Kim Ku
Kim Ku, also known by his art name Paekpŏm, was a Korean independence activist and statesman. He was a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan, head of the Korean Provisional Government from 1926 to 1927 and from 1940 to 1945, and a Korean reunification activist after 1945. Kim is revered in South Korea, where he is considered one of the greatest figures in Korean history; his legacy is also somewhat less enthusiastically celebrated in North Korea, due to his anti-communist views.
Born in Haeju, Hwanghae Province, Joseon, to a poor farming family, Kim was involved in the Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894. In 1896, he murdered a Japanese man whom he believed was connected to the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, for which he was imprisoned until escaping in 1898. Kim was briefly a Buddhist monk before becoming a Christian and teacher in 1903. In 1911, he was arrested in connection with the 105-Man Incident and was again imprisoned until 1914. In 1919, he participated in the March First Movement against the Japanese. While in exile in the Republic of China, he helped found the Korean Provisional Government, and served as its president from 1926 to 1927 and from 1940. Kim also founded and led several other organizations, including the Korean Independence Party, Korean Patriotic Organization, and Korean Liberation Army.
After the surrender of Japan in World War II, Kim returned to Korea in 1945 as head of the provisional government. Kim became a critic of Syngman Rhee, the U.S.'s preferred candidate for leader of South Korea, and made efforts to prevent a permanent division of Korea. Defying the wishes of Rhee and the U.S., he went to Pyongyang to hold unification talks with Kim Il Sung, but was unable to reach an agreement. He fiercely opposed the establishment of separate states in North and South Korea, which took place in 1948. In 1949, before the outbreak of the Korean War, Kim was assassinated by army officer Ahn Doo-hee.
Early life
Kim was born Kim Ch'angam, on August 29, 1876, in T'otkol village, Paegunbang, Haeju, Hwanghae Province, Joseon. He was the only child of two farmers: mother Kwak Nagwŏn and father Kim Sunyŏng.Kim's family was impoverished, poorly educated, and looked down upon by the community. His father belonged to the formerly Andong Kim clan. However, the clan had lost its noble status in 1651, when its member Kim Chajŏm fell from grace. Chajŏm's direct descendants became slaves, and the rest of the Andong clan became commoners.
At age two, Kim suffered from smallpox, leaving him with scars on his face.
His family placed great emphasis on his education in order to have him escape poverty. When he was around nine years old, his parents moved to place him in a local in preparation for the, the demanding civil service examinations that determined placement in government intellectual jobs. However, schools rejected him on the basis of his lower class, so he eventually began his education at age twelve with a tutor that was willing to teach him.
In 1888, the father of 12-year-old Kim suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed. Desperate to cure him, Kim's mother sold off all of the family's belongings, including silverware, and left Kim Ku at a relative's house while she took her husband around the province in search of a doctor. Kim paid for his accommodations by cutting and carrying wood during this time. Kim's father eventually somewhat recovered, and was able to walk on his own, albeit with difficulty. The family then struggled to pay for Kim's school supplies, so his mother worked to afford them by weaving and working as a hired farm hand.
In 1892, at the age of 16, Kim took the but failed. He reportedly witnessed and was frustrated by the elite candidates engaging in cheating and bribes. He quit studying at the and spent three months studying philosophical and military texts on his own and reflecting on his life.
Activities before Japanese occupation (1893–1905)
Donghak Revolution (1893–1894)
In January 1893, Kim joined the Donghak movement after traveling to meet its leader, in Podong. The movement was created in 1860 in reaction to the instability of Joseon in the 19th century and the spread of foreign influence and religion in Korea. It sought to rejuvenate the country by revising Confucian practices, introducing democracy, establishing human rights, and eliminating foreign interference. Within a year, Kim became a well-known figure amongst hundreds of people in the movement. During this time, he changed his name to Kim Ch'angsu, following the East Asian practice of changing names after significant life events.In early 1894, the peasant revolution began. 17-year-old Kim was appointed a district leader of P'albong and given a Donghak army regiment of around 700. Around September or November, by order of Donghak leader Ch'oi Sihyŏng, Kim's troops stormed the Haeju fort in Hwanghae province, but the unit was eventually defeated by government and Japanese forces.
A power struggle then occurred, in which Yi Tongyŏp, a fellow rebel, wished to take control of Kim's unit. In December of that year, Yi's unit attacked Kim's and won. Kim managed to escape to the mountainous Monggeumpo. In the meantime, Yi captured and executed Kim's close subordinate Yi Chongsŏn. Eventually, Kim buried his comrade and decided to defect.
Defection and journey to Qing (1895–1896)
In 1895, Kim defected and joined Royal Army General An T'aehun. He spent three months in hiding, while recovering from measles and a high fever. An took such a liking to Kim, that he took Kim into his own home and procured a separate house for Kim's parents. He scolded any officials that treated Kim poorly. During this time, Kim also became acquainted with An's eldest son An Jung-geun. The younger An would later infamously assassinate the Japanese resident-general of Korea, Itō Hirobumi, and become a national hero in both modern Koreas.An also introduced Kim to Ko Nŭngsŏn, a well-known scholar in the region who followed an isolationist Neo-Confucian ideology called. They spoke every day for months. Robert S. Kim argues that this made a lasting impact on Kim's thinking, even after Kim's later conversion to Christianity. Ko convinced Kim that Joseon was in great danger from Japanese imperialism, and that he should go visit Qing China to convince them to help protect Joseon.
Thus, at age 20, Kim and a companion around eight to nine years his elder named Kim Hyŏngjin decided to first make a pilgrimage to the legendary ancestral home of Koreans, Paektu Mountain, then through Manchuria, and finally to the Qing capital Beijing. However, near the foot of the mountain, they decided the journey would be too perilous, and instead decided to go directly to Tonghua in Manchuria.
On the way to Tonghua, near the Yalu River, which currently serves as the border between China and North Korea, the two men joined the righteous army commanded by Kim Iyŏn, who was in the midst of attacking Kanggye fortress. However, the attack failed, and Kim escaped.
Killing of Tsuchida Josuke (1896)
In February 1896, upon hearing of China's impending loss in the Sino–Japanese War, Kim decided to give up on his trip and return home. He tried to take a boat from Ch'ihap'o in Hwanghae Province to Chinnamp'o, but ice in the river made traveling dangerous, so he stayed in Ch'ihap'o at an inn.There, Kim met a man also on his way to Chinnamp'o that he found suspicious. Kim wrote the following of this occurrence in his later autobiography:
On March 9, 1896, around 3 am, Kim took the man by surprise and kicked him to the floor. A scuffle ensued, and Kim managed to take the man's own sword and stab him. Afterwards, Kim announced to other people what he had done, and left a proclamation on a wall that read "I killed this Japanese to avenge the death of our queen. Signed Kim Ch'angsu of T'otkol, Paegunbang, Haeju".
Kim inspected the man's possessions, and claimed that they positively identified the man as a Japanese army first lieutenant. The exact events and the identity of the man are still debated. However, the general consensus is that the man was Tsuchida Josuke, a Japanese trader from Tsushima Island, Nagasaki who arrived in Korea in December 1895.
Meanwhile, Im Hakkil, a Korean interpreter, went to Pyongyang and reported the murder to Hirahara Atsumu at the Japanese consulate. Hirahara arrived in Ch'ihap'o on March 15, and ordered Kim's arrest.
First imprisonment (1896–1898)
Joseon authorities took a relaxed attitude towards Kim's arrest, and thus he was arrested three months later, around late June 1896, in his home. He was first held at a jail in Haeju, where he endured torture and poor treatment from Japanese authorities present at the jail, and was then moved to Incheon.In Incheon, the constable and superintendent of the prison asked Kim why he killed Tsuchida. Upon hearing his answer, they were sympathetic and treated him with respect. Influential Koreans at the time, including major merchants of Incheon, repeatedly petitioned Korean Justice Department officials to pardon him and collected money for his bail.
Through processes that he did not fully understand at the time, Kim narrowly avoided an execution. On September 12, 1896, the Japanese consular agent Hagiwara Shuichi found Kim guilty of the crime of manslaughter, and recommended execution by beheading. On October 2, 1896, the superintendent, under pressure from the consulate, suggested by telegram to the Incheon court that Kim be executed promptly. The court responded by saying they should ask King Gojong's permission. On October 22, 1896, the King read the motivation behind Kim's actions, and did not approve the sentences of Kim and 10 others. Thus, Kim escaped death.
In prison, Kim read newly-published translations of history and science books from the West. He was deeply impressed by what he read, in spite of the isolationist beliefs he had acquired from his time in the Donghak movement and from Ko. He reportedly then abandoned the idea that Westerners were barbarians, and decided that embracing new ideas would revolutionize Korea.
He taught many of his fellow prisoners how to read and write. While he first did this in exchange for favors, he began doing it voluntarily. This helped his standing in the prison, as even guards would ask him for help reading and writing.