Park Gyu-su was a scholar-bureaucrat, a teacher, a politician and a diplomat of Joseon Dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...

 Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

. He was known as a pioneer of the enlightenment group. Park Gyu-su was a grandson of Park Ji-won, the great Silhak

Silhak

Silhak was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. Sil means "actual" or "practical," and hak means "studies" or "learning." It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism that seemed disconnected from the rapid agricultural,...

 scholar of the Joseon.

Life

When Park was 20, he became acquainted with Crown Prince Hyomyeong. They became close friends and discussed politics. When the crown prince died a sudden death, Park was so shocked that shuted himself up for 20 years.

In 1848, He successed Gwageo

Gwageo

The gwageo were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' knowledge of the Chinese classics, and sometimes also of technical subjects...

 exam on forth class. In middle of 1870s

1870s

The 1870s continued the trends of the previous decade, as new empires, imperialism and militarism rose in Europe and Asia. America was recovering from the Civil War. Germany declared independence in 1871 and began its Second Reich. Labor unions and strikes occurred worldwide in the later part of...

, Pak Yeong-hyo visited Park Gyu-su and be taught about the Enlightenment Thought. Kim Okgyun

Kim Okgyun

Kim Ok-gyun [김옥균; 金玉均] was a reformist activist during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He served under the national civil service under King Gojong, and actively participated to advance Western ideas and sciences in Korea...

 was affected Park too.

During the period of King Gojong's reign, Queen Sinjeong, who was a wife of Prince Hyomyeong, promote Park.
When General Sherman incident

General Sherman Incident

The General Sherman Incident was the destruction of an armed merchant marine side-wheel steamer that visited Korea in 1866. It was an important catalyst to the end of Korean isolationism in the 19th century...

 occurred, Park was the governor of Pyongan

Pyongan

P'yŏngan was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. P'yŏngan was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was P'yŏngyang.-History:P'yŏngan Province was formed in 1413...

. Park ordered the General Sherman's crew to depart from Joseon. The ship's crew ignored Park's order and captured Yi Hyeon-ik, an adjutant of Park. Park rescued Yi and destroyed the General Sherman.

In 1872, Park Gyu-su was Joseon chief envoy to the court of the Tongzhi Emperor

Tongzhi Emperor

The Tongzhi Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro Dzai Šun, was the tenth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1861 to 1875. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, the Empress...

, offering congratulations.