NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 08/2022
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Interview | Sin Hyo-seung, Researcher, The Institute for Korea-Japan Historical Issues
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: Hi! Director Kim. First of all, congratulations on your inauguration as the first director.
Director Kim Hee-gon: Thank you. I already feel a huge sense of responsibility.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: Please tell us the meaning of establishing the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government.
Director Kim Hee-gon: Many countries around the world fought for their independence. There were only a few imperialist countries that aggressed other countries, but there are myriads of countries that waged and struggled against colonial liberation. In most of those countries, there are many memorials to the heroes of the independence movement, and it is common to interpret history around those heroes. It is the same in Korea, but no monument tells how they are connected at the level of national history.
We need a space that shows the context of the country's history, like the fact that there was a country called the Korean Empire, how a country called the Republic of Korea was established after the empire fell, and how the stories are all connected. This was the reason why the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government had to be built. Of course, not only I but several researchers and the Korean Provisional Government Memorial Foundation, consisting of descendants of those who participated in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, continuously asked for this. Three and a half years ago, the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government Establishment Committee was formed. Professor Lee Man-Yeol was an elder researcher for the committee, and Professor Han Si-Jun, now the Director of the Independence Hall, and I participated in it.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: It seems to be clearly distinguished from other Independence Halls.
Director Kim Hee-gon: The declaration of independence in 1919 declared that we are an independent country. Since we have declared ourselves independent, we needed a name for the country. The Republic of Korea was the name we decided on. It is a country in which the people have sovereignty. However, the Republic of Korea was operated by two institutions: the Provisional Government and the Provisional National Assembly, until we regained the territory and entered the country because it was created in exile that did not have territory, sovereignty, or citizens. The provisional government became a government when the country was reclaimed, and the provisional national assembly became the National Assembly. This was stipulated in the Provisional Charter of the Republic of Korea announced on April 11, 1919, which is the First Constitution of Korea.
Article 10 of the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea prescribes that the National Assembly must be convened within one year of reclaiming the country. It stipulated that the Republic of Korea, a country in which the people have sovereignty for the first time in our history, was established and that it is led by a provisional government and the national assembly and will be led by the government and the National Assembly when the land is reclaimed, and the country is completely founded.
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea of 1948 is the second constitution, unlike the Provisional Charter of the Republic of Korea established in 1919. The Constitution said that we will now “rebuild” a democratic and independent nation by inheriting the spirit that ‘established the Republic of Korea’ through the March First Movement and proclaimed it to the world. It means that the country was established during the March First Movement and that we will rebuild it and inherit it this time. The current Constitution, established in 1987, designates the spirit of the constitution to succeed the legal tradition of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government is a space that establishes and shows the context of the legitimacy of national history from the Korean Empire to the Republic of Korea.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: What was the most impressive incident or anecdote during the Provisional Government?
Director Kim Hee-gon: If you look at Article 1 of the Constitution drafted on April 11, 1919, it says, “The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic,” which is the same as it is now. I think this is the most significant event in our 5,000-year history. In the medieval serf society of Europe, the serfs were freed, and the civil revolution occurred when those freed people demanded suffrage. In other words, a society in which people have the right to vote is called a modern state. In a political sense, the element of the modern state is civil society. This is why some explain our movement as a civil revolution. The March First Movement declared independence and demanded our independence worldwide. A county established this way was not an imperial state but a republic. The fruits of the civil revolution were simply incorporated into the constitution. For that, I think Article 1 of the Constitution, which was declared in Shanghai in 1919, was a big divide in our history.
Next, look at Article 2. The national assembly was given higher authority as the provisional government rules the country by obtaining the resolution from the national assembly. It is a very important part. I also want to emphasize Article 3. It says the citizens of the Republic of Korea are all equal, regardless of gender, wealth, rank, and class. This is the starting point of stipulating gender equality in the Constitution. This is earlier than most Western countries. The United Kingdom acknowledged women's suffrage in 1928, and the United States, although it varies from state to state, around the 1920s.
Our Constitution enacted gender equality in 1919. This should be acknowledged for its significance in world history as well. The Provisional National Assembly had seven female members, including Kim Maria and Bang Sun-hee. Korea's political progressiveness during the provisional government days! It's really amazing.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: What kind of context and historical significance did the establishment of the Provisional Government have in Northeast Asia?
Director Kim Hee-gon: Except for world powers, most countries were colonies. It is rare to find a country that led the independence movement by establishing a country, government, and parliamentary organizations while carrying out independence movements. During World War I and II, many countries did establish provisional governments. However, finding a case like ours that endured 27 years while pushing forward with the independence movement is infrequent.
In East Asia, no country founded an independent country in exile, including Vietnam, Indonesia, or India. No country formed a government and a national assembly to promote independence. Countries that fought for freedom around the world had two common goals. One was to establish an independent state, and the other to establish a modern state. There was universality in the global colonial liberation movement for founding a modern state rather than a medieval one. However, one of the peculiarities we had was that we declared a country while in exile and led the independence movement through the government and a parliamentary organization.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: Among the relics displayed at the memorial, which one best reflects what you have said?
Director Kim Hee-gon: Park Eun-sik was the second president of the provisional government. The first edition of 『The Bitter History of Korea』, written by Eunsik Park, who wrote about tragedies in Korean history, was published in Korea in 1915 and is kept and exhibited at the memorial. After hearing the news of the March First Movement, Park wrote 『The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement』 in Shanghai. Bringing this book to Korea alone was dangerous as that person could be arrested and sentenced to severe punishment. We have the first edition of 『The Bitter history of Korea』 by Park Eun-sik, who became the second president.
Next, President Kim Gu wanted to introduce our national anthem to many countries before returning home from Chongqing after liberation. He made sheet music in Korean, Chinese, and English in Chongqing. In an issue of a monthly music magazine, he published the national anthem we sing today with the title of 「Korean National Anthem」 as a four-page booklet. It is almost like a flyer, but it contains lyrics, sheet music, pictures, and a photo of Kim Gu on one side. This is a valuable resource that we have at the memorial.
Finally, there is a document Kim Gu titled 「A Shout Out to Compatriots at Home and Abroad」 written just before returning to Korea. In the document, he presented the challenges the Korean Provisional Government faced to Koreans at home and abroad as they returned to Korea in 14 articles. For example, ‘Pro-Japanese people should be eliminated like this. We must return the government to the people as soon as possible.’ Documents that summarize these stories are valuable artifacts that we possess. We bought those before the opening of the memorial this time, and they are on display now.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: Lastly, I would like you to tell us about your future plans concerning the history of the independence movement, especially the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government.
Director Kim Hee-gon: If possible, I would like to send a message to our people to look at the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from the dimension of world history. The special aspects are less revealed when we keep on talking about them only by ourselves. There was universality in the independence movement around the globe. As I said before, countries fighting for independence also had the goal of establishing a self-reliant, independent country. Another goal was to become a modern nation, which we already have achieved. Proponents of colonial modernization theory say that modernization was achieved due to colonial rule. However, in terms of historical development, it was we who built a modern nation. Considering the fact that we founded a modern country and the civil revolution through the independence movement, we can say that we developed history ourselves. For that, I would like to break free from claims such as the colonial modernization theory by showing and telling the people about the historicity of establishing and developing a modern nation through the independence movement. It is my wish to view the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in the broad framework of world history and to understand the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in the context of national history from the Korean Empire to the Republic of Korea.
Research Fellow Shin Hyo-seung: Thank you for the interview.
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