Franziska Donner
Francesca Rhee (born June 15, 1900 in the municipality of Inzersdorf ( incorporated in Vienna since 1938 ); † March 19, 1992 in Seoul ) was the wife of President Rhee Syng-man and from 1948 to 1960 the first " First Lady " of the republic Korea .
Correct spelling of the name
According to documents available in copy, she was born as Franziska Donner . Later she used the spelling Franzeska Donner at times (also in official documents). Otherwise, the most common spelling in Korea is Francesca . Almost all of her Korean documents (including passports) are made out in this name.
Life
After attending a convent school, the daughter of the Inzersdorfer soda water manufacturer Josef Donner, who was married to a native Italian who had given up her operatic career because of her marriage, studied languages and did the Dr. phil. When her father died, she cashed out her inheritance and started traveling. She began to work for the League of Nations in Geneva, as Belle de la Societé des Nations , a mixture of interpreter, diplomat and hostess.
During a visit to a hotel in Geneva in 1933, Franziska Donner accidentally met the then 58-year-old Korean politician in exile, Rhee Syng-man (born March 26, 1875), who sought support for the Korean independence movement from the League of Nations . Rhee Syng-man was living in the USA at the time, he was also only visiting Geneva. Despite the great difference in age, they liked each other, he visited her shortly afterwards in Austria and proposed marriage to her. Franziska Donner followed him to the USA, the marriage took place in 1934 in New York , for both it was the second marriage.
They lived initially in New York and Washington , then mainly in Hawaii , where a large Korean exiled community was politically active. Rhee Syng-man was the head of a Korean government in exile ; Franziska also worked in the USA as his secretary or assistant, especially when preparing the book "Japan inside out" (1940).
After the capitulation of Japan , Rhee Syng-man returned to Korea in October 1945 with the support of the US government; Franziska followed him a few months later.
On March 3, 1948, he was elected the first President of the Republic of Korea, a position he held until 1960. During this period, from 1948 to 1960, Franziska was the country's “First Lady” and the first First Lady of the Republic of Korea. She was present at almost all of her husband's public appearances, a sensation as a foreigner in Korea at the time.
The usual Latin spelling of her name in Korea is Rhee Francesca (sometimes also Rhee Franzeska). Very often she is simply referred to as Lady Francesca . In the Korean population it was called Hojudaek (호주 댁 / 濠 洲 宅). This means something like "woman from Australia". This erroneous designation resulted from a confusion between “Australia” (오스트레일리아 [ osɯtʰɯɾɛllia ] or 호주 [hodzu]) and “Austria” (오스트리아 [ osɯtʰɯɾia ]).
The re-election of Rhee Syng-man in 1960 was marked by open election manipulation, the now 85-year-old president also showed clear signs of senility and was again forced into exile in Hawaii after unrest following the election results in the spring of 1960. Francesca followed him to Hawaii and took care of him even when he could no longer speak after a stroke . She stayed by his side until his death on July 19, 1965 and then returned to Austria.
After spending five years in Austria, which she left over 30 years ago, Francesca returned to Korea in 1970. From 1970 to 1992 she lived in Seoul, in Iwha-jang , in the former home of Rhee Syng-man, together with her adoptive son Rhee In-soo and his family. (In-soo was adopted in Hawaii shortly before Rhee Syng-man's death; Francesca had no biological children.) The house in Iwha-jang is now a museum, Rhee In-soo and his wife continue to live there ( May 2006).
As the presidential widow, Rhee Francesca lived as a relatively withdrawn woman who clearly showed her connection to Korean culture (she almost always wore Korean clothes , she cooked and ate almost exclusively Korean). She managed without staff and ran the entire household herself. She hardly left the house, only on Fridays she went to the cemetery to pray at her husband's grave.
Her husband's political legacy is still causing heated debates in Korean society. His wife, on the other hand, has received an almost entirely positive obituary in Korean society; their level of awareness is still high.
In 2012 the Franziska-Donner-Rhee-Weg in Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) was named after her; the route runs by Lake Iris in the Danube Park , where the Korea House of Culture was opened in 2012 .
literature
Franziska Donner or Rhee Francesca naturally appears only marginally in the extensive literature on Rhee Syng-man. But there is still no book in German (or English) about them.
After her death, the family of her adoptive son Rhee In-soo published a small book (more like a brochure) in Korean, which mainly contains photos of Francesca's life.
An Austrian of Korean origin, Lee-Fink Soonae, has been collecting material about her for years. In October 2005, the Korean publisher Random House Joongang Publishing Company in Seoul published her biographical novel "Francesca Rhee" ( ISBN 89-5924-999-8 ). A German translation is in preparation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ According to the 5th IHHF newsletter of August 15, 2008 by genealogist Felix Gundacker , Franzisca Henrica Donner was the daughter of Rudolf Donner (born January 17, 1865 in Inzersdorf) and Franziska Gerhartl (born February 22, 1869 in Inzersdorf).
- ↑ Franziska-Donner-Rhee-Weg . Strassen-in-Oesterreich.at. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Donner, Franziska |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rhee, Francesca |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian wife of President Rhee Syng-man, first "First Lady" of the Republic of Korea (1948–1960) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 15, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Inzersdorf municipality |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 19, 1992 |
| Place of death | Seoul |