Min Yeong-ik

Min Yeong-ik (1860–1914) entered Korea's ruling family through adoption by the household of Queen Min's brother. He passed the civil service examination in 1877 and helped administer the new military training corps. The 1882 military uprising destroyed his home; he subsequently inspected reforms in Japan and negotiated customs matters in Tianjin. ¹

In 1883 Gojong sent Min and deputy envoy Hong Yeong-sik to the United States following the establishment of treaty relations. They presented royal letters to President Chester Arthur and sought closer friendship and commerce. Arthur encouraged them to examine American agricultural machinery, manufacturing, education, and laws. He assured the envoys that the United States sought reciprocal trade rather than territorial control. Before their departure, American minister Lucius Foote reported that the Koreans wanted to investigate customs administration, schools, postal services, arsenals, and fortifications. ^{2, 3}

Min visited factories, farms, hospitals, and military institutions. In Washington, education commissioner John Eaton introduced him to the American school system and supplied reports. Min gave Korean medicinal plant specimens to the Smithsonian and purchased eighteen agricultural implements. He returned through Europe in 1884. ¹

Seriously wounded during the Gapsin coup that December, Min recovered under Horace Allen's care. He later held senior military and government offices, including war minister. He opposed the court's turn toward Russia, and political conflicts repeatedly drove him abroad. In Shanghai, he cultivated friendships with Chinese painters and helped Korean artists meet them. ¹

Min developed a second career as a painter, poet, and calligrapher, particularly associated with orchids and bamboo. His painting Orchid in the National Museum of Korea includes a poem by Pu Hua, the Chinese artist who befriended him during his Shanghai exile. He died in 1914. ⁴