Volta
Culture18 July 1904

Daehan maeil sinbo Founded

The Briton Ernest Bethell and Yang Gi-tak founded the Daehan maeil sinbo; with a British publisher it escaped Japanese censorship and could take an anti-Japanese line.

First issue of the Daehan Maeil Sinbo, 1904
First issue of the Daehan Maeil Sinbo, 1904

대한매일신보사 · Public domain · Source

Ernest Bethell, a British correspondent sent to cover the Russo-Japanese War, founded it with Yang Gi-tak. As a Briton he enjoyed extraterritoriality, so Japan could not freely censor or punish him. With mixed-script, Hangul and English editions it became the most widely read paper of its day.

It printed Gojong’s letter refusing to recognize the 1905 treaty, reported on the righteous armies and led the National Debt Repayment Movement of 1907. Sin Chae-ho and Park Eun-sik wrote its editorials, and members of the Sinminhoe gathered there. Japan prosecuted Bethell and jailed Yang, and after annexation turned the paper into the Government-General’s Maeil sinbo.

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States and rulers at the time
Korean Empire — Gojong

People

  • Ernest T. Bethell1872 – 1909

    leader · British journalist who published the Daehan maeil sinbo with Yang Gi-tak, beyond the reach of Japanese censorship as a British subject

  • Yang Gi-tak1871 – 1938

    leader · Co-publisher of the Daehan maeil sinbo who led the National Debt Repayment Movement and the New People’s Association

  • Park Eun-sik1859 – 1925

    participant · Nationalist historian, author of the Painful History of Korea, and second President of the Provisional Government

  • Sin Chae-ho1880 – 1936

    participant · Nationalist historian who wrote the Ancient History of Joseon and the Declaration of the Korean Revolution; died in Lüshun Prison

Before and after

Earlier
1904 Japan–Korea Protocol of 1904
Later
1904 First Japan–Korea Agreement