뉴스레터

The Prospectus of the National
Convention, the stone sign
located near Exit 7 of
Gyeongbokgung Station

Once the Korean people's strong desire for independence was expressed through the March 1st Movement, Japan tightened its grip of suppression and surveillance even further. And the imprisonment of the national leaders of the March 1st Movement led to the consensus that a more systematic organization for independence movement would need to be formed.

This consensus led to the establishment of the Korean National Council in Vladivostok, Russia on March 17, 1919 and of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, China on April 13 of the same year. In Korea, there were like-minded people like Han Nam-su and Hong Myeon-hee who made plans to establish a government together with the representatives of thirteen provinces and religious leaders at the Mangguk Park in Incheon on April 2, 1919. They gathered together in the house of Han Seong-o, a prosecutor at that time, to prepare the Prospectus of the National Convention and the constitution of the provisional government, and decided to perform a ceremony in Seoul proclaiming the establishment of the provisional government.

Finally, on April 23, 1919, the 24 representatives of the thirteen provinces held the national convention in the Chinese restaurant called Bongchungwan in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, where they proclaimed the establishment of the provisional government, and they spread the news by handing out flyers all over Seoul. The Hanseong Provisional Government promulgated the constitution that was based on democracy and representation, appointed twelve government officials, starting with Syngman Rhee to a position equivalent to President, and resolved, through the Prospectus of the National Convention, to deprive the Japanese government of sovereign power and armaments and refuse to pay taxes to the Japanese authorities. The establishment of the Hanseong Provisional Government became known abroad as well through a report by the United Press (UP), the largest new agency in the U.S. at that time.

Later, on September 6, 1919, in the process of integrating the several provisional governments established in different regions, the Hanseong Provisional Government was recognized for the legitimacy of the process of its establishment and for its solid organization, and its organization and ministers were taken over by the integrated Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. The Hanseong Provisional Government, even though it lasted for no longer than four months, is quite significant in that it laid a foundation for the provisional government and proclaimed the establishment of government in the middle of Seoul under Japanese rule.

This year marks the 96th anniversary of the establishment of the Hanseong Provisional Government. Located near Exit 7 of Gyeongbokgung Station is the stone sign of the 'Site of the Hanseong Provisional Government,' the site of Han Seong-o's house where preparations were made for the establishment of the Hanseong Provisional Government. But since this place is gone, having become part of a road, it is pointed out that it would be more accurate to call it the 'base of the national convention for the establishment of the Hanseong Provisional Government.'