Kim Hongjip

Kim Hong-jip (金弘集, 1842–1896) was a scholar-official and statesman of the late Joseon dynasty and a leading figure of the reformist enlightenment party. As prime minister during the Gabo Reform, he directed sweeping modernization of the country's institutions and was involved in pushing the edict ordering men to cut their topknots. Shortly after the royal refuge at the Russian legation (Agwan Pacheon), however, he was killed by an angry crowd, and his reformist course remains at the center of debate over pro-Japanese collaboration.