The Letters of Yu Kil-chun

The author has collected nineteen letters written by Yu Kil-chun, the first Korean student to study in Japan and the United States. Written over the thirteen year period from June 7, 1884, to June 7, 1897, the letters are addressed to Edward S. Morse, director of the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and the person responsible for arranging Yu's education in the United States. The letters discuss a variety of topics, including Yu's thoughts on American schools and students and on Christianity, and his reactions to many seminal events and figures in the history of late nineteenth century Korea, including the Kapsin coup of 1884 and the murder of Queen Min.