In 1877, at the age of two, Rhee and his family moved to Seoul, where he had traditional Confucian education in various seodang in Nakdong () and Dodong (). When Rhee was six years old a smallpox infection rendered him virtually blind until he was treated with western medicine, possibly by a Japanese doctor.It is sometimes erroneously claimed that Rhee was treated by American medical missionary Horace Allen. For a discussion of this topic see, Fields, Foreign Friends, p. 17–19 Rhee was portrayed as a potential candidate for the gwageo, the traditional Korean civil service examination, but in 1894 reforms abolished the gwageo system, and in April he enrolled in the (), an American Methodist school, where he converted to Christianity. Rhee studied English and sinhakmun (). Near the end of 1895, he joined a Hyeopseong (Mutual Friendship) Club () created by Seo Jae-pil, who returned from the United States after his exile following the Gapsin Coup. He worked as the head and the main writer of the newspapers ' and ', the latter being the first daily newspaper in Korea. During this period, Rhee earned money by teaching the Korean language to Americans. In 1895, Rhee graduated from Pai Chai School.
In 1877, at the age of two, Rhee and his family moved to Seoul, where he had traditional Confucian education in various seodang in Nakdong () and Dodong (). When Rhee was six years old a smallpox infection rendered him virtually blind until he was treated with western medicine, possibly by a Japanese doctor.It is sometimes erroneously claimed that Rhee was treated by American medical missionary Horace Allen. For a discussion of this topic see, Fields, Foreign Friends, p. 17–19 Rhee was portrayed as a potential candidate for the gwageo, the traditional Korean civil service examination, but in 1894 reforms abolished the gwageo system, and in April he enrolled in the (), an American Methodist school where he converted to Christianity. Rhee studied English and sinhakmun (). Near the end of 1895, he joined a Hyeopseong (Mutual Friendship) Club () created by Seo Jae-pil, who returned from the United States after his exile following the Gapsin Coup He worked as the head and the main writer of the newspapers ' and ', the latter being the first daily newspaper in Korea. During this period, Rhee earned money by teaching the Korean language to Americans. In 1895 Rhee graduated from Pai Chai School.