'A hardcore collaborator' — Band vocalist Jeon Beom-seon reveals he is a descendant of Yi In-jik, interpreter for traitor Yi Wan-yong

Jeon Beom-seon, vocalist of the band Yangbandeurs, appears on the YouTube channel Choi Wook's Maebulshow on Thursday to reveal that he is a fifth-generation descendant of Yi In-jik (1862–1916), author of Korea's first modern novel and a pro-Japanese collaborator. [YouTube 'Choi Wook's Maebulshow']

Amid growing allegations surrounding actor Ha Young's great-grandfather Ahn Seong-ho's alleged pro-Japanese collaboration, Jeon Beom-seon, 35, vocalist of the band Yangbandeurs, has spoken candidly about the shock he felt upon learning that he too is a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator.

Jeon appeared on the YouTube channel Choi Wook's Maebulshow on Thursday and said he developed lasting trauma after discovering his family's history of collaboration with Japanese colonial rule.

Earlier, in April, he appeared on the YouTube channel Museum P and revealed that he is a fifth-generation descendant of Yi In-jik — author of "Hyeol-ui Nu," Korea's first modern novel, as well as a journalist and pro-Japanese collaborator.

Yi In-jik studied in Japan during the Daehan Empire period and served as an interpreter for the Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. He then served as an interpreter for Yi Wan-yong (1858–1926) around the time of the Japan-Korea Annexation of 1910 and continued his pro-Japanese activities thereafter.

Jeon said he was unaware of his family's collaborationist past until his university years. Deeply interested in history from high school, he graduated from Minjok Leadership Academy in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province, before majoring in history at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university. He later earned a master's degree in history from the University of Oxford.

During his time at Dartmouth, he learned about Dr. Homer Hulbert, who worked in Korea during the Daehan Empire and Japanese colonial periods as a missionary, independence activist and diplomat. After returning to Korea and engaging in activities related to Hulbert, Jeon said his mother revealed the family's background to him.

"My mother said, 'I know you study history, but you should know where you come from,' and told me my ancestor was Yi In-jik," Jeon said. "I knew Yi In-jik as the author of 'Hyeol-ui Nu,' but I had no idea he was a pro-Japanese collaborator."

He added that his mother told him Yi In-jik was "not just any collaborator — he was a hardcore one. He was Yi Wan-yong's interpreter." Jeon said, "The person who interpreted during the very act of selling out the country was my fifth-generation ancestor — my maternal grandmother's great-grandfather."

"My mother had never told me any of this until then. She was ashamed," Jeon said. "I was deeply shocked by what she told me."

Jeon said, however, that he did not grow up in wealth despite being a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator.

He explained that Yi In-jik abandoned his Korean wife, remarried a Japanese woman and died in Gyeongseong (present-day Seoul) in 1916 — and that Jeon is a descendant of the Korean wife.

"Yi In-jik was such a committed collaborator that he took a Japanese wife and even converted to a Japanese religion," Jeon added. "He abandoned not only his country but his family as well."

"My mother said she could never bring herself to speak of this her entire life. She lived in shame," Jeon said. "It was a great trauma and shock for me. From that point on, I tracked down every book written by that yangban Yi In-jik. I wanted to understand why he abandoned both his family and his country."

Meanwhile, Jeon had been active in the Hongdae indie scene before returning to Korea after graduating from Dartmouth and forming the band Jeon Beom-seon and the Yangbandeurs in 2014. The band's 2016 album "Hyeokbyeonga" (Revolutionary Song), inspired by Donghak Peasant Movement leader Jeon Bong-jun — known by the nickname "Nokdu Janggun" — received wide acclaim. The following year, the B-side track "Arae-ro-buteo-ui Hyeokbyeong" (Revolution from Below) won best rock song at the Korean Music Awards. The band has since reorganized under the name Yangbandeurs and remains active.

Drawing on his academic background, Jeon also authored a history book — "Jeon Beom-seon's Korean History Therapy" — which he described as part of his effort to overcome the trauma of being a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com