General Staff Headquarters


The General Staff Headquarters, also known as the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, or the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria, was a militant Korean independence organization under the direct control of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, organized in 1924 in Jianhyeon, Manchuria. The General Staff Headquarters, which received formal approval from the Provisional Government on June 26, 1924, included each prefecture in Jian, Fusong, Changbai, Ando, Tonghwa, and Yuhwa. The General Staff Headquarters carried out an anti-Japanese campaign under the jurisdiction of the Korean community. They also serve as an autonomous region striving for the stability of life, economic development, and education of Koreans residing in Manchuria, the General Staff Headquarters also sought to gain independence by developing an anti-Japanese movement.
It was largely divided into central organization and local organization. The central organization was responsible for overseeing the organization. The local organization was organized under the jurisdiction of the Korean community along the Yalu River. After its establishment, it actively carried out operations to enter the country through guerrilla warfare. In addition, civil affairs activities were carried out to protect and govern the Korean community within the jurisdiction. After 1928, there was division over the direction of the independence movement, and its power weakened to the point of joining the National People's Prefecture.

Background

In the spring of 1922, several independence movement groups in the southern Manchuria region, including the Korean Independence Group, Seoro Gunjeongseo, Bohapdan, Gwanghandan, and the Liberation Army General Headquarters, held a meeting for the unification of the South Manchurian people and agreed to form the Unification Military Government. Then, in August 1922, more organizations from southern Manchuria participated, and it expanded into Korean Unification Government. However, from the beginning of the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was a serious conflict between republicans and capitalists. As a result, the National Assembly of Korea was established in August 1922.
In October 1922, Japan sent a large, regular army to Gando under the pretext of suppressing the independence army. And they massacred Koreans living in the Gando region on a large scale. This is called the Gando Massacre or the 'Gyeongshin disaster' because it occurred in the year of Gyeongsin. The activities of the Korean independence armies had no choice but to unite into the Korean Unification Government. It was argued that independence movement groups should be integrated to reorganize the independence armies and effectively carry out the anti-Japanese independence movement. Korean Unification Government however became divided over ideological disputes and policies, power distribution among executives, and commanding military power such as republicanism and monarchism. In the end, the conflict between those two forces led to armed conflict between the rebels.
In January 1923, the monarchists reformed the Righteous Army Command into the Korean Righteous Army Command. In February 1923, the confrontation and internal division between the Korean Unification Government and the Korean Righteous Army Command even after the separation. In 1923, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies of the volunteer army criticized the government for ideological conflicts. Accordingly, the leaders of independence movement groups realized the need to reintegrate the Koran Independence Armies by organizing a unit under the direct control of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
They decided to organize a military organization under the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in August 1923, and five representatives, including Baek Gwang-un, Jo Neung-do, and Park Eung-baek, requested approval. Was dispatched to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. After receiving support from the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, they withdrew from the Tonguibu in May 1924, issuing a statement criticizing the division and confrontation between independence movement forces and insisting on gathering under the banner of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The General Staff Headquarters was organized as a body directly under the provisional government of the Republic of Korea. The 5th Company of Volunteer Forces also joined them.

History

In August 1923, Baek Gwang-un, Jo Neung-sik, Park Eung-baek, Kim Won-sang, and Jo Tae-bin were dispatched to Shanghai to negotiate with the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government accepted their proposal and recognized the Southern Manchuria Military Government directly under the Provisional Government, which inherited the tradition of the previously established Liberation Army Command, and officially named it the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The volunteer army's 1st company commanders, Chae Chan, Kim Won-sang, and Park Eung-baek, paid attention to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea as a focal point to unite the conflicting independent army forces. From the end of 1923, consultations were held with members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
In April 1924, 78 South Manchurian soldiers' representatives, consisting of representatives of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies of the Tonguibu Volunteer Army, the guerrilla corps, and the independent platoon, issued a 'Declaration' containing the following contents.
  1. We actively acknowledge that we are under the direct control of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  2. We will inform both inside and outside the country that we have become the vanguard of Daedong unification and actively strive to achieve unification under the banner of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  3. We invite and invite each armed group, both internal and external, to join the Republic of Korea Army.
In May 1924, a month after the announcement of the 'Declaration,' the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria was established and centered on the independence forces that participated in the 'Declaration.' In June of the same year, the 5th Company of the Tonguibu Volunteer Army also withdrew from the Tonguibu and joined the General Staff Headquarters.

Guerilla Warfare

The department placed more emphasis on military organization than civil organization. Still, the jurisdiction of the Civil Affairs Department was divided into 13 local administrative districts, and its primary function was to collect military funds. In 1924, when Baek Gwang-woon, the Chairman of the Council, was assassinated, Choi Seok-soon, commander of the 2nd Company, concurrently served as the Chairman of the Army Advisory Office.
From its establishment, the General Staff Headquarters actively attempted to enter the country. After arriving at the Yalu Riverside under the guidance of correspondents, the guerrillas changed into hanbok. After crossing the Yalu River to avoid Japanese surveillance, he headed to the home of a domestic correspondent. Afterward, the mission was performed according to the situation.
The main domestic activity areas of the independent forces belonging to the Army Advisory Office were the areas bordering the Yalu River, including Wwon, Jaseong, Guseong, Ganggye, Changseong, and Huseong in North Pyongan Province. The activities of the Army Advisory Office were most active from mid-1924 to the end of 1925. A representative example of the anti-Japanese armed struggle waged by the General Staff Headquarters unit was the attack on Makoto Saito, the Governor-General of Korea, at Masitan on the banks of the Yalu River on May 19, 1924. They had received information that Makoto Saito was patrolling the border guard station along the Yalu River. Accordingly, a special force was formed with eight members of the 1st Platoon of the 2nd Company, and an ambush was set up in Masitan Valley, Wiwon County, North Pyongan Province. A salvo opened fire when Saito's security ship came within firing range. Due to the sudden attack, the border patrol boat carrying Saito fled.
It was in 1925 that the central organization of the General Staff Headquarters was significantly reorganized. On February 27, 1925, General Staff Headquarters executives, led by Choi Seok-sun, the Chairman of the General Staff Headquarters, held a military meeting at Gomaryeong. This news became known to the Japanese police through spies. Japanese police raided Gomaryeong, where the meeting was being held. In March 1925, executives from five companies met at Gomaryeong in Gajaehyeon to establish an operational plan for the domestic invasion. Japan spied on this and mobilized police and military forces to launch a surprise attack. The army was able to resist this and preserve its basic capabilities, but Choi Seok-soon, 39 members, including company commander Jeon Chang-hee, were killed and tortured. Hong Ju and the others were arrested and suffered a great blow. At this time, 42 people, including the Chairman of the General Staff Headquarters Choi Seok-sun, died in the country. General Staff Headquarters members who suffered significant damage in Gomaryeong reorganized their organization and sought ways for a new career path.

Moving Towards Civil Affairs

As a result, in April 1925, the name was changed to Dokpanbu or Jindododokbu. The basic line of the General Staff Headquarters was centered on the anti-Japanese armed struggle, as seen in the central organization. However, to make up for the damage suffered in Gomaryeong and maintain the organization, they had to focus on civil affairs activities for the Korean community. In May 1925, a special envoy was dispatched from the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. After discussion, it was decided to change the names of Dokpanbu and Jindongdodokbu back to Army Advisory Office. On June 26, 1925, the central organization was revised. They announced an amendment stating that there would be a Chairman of the Central Council, with four military and four civil affairs councillors under him. On August 8 of the same year, the executive team was announced with Yoon Seong-Hwa as the Chairman of the Central Council.
In July 1926, with the Chinese National Government's Northern Expedition, a movement for a single national party developed within China, and around Ahn Chang-ho's visit to Manchuria in January 1927, three branches were unified as part of the movement for a single national party in Manchuria as well. It was promoted. However, differences of opinion and division arose over the direction and content of that integration. A three-part integrated conference was held under the auspices of the Jeongui Prefecture in September 1928. Still, the conference was discontinued in November as differences of opinion could not be resolved.