Meritorious Service Record

In September 1886, he began working as a teacher at the Royal English School (Yugyeong Gongwon) following its opening. While employed there, he learned Korean and collaborated with dispatched officials to draft the school’s official regulations.
In 1891, he authored an astronomy and geography textbook titled Samin Pilji (士民必知, “Essential Knowledge for Scholars and Commoners”), which he published in a pure Korean script edition. His teaching contract at the Royal English School expired in December 1891, after which he returned to his home country. Through the arrangements of Appenzeller and others in Seoul, he was appointed as a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In September 1893, he returned to Korea and assumed responsibility for operating the “Trilingual Press” and also taught students at Paichai Hakdang (Paichai Academy).
He resumed publication of The Korean Repository, the first English-language monthly magazine in Korea, which had ceased with the December 1892 issue, beginning again with the January 1895 issue. In the October 1895 issue of the magazine, he reported in detail on the assassination of Queen Min (Empress Myeongseong), committed on October 8 of that year by Japanese Minister Miura Goro and hired rōnin, under the title “The Assassination of the Korean Queen.”
At that time, fearing assassination, he and others including H. G. Underwood and O. R. Avison took turns standing night watch armed with pistols to protect King Gojong. He was also deeply involved in the "Chunseongmun Incident" on November 28, which was an attempt to transfer King Gojong to the American Legation, though the effort failed due to betrayal by Ahn Gyeong-su, a senior counselor at the Privy Council, and Yi Jin-ho, the commander of the royal guard.
In May 1897, he resigned from his post as a missionary for the Methodist Episcopal Church and became the principal of the government-run Hansung Normal School.
In January 1901, he launched the English-language monthly magazine The Korea Review and served as its editor. The magazine featured articles introducing Korean history and culture, as well as current affairs, including exposes on Japanese atrocities and imperialistic actions in Korea.
In October 1903, he took part in the founding of the Seoul YMCA and chaired the inaugural meeting held on October 28. From that year, he also worked as a special correspondent for The Times. In 1904, he served as a special correspondent for the Associated Press, providing in-depth reporting on the Russo-Japanese War.
Meanwhile, he continued his study of Korean history and culture, publishing two volumes of The History of Korea in 1905. In 1906, he released The Passing of Korea.
By the fall of 1905, following Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War, its intent to make the Korean Empire a “protectorate” had become evident. That autumn, Emperor Gojong secretly dispatched him to the United States as a special envoy. After delays in being granted an audience, he finally met with U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root on November 25 and delivered a letter from Emperor Gojong, protesting Japan’s actions. However, it had no effect. On December 11, he received a telegram from the emperor stating, “I cannot recognize the protectorate treaty. The treaty was made under the threat of force and coercion. I neither signed it nor gave my consent.” He delivered this telegram to the U.S. State Department on December 14, but the only response he received was that the documents would be filed.
His efforts were reported in the Washington Post on December 12, 1905, and the Evening Star on December 13.
Failing to secure support from the U.S. government, he returned to Korea in early June 1906. On June 22, he received credentials appointing him as “Special Envoy.” With personal letters from Emperor Gojong to heads of state, he visited the governments of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Russia, Austria, Belgium, and China to deliver the letters and coordinate Korea’s position prior to the Hague Peace Conference.
In 1907, to expose Japan’s aggression and atrocities in Korea, he compiled and published selected articles from The Korea Review into a booklet titled The Japanese in Korea.
Despite being under Japanese surveillance due to his anti-Japanese activities, he secretly returned to Korea in August 1909 to settle his personal affairs. In July 1907, after being forced to abdicate due to the Hague Secret Envoy Affair, Emperor Gojong was under close Japanese scrutiny. In October 1909, Gojong secretly sent documents and a power of attorney dated October 20 through his nephew Jo Seung-nam to retrieve funds he had deposited at Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in Shanghai. The emperor asked him to first deposit the funds in an American bank and later use them for the country.
In early November, he arrived in Shanghai and met with the German consul, only to learn that the Japanese had already withdrawn the funds. He returned to the U.S. and sought help from financier Jacob Schiff in New York, but was unsuccessful.
He was ordained as a pastor by the Congregational Church in 1911, and until 1922, toured the United States as a speaker on the Chautauqua Circuit, educating adults on Far Eastern affairs and Korean history. He continued his writing and journalism. On July 14, he published a detailed statement in the New York Herald, exposing Japanese atrocities and persecution of Christianity in Korea, as well as the “105 Persons Incident” then under trial. He also criticized President Roosevelt’s refusal to help Korea during the 1905 protectorate treaty, despite existing trade agreements.
This article was translated and printed in the July 29, 1912 issue of Shinhan Minbo. The August 16, 1917 issue of the same newspaper also featured an article titled “Dr. Hulbert writes Korean history... praises Korea’s ancient civilization,” showcasing his passion for Korean culture through his writings.
As World War I neared its end in 1918, he traveled to France as a speaker for the U.S. Army YMCA, giving lectures to military units. During the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, he supported the diplomatic efforts of Korean delegates Kim Kyu-sik and Yeo Un-hong, who were sent to appeal for Korea’s independence. After returning to the United States, he traveled to various locations giving lectures to promote Korean independence.
On August 15, 1919, he submitted a notarized statement titled “What about Korea?” through Missouri Senator Selden Palmer Spencer to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which included it in its official record. The statement included detailed documentation on Japan’s invasion of Korea, including the Eulsa Treaty, and data concerning the U.S. government’s refusal to assist Korea. It also included verification of Emperor Gojong’s deposit at Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in Shanghai.
On September 28, 1919, he gave a lecture about Korea at the Chicago YMCA and continued to speak across the U.S., especially in churches and Christian organizations, condemning Japanese atrocities and informing audiences about the situation in Korea. He called on the U.S. to support Korean independence. On February 23, 1920, he gave a lecture at Wesleyan College in Delaware, appealing to Americans for sympathy and support for the Korean cause. Beginning in mid-April 1924, he conducted a 130-day lecture tour across 110 locations on the Pacific Coast, delivering two lectures per stop to introduce Korea’s situation.
From February 27 to March 1, 1942, he participated in the Korean National Association’s Korean-American Conference, held at the Lafayette Hotel in Washington, D.C., co-hosted by the Korean National Association and the Korean-American Council. There, he gave a speech condemning Japan’s aggression in Korea and urging the U.S. to recognize Korean independence. Around this time, he served as a national committee member of the Korean-American Council.
On January 20~21, 1944, he also attended the “Korean Conference” held in Ashland, Ohio, where he delivered a speech about Koreans’ hope for liberation from Japanese oppression and discussed how Americans could help. He established the office of the Christian Council for Korea in Washington, D.C., and on March 16, sent letters to his acquaintances urging them to join the Council and, for those already members, to recruit others and raise funds.
When Japan surrendered in August 1945, he expressed great joy, calling Korea’s liberation “a victory of justice and humanity.” He passed away on August 5, 1949. His funeral on August 11 was the first civilian funeral held for a foreigner in Korea, and he was buried at Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery.
In 1950, the Korean government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal.