Hong Gye-hui


Hong Gye-hui was a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty Korea in the 18th century.
He was also diplomat and ambassador, representing Joseon interests in the 10th Edo period diplomatic mission to the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan.

1748 mission to Japan

In 1748, King Yeongjo of Joseon directed that a diplomatic mission to Japan would be dispatched. This diplomatic mission functioned to the advantage of both the Japanese and the Koreans as a channel for developing a political foundation for trade.
This delegation was explicitly identified by the Joseon court as a "Communication Envoy". The mission was understood to signify that relations were "normalized."
This embassy traveled to Edo in the 1st year of the Japanese era of Kan'en, according to the Japanese calendar in use at that time. The chief envoy of this Joseon delegation was Hong Gye-hui.

Recognition in the West

Pak Tong-chi's historical significance was confirmed when his mission and his name were specifically mentioned in a widely distributed history published by the Oriental Translation Fund in 1834.
In the West, early published accounts of the Joseon kingdom are not extensive, but they are found in Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu, and in Nihon ōdai ichiran. Joseon foreign relations and diplomacy are explicitly referenced in the 1834 work.

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