page_title: Yi Kwang-su
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: Yi Kwang-su / Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Lee Kwang-su, Korean writer Русский: Ли Гвансу, корейский писатель 한국어: 이광수
context_page_description: Yi Kwang-su was a Korean writer and independence and nationalist activist. His pen names were Chunwon and Goju. Yi is most well known for his novel The Heartless, sometimes described as the first Korean novel. Yi Kwangsu was born Yi Bogyeong on February 1, 1892.
context_section_description: Yi was born in 1892 in Chongju. He was orphaned at about age 10 and grew up with Donghak believers. In 1904, around the time of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, he moved to Seoul in order to avoid the authorities. In 1905 he went to Japan for his education. Upon returning to Korea in 1913, he taught, in Jeongju, at Osan School. He later moved back to Tokyo and became one of the leaders of the anti-colonial student movement.
  In 1919, he moved to Shanghai and served in the Korean Provisional Government and became president of The Independent, a newspaper in Shanghai. Yi returned to Korea in 1921 and founded the Alliance for Self-Improvement, established on principles of enlightenment and self-help. From 1923 to 1934, Yi pursued a career in journalism working for several newspapers, including two that survive today, the Dong-a Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo.
  After the war, the Special Committee for the Investigation of Anti-nationalist Activities found Yi guilty of collaboration. In 1950 Yi was captured by the North Korean army and died in Manpo on October 25, most likely of tuberculosis.
caption: Yi Kwang-su In 1942
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