Yi Seok

Yi Seok (born 3 August 1941) is a South Korean entrepreneur.

He is a member of the House of Yi, the royal house of Joseon and Korean Empire.

Yi was born Yi Hae-seok on 30 August 1941.

He was born in Sadong Palace, Seoul, in Japanese-occupied Korea.

His father, Prince Yi Kang, was 62 and his mother, former telephone operator Lady Hong Chŏng-sun, was 19.

He was born the fifth son.

Of his childhood in occupied Korea, Yi later recalled in his autobiography: "I still remember clearly how my father fired a revolver into the air and ranted, 'I shall banish those Japanese who stole our country!'"

The family lost Sadong Palace after 1945.

The subsequent rise of the First Republic of Korea also resulted in the confiscation of many of the family's other properties.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, Yi and his family fled from their residence in Samcheong-dong and were reduced to poverty.

At the beginning of the era of Republic of Korea, the Imperial family was banished from the Imperial palace.

Their lives became better after the president Park Chung Hee gained power.

When studying Hankook University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Yi learned foreign languages, principally Spanish, and became fluent.

He also studied foreign relations and history, to prepare for the diplomatic service.

A series of coups d'état and civil discord made that impossible.

In his twenties during the 1960s, he used his musical talent to become a well-known singer and professional musician.

He became known as the "Singing Prince".

In his early life, he gained fame as a singer and he released a 1967 album Pigeon House. Since 2004, he has been employed by the city of Jeonju to promote tourism.

He also serves as a professor of history at Jeonju University.

Yi's guesthouse in the Jeonju Hanok Village has been visited by Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in.

In 1967, he recorded the album Pigeon House. Later, Yi volunteered for the Korean military and served as an enlisted man in the Vietnam War.

During the war, Yi was wounded and needed to return to Korea; around the same time, his mother died of stomach cancer.

Yi was 26; severely depressed, he attempted suicide nine times.

After President Park was assassinated in 1979, the government's subsidy to the royal family was discontinued.

Yi tried various jobs to support himself.

In the 1980s he moved to the United States as an illegal immigrant, doing jobs including lawn mowing and cleaning swimming pools and buildings.

At the same time he attempted to retrieve family properties seized by the republic.

Under postwar Korean law, these are no longer able to be claimed.

With the changing political climate in the early 1990s, Yi returned to Korea.

In April 2004, his eldest daughter Yi Hong performed for the first time in a singing show from SBS, and Yi Seok starred on stage with her as celebration.

In August 2004, Yi started running and living in a guesthouse Seunggwangjae in Jeonju Hanok Village.

Seunggwangjae is sometimes rented by the government of Jeonju and it was built of wood, similar to the traditional way.

Yi runs the place with his supporters.

He said, "There are many things to do in Jeonju since this is where the Joseon dynasty founded. I'm going to spread the culture of the royal family and re-illuminate Jeonju's history."

It has been visited by Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in.

In August 2006, Yi founded the Imperial Cultural Foundation of Korea to support this proposal.

He is the 10th son of Prince Yi Kang, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong, and one of his consorts, Lady Hong Chŏng-sun.

Yi has been described as "one of two pretenders to the Korean throne and the only one living in Korea".

Yi promotes the creation of a constitutional monarchy alongside the existing presidential system.

Other guests include Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon and Ambassador Harry B. Harris Jr. In May 2016, Yi became the brand ambassador of Liancourt Rocks by Ulleung County.