1882. Thereafter he was appointed to Gyoseokwan Bujeongja (교서관 부정자; 校書館 副正字) and Seungmunwon Gajuseo (승문원 가주서; 承文院假主書). In 1883 he was appointed to Seungmunwon Bujeongja (승문원 부정자; 承文院 副正字) and Hunryunwon Bubongsa (훈련원 부봉사; 訓鍊院 副奉事). In the following year, he was sent to Japan where he studied both at the Keio Gijuku (the forerunner of the Keio University) and the Toyama Army Academy. In July 1884, his adoptive mother died, but he quickly returned to public service under special orders.

In his reports to the king, Jaisohn explained that Korea's armed forces were useless and obsolete in the new world. These reports annoyed powerful conservatives, but it made Jaisohn widely known and respected among like-minded young intellectuals. By that time, a small but growing number of young intellectuals believed that fundamental reform had to occur or Korea would fall victim to the neighboring imperialist powers of Qing China, Japan, or Russia. He was appointed to Joryeon-guk Sagwanjang (조련국 사관장; 操鍊局 士官長) shortly after.