甲申政変
Song was born in Changjin County of Hamgyong Province in what is now South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. He was an eighth-generation descendant of the famous Neo-confucian philosopher Song Si-yeol, albeit from an illegitimate line as his mother was a Kisaeng. Despite the handicap of his birth, he passed the Korean Imperial Examination in 1871 and obtained a post at the Board of Examination in 1873. Following the failure of the Gapsin Coup of 1884, he went to Japan intending to assassinate Enlightenment Party leader Kim Ok-gyun, but was instead won over to the pro-reform movement by Kim and his followers. On his return to Korea, Song was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the Enlightenment Party, and although soon released, he continue to face ongoing official harassment, and returned to Japan again, where he adopted the Japanese name of .