Anyone who has studied modern Korean history will know the names Yi Sang-seol, Yi Wi-jong, and Yi Jun. When I learned about the 1907 Hague mission in high school, I was appalled by its tragic outcome. I wondered whether, had we known the International Peace Conference was a hollow pretext, we might have avoided losing talented people and sparing our nation such pain. The Secret of The Hague is set mainly in the Netherlands in 1907, when the envoys were sent. The scars of the Korean Empire's

To be honest, I am not very interested in mysteries. But even though I know little about them, this book caught my attention because it combines Greek and Roman gods familiar from mythology with time travel in a genre centered on evidence and deduction. Protagonist Lee Ye-bin is a prosecutor living in 2022. One day, while visiting her grandfather's home, the power of Dike, goddess of justice, sends her to 1945. Her grandfather Lee Jun-ho disappeared after defending Rudy Hoekstra, who knew the

Myth and history stand at opposite ends: the beginning of history means the end of myth. The gods' joys and sorrows no longer interest people; human lives, actions, and historical facts become the protagonists. Yet history cannot fill a certain need. Freewheeling imagination and neatly ordered stories have no place in history, which is chaotic, morally ambiguous, and does not always let good prevail. In modern times, fiction has taken on myth's role. People turn to novels for refined

A rare, outstanding novel I have encountered after a long time, full of layered storytelling and wonderful characters. It weaves the potentially political and difficult subject of the Hague envoys into mystery and fantasy. This exciting story showed me that universal values can connect past and present, whatever era we live in. I look forward to Kim Cheol's future books.

The Hague was the city to which Emperor Gojong sent envoys to tell the world about the injustice of the forcibly imposed Eulsa Treaty, and Yi Jun was a key figure entrusted with that mission. In history class, we learn that Yi Jun took his own life out of outrage at Japan for preventing the envoys from attending the International Peace Conference. It is shameful that I never even questioned whether that account was true. Perhaps the novel breaks assumptions treated as settled fact by asking

For people who love history or mysteries and detective fiction, this book offers several perspectives on the imaginative devices used in novels and helps readers learn about and consider important events and figures in our history. It should prove worthwhile. The Secret of The Hague: The Mystery of Patriot Yi Jun's Death. Anyone who knows even a little history will have a basic idea of the Hague envoys and the people involved. Their actions, the secrets surrounding them, and their steadfastness

I knew the Hague envoys as representatives Emperor Gojong sent to The Hague in the Netherlands to publicize an unequal treaty imposed on our country. This was a chance to learn more. After winning the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Japan secured U.S. recognition of its suzerainty over Korea through the 1905 Taft-Katsura agreement. Then Japan used its troops to force the Eulsa Treaty in order to strip the Korean Empire of its diplomatic rights. It was signed by Foreign Minister Park Je-sun and the

The Secret of The Hague: The Mystery of Patriot Yi Jun's Death is a fantasy novel blending history and mythology. It draws on real historical settings, facts, and people, including Yi Jun, a famous Hague envoy, and his death. Since the circumstances have never been properly established, theories range from illness to suicide and assassination; the author approaches this in an unusual way. The mythological element stands out first, and bringing in Greek mythology is interesting. Greek myths have

In the early 1900s, the Japanese Empire was an unimaginably powerful superpower. In 1905 Japan concluded the Eulsa Treaty with the Korean Empire. Japan forcibly conscripted, drafted, and detained innocent Koreans and destroyed their property and livelihoods. Emperor Gojong gave prosecutor Yi Jun a letter of appointment and sent him as an envoy to The Hague to expose Japan's atrocities. On June 29, rows of finely made wooden benches stood in the Binnenhof hall for delegates and dignitaries.