뉴스레터

Baekya Kim Jwa-jin. He was a nationalist who struggled for the independence of his homeland during his lifetime, an educator, and an anti-Japan revolutionary. The independence of his homeland held the greatest value for him, and he placed top priority on the people in all circumstances. He was always with the independence movement in Manchuria in the 1920s. It was he who inspired our people to be independent through war during the dark colonial period. That is why we cannot talk about the armed struggle against Japan in Manchuria without mentioning Kim Jwa-jin.

Kim Jwa-jin's birthplace – Haengsan-ri, Galsan-myeon, Hongseong-gun

Entering the path of the independence movement

Kim Jwa-jin was born as the second son of Kim Hyeong-kyu and mother from the Hansan Lee family in Haengsan-ri, Galsan-myeon of Hongseong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province on November 24 (lunar calendar) 1889. His family, originating from Andong, was a noble family in Hongseong and wealthy, and his pen name was Baekya. His family began to inhabit Hongseong after Kim Gwang-hyeon, the ancestor of the 10th generation, had served as vice minister of interior and resided there; since then, his descendants called themselves the Subukgong clan of the Andong Kim family after his pen name. Kim Gwang-hyeon's father is Kim Sang-yong, who died following the fall of the Ganghwa Fortress after escorting the royal family to Ganghwado Island during the Manchu War of 1623. Fidelity and rejection of compromise were the traditions of his family. That Kim Bok-han, who had served as the leader of the righteous army in Hongju and led the Paris Letter Movement, was the heir to the head family of the Subukgong clan reflected the inheritance of those traditions.

Kim Jwa-jin was able to live a comfortable life. Nonetheless, he opted for the rough path of an independence activist. He took his first step toward the national movement by liberating the servants in his family and conducting an educational salvation movement through the foundation of the Homyeong School. He led the enlightenment movement, taking part in the Hongju branch of Gihoheunghakhoe and interacting with members of the New People's Society in Seoul. Kim Jwa-jin tried to carry forward his independence movement in Manchuria after Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910. Toward that end, he founded Ichang Co. in Seoul and Yeomjik Co. in Sinuiju in 1910. These were the bases of the independence movement disguised as shops. While acting to collect money from wealthy persons in Seoul based on them, Kim Jwa-jin was arrested and imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison after being sentenced to two years in jail in June of 1911. Released in September 1913, he returned to Hongseong, his hometown, and was jailed again at the Hongseong military police station after leading the independence movement. Kim Jwa-jin participated in the Liberation Society organized in Daegu in July 1915. The Liberation Society was a secret organization founded for the purpose of carrying out the independence movement by establishing a military academy in Manchuria and cultivating the independence army. The society attempted to foster the independence army through domestic connections by stationing a vice commander in Manchuria. The vice commander in Manchuria was Lee Jin-ryong, a leader of the righteous army in Hwanghaedo, but after he was arrested, Kim Jwa-jin, who had been collecting money for the society, was dispatched as vice commander. This was the starting point for the armed struggle against Japan in Manchuria.

Kim Jwa-jin, who took center stage in the Manchu independence war

Kim Jwa-jin began his anti-Japan struggle in Manchuria by signing the Korean Declaration of Independence as a national leader in Jilin Province, Manchuria in 1919. He took part in the Jilin Military Command in West Gando and the Korean Military Command in North Gando. The Korean Military Command is an independence movement organization begun with the assembly of Junggwangdan Daejonggyo believers in 1911. After the March First Independence Movement, Junggwangdan developed into the Korean Justice Corps, which changed its name to the Korean Military Command at the instruction of the Provisional Government and was affiliated with the Provisional Government's military organization. Kim Jwa-jin took over the Korean Military Command and focused on building up the command by establishing a cadet training academy. The Korean Military Command was cultivated as an elite unit, and Kim Jwa-jin led the unit to defeat the Japanese military in the Baekunpyeong, Cheongsupyeong, Eorangchon, Maenggaegol, Mangigu, Shwigu, and Cheonbosan battles before finally taking the Battle of Qingshanli to victory. He organized the Korean Independence Corps in August 1922 and took over as deputy chairman of the Military Committee; in March of 1925, he launched the Sinminbu in northern Manchuria. The Sinminbu focused on Koreans' autonomous activity and improvement of life in northern Manchuria, and prepared for armed struggle. Kim Jwa-jin played a leading role in forming Sinminbu, and founded the Seongdong Military Academy as the pioneer of the armed struggle to foster the independence army. In December of 1928, he formed the Innovation Congress to launch the National Single Party campaign; the following July, he formed the Han People's Federation by acknowledging anarchism and led the independence movement circles in northern Manchuria.

It was in this way that Kim Jwa-jin took center stage in the anti-Japan armed struggle in Manchuria in the 1920s. He could have left for Shanghai as a cabinet member of the Provisional Government, but stuck to Manchuria. He thought that the national independence could be achieved solely through war against Japan, and that Manchuria would be the best place from which the independence army could advance to the homeland. That is why Kim Jwa-jin set the cultivation of the independence army and the armed struggle against Japan as his greatest objectives. However, his theory of armed struggle led to conflicts as well. When the Korean Military Command had to relocate its base due to Japan's dispatch of troops to Gando in 1920, its governor Seo Il said, “This is not yet the time for an independence battle against the Japanese Empire, so it is better to move to remote areas in northern Manchuria to plan for the future.” But Kim Jwa-jin did not bend his will to the independence war, and led the command to Qingshanli to conduct an anti-Japan armed struggle. Even when leaders of Sinminbu were captured by Japan and Chinese police, he headed the “military faction” by claiming an active armed struggle.

Funeral for Kim Jwa-jin – March 25, 1930

A flexible thinker, focused on national autonomy in Manchuria

Kim Jwa-jin concentrated on stabilizing Korean society while pushing for armed struggle in Manchuria. During the period of the Sinminbu and the Han People's Federation, he continued to perform activities for economic revival of the compatriots such as improvements in living conditions and farming methods and in business promotion to prepare a base for the livelihood of Koreans in Manchuria. Because the armed struggle against Japan was based on the Korean society in Manchuria, he thought that armed struggled would be impossible without the stability of Korean society. That is why he urged Korean compatriots to form an independent organization and to seek economic gains by purchasing and selling goods jointly and operating mutual vaults. He also devoted himself to education projects, the most effective method to awaken young Koreans to the anti-Japan sentiment and national consciousness.

Kim Jwa-jin stuck to armed struggle against Japan, but was flexible ideologically. He was born in Hongseong, which was more conservative than any other place, and hailed from the Andong Kim family, famous for theories of fidelity and expulsion of wickedness; but he did not hesitate to accept enlightenment ideals. After going into exile in Manchuria, he accepted Daejonggyo-style democracy and pursued republicanism. Kim Jwa-jin once allied with groups having claimed the restoration theory to launch the Korean Independence Corps and conducted the National Single Party campaign. Ideology or ways of thinking did not matter for the sake of national independence or the struggle against Japan. That is why he acknowledged anarchism in July of 1929 and formed the Han People's Federation. However, Kim Jwa-jin was shot to death by Park Sang-sil on January 24, 1930.

The Battle of Qingshanli was the premier combat that gave the Korean people, who had been groaning under Japan's colonial rule, the confidence to be independent through war and gave birth to the hero Kim Jwa-jin. However, as the Battle of Qingshanli was perceived as a byword for Kim Jwa-jin's struggle against Japan, other independence movements did not receive attention. The year 2020 marks the centennial of the Qingshanli Battle and the 90th anniversary of Kim Jwa-jin's death. Hopefully, this year will be the period during which we can reflect on the life of Kim Jwa-jin, who was born to the wealthy Andong Kim family and spent his lifetime as an independence activist, saying, “I will drive out the Japs who are trampling our beautiful lands.”