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Ernest T. Bethell, also known by his Korean name Bae Seol (裴說), was a British journalist and independence activist whose role in modern Korean history was unique. He was the publisher of Daehan Maeil Shinbo ("Shinbo"), or The Korea Daily News, a newspaper that served as the voice of the anti-Japanese Korean nationalist camp and was published in three editions (a Korean edition where Chinese characters were also used, a Korean edition, and an English edition). While publishing the newspaper, the Shinbo company established the Agency for National Debt Repayment to collect donations to raise money to fight against Japan's economic aggression. The newspaper company also served as the headquarters of "Shinminhui," a secret society against Japan.

Bethell was born in Bristol, a harbor city in England, on November 2, 1872. After studying at the prestigious Merchant Venturers School in Bristol, he went to Kobe, Japan in 1888, where he worked as a merchant, running the trading firm 'Bethell Brothers' with his two brothers.

The Publisher of The Korean Daily News Speaking for the Korean People

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, he was given the chance to visit Korea for the first time as a correspondent for the English newspaper Daily Chronicle. At that time, Japan had secured a dominant position in the Korean Peninsula by winning the war with Russia, and was formulating policies that were explicitly designed for aggression. The Korean nationalist camp launched strong resistance movements on many fronts. King Gojng, the Korean Emperor, sent a secret envoy to the Hague Peace Conference in an attempt to recover Korea's right to diplomacy taken away from it by Japan. But his plan failed and he ended up abdicating the throne. There were militias rising up in arms across Korea to fight against Japan. And there were also active cultural campaigns designed to enlighten the Korean people and instill patriotism and national consciousness in them. The National Debt Repayment Movement, which was started in Daegu and spread across the coutnry, was a voluntary national movement calling for self-reliance and independence from Japan's economic control. It was during this turning point in national history that Shinbo was published. It was the most influential newspaper in Korea at that time speaking for its people.

Obviously, Japan found Bathell's anti-Japanese journalism to be a large stumbling block to its policies to colonize Korea. The Japanese Resident-General Ito Hirobumi (伊藤博文) even complained that a headline from Shinbo was more powerful to the Korean people than hundreds of his words. While Japan tried everything in plotting to deport Bathell from Korea and close down his newspaper, Bathell was under protection as a British citizen not subject to foreign laws. and continued to use his newspaper as a means of struggle against Japan.

Reporting on the Koreans rising up in arms for struggle against Japan, Shinbo exposed that the Japanese military had carried out cold-blooded revenge in the process of suppressing the revolts and ruthlessly killed innocent civilians. Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald, the British Ambassador to Japan at that time, said that at least 14,000 Koreans and over 400 Japanese had been killed by the end of 1908, pointing out that they included women and children. The Japanese Residency-General condemned Shinbo as the instigator of what had happened, claiming that the newspaper's editorials, which the militias used verbatim to encourage people to join them, were directly responsible for the militia revolts.

The Japanese Residency-General pushed hard for the British government to punish Bethell. From 1904, when Shinbo was founded, to 1910. when Japan occupied Korea, Japan and the U.K. were in complex diplomatic negotiations over what to do with Bethell, who, in the process, was brought to trial twice.

Dies at Only 37 after Leaving His Last Words: "Save the Korean People"

His first trial took place for two days from October 14 to 15, 1907. It was a kind of a summary trial, held at a consular court and judged by British Minister to Korea Henry Cockburn. It ended with the decision to sentence him to six months of confinement to his house. Six months later, Shinbo went back to its anti-Japanese voice, even stronger than before. The Japanese Residency-General asked the British government to indict Bathell again, for the second time. His second trial took place for four days, from June 15 to 19, 1908, at the British Consulate General which was located at the present site of the British Embassy by Deoksu Palace in Seoul. It was a formal trial this time, held with a prosecutor and a judge from H.B.M.'s Supreme Court for China and Korea in Shanghai who had come to Seoul, because both the U.K. and Japan took this trial very seriously.

Presented to court as evidence against the suspect were three articles from the Korean edition of Shinbo. In other words, the Japanese Residency-General was determined to prove that the Korean edition of Shinbo was directly responsible for inspiring and encouraging the Korean people to rise up in arms to fight against Japan. At the same time, they intended this trial to crack down on Yang Ki-tak (梁起鐸) because he was the one in charge of the Korean edition of Shinbo. Yang Ki-tak was called to appear in court as a witness. Later, the Japanese Residency-General would arrest Yang Ki-tak while Bathell was in prison in Shanghai, and this would lead to a serious conflict between the U.K. and Japan.

A fierce court battle continued until the fourth day, June 18th, when the presiding judge found Bethell guilty of first-degree minor offenses, sentenced him to three weeks in prison, and ruled that he should pledge to be confined to his house for six months after serving his time in prison, or he would be deported. The judge also warned him that the accused would be ordered to be deported if he continued to instigate revolts,

So Bathell was sent to Shanghai to be imprisoned for three weeks. While Bethell was in prison in Shanghai, the Japanese Residency-General arrested Yang Ki-tak, the chief editor of Shinbo, on charges of pocketing the money of the Agency for National Debt Repayment. This caused a serious diplomatic dispute between the U.K. and Japan. After being released, Bethell returned to Korea, but died the following year, on May 1, 1909, at the young age of thirty-seven. His last words were: "I may die, but let Shinbo live forever so it can save the Korean people."

His remains were buried in Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Seoul. In the year after his death, the nationalist camp raised money to build a tombstone in memory of him, inscribed with an epitaph by Jang Ji-yeon. Although the epitaph was chiseled off by Japan following its occupation of Korea, it was restored in 1964, when Korea News Editors' Association raised money from journalists to erect a small tombstone with that very epitaph inscribed on it.