Yeo U-gil (; 1567–1632) was a Korean scholar-official of the Joseon period.
He was also diplomat and ambassador, representing Joseon interests in the 1st Edo period diplomatic mission to the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan.Walraven, Boudewijn et al. (2007). Korea in the middle: Korean studies and area studies, p. 361.
1607 mission to Japan This embassy represented King Seonjo of Joseon, traveling to Edo for an audience with Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada; and Yeo U-gil was the chief Joseon envoy.Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century, p. 144. The diplomatic mission functioned to the advantage of both the Japanese and the Koreans as a channel for maintaining a political foundation for trade.Walker, Brett L. "Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay," Early Modern Japan. Fall, 2002, pp. 48.
This delegation was explicitly identified by the Joseon court as a "Reply and Prisoner Repatriation Envoy" (). The mission was not understood to signify that relations were "normalized."Lewis, James Bryant. (2003). Frontier contact between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan, pp. 21-24.
A diplomatic mission conventionally consisted of three envoys—the main envoy, the vice-envoy, and a document official. Also included were one or more official writers or recorders who created a detailed account of the mission.Walraven, Boudewign et al. (2007). Korea in the middle: Korean studies and area studies, p. 362. In 1607, Yeo U-gil was the main envoy and Kyŏng Sŏn was the vice-ambassador.Cox, Rupert A. (2007). The culture of copying in Japan: critical and historical perspectives, p. 108 n50.
See also Joseon diplomacy Joseon missions to Japan Joseon tongsinsa
References
Sources
Cox, Rupert A. (2007). The Culture of Copying in Japan: Critical and Historical Perspectives. London: Routledge. Daehwan, Noh. "The Eclectic Development of Neo-Confucianism and Statecraft from the 18th to the 19th Century," Korea Journal (Winter 2003). Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Basingstoke, Hampshire; Macmillan. ; Lewis, James Bryant. (2003). Frontier contact between chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan. London: Routledge. Walker, Brett L. "Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay," Early Modern Japan. Fall, 2002, pp. 44–62, 124-128. Walraven, Boudewijn and Remco E. Breuker. (2007). Korea in the middle: Korean studies and area studies; Essays in Honour of Boudewijn Walraven. Leiden: CNWS Publications. ;
External links Joseon Tongsinsa Cultural Exchange Association ; 조선통신사연구 (Journal of Studies in Joseon Tongsinsa)