Yi Seok

Sadong Palace in 1937

Yi Seok was born in Korea under Japanese rule, on 30 August 1941. His father Yi Kang was 62 and his mother, Lady Hong, was 19.[12] The place he was born, Sadong Palace (사동궁), was lost after 1945.[13] The rising of the Syngman Rhee government resulted in the confiscation of many of their family properties. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Yi Seok and his family fled from their residence in Samcheong-dong and were reduced to poverty.[13]

At the beginning of the era of Republic of Korea, the Imperial family was banished from the Imperial palace.[12] Their lives became better after the president Park Chung Hee gained power. When studying Hankook University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Yi Seok learned foreign languages, principally Spanish, and became fluent. He also studied foreign relations and history, to prepare for the diplomatic service. A series of coups d'état and civil discord made that impossible.

In the 1960s he used his musical talent to become a well-known singer and professional musician iwhile in his twenties, having several hit songs. Later, Yi Seok volunteered for the Korean military and served as an enlisted man in the Vietnam War.[14] During the war, Yi Seok was wounded and needed to return to Korea; around the same time, his mother died of stomach cancer.[12] Yi Seok was 26; severely depressed, he attempted suicide nine times.[12] After President Park was assassinated in 1979, the government's subside to the royal family was discontinued. Yi Seok tried various jobs to support himself.[14] In the 1980s, he moved to the United States as an illegal immigrant, doing jobs including lawn mowing, cleaning swimming pools and buildings.[12] At the same time, he attempted to retrieve family properties seized by the republic. Under postwar Korean law, these are no longer able to be claimed. With the changing political climate in the early 1990s, Yi Seok returned to Korea. The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) produced a semi-fictional TV programme of his life.

In April 2004, his eldest daughter, Yi Hong performed for the first time in a singing show from SBS, and Yi Seok starred on stage with her as celebration.[15]

By August of the same year, Yi Seok started to run a guesthouse SeungKwangJae (승광재) in Jeonju Hanok Village, which is also his current residence. The name reference of the guesthouse is the era name of Emperor Gojong, Kwangmu (光武), and seung (승) stands for "succession".[9][5] SeungKwangJae is sometimes rented by the government of Jeonju and it was built of wood, similar to the traditional way.[14] Yi Seok runs the place with his supporters.[16] He said, "There are many things to do in Jeonju since this is where the Joseon dynasty founded. I'm going to spread the culture of the royal family and re-illuminate Jeonju's history."[16]

On 16 July 2005, Yi Seok's cousin Yi Ku passed away without an heir. The Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association announced, on July 22, that Yi Won would become Yi Ku's successor, according to his will.[17][18] During the funeral, an angered Yi Seok commented that "the funeral is not yet ended, and it's inappropriate to discuss about adopting an heir by now".[18] Later, Yi Seok claimed that "adopting a son after death doesn’t make any sense," and he also claimed that Yi Bangja, his late aunt and the mother of Yi Ku, named him as "first successor" in her will.[19]

In August 2006, to support his goal of monarchy restoration, Yi Seok founded the organization "Korean Imperial Family Cultural Foundation" (황실문화재단); he serves as director.[9] Yi Hae-won, one of his elder half-sisters, proclaimed herself as an empress and held a coronation on 29 September 2006. Although she invited Yi Seok, he did not attend the ceremony.[19]

The Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul

The Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Plaza was erected on 9 October 2009, and Yi Seok attended the unveiling ceremony.[20] According to a talk on 4 September 2014, Yi Seok said that there is no existing contemporary portrait of Sejong the Great. The statue's face was based on that of Yi Seok and a portrait of Grand Prince Hyoryeong, King Sejong's older brother, which is now preserved at Gwanaksan.[21][22][12]

On 7 August 2018, Harry B. Harris Jr., the United States Ambassador to South Korea, paid a visit to SeungKwangJae.[5] The mayor of Jeonju, Kim Seung-su (김승수), said, "The prince [Yi Seok] is our history and our spirit. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the ambassadors for visiting this symbolic space."[23]

On October 6, 2018, Yi declared Andrew Lee, a distant Korean-American relative and an entrepreneur, to be the "Korean Crown Prince".[24][6] Yi's claims that Lee is descended from the Jeonju clan have not been documented.