Jeong Su-il

Jeong Su-il was born to ethnic Korean parents in Yanbian, Jilin, Manchukuo (Japanese-occupied China). His grandfather had come to China during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century. Jeong was the third of six children, and the eldest son. During his last year in high school, he became one of two ethnic Koreans admitted to Peking University when it opened its entrance exam to all students in 1952. At Peking University, Jeong was in the Eastern Studies program, which aimed to train diplomats. As part of the program, he studied Russian and Arabic. One of his professors was the famed historian Ji Xianlin, who suggested him to study in Egypt. He continued his studies at Cairo University from 1956 to 1958, where he also learned English and some German. After graduating, he worked as a Chinese diplomat for five years, serving in Morocco until 1963. == Life in North Korea and espionage ==

Jeong and his wife, Pak Kwangsuk, migrated to Pyongyang, North Korea, in 1963, where he became naturalized as a citizen. Their choice to go to North Korea may have been influenced by lack of opportunities in China, discrimination against ethnic Koreans, and/or the anti-academic sentiments of government leaders. Jeong worked at the Eastern Studies Department of Pyongyang International Relations University from 1964 to 1968, and then taught Arabic at Pyongyang International Language University from 1969 to 1974. He and his wife had three daughters in North Korea. Jeong also continued to stay in touch with and visit his family in Yanbian. He was trained as a spy beginning in September 1974, and continued training for five years. In January 1979, Jeong adopted the pseudonym Yi Ch'olsu and travelled to Lebanon, acquiring a Lebanese passport later that year. He also travelled to Tunisia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, and acquired Filipino citizenship in February 1984. From 1982 to 1984, he taught in Malaysia at the University of Malaya in the Academy of Islamic Studies. == Life in South Korea ==

In 1984, he entered South Korea under a student visa with the guise of a Filipino researcher of Lebanese descent named Mohammad Kansu. He enrolled at the Korean Language Institute at Yonsei University, and then at Dankook University in September 1984, becoming "the first international student in their doctoral history program". In 1988, he was offered a visiting professorship in Arabic Studies at Dankook, and became South Korea's "sole expert in Arabic Studies". and attended Seoul Central Mosque twice a month. He became a respected figure in the city's Muslim community and a household name in South Korea for his writing, columns, and lectures. In 1991, he wrote an excerpt for a middle school textbook published by the South Korean Ministry of Education. Jeong smuggled information back to North Korea by using hotel fax machines to fax a North Korean agent stationed in Beijing. While in Daegu Hwawon Prison, In 2003, he was offered a teaching position at Korea University, where he taught Islamic culture and medieval history. He received South Korean citizenship in 2005. In 2008, he founded the Korea Institute of Civilisation Exchanges, of which he was president at the time of his death. In 2011, he visited his hometown for the first time in 60 years. In 2022, he published a memoir, People of the times, follow your calling. In contrast to some Silk Road scholars, Jeong suggested that the route's northern-most point was Gyeongju, Silla, rather than Xi'an, China. ==Writings==

• • ; two volumes • • == Translations ==

• 이븐 바투타 여행기 1, 2 • Translation of The Travels (الرحلة, Rihla) of Ibn Battuta (2001) • • Translation of The Eastern Parts of the World Described of Odoric de Pordenone • 혜초의 왕오천축국전 (An Account of Travel to the Five Indian Kingdoms (Wang ocheonchukguk jeon) by Hyecho, 2004 • Cathay and the Way Thither of Sir Henry Yule ==References==