I’ve been reading about another important leader during Korea’s independence drive. Yun Chi-ho (1865-1945) was a political leader and activist at the intersection of the late 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty, Japanese colonization and the struggle for independence. His legacy receives mixed reception. Some see him as a "chinilpa," or collaborator with Japan. Others note his many actions to encourage the Korean independence movement and other leaders of it at the time. Yun was the first son born to a military leader and government official of Joseon. His family would be termed "yangban," or descendants of the noble landed gentry. This term nowadays sometimes carries opprobrium. Yun was well-educated, studying in Japan, China and the United States. He shared the worldview of other independence-minded young Korean men about modernization and development. He also converted to Christianity, another avenue that encouraged independence thinking among the political elites. Given Yun’s station in life and service as a minister in the failed Korean Empire, some kind of clash or existential crisis w