page_title: Soh Jaipil
section_title: Sowing the ideals of independence and democracy
hierarchical_section_title: Soh Jaipil / Life / Sowing the ideals of independence and democracy
caption_attribution_description: English: Independence Gate in 1897 한국어: 한국의 독립문 (1897년 촬영), 전면에는 헐려서 기초만 남은 영은문이 보이고, 그 뒤에는 모화관을 개수한 독립관이 보인다.
context_page_description: Soh Jaipil, also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean-American political activist and physician who was a noted champion of the Korean independence movement, the first Korean naturalized citizen of the United States, and founded Tongnip Sinmun, the first Korean newspaper in Hangul.
  Soh was one of the organizers of the failed Gapsin Coup in 1884 and convicted for treason, seeking refuge in the United States where he became a citizen and earned a medical doctorate. Soh returned to Korea in 1895, becoming a chief advisor of the Joseon government where he advocated for democracy, leaving the Chinese sphere of influence, and numerous civil rights and suffrage movements. Soh was forced back to the United States in 1898, from where participated in the First Korean Congress and advocated for the March 1st Movement and U.S. Government support for Korean independence. Soh 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.
context_section_description: In the 1896 to 1898 Civil rights movement and suffrage movements. Soh's goal was to ensure that Korea would drift away from the Chinese sphere of influence but without falling too heavily under the influence of Russia or Japan. He was also behind the construction of the Independence Gate, which was initially meant to symbolize the end of Korea's ritual subordination to China.  Apart from his journalistic and political activities, he delivered regular lectures on modern politics and the principles of democracy.
  He promoted national independence as the principal political ideal and emphasized neutral diplomatic approaches to protect Korea from China, Russia and Japan. He also underscored the importance of public education, modernized industry and public hygiene. The Independence was particularly critical of misconduct by government officials, which caused strong reactions by the conservatives. Under the aegis of the Independence Club (독립협회; 獨立協會), Jaisohn organized the All People's Congress, an open public forum to debate over political issues. The Congress was hailed by young reformers and began to establish nationwide chapters.
  In November 1897, Soh enabled the construction of the Independence Gate (독립문;獨立門). At this time he also ended the policy of Yeongeunmun (영은문;迎恩門). Yeongeunmun  was the Korean policy of welcoming the Chinese envoys, Yeongeun roughly translates from Korean to English as "Welcome to beneficent Envoys of suzerain's."
  In 1898, conservatives accused Jaisohn and the Club of seeking to replace the monarchy with a republic, and the Korean government requested Jaisohn to return to the US. After his return, the Korean government ordered the Club to disband and arrested 17 leaders including Rhee Syngman.
caption: Independence Gate
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