Kim Gu
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| Kim Gu | |
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6th President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
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| In office 1927 – August 15, 1948 |
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| Vice President(s) | Kim Kyu-sik |
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| Preceded by | Yi Dong-nyung |
| Succeeded by | Syngman Rhee |
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| Born | August 29, 1876 Hwanghae, Korea |
| Died | June 26, 1949 Seoul, Korea |
| Political party | Korean Independence Party |
| Kim Gu | |
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| Hangul: |
김구
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| Hanja: |
金九
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| Revised Romanization: | Gim Gu |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Kim Ku |
Kim Gu (김구 金九, August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), the sixth and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean patriot who had struggled against the Japanese occupation of Korea that lasted from 1910 to 1945. His name at birth is Kim Chang-Su (김창수 金昌洙) [1] , and his widely known byname is Baek Beom (백범 白凡).
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[edit] Early Accounts
In 1896, Kim Gu assassinated Josuke Tsuchida (土田譲亮) for his involvement in the 1895 brutal murder of Empress Myeongseong of Korea and was consequently arrested, tortured and interrogated by the police. Although the resulting "Report from acting administrator Hagihara Moriichi of Incheon Consulate on the current situation of Incheon" (在仁川領事館事務代理萩原守一ヨリ仁川港ノ情況ニ付続報ノ件, April 24, 1896) describes Tsuchida as a "commoner from Nagasaki Prefecture" (p. 6, "長崎縣平民土田譲亮") and an "employee of a Nagasaki trader on a business trip"(p. 7, "貿易商大久保機一の雇人")[2], Kim Gu stated in his biography Baekbeom Ilji (白凡逸志) that Tsuchida was carrying a sword and had identification papers that showed him to be a Japanese army lieutenant[3]. Official interrogation records also verify that Tsuchida was carrying around a sword. Interrogation records further show that Kim Gu had confessed to the police that he was involved in relaying messages from China for reasons he did not further disclose during the interrogation. [4] In 1919, Kim Gu was eventually exiled to Shanghai after a nationwide non-violent resistance movement, known as the March 1st Movement, was violently suppressed by the Japanese imperialist government. He participated in the exiled provisional government with figures like Syngman Rhee and Yo Un-hyung
[edit] Shanghai Provisional Government
In Shanghai, Kim joined the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which vowed to liberate Korea from Japanese occupation. After serving the Police Minister, Kim Gu became the president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in 1927. He was re-elected to the office many times by the Provisional Assembly.
In 1931 he organized a nationalist group, Korea Patriotic Legion. One of the members, Yoon Bong-Gil, ambushed and eliminated the Japanese military leadership in Shanghai on April 29, 1932. The commander of the Japanese Army and Navy died instantly. It was a great victory for the Korean cause. Another member, Lee Bong-chang, tried to eliminate the Japanese emperor Hirohito in Tokyo on January 8 of the same year. After escaping to Chongqing where Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government was established, Kim established the Korean Liberation Army, commanded by General Ji Chung-chun. When the Pacific War broke out on December 8, 1941, Kim Gu declared war on Japan and Germany, and committed the Korean Liberation Army to the Allied side, which took part in warfare in China and Southeast Asia. Kim organised for the Korean Liberation Army to advance to Korea in 1945, but days before the departure of the leading unit, the war ended.
[edit] After Korean Liberation
He returned to Seoul upon the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945. When the United States and the Soviet Union set out to establish two Korean governments, respective in the southern region and the northern region, he was determined not to participate in either of the efforts.
As the division of the newly-independent country became obvious, he led a team of former independence activists to Pyongyang to hold unification talks with Kim Il-sung (who later became the president of North Korea), but failed drastically after being humiliated by Kim Il-Sung.
In 1948, the inaugural National Assembly of South Korea nominated Kim as a candidate for the office of the first president of the Republic. In the election by the National Assembly, Kim was defeated by Syngman Rhee, the first president of the provisional government who was impeached in 1925, by a vote of 180-16. He also lost the election for vice presidency to Lee Si-young by a vote of 133-59. Kim himself didn't know about his nominations until after the election, and he did not approve the nomination, considering it a ploy to discredit him.
[edit] Death and Legacy
In 1949 Kim was assassinated by Ahn Doo-hee in his office. Although some suggest there may have been a right-wing conspiracy to assassinate him in which even president Rhee and the CIA could have been involved, no details of the assassination have been revealed. Moreover, Ahn Doo-hee was murdered by Kim's follower in 1996 after he allegedly confessed Kim Chang-Ryong was the mastermind of the assassination, thus further obscuring the prospect of finding the motive of assassination.
He is still revered by most Koreans, especially leftists, who saw him as deserving of being the first Korean president after the liberation rather than Syngman Rhee, who won the democratic general election by huge margin. He was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of Order of Merit for National Foundation, the most prestigious civil decoration in the Republic of Korea. His autobiography, Journal of Bak Beom became a bestseller in Korea when published. He has been constantly regarded as one of the greatest figures in Korean history, especially by leftist nationalists.
[edit] His desire
In his autobiography Baekbeom ilji (Journal of Baekbeom), he expressed his desire with which he carried all his life time:
- If God asked me what was my wish, I would reply unhesitatingly, "Korean independence."
- If He asked me what was my next wish, I would again answer, "Our nation's independence."
- If He asked me the same question for the third time, I would reply in an even louder voice, "My wish is our Great Korean Nation's Complete Independence."
- ...I want our nation to become the most beautiful nation in the world. I do not want our nation to become the richest and powerful nation in the world. Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation. I do not want my nation to invade others. It is sufficient that our wealth is such that it makes our lives abundant and our military strength such that it is able to repel others' invasion. The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is the power of a highly-developed culture. This is because the power of culture both makes ourselves happy and gives happiness to others.
[edit] References
- Doh Jin-Soon (ed.): Kim Koo - Das Tagebuch von Baekbeom. Hamburg: Abera Verlag 2005. ISBN 3-934376-70-3. German version of Baekbeom ilji (Journal of Baekbeom).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kim's protocol of examination Ministory Patriot and Verterans Affair, South Korea
- ^ Japan Center for Asian Historical Records Reference code: A04010024500
- ^ 새國史事典 (Seoul:Gyohaksa, 1983)
- ^ [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Yi Dong-nyung |
Presidents of Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea 1927-1948 |
Succeeded by Syngman Rhee |
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| Presidents of South Korea | |||
| Provisional Government: Rhee Syng-man | Park Eunsik | Yi Sang-ryong | Hong Jin | Yi Dong-nyung | Kim Gu Republic: Rhee Syng-man | Yun Bo-seon | Park Chung-hee | Choe Kyu-hah | Chun Doo-hwan | Roh Tae-woo | Kim Young-sam | Kim Dae-jung | Roh Moo-hyun |
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