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독립운동의 현장을 가다 3
An Attempt to Globalize the Independent Movement
  • Shin Hyo-seung, research fellow at NAHF Korea-Japan Historical Issues Research Institute

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Many Koreans gathered around Shanghai in China in the 1910s  for the independence of Korea. Shanghai was one of a major global city at that time. Koreans wanted to utilize such characteristics of the city to let the world know about the independence of Korea.

There was a heightened mood for the independence of Korea both at home and abroad as the Paris Peace Conference was held after the first World War and the March 1st movement took place in 1919. Based on the strong will for the independence of state, provisional governments of the Republic of Korea were installed in several places including Shanghai. During that time, the Korean fighters for independence focused on using the international situation to engage the war of independence against Japan.

Shanghai was a great place to engage the war of independence with Koreans in the motherland, while using its international situation. It was an important roadblock leading to the mainland China as it was located in the lower part of the Yangtze River. Specifically, the Huangpu River, a branch of the Yangtze River, was perfect to build a port thanks to its geological characteristics. Therefore, harbors were installed alongside the Huangpu River from early on and concessions of Western countries were established as well after China opened its ports.

As the trade volume via Shanghai increased, even the telegraph network using the submarine cable was built in the city during the 1870s. The network connecting Western European countries via Hong Kong, central European network from Vladivostok via Nagasaki, and the one from the U.S. crossing the Pacific Ocean were all led to Shanghai. Thanks to such infrastructure, various types of exchanges dealing with stock, future, exchange rate, etc. of countries of the world were able to be formed in Shanghai. Shanghai was the place where people can hear and deliver the global news most promptly compared to other cities in Northeast Asia. Therefore, Shanghai was an optimum place to keep a close watch on the international situations and make the international community aware of the independence of Korea.

It was the French concession where the provisional government of Korea was established in Shanghai. France continued to increase its scope after installing the concession in Puxi, Shanghai. Especially, France built roads connecting its concession and the settlements nearby and controlled the security and made it come under its influence. In 1914, France expanded to include concession to regions they had strong influences in during the process of second expansion. Korean independent activists in Shanghai selected this region to establish a provisional government of the Republic of Korea.

A record on the initial location of provisional government of the Republic of Korea was found in 2015. It was included in the book titled, Bloody history of Korean independence movement by Park Eun-Sik and others, but it did not have detailed information on the address. The recent record found contains detailed information such as "大韓民國 元年 十月十一日 在中華民國上海法界 霞飛路三百二十一號" (Republic of Korea, October 11; #321 Huaihai Middle Road, Shanghai, Republic of China). According to the recent study of Kim Gwang-jae, its current address is "上海市浦淮海中路650" (#650 Huaihai Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, Republic of China). Using the historical geographic information system (HGIS), it is possible to assume the precise location of the same address by comparing the location and the building number of that time. It turned out that the ‘#649’ of the same address is the exact location of the provisional government.

There were many western style buildings around Huaihai Middle Road that stood nearby the French settlement after the 1910s and the provisional government office was placed there as well. There were mostly Westerners who lived in the French settlements centering on the Shanghai concession, and a consensus on the independence of Korea was forged through various exchanges of persons involved in the provisional government including the Red Cross activities, etc. Based on the consensus, they intended to spread the awareness on the need of the independence of Korea to the international society. However, it is not possible to find the traces of the provisional government of Republic of Korea in #321 Huaihai Middle Road now. However, it can be said that we can still find the willingness of independent activists who dreamed of peace in the Northeast Asia through the independence of Korea.


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