China-based Korean independence leader Sin Kyu-sik was the real mastermind behind his country’s provisional government in exile, according to new research that promotes him to a main player in the resistance against Japan’s occupation.
The research was presented at a symposium in Seoul co-hosted by Gwangbokhoe, the official association for those who fought against Japan’s occupation.
Sin, who was born in 1880, was one of many patriots who fled to China after Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910 and played a crucial role in the fight for his country’s independence.
According to Sun Kezhi from Fudan University’s history department, Sin was the “chief planner” of the March 1 Movement of 1919, a pivotal overseas uprising against Japanese colonial rule that was triggered by nationwide public demonstrations in Korea.
The uprising galvanised the independence movement and led directly to the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) in Shanghai later that year to coordinate resistance.
