Park was born in Suwon, south of Seoul. He was the third son of Park Won-yang, and his mother was Lady Yi of the Jeonwi Yi clan; Park also had a distant connection with the royal family by birth: his 7-great-grandfather was Park Se-gyo, the son of King Seonjo's 5th daughter, Princess Jinan. In 1872, Park was chosen to be the spouse of Princess Yeonghye, the only living daughter of King Cheoljong, the 25th king of the Joseon Dynasty. However, the princess passed away merely three months later after their marriage, and the couple had no children; to retain his royal status, Park never remarried and all his children were born by his concubines. Later, together with Kim Ok-gyun, Park was a strong supporter of the Dongnipdang, or “Enlightenment Party”, which sought to reform the Korean government, economy, and military by incorporating Western technology and methodology, so that Korea would become stable enough in time to withstand increasing foreign encroachment. He accompanied Kim on his visit to Tokyo, meeting with various influential Japanese politicians, including Fukuzawa Yukichi.
Park was one of the leaders of the 1884 Gapsin Coup that attempted to overthrow the Korean government and institute Western-style reforms. The coup attempt lasted only three days before its suppression by Chinese troops. Park was forced to flee to exile in Japan, where he initially stayed with Fukuzawa Yukichi, before moving on to Kobe.
Subsequent career
Park served briefly as Interior Minister in 1895, playing an important role in opening up Korea. However, following the Gabo Reform and the assassination of Queen Min, Park fled to exile in Japan, where he remained until 1907. On his return, he accepted the post of Royal Household Minister under Ye Wanyong. Following the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910, in which Korea was annexed to the Empire of Japan, Park was awarded with the kazoku title of marquess in the Japanese peerage, and a seat in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. He served as Director of the Bank of Chosen in 1918, Chairman of the Korean Economic Association in 1919, first president of The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper in 1920, president of the Kyungbang Corporation, chairman of the Korea Industrialization Bank in 1921, and advisor to the Government-General of Korea’s Central Institute. In 1935, he was listed as one of the 353 most prominent Koreans.
