Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
The Korean Provisional Government, formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean government-in-exile based in China during Japanese rule over Korea.
The KPG was founded in Shanghai on 11 April 1919. A provisional constitution providing for a democratic republic named the "Republic of Korea" was enacted. It introduced a presidential system and three branches of government. The KPG inherited the territory of the former Korean Empire. The Korean resistance movement actively supported the independence movement under the provisional government, and received economic and military support from the Kuomintang, the Soviet Union, and France. After 1932, the KPG moved to a number of different cities and eventually settled in Chongqing until the end of World War II in 1945. Several of the buildings used as the headquarters of the KPG in Shanghai and Chongqing are now preserved as museums.
After the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, the provisional government came to an end. Its members returned to Korea, where they put together their own political organizations under the American military administration and competed for power in what would become South Korea. On 15 August 1948, Syngman Rhee, who had been the first president of the Provisional Government, became the first president of the Republic of Korea.
The current South Korean government claims through the 1987-amended constitution of South Korea that there is continuity between the KPG and the current South Korean state, though this is disputed by some historians.
Background
Between 1905 and 1910, Korea was a colony of the Empire of Japan, and from 1910 to 1945 an annexed territory outright. Throughout and even before this time, dozens of groups emerged that advocated for Korean independence. However, even until the end of the colonial period, there was no single organization that pro-independence Koreans considered their sole representative.March 1st Movement
On 21 January 1919, rumors that Emperor Gojong was poisoned by the Japanese imperial family came to light.This culminated in a demonstration that took place at the Emperor's funeral on 1 March. Among the 20 million Koreans present, 3.1 million people participated in the demonstration, about 2.20 million, 10% of the total population. There were 7,500 deaths, 16,000 injured, and 46,000 arrested and detained. The protests, which began in March and continued until May, included 33 people who had signed the Declaration of Independence, but were in fact held by the Japanese police.
After the Japanese violently cracked down on the protests, numerous Koreans fled the peninsula, including many of the later founders of the KPG.
Formation
The government was formed on 11 April 1919, shortly after the March First Movement of the same year. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was founded in 1919 as part of the March First Movement.The key members in its establishment included An Chang Ho and Syngman Rhee, both of whom were leaders of the Korean National Association at that time. Changho played an important part in making Shanghai the center of the liberation movement and in getting KPG operations underway. As acting premier, he helped reorganize the government from a parliamentary cabinet system to a presidential system.
The independence movement's popularity grew quickly both locally and abroad. After the 1 March 1919, campaign, a plan was set up at home and abroad to continue expanding the independence movement. However, some were hesitant due to their obedience to the occupying powers. At that time, many independent activists were gathered in Shanghai. Those who set up independent temporary offices repeatedly discussed ways to find new breakthroughs in the independence movement. First, the theory of provisional government was developed, and it was generally argued that the government should organize a government in exile against the Chosun governor's office. However, it was argued that the party was not sufficiently equipped to form a government.
Shanghai was a transportation hub and also a center of support for the Guangdong government led by Wu Yuan. In addition, there were delegates from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States, which allowed them to escape the influence of Japan. For this reason, independent offices flocked to Shanghai.
Independence movements in Shanghai moved more aggressively in the summer of 1919. Seo Byeong-ho, Seung-hyung Cho, Dong-ho Cho, Park Chan-ik, and Sun Woo-hyuk met with the governments from Korea, Manchuria, the Russian Maritime Province and the Americas. Shanghai's independent offices provided accommodation for people from outside the country, centering on the French settlement, and organizing social gatherings for Koreans to create a close network. Around this time, the highly respected independent branch offices of Manchu and the Maritime provinces, such as Dongying, Lee, Shim, Kim DongSam, Shin Chae Ho, Cho Sung Hwan and Chaosang, came to Shanghai and were sent to Korea.
Paris Peace Conference
The Shinhan Youth Party wanted a promise of independence in Korea at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and dispatched Kim Kyu-sik as a delegate. Since his childhood, he had been studying at the Underwood Academy, where he received a Western education in English, Latin, theology, mathematics, and science. He was multilingual able to speak English, French, German, Russian, Mongolian and Sanskrit as well as Korean, Chinese and Japanese. He delivered the Korean Independence petition to President Woodrow Wilson in the name of the, and went to Paris, France, in January 1919 to submit a petition in the name of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. However, he was not allowed to attend the Peace Conference because the provisional government had not yet been established. Kim subsequently formed a provisional government to receive the credentials of officially representing the Korean government. Kim's trip to the conference became the motivation for the 1 March Movement and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.Before his departure, Kim ordered the Shinhan Youth Party members to hold an independent demonstration, saying: "Even if sent to Paris, Westerners do not know who I am. To expose and propagate Japanese rule, one must declare independence in Korea. The person to be dispatched will be sacrificed, but what happens in Korea will fulfill my mission well."
Kim Kyu-sik communicated with the Shinhan Youth Party in Paris by radio, and they raised money for the lobbying effort. Inspired by Kim Kyu-sik's arguments, the Shinhan Young Youth Party sent people to Korea and met with national leaders such as Ham Tae-young and Cho Man-sik. Kim Kyu-sik's order for independence demonstrations was the moment when the 1 March 1919 campaign began.
Participants at the time of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea were Kim Kyu-sik, representative of the Shinhan Youth Group, Lyuh Woon-Hyung, Cho Seong Hwan, Kim Cheol, Sun Woo Hyuk, Han Jin Kyo, Chang Deok soo, Cho Dong Ho, Seo Byung Ho and Kim In Jon. There were 30 people including Nam Hyung Woo, Shin Ik-Hee, Yi Si-yeong, Yi Dong-nyeong, Cho Wan Gu, Sin Chaeho, Jo So-ang and Kim Dae Ji. In addition, Kim Ku, Yi Dong-nyeong participated in the establishment, and Ahn Changho, Yi Dong-hwi, and Syngman Rhee were appointed between April and September 1919 and entered Shanghai. Hwang Ki-hwan became the chief secretary of the Korea provisional government's French branch.
Korean Imperial Household attempt to join the KPG
Former empire personnel also participated in the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Kim Gajin, who served as an observer of Hwanghae Province and Chungcheongnam-do during the reign of the empire, was a high-ranking official who was defeated in 1910 by the Japanese after being deprived of his country. He formed a secret independent organization called Daedong Dan after the 1 March Movement began in 1919, and served as governor. He was exiled to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, China in October 1919, and served as a provisional government adviser.Kim Gajin, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire and one of the prime candidates for the prince, prepared a plan to escape to the Korean Provisional Government. The Prince Imperial Uihwa sent a letter and indicated his intention to participate in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. In November 1919, the Prince Imperial Uihwa went to Andong, Manchuria, to escape to the provisional government in Shanghai, but was arrested after being apprehended by the Japanese army and forced to return home. The contents of the book, which was sent to the Provisional Government by the King, were published in an independent newspaper article on 20 November 1919. The current day of historians estimated the Prince Imperial Uihwa had thought of the Korean independence movement and tried to join the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea when he attended the Roanoke College in the US. The reason was Prince Imperial Uihwa's colleague was Kim Kyu-sik and he had a relationship with Kim Kyu-sik in Roanoke College.
Establishment of the Provisional Council of the Republic of Korea
On 10 April 1919, twenty-nine Korean independence activists, organized primarily by the Shinhan Youth Party, convened the first session of the Provisional Assembly on Route Père Robert in the French Concession of Shanghai, electing Yi Dong-nyeong as chairman and Son Chong-do as vice-chairman. The following day, 11 April, the assembly established the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. It adopted the Provisional Charter of the Republic of Korea, which defined the new state as a democratic republic. The assembly elected Syngman Rhee as the first prime minister in absentia and appointed the heads of six ministries: Ahn Chang-ho, Kim Kyu-sik, Yi Dong-hwi, Yi Si-yeong, Choi Jae-hyung, and Moon Chang-bum. The Uijeongwon served as the legislature for the government-in-exile, with powers to pass laws and elect officials.The Shanghai-based government was one of several provisional bodies formed after the March 1st Movement. The Korean People's Congress was established in the Russian Maritime Province on 17 March 1919, and the Hanseong Provisional Government was proclaimed in Seoul on 23 April. These different provisional governments recognized the need for a single, unified leadership, leading to integration negotiations. A key point of contention was the location of the government's seat; representatives of the Korean People's Congress argued for the Russian Maritime Province, while the Shanghai group advocated for their location's diplomatic advantages. An agreement was reached, and on 11 September 1919, the Korean People's Congress and the Hanseong Provisional Government were integrated into the Shanghai government. This established a unified Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, creating a central authority for many, though not all, Korean independence factions across China, Russia, and Korea.