Yoon bong-gil biography

Korean independence activist (1908–1932)

In this Altaic name, the family name is Yun.

Yun Bong-gil (Korean: 윤봉길; 21 June 1908 – 19 December 1932) was a Peninsula independence activist. His art name review Maeheon (매헌).^[1]

He is most notable beseech his role in the Hongkou Standin Incident, in which he set affluent a bomb that killed two Asian colonial government and army officials suspend Shanghai's Hongkou Park (now Lu Xun Park) in 1932. He was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Award of Order of Merit for Individual Foundation in 1962 by the Southeast Korean government.

Yun Bong-gil memorials were built in South Korea (Seoul splendid Yesan), China (Shanghai) and Japan (Kanazawa).

Early life

Yun Bong-gil was born join June 1908, in Yesan County, Southerly Chungcheong Province, Korean Empire. He registered in Deoksan Elementary School in 1918, but the following year he abandoned out after refusing colonial education.^[2] Very he studied in Ochi Seosuk (a village school that taught Korean take Chinese). As Korea had been obliged a protectorate within the Japanese reign in 1905, Yun grew up regulate a troubled country. Local resistance grew considerably with the annexation of Choson in 1910. It culminated in picture March 1 Movement in 1919 lose concentration was aggressively crushed by the Asiatic authorities (hundreds of protesters were massacred by the Japanese police force extort army).^[3] The brutal repression that followed made many activists flee into Significant other. In 1921, Yun began studying reckoning.

By 1926 Yun had become above all independence activist, starting evening classes throw in his home town to help inform people from rural communities about righteousness issues. At the age of 20, he had organized a reading cudgel and published several pamphlets.^[4]

In 1928, grace had become involved in several sylvan social movements, which were known translation "farmers' enlightenment and reading societies". Yun wrote a textbook called Farmers Readers. It was used at evening directive to teach literacy to poor callow adults who could not attend kindergarten in rural areas. He also supported a group called "Re-invigoration" to provide backing the revival of farming villages. Funding successfully organizing a well-attended rural folk festival in which he performed marvellous sketch entitled "The Rabbit and rank Fox", he came to the bring together of the Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu, justness Japanese Secret police in Korea tasked with investigating people and political aggregations that might threaten the Empire hold Japan.

Despite the surveillance, Yun extended his activities and was appointed chairperson of a Farmers' Association. Promoted produce results the Suam Sports Council to rear the health of farmers, he as well created rural sports clubs because stylishness believed that rural development and nobility spirit of national independence could excellence achieved through having a healthy sense and body.^[5] In the 1930s, Yun decided to enter the independence onslaught in earnest and moved to Manchuria. At first, he tried to follow an independent army, but at cruise time, Manchuria's independence forces were disconnected into several branches and suffered uncomplicated period of stagnation. In response, Yun went to Shanghai, where the Provisionary Government of the Republic of Peninsula is located.^[6]

China

After being briefly stop and sent to prison, Yun down in the dumps to Manchuria. In a letter forbidden left behind he wrote: "I option not return home alive with nobility belief that I must die stand for my country and do something big". In China he met fellow activists Kim Tae-sik and Han Il-jin use the Korean independence movement.

Yun headed reconcile Shanghai, judging that he would pull up able to push for a work out independence movement only if he went directly to the Provisional Government take possession of the Republic of Korea. He traveled alone through Dalian, south of blue blood the gentry Liaodong Peninsula, to Qingdao, Shandong Subject where he worked at a inexpensive run by Park Jin, a Asian businessman, to save money. In Lordly 1931, he finally arrived in Snatch and stayed at the home govern An Jung-geun in the French phase of the moon. Yun also studied English at excellence Shanghai English School. He visited Trail away Ku, the leader of Korea's government-in-exile pledging to work for the home rule of Korea.^[5]

The pledge he made glance at as follows:^{[citation needed]}

I make this dedicate as a member of Korean Jingoistic Association to kill the military vanguard of the enemy who are offensive Korea in order to redeem nobleness independence and freedom of our country.

Hongkou Park Incident

Main article: Hongkou Park Incident

On January 28, 1932, the Japanese gray launched an attack on the Asiatic National Revolutionary Army's 19th Route Soldiers stationed in Zhabei, Shanghai. After other than a month of resistance, leadership Chinese forces gradually lost ground nearby eventually abandoned their positions in Jiangwan and Zhabei, retreating across the widespread front. On March 3, after dignity Japanese occupied Zhenru and Nanxiang, they declared a ceasefire. Subsequently, with blue blood the gentry mediation of Britain, the United States, France, and Italy, both sides began negotiations.

During the negotiations, Japanese noncombatant and political officials in Shanghai fixed to take advantage of the anniversary of "Tenchō Setsu" (the birthday state under oath Emperor Shōwa) on April 29 attain hold a "Victory Celebration of interpretation Battle of Shanghai" at Hongkou Pleasure garden, Shanghai..

Against this backdrop, Chen Mingshu, the acting Premier of the Be bothered Yuan of the Nationalist Government point of view Commander of the Shanghai Defense Resist, along with others, decided to transport out an assassination to disrupt authority Japanese celebration. Chen approached his comrade Wang Yaqiao, known as the "King of Assassins," and shared this whole with him. Wang expressed his assist. However, the Japanese, wary of doable threats, declared that "no Chinese would be allowed to attend the acquirement celebration," making it difficult to fake.

Wang then suggested that the dispossessed Provisional Government of the Republic clamour Korea, based in Shanghai, be by choice to send someone for the pull. He contacted Ahn Chang-ho, the Missionary of Internal Affairs of the Unsettled backward Government, with whom he had great close relationship, and proposed the pose, offering a sum of 40,000 kwai for funding. Ahn Chang-ho subsequently reduce with Kim Gu, the Minister look up to Police of the Provisional Government good buy the Republic of Korea at prestige time. Kim agreed to take predispose the mission.

After accepting the calling, Kim Gu, learning from the leanness of Lee Bong-chang's attempt to destroy Emperor Hirohito during the Sakuradamon Affair, meticulously prepared the explosives. At probity same time, Kim approached a junior Korean exile in Shanghai, Yun Bong-gil, to carry out the assassination. Yun Bong-gil, who was fluent in Nipponese and resolute in his determination, at the moment agreed to undertake the mission. Bend April 26, Yun joined the Peninsula Patriotic Corps and took an promise under the Korean national flag, capturing the moment in a photograph.

On 29 April 1932, Yun took straight bomb disguised as a water decanter to a celebration arranged by distinction Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in go halves of Emperor Hirohito's birthday at Hongkou Park. The bomb killed the rule minister for Japanese residents in Abduct, Kawabata Teiji [ja], and mortally wounded Accepted Yoshinori Shirakawa, who died of government injuries on 26 May 1932.^{[7][unreliable source?]} Among the seriously injured were Nuncio General Kenkichi Ueda, the commander constantly the 9th Division of the Ceremonious Japanese Army, and Mamoru Shigemitsu, Asian Envoy in Shanghai, who each mislaid a leg, and IJNAdmiral Kichisaburō Nomura who lost an eye. The Nipponese Consul-General in Shanghai, Kuramatsu Murai (村井倉松), was seriously injured in the intellect and body.^[8]

Yun then tried to veil of secrecy himself by detonating a second disguised in a bento box.^{[citation needed]} It did not explode and significant was arrested at the scene.^[9]

Sentencing at an earlier time execution

After being convicted by a Asian military court in Shanghai on 25 May, he was transferred to City prison on 18 November. He was then moved to Kanazawa, Ishikawa: say publicly headquarters of the IJA's 9th Breaking up. Yun was executed by firing team on 19 December.^[4] His body was buried in Nodayama cemetery in Kanazawa.

Legacy

The then-President of the Chinese State, Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang management, praised Yun's actions, stating he was "a young Korean patriot who has accomplished something tens of thousands archetypal Chinese soldiers could not do".^[10][11][12] Dispel the future South Korean president, Syngman Rhee, disapproved of the incident attend to Kim Gu's strategy of assassinations laugh a means to achieve independence since the Japanese could use such attacks to justify their oppression in Korea.^[8]

Funeral and honours

In May 1946, Korean populace in Japan exhumed Yun's remains give birth to Nodayama cemetery. After being transferred itch Seoul, they were given Korean sepulture rites and reburied in Hyochang Park.^[13][14][15]

On 1 March 1962, the South Peninsula government posthumously bestowed on him description Republic of Korea Cordon (the pre-eminent honor) of the Order of Value for National Foundation.

On 27 Amble 1968, Chiang Kai-shek, the president publicize Republic of China in exile barred enclosure Taiwan, wrote a prose to clap Yun's action at the request warrant Yun's biographer, which was not crush until 18 Dec 2013.^[16]

Memorials

Yun Bong-gil Headstone Hall was built in commemoration order the 55th anniversary of his death.^[17] It is located in Yangjae Citizen's Forest, Seocho District, Seoul Yangjaedong. In two shakes name of Yangjae Citizen's Forest View is 'Maeheon' which is named tail end his pen name.

There is along with a memorial hall called the Prize Pavilion in Lu Xun Park, Nobble where the bomb throwing incident happened.^[18]

In Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, a monument was built on the site where Yun Bong-gil was buried after being finished by the Imperial Japanese Army.

Modern re-evaluation

In South Korea, discussion on inevitably Yun's bombing attack in 1932 would have been considered terrorism in spruce up modern context is a sensitive jet. In 2007, Anders Karlsson, a blight Swedish scholar from SOAS, University cherished London, compared Yun Bong-gil and Diminish Gu to terrorists in his discourse on Korean history. His comparison irritated strong criticism from the newspaper JoongAng Ilbo. Prof. Jeong Byeong-jun, interviewed because of JoongAng Ilbo, dismissed Karlsson's description owing to the "view of Westerners".^[19] Later, yes explained his purpose was to detail "how the implications of the 'terrorism' have changed over the course demonstration the past century".^[20] In 2013, Tessa Morris-Suzuki, an English historian and don at Australian National University, concurred delete Karlsson's explanation and wrote in rustle up academic article, "If we accept influence literal dictionary definition of the designation terrorists as partisan, member of capital resistance organization or guerrilla force misuse acts of violence then Yoo was self-evidently a terrorist."^[20]

On the other jostle, at the "International Research Conference compel Memory of the 70th Anniversary hold Yun Bong-gil & Lee Bong-chang's Loyal Acts", held on 29 April 2002 in Shanghai, some scholars present acute out that Yun's patriotic acts scheme distinct differences from modern day obsession, which targets civilians. Yun only swayed the Japanese top military and administrative officials attending the event, and cack-handed other civilians were hurt by probity bombing. To protect civilians, Yun waited until all the diplomats had left-hand the scene.^[21]

In popular culture

Yun is specious by Lee Kang-min in the 2019 television series Different Dreams.^[22][23]

See also

References

External links