| (1) Resistance to Save the
Nation by the Righteous Army |
In confronting the Japanese
invasion, the Righteous Army waged a valiant armed
struggle against the aggressors. The Righteous Army
began to rise up with the murder of Myonsong Hwanghu
(Queen Min) and the enforcement of the short hair
policy. The Righteous Army was formed in the tradition
of the armed forces that repelled the Hideyoshi
Invasion. The Righteous Army units, under the command of
Yu In-sok and other Confucian scholars, punished the
pro-Japanese bureaucrats and the Japanese throughout the
country.
The Righteous Army, who put down their guns
by the order of the King to disband, waged a full
uprising again when the aggressions by Japan became
full-fledged after the Russo-Japanese War. Under the
leadership of Min Chong-sik, Ch'oe Ik-hyon and Sin
Tol-sok, the Righteous Army attacked the Japanese army,
Japanese merchants and pro-Japan bureaucrats in the
Kangwon, Ch'ungch'ong, Cholla and Kyongsang
provinces.
Ch'oe Ik-hyon was captured by the Japanese
army and dragged away to Tsushima Island where he
refused to eat the food given by the Japanese army and
finally died as a martyr. The Righteous Army commander
Sin Tol-sok was a commoner, but his soldiers numbered
over 3,000.
The movement to save the nation by the
Righteous Army expanded with the forced abdication of
King Kojong and the disbanding of soldiers, peasants,
fishermen, hunters, miners, merchants, and laborers,
embracing all classes and social strata.
The men of
the Righteous Army were united and implemented an
operation to recapture Seoul in 1907.
That is, ten
thousand troops under the command of Yi In-yong, were
concentrated in the city of Yangju. They formed 24 units
and were organized to recapture Seoul. |
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In
order to restore full sovereign rights, armies of
freedom fighters were formed in numerous locations
across the country and fought against the Japanese
imerial army. | |
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These soldiers marched as
far as 30 Li (standard of measure for distances; 12km)
outside of Seoul but as a result of counter-offensives
by the Japanese, they retreated and dispersed.
The
Japanese mercilessly oppressed members of the Righteous
Army. The Japanese army which had mobilized two army
divisions and even its warship for the purpose of
subjugating insurgents, did not hesitate to burn down
villages, massacre and plunder grain. Thus, in the
period between August 1907 and 1909, over 17,000
Righteous Army soldiers were massacred and another
37,000 were injured.
Units of the Righteous Army
fleeing from these Japanese attacks gradually moved into
the mountains to wage guerilla wars. Furthermore, as
Japan began to steal the national rights of Choson and
set up a network of oppression via its gendarme, the
Righteous Army of Choson waged wars of resistance,
setting up bases in Manchuria and the Maritime Province
of Siberia.
Among the battles of resistance waged by
the Righteous Army in various places, the patriot An
Chung-gun who had been active in the Maritime Province,
assassinated the mastermind of Japanese aggression, Ito
Hirobumi, at a railroad station, and Chon Myong-un
assassinated Stevens, a pro-Japanese diplomatic advisor
in San Francisco. |
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| (2) Enlightenment Movements
of Patriotic Organization |
Amid the Russo-Japan War, as
Japanese policies of aggression became more blatant, the
harbingers of enlightment developed a movement to
recover the lost national sovereignty by nurturing
nationalist forces. They organized various social
organizations and carried out enlightenment activities
in order to stir up patriotism.
The enlightenment
movement developed in two directions. One was directed
toward reviving national commerce with national capital
in order to create a healthy and self-sufficient
economy, and the other was directed toward heightening
the national consciousness and thus revive the
educational basis to build a self-reliant and
independent nation.
One of the movements for a
self-sufficient economy was to repay the national debt
of 13,000,000 won which the Japanese government loaned
to the Taehan Cheguk in order to invade it. All
nationals participated in this movement and large
amounts were collected, but the movement was suspended
as a result of Japanese suppression.
On the other
hand, the harbingers organized a society called the
Sinminhoe (New People's Society) propagated a nationwide
enlightenment movement in various areas of politics,
media, society, culture, and education. The Taehan Maeil
Sinbo, the Hwangsong Sinmun and other newspapers and
publications by various organizations of the time played
an important role in inspiring ideas of self empowerment
and reform among the people. In particular, the
thousands of schools established in the country by
leaders of the enlightenment movement, greatly
contributed to the patriotism of Korean youths.
The
enlightenment movement was promoted at a time when the
fate of the nation was dubious, but it was not able to
greatly assist in the recovery of national rights
because of the severity of Japanese
oppressions.
However, it is of great significance
that many leaders at that time became the leaders of the
anti-Japanese resistance movement, and the youths who
were educated by them grew up to become the primary
force in the national independence movement.
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| (3) Establishment of
Independence Movement Bases Overseas |
When Japan robbed Korea of
its national sovereignty and established a military
government, an independence movement was nearly
impossible at home. The independence movement carried
out their activities at home through clandestine
educational and religious organizations, such as the
Kwangbokhoe.
But at the same time, bases of the
independence movements were set up in Manchuria and the
Maritime Province to carry out a full-fledged resistance
movement. Many Koreans had lived in these areas for a
long time, but around 1910, hundreds of thousands of
Koreans emigrated to these areas to flee Japanese
oppression.
The Righteous Army units and the leaders
of the enlightenment movement joined hands in
establishing these bases of the independence movement
and made preparations to attack the Japanese in
Korea.
Hong Pom-to was representative of leaders of
the Independence Army unit who carried on the traditions
of the Righteous Army and engaged in the independence
struggles in Manchuria and the Maritime Province. He was
a commoner who led a unit composed of hunters and
carried out activities in the forests of Paektu
Mountain. Later when Korea lost its sovereignty, he led
the Righteous Army abroad where he reinforced his
military strength and continuously attacked the Japanese
army crossing the Korean border. |
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Anti-Japanese freedom fighters and national
leaders established overseas headquarters for the
independence movement and trained future
fighters. | |
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The representatives of the
Sinminhoe, who had led the patriotic enlightenment
movement, also established Korean villages and trained
independence fighters in Manchuria and the Martime
Province of Siberia. Yi Sang-ryong and Yi Tong-hwi
established the majority of nationalist and military
schools in Manchuria and the Maritime Province where
they trained leaders in the independence
movement.
They were the main forces in the
anti-Japanese Independence War which was fiercely waged
from the early 1920s. |
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| (4) Development of the
Independence Movement |
The Independence Movement,
which was rising both at home and abroad, finally
exploded into nationwide demonstrations after the forced
abdication of Emperor Kojong. This was known as the
March First Movement.
Because the March First
Movement was planned in utmost secrecy by Son Pyong-hui,
Yi Sung-hun, Han Yong-un and other nationalist leaders,
it was not detected by the intelligence network of the
Japanese imperialists. On March 1,1919 when a
declaration of independence was read in P'agoda Park,
countless citizens raised high the T'aeguk flag and
marched into the streets of Seoul as they cried "Taehan
Tongnip Manse (Long Live Korean
Independence!)".
During a month after the first
outbursts of the Manse Movement in Seoul, more than two
million people participated in the Independence Manse
demonstrations on 1,500 occasions in 211 counties. The
strength of our people's ardent desire for independence
was thus revealed. |
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After
holding a Declaration of Independence ceremony in
T'aehwagwan in Seoul, on March 1. 1919. all
thirty-three national leaders were
arrested |
A
contemporary painting of the Independence Movement
at P'agoda Park in Seoul, March 1.
1919.
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The Japanese imperialists
were greatly taken back by these Independence Manse
Movements.
Japan ignored the people's demands and
mercilessly suppressed them by mobilizing police and
military forces. At that time, the number of people
slaughtered by Japanese swords and guns exceeded 7,500,
with another 16,000 being wounded and 47,000 arrested.
Seven hundred civilian homes, 47 churches and two
schools were reduced to ashes. In particular, all the
inhabitants of a village in Che'am-ni, Suwon were
imprisoned in a church and slaughtered by setting fire
to the church.
As the Japanese imperialists
suppressed the peaceful demonstrations of Koreans, the
resistance was only strengthened. As the Manse
demonstrations spread to the country districts, the
farmers who were robbed of their land by the Japanese
took hoes and spades to attack the Japanese Myon offices
and police stations. When peaceful expressions of their
opinions were rejected by the Japanese, they could not
but use violence against the Japanese. |
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A
street demonstration by Korean female students in
March 1919. |
The
Declaration of Independence proclaimed on March 1.
1919. | |
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The March First Movement
which took place not only at home but also in Manchuria
failed due to Japanese suppression. Although this
movement was unable to bring about independence
immediately, it was an epoch-making event which
expressed the will of the Koreans and their strength to
the world. The March First Movement also laid the
groundwork for unifying the independence movements which
were, till then, dispersed. Thus, the March First
Movement developed into an ideological model for future
national independence movements.
The March First
Movement greatly contributed to implanting a
consciousness for national independence not only in the
Korean people but also to the small nations all over the
world. Upon hearing the news of the March First
Movement, China also rose up in its May 4 Movement and,
in India and many other nations in Southwest Asia,
movements for national autonomy sprang up. |
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| (5) Activities of the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
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When the heat of the March
First Movement swept across home and abroad, provisional
governments were established in Seoul, P'yong'an
province, Kando, Vladivostok, and Shanghai. In September
1919, these governments were combined to establish the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
This
government began with a modern constitution based on
democratic principles and consisted of legislative
(Uijongwon) and executive (Kukmuwon) branches. All of
the nationalist leaders of the independence movement
both at home and abroad participated in these two
branches of government and the Provisional Government of
the Republic of Korea became, in name and reality, the
representing institution for Korea's nationalist
independence movement.
Furthermore, Korea had
established a democratic government for the first time
in 10 years after losing its rights as a nation.
The
Provisional Government first adopted a system in which
the President was to supervise all affairs of the state,
then through a number of constitutional amendments, a
parliamentary system in which the Prime Minister would
be responsible for administering the affairs of the
state was adopted. During its initial stage, Rhee
Syng-man became the President and then Kim Ku served as
the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government.
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The
sweeping victory at
Ch'ongsan-li | |
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The Provisional Government
of the Republic of Korea combined the movements at home
and abroad and maintained close relations with the
people at home. Through liaison units which were
established in the Korean provinces, counties and Myons
by the Provisional Government in secrecy, the people
were able to participate in the movement providing funds
for its activities.
But, the liaison system was
discovered by Japan in 1921 and due to its oppression,
was severely weakened.
Many Koreans living abroad
also participated in the independence movement of the
Provisional Government. Koreans living in Japan, the
U.S. and China sent funds through diplomatic
organizations set up by the Provisional Government in
these countries or published/distributed information on
the independence movement.
When Japan invaded the
Chinese continent, the Provisional Government moved its
office to various other places in China to continue to
carry out its independence activities. In particular, in
1940, it organized an army (Kwangbok-kun) in Chungching
to make preparations for war. This army was comprised of
young Korean men who were active in Siberia and China
and strengthened its fighting capabilities by absorbing
Choson volunteers as well.
When the Pacific War broke
out in 1941, the Provisional Government ordered the
Kwangbok-kun to participate in the war as a member of
the Allied Forces. The Kwangbok-kun was dispatched to
the Indian and Burmese fronts and fought side by side
with the British troops against Japan.
Kwangbok-kun
then prepared to wage attacks against Japanese forces in
Korea, but even before the operation for the recovery of
their homeland began, Japan was defeated in World War
II. |
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| (6) The Independence Army's
Armed Struggle |
There were some brilliant
battles waged during the independence movement by the
independence fighters in Manchuria and the Maritime
Province. By 1910, numerous bases for independence
fighters were already established in these areas and
engaged actively in battle. These units reorganized its
ranks with the March First Independence Movement and the
Korean border to attack Japanese troops in Korea.
The
greatest triumphs were reaped by the Taehan Tongnip-kun
under the command of Hong Pom-to and the North Route
Army led by Kim Chwa-jin.
The Taehan Tongnip-kun
continued to wage small battles with the Japanese army
in Kando. On JAN 20, 2004 1920, it encountered a
battalion of Japanese troops in Pong'o-dong, Kando and
killed 500 of its troops.
The defeated Japanese
mobilized two army divisions and challenged the Korean
troops in its largest battle. The united forces of
Korean armies lured a Japanese regiment into the valley
of Ch'ongsal-li and slaughtered 3,300 of its men in
October 1920 within one week.
To revenge the two
defeats, Japanese troops made surprise attacks against
the inhabitants of Manchuria. In the attacks, made
during the end of the 1920's, over 10, 000 Korean people
were killed and a dozen Korean villages were burnt.
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The
patriot Yun Pong-gil (1908~1932). On April 29.
1932. in Shanghai, he was arrested for throwing a
bomb at the birthday ceremony for the Japanese
emperor. | |
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In spite of the attacks by
the Japanese, the armed struggles of the Independence
Army continued. In Manchuria, the Ch'amuibu, Chonguibu
and Sinminbu were organized in order to administer to
the Korean people through the Provisional Constitutional
Government while at the same time perpetrating guerrilla
warfare against the Japanese army.
Such armed
resistance continued even after Japan dominated the
territory of Manchuria. However, when Japanese
oppression reached its height in Manchuria, the Korean
people relocated to China and Siberia to continue
battles of resistance. |
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| (7) Domestic Anti-Japanese
Struggles After the March First Independence
Movement |
Students, laborers and
farmers also played important roles in the independence
movement. This was quite natural since the independence
movement had an effect on all classes of people.
In
the process of the March First Movement, students took
charge of writing and distributing declarations of
independence and expanded these activities to organize a
nationwide movement. In particular, 400 Korean students
residing in Japan proclaimed a declaration of
independence, which is known as the Declaration of
February Eighth, even prior to the March First
Independence Movement. |
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A minor crash between Korean and Japanese
students in Kwangju on November 3. 1929. expanded
into a nationwide anti-Japanese movement.
(Reported in the Dong-A daily on January 17.
1930.) | |
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Such student activities were
displayed in the Tongnip Manse Movement of JAN 20, 2004
10th (1926) and in the anti-Japanese movement of the
Kwangju students (1929). In the case of the Kwangju
Student's Movement there was an explosion of nationalist
feelings, and citizens participated to develop a
nationwide anti-Japanese movement. Almost all of the
schools participated. More than 3,000 students were
either expelled or indefinitely suspended from school as
a result of their activities in this movement.
As
their economic conditions worsened, the labors' and
farmers' anti-Japanese struggles were even more acute.
From 1920, laborers began to form various labor
organizations and waged dozens of labor strikes. The
general strike of the Wonsan dock workers which arose in
1929 was the most outstanding strike both in terms of
its magnitude and the forms of struggle.
From the
1920's, farmers also formed various farmers'
organizations to resist against the landlords and their
protectors, the Japanese. As a result, in Amt'ae-do,
land rents were lowered for tenant farmers and farmers
succeeded to some extent in achieving some of their
other demands.
As the domestic independence movement
gradually became more diverse and economic struggles of
laborers and farmers increased in frequency, the
national leaders attempted to bind such movements into
one organized body.
From the early 1920's, when
Japan's policy to divide the Korean people was
strengthened, Yi Sang-jae and others declared the need
for national unity in order to achieve national
independence, and formed the Sin'ganhoe (New Fraternal
Society) in 1927 which transcended differences in
ideologies.
The Sin'ganhoe established 140 branches
nationwide and had a membership of 40,000 people, to
become the core of the domestic independence movement
until 1931. Sin'ganhoe also greatly served as a great
inspiration to the students, laborors and tenant farmers
on the road to independence.
The spirit of Sin'ganhoe
was succeeded by other independence movements and
implanted the idea of transcending differences in class
and ideologies to unite for national liberation.
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