TCHI CHANG YUN (T. C. YUN) 윤치창

(1899-1973)

Graduation year: 1928

Major: Medicine

Work & Experiences

  • Rush Medical School, University of Chicago (1924)
  • Secretary-Treasurer, The Korean Club, University of Chicago (1925)
  • Member, The Korean Club, University of Chicago (1925-1926)
  • Constitutional Revision Committee, Second Convention of the Korean Student Federation of North America (1924)
  • Manager, Namgye Yanghaeng (南桂洋行, Namgye Foreign Trading Store) (1935-1939)
  • Director, Bank of Chosen (朝鮮銀行, present day Bank of Korea, 1948-1949)
  • First Ambassador to Britain from South Korea (1949-1951)
  • Founder and Vice President, Korean American Association of Greater New York (1960)
  • Chief Delegate, Goodwill Mission to the Middle East (1961)
  • Ambassador to Turkey from South Korea (1961-1962)

Tchi Chang Yun (T. C. Yun) was born in Seoul, 1899. Originating from Haep’yŏng, North Kyŏngsang Province, the Yun family included several prominent political activists. T. C. Yun’s father Yun Ung-nyŏl (1840-1911) was a military official and member of the liberal progressive Reformist Faction (Kaehwap’a); his older brother Yun Ch’i-ho (1864-1945) was also a political activist who, alongside famous Korean American politician and activist Philip Jaisohn (Sŏ Chae-p’il, 1864-1951), helped organize the Independence Association (Tongnip Hyŏphoe, 獨立協會); and the second president of South Korea (1960-1962) Yun Po-sŏn (1897-1990) was T.C. Yun’s fifth cousin. 

After graduating with honors from Kyŏngsong Higher Normal School (Kyŏngsong Kodŭng Pot’ong Hakkyo) in 1916, T.C. Yun continued to pursue higher education abroad, studying for a brief period in Japan and then traveling to the United States in 1924. He was admitted to the premedical program at the University of Chicago-affiliated Rush Medical School. Though Rush Medical School is at present an independent institution, from 1898-1942, it maintained a joint admissions program with the University of Chicago, and T.C. Yun appears to have been admitted to Rush through the joint program. In 1925 T.C. Yun married Jinsil Sohn (Son Chin-sil, also known as Virginia Sohn), the daughter of independence activist and Methodist minister Son Chŏng-do (1881-1931). During his time at the University, T.C. Yun maintained an active extracurricular student life: he was a member of the University of Chicago’s Korean Club from 1925-1926, serving as the Club’s Secretary-Treasurer in 1925; and a member of the Constitutional Revision Committee at the Second Convention of the Korean Student Federation of North America in 1924. T.C. Yun graduated from the University’s pre-med program in 1928. However sources diverge regarding the details of his received degree, with one source recording T.C. Yun having received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago [“Chronology of the Haep’yŏng Yun family” (Haep’yŏng Yun mun yŏnbo), Han’guk ilbo, June 30, 2011] and another stating that he graduated with a degree in commerce from Lewis Institute [Korean Student Bulletin 7, no. 3 (October 1929): Chang Kyŏng-ho, “Background and Post-Graduation Activities of Korean Study Abroad Students in the US from the Late 19th to Early-Mid 20th Century'' (19-segi mal 20-segi ch’o-jungban Mig’uk yuhaksaeng ŭi yuhak paegyŏng kwa chorŏp hu hwaltong) (2020)]. 

T.C. Yun returned to Korea in 1929 and engaged in a variety of different professional activities, including as businessman, official for the US Military Government in Korea, banker, public servant, and diplomat. From 1935-1939 T.C. Yun operated the retail shop Namgye Foreign Trading Store (Namgye Yanghaeng, 南桂洋行), which specialized in imported goods and took its name from T.C. Yun’s own pen name (Namgye). The building which once housed Namgye Foreign Trading Store is located in the present-day neighborhood of Insadong, and has been designated as a future heritage site. As such, the modern architectural style of the original building has been preserved and can still be seen today. Following independence from Japanese colonial rule, T.C. Yun held a wide range of leadership positions in South Korea, serving as the Specialist Director (Chŏndan Kukjang, 專亶局長) of the Ministry of Finance (1945), Director of the Bank of Chosen (Chosŏn Ŭnhaeng, 朝鮮銀行, present day Bank of Korea, 1948-1949), First Ambassador to Britain (1949-1951), and Ambassador to Turkey (1961-1962). In 1960 T.C. Yun joined fellow University of Chicago alumni Hyung Lin Kim (Kim Hyŏng-nin) to co-found the Korean American Association of Greater New York, an organization to which he would also serve as the first Vice President. In 1961, T.C. Yun was selected as the lead delegate for a goodwill mission to the middle east, traveling to Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, among other countries. During the visit to Jordan, T.C. Yun received the Honorary Independence Medal (Myŏngye Tongnip Hunjang, 명예독립훈장). Additionally, Yun also received recognition for his contributions as part of this goodwill mission by being awarded a Presidential Commendation (Taet’ongnyŏng P’yoch’ang, 대통령 표창). T.C. Yun resigned from his position as Ambassador to Turkey in 1962 and relocated to New York where he remained until his passing in 1973.