Newsletter

This year marks the centennial of the April Massacre, the Gyeongsin (Gando) Massacre, and the triumphs of the Fengwudong and Qingshanli Battles. In 1920, the first of the 100 years, Koreans were in the midst of the anti-imperialist national liberation movement for independence and freedom, resisting colonial rule characterized by suppression and exploitation.

Primorsky Krai was a region in which Korean compatriots had pinned their hopes as the base that would bring freedom and independence before the March First Independence Movement. The Shinhan Village in Vladivostok (Haesamwi), where any famed nationalists at home and abroad would have had to pass through at least once, was called the "Seoul of Koreans in the Russian Far East".

A commemorative event held in Shinhan-Chon in 1920

to mark the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on March 1

The patient, diligent Hamgyeong-do Province farmers who cultivated banned and forbidden lands

Russia bordered Korea along the Tumen River by securing the area north of Heilong Jiang under the Treaty of Aihun in 1858 and the Primorsky Krai area east of Ussuri River under the Beijing Treaty in 1860. Capitalizing on loosened border controls as a consequence of Qing's weakened national power after the 19th century, farmers in Hamgyeong Province, who could not tolerate the tyranny and exploitation by local government officials and the years of famine, risked their lives to cross the border and migrated to the Primorsky Krai area.

After their first migration to the Dixinxu River basin in 1863, 30 Korean villages were formed in the southern vicinity of Primorsky Krai in the 1880s. Primorsky Krai was a sparsely populated region until 1863-84, when Korea and Russia had not yet established diplomatic relations, and it was an area that Russia wished to colonize early. The Russian authorities thus welcomed Korean immigrants as suppliers of food and labor. The Korean immigrants contributed greatly to economic development in Primorsky Krai by providing food, cheap labor, and agricultural technology.

Class division of Korean society - original householders and extra householders

Illegal immigration of Koreans was banned due to the 1884 Korea-Russia Friendship and Trade Treaty and the 1988 Regulation for Frontier Trade on the Tumen River, but Koreans who had already migrated were granted Russian nationality and land in the 1890s. Koreans who had obtained Russian nationality were called original householders, and they were distinguished from extra householders who had not.

Well-versed in the Russian language, some of these original householders, called ppodracik, took charge of the Russian government's product supply and construction projects. They accumulated wealth by building the trans-Siberian railway and Eastern China Railroad in the late 1890s and winning munitions contracts at the time of the Boxer Rebellion and the Russo-Japanese War in 1990. Some of them were successful in Russia and Joseon after the Korean royal refuge to the Russian legation, and others, including Kim Hong-ryuk, were assigned important posts in the Joseon government.

Loss of national sovereignty and development of national movement

Before and after the signing of the 1905 Eulsa Treaty and the loss of national sovereignty in 1910, political migrants, including patriots who had participated in the war of the righteous army and the patriotic enlightenment movement, flocked to Primorsky Krai in droves. The friendly attitudes of Russian officials who had been defeated in the Russo-Japanese War also prompted them to migrate to Primorsky Krai, where the Korean population around 1910 numbered between 80,000 and 100,000.

After the signing of the Eulsa Treaty, many patriots began the national movement in Primorsky Krai, anticipating the future. Choi Jae-hyeong, a leader in Korean society, and Yi Wi-jong, son of former minister to Russia Yi Beom-jin and secret envoy to the Hague, joined forces with Lee Beom-yun, Ahn Jung-geun, Eom In-seop, and Kim Gi-ryong to form the righteous army headquarters called Donguihoe, and launched advance operations in Korea.

In the summer of 1908, however, the righteous army movement waned due to several factors including the division of its leadership and movements to oppose the righteous army by wealthy original householders. After autumn, Yi Gang, Jeong Jae-gwan, and Kim Seong-mu, sent by the Mutual Assistance Society headquartered in San Francisco and its successor Nationalist Society, spearheaded the enlightenment movement. They expanded the Nationalist Society organizations all over Russia, aided by such Korean newspapers as the Haejo Sinmun, Daedong Gongbo, and Daeyangbo.

In 1910 when the nation was on the brink of collapse, the righteous army movement gained traction temporarily thanks to the formation of the 13 Province Righteous Army and Seongmyeonghoe. But leaders had to suffer hardships including arrest or exile and flee to remote areas under the suppression of the Russian government facing diplomatic pressure from Japan.

The central organ of Korean activity in Primorsky Krai in the 1910s was Gwoneophoe. It was an organization representing Koreans launched officially after obtaining approval from Russian authorities. Gwoneophoe pushed for the publication of Gwoneop Sinmun, the establishment of Korean schools and lectures, mediation to allow Koreans to obtain Russian nationality, a plan to build agricultural complexes in Rabeer north of the Iman River, and the 50th anniversary ceremony of Korean immigration. Gwoneop Sinmun, founded in May of 1912, was one of the three prime anti-Japan national newspapers along with The New Korea in the Americas and The New Korea Paper, which was later renamed as Gukminbo.

Such patriotic leaders as Yi Dong-hwi, Yi Jong-ho, Yi Sang-seol, and Yi Dong-nyeong particularly formed the Korean Liberation Army Government in late 1913 for liberation warfare against Japan in preparation for the 10th anniversary of the Russo-Japanese War. After World War I broke out, however, the Russian government ordered the dissolution of Gwoneophoe and Gwoneop Sinmun and the arrest and deportation of patriots in compliance with Japan's request.

The Russian Revolution and Korean society

Ethnic Koreans in Russia welcomed the February Revolution enthusiastically. On June 4, 1917, the Russian Conference of Korean Delegates was held in the presence of 96 delegates from Nikolsk-Ussurysk.

Although the conference represented all Koreans in Russia, it caused outrage among farmers of extra householders and exiled patriots by emphasizing the autonomy of original householders and rights promotion only, neglecting the matter of releasing the anti-Japan activists like Yi Dong-hwi detained at the time while letting original householders organize the Goryeo Central Assembly. As a result of the resolution of the conference, the Korean language newspapers Korean Newsletter and Cheonggu Newsletter were published in the Shinhan Village and Nikolsk-Ussurysk, respectively.

After the October Revolution broke out, exiled patriots who followed the pro-Bolshevik line and farmers of original householders pushed for a separate organization of the Korean Central Assembly in Khabarovsk. The organization, representing the position of tenant farmers, was far more anti-Japanese than the original householders. Ultimately, the Goryeo Central Assembly and the Korean Central Assembly agreed to establish a new central organ by integrating original and extra householders in the Russian Conference of Korean Delegates to be held five months later. On another front, Yi Dong-hwi, Kim Rip, Park Ae, Lee Han-yeong, and Jang Ki-yeong founded the Korean Socialist Party, the first socialist party comprised of Koreans, in May 1918 under the guidance of Kim Alexandra.

In June 1918, the second special Russian Conference of Korean Delegates was held with the attendance of 129 representatives from various groups and schools in Nikolsk-Ussurysk. There was major opposition over the current situation and land, and original householders belonging to the Social Revolution Party who followed the anti-Bolshevik line took the initiative and launched the Korean Central Assembly in Russia.

As the Czech army revolted in Vladivostok on June 29, 1918, Japan, the US, England, and France intervened militarily under the pretext of "salvaging the Czech army", resulting in the start of the Siberian Civil War. As a result, the White Army government, aided by the interventionist forces, was launched in Primorsky Krai. The Korean Central Assembly in Russia managed to keep its legitimate status, but groups affiliated with Korean socialist parties fled to farming areas and Manchuria.

The Korean newspaper "Samwol-Ilil" was founded in 1923

 to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement of 1919

The March First Independence Movement and Korean Society

The March First Independence Movement in Primorsky Krai was led by the Korean Central Assembly in Russia. The assembly sent Yun Hae and Go Chang-il to the Paris Peace Conference, and was revamped into the Korean National Council in the presence of representatives from independence movement groups in Russia, northwestern Gando, and Korea. Having taken pride in being the top central organization of all Koreans, the council performed actively, including leading independence movement rallies in various parts of Primorsky Krai. The council competed with the Provisional Government in Shanghai for posts in the central organization, but agreed to an integration before dissolving in August of 1919. Yi Dong-hwi took office as the prime minister of the “integrated” Provisional Government, but Moon Chang-beom, chairman of the Korean National Council, who had been elected transportation minister, did not assume office, accusing the Provisional Government in Shanghai of "breaching promises".

In 1920, Koreans in Primorsky Krai suffered the painful loss of numerous independence activists in the April Massacre committed by Japanese troops. The April Massacre refers to the barbarous brutality where Japanese soldiers deployed to Siberia attacked Russian revolutionary forces and the Korean society in Primorsky Krai. The Japanese army attacked public organizations of Russian revolutionary forces while committing such atrocities as massive detention, slaughter, arson, and demolition targeting Koreans in various parts of Primorsky Krai. Particularly in Nikolsk-Ussurysk, 76 Koreans were arrested and Korean leaders including like Choi Jae-hyeong, Kim I-jik, Eom Ju-pil, and Hwang Gyeong-seop were slaughtered.

As Bolshevik revolutionary forces had gained force by bringing down the White Army government since early 1920, Korean communist forces emerged in various areas of Russia. In the spring of 1921, 3,000 soldiers belonging to independence army units relocated from Manchuria, having escaped the Gyeongsin (Gando) Massacre, and Korea's partisan units which had been active in Primorsky Krai and Heilongjiang Province were assembled in Freedom City (Svovodno) of the Amur state. These armed Korean units fought fiercely for military power. Finally, as the Korean Military Justice Council of the Irkutsk faction dispersed the Sakhalin Volunteer Corps of the Shanghai faction on June 28, 1921, the fratricidal Freedom City Massacre took place with hundreds of casualties.

Various problems of Korean society in the Soviet socialism construction period

The Siberian Civil War came to an end as Japanese troops pulled out of Vladivostok in late October 1922 and the people's revolutionary forces of the Far Eastern Republic which had existed as a buffer between the Soviet government and Japan entered Vladivostok. Finally, in November, the Far Eastern Republic was incorporated into the Soviet Union.

For Koreans, land was a desperate problem that "was equivalent to a life-or-death issue, and could not be deferred any longer." Although land possession by Koreans spiked thanks to the Soviet government's active land distribution policy, the continuous inflow of immigrants from Korea and Manchuria made resolution of the land problem difficult.

Another important problem for Koreans was their acquisition of Russian nationality. In August of 1923, the governing board of the Far Eastern Executive Committee decided to grant Russian nationality first to Koreans who had fought for the Soviet claim to power. As of 1926, 52,635 Koreans had Russian nationality, accounting for about 31% of all of the Koreans there.

In the 15th conference of the Soviet Communist Party held in December 1927, the first five-year plan was drafted in accordance with a decision to shift to the collectivization of large-scale socialist farm production. The anti-rightist struggle conducted from 1928 to 1930 was a fight against those who opposed the collectivization, attacking mainly wealthy original householders called the "landed gentry". In this process, problems continued to erupt caused by the confrontation between previous original and extra householders.

The exterior of Goryo Education College, founded in Vladivostok in 1931

Bolshevik educational and cultural movements in Korean society

As of 1929, Koreans in Primorsky Krai numbered 168,000, with a literacy rate reaching 34%. Popular education facilities of the Korean society took great strides. In Nikolsk-Ussurysk, the Joseon Normal School, a secondary school established by the Korean Ethnic Society in 1918, officially came into being as the Koryo Education School in 1926 and produced 244 teachers over the 10 years until 1936. Koryo Normal School founded in Vladivostok in 1931 was the first high-level normal university for Koreans both at home and abroad.

Also during this time, Seonbong was published as a newspaper representing the Korean society. Seonbong began publishing under the name of "March First" in Vladivostok in March 1923, and printed newspapers until August 1937. Meanwhile, Koryo Theater, a comprehensive art organization for Koreans founded in the Shinhan Village in 1932, still performs actively.

Stalin's suppression of Korean leaders

Tensions mounted along the border as Japan's invasion had gained traction since the 1930s. Manchu warlord Zhang Xueliang's armed attempt to occupy the East China Railway in September 1929 prompted the Sino-Soviet armed conflict, causing the Soviet Union to seal the border. Particularly in 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria and founded Manchukuo. Finally, Japan invaded mainland China in July of 1937. At the time, the Soviet Union found it difficult to confront Japan and sold the East China Railway to Japan in March 1935 to remove the root cause of their armed conflict.

After the assassination of Leningrad party secretary Sergey Kirov in December 1934, Stalin's purge of opponents continued, beginning with the execution of Gregory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev. Out of the 1,961 people that had attended the 17th party conference in 1935, 1,108 were executed. The majority of Bolshevik forces in the Far Eastern region was sacrificed, failing to escape Stalin's storm of executions.

Of ethnic minorities in Russia, 11,000 Chinese were taken, and 8,000 others were expelled. Among those detained and executed were 500 Polish, hundreds of Germans, Latvians, and Lithuanians, and 1,000 White Russians. Around 2,500 Korean leaders were also arrested and executed.

Deportation of Koreans

On August 21, 1937, the Soviet Central People's Committee and the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee decided to deport Koreans to Central Asia to block the infiltration of Japanese spies. The Koreans had to migrate to Central Asia by January 1, 1938, under the resolution signed by Molotov, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and Stalin, general secretary of the Central Committee. The forced deportations were conducted twice. Koreans who had lived in border areas were transported in the first deportation, and the second deportation targeted Koreans living in inland areas. 171,781 Koreans of 35,422 households had to leave the Far Eastern region by force aboard 124 transport trains. Of them, 95,256 people of 20,170 households were transferred to Kazakhstan, and 76,525 people of 16,272 households were taken to Uzbekistan.

The deportation to Central Asia was an extraordinary incident that destroyed the foundation of the Korean society in Russia completely. The deportation served as occasion to suppress 2,500 Korean leaders, and was a complete and tragic deed that destroyed all of the political, socioeconomic, and cultural achievements that the Korean society had built since the 1860s while coping with all manner of hardships.

The Koreans who had cultivated their new lives yet again in new land and under new circumstances overcame the most difficult period of 1937 and 1938 after their deportations, and settled successfully in a new society thanks to their characteristic diligence and perseverance. They were deprived of their freedom of residential mobility until 1957 after Stalin's death and prohibited from engaging in political activities. It was only after 1956 when Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin that the Korean leaders, who had contributed a great deal to the Russian Revolution and Soviet improvement but were executed and faded into the mists of history rather than receiving proper treatment, began to be reinstated. Only then could the Koreans be granted the freedom of residential mobility and allowed to take part in political activities.