Jeong Byeong-jo

Jeong Byeong-jo (鄭丙朝; 2 November 1863 – 10 June 1945, Korean solar calendar) was a scholar who served as a member of the Chūsuin of the Government-General of Korea during the Japanese colonial period. His courtesy name was Gwankyeong (寬卿), his pen name was Gyuwon (葵園),¹ and his family seat was Dongnae.

Life

He was the younger brother of the prominent Confucian scholar Jeong Man-jo and was born into a Soron family. Like Jeong Man-jo, he was deeply learned in Sinology.

In 1885 he passed the jinsa examination, and in 1895 he became a secretary (siJongKwan) of the Sigangwon. However, the following year, in connection with the Eulmi Incident, he was sentenced to lifelong exile and spent eleven years, until 1907, in exile on Jeju Island.

As Japanese influence grew, he was released in 1907 and in 1908 resumed his official career in the Imperial Household Ministry's Yejang Office and the Chungchuwon of the Korean Empire. In 1909, when Itō Hirobumi, the first Resident-General of the Japanese Residency-General, left for Japan, he took part as a farewell attendant. He also served as acting chairman of the Gukshi Yuseedan, an organization that argued that Japan's protectorate rule over the Korean Empire was legitimate. Thus, even before the Korea–Japan Annexation Treaty was concluded, he associated closely with Japan. He also joined the Confucian Church, a pro-Japanese organization based on Confucianism, and when Itō was assassinated by Ahn Jung-geun, he was included as a representative of the religious community in the Korean condolence delegation.

After the annexation in 1910, he accompanied to attend the funeral of former Resident-General , and he was soon appointed a member of the Investigation Bureau of the Government-General of Korea. In 1913 he was also selected as an assistant councillor of the Chūsuin, serving for about eight years. In 1921, after the reorganization of the Chūsuin, he became a councillor. His total service in the Chūsuin lasted about fourteen years.