Korean Patriotic Organization

Office of Kim Gu in the Provisional Government of Republic of Korea, Shanghai

On 18 September 1931, the Empire of Japan staged the Liutiaohu incident (bombing of the Manchu railroad) and Mukden Incident, which increased anti-Japanese sentiment amongst the Chinese.[1] To promote Korea–China relations and to revitalize the depressed independence movement, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (KPG) founded the Korean Patriotic Organization (KPO) under Kim Gu to assassinate key Japanese government, military, and colonial leaders.[2]

Kim Gu organized the Korean Patriotic Organization with about 80 members, mostly patriotic Korean youths. The organization was based in Shanghai, China. Leaders included Kim Suk, Ahn Gong-geun, Lee Su-bong, and Lee Yu-pil.[2] The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea hoped to shock and halt Japan's aggression with assassinations.[1]

Scene shortly after the explosion at Sakurada Gate (1932)

In late 1931, Kim Gu sent Lee Bong-chang to Tokyo to assassinate Emperor Hirohito. Bong-chang arrived in Tokyo in early January 1932. On 8 January, Hirohito exited the royal palace for a military review in a Tokyo suburb alongside Puyi, the former emperor of the Qing dynasty and then Emperor of Manchukuo. In front of the Sakurada Gate, Lee threw a hand grenade that missed Hirohito's carriage and killed only two horses.[3]

Lee Bong-chang under arrest (1932)

Lee then pulled out the flag of Korea and shouted "Long Live Korean Independence" (Korean: 대한독립만세; Hanja: 大韓獨立萬歲) three times, before being quickly arrested by police.[1] He was silent during questioning, and later sentenced to death in a closed trial on 30 September. He was executed in Ichigaya Prison on 10 October.[3][4]

Anti-Japanese sentiment around this time continued to escalate, culminating in the January 28 Incident.[5]

Kim and Yun, in front of the flag of the KPG (27 April 1932)

On April 29, 1932, the Japanese military held a celebration of the birthday of Emperor Hirohito in Hongkou Park. Among the attendees were Commander in Chief of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army General Yoshinori Shirakawa, chancellor of Japanese residents in Shanghai Kawabata Sadaji (河端 貞次), commander of the 9th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army Kenkichi Ueda, Vice Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy Kichisaburō Nomura, Consul-General in Shanghai Kuramatsu Murai (村井倉松), and diplomat Mamoru Shigemitsu.[6]

That day, Yun Bong-gil carried two bombs to the park: one disguised as a canteen and second as a lunch box. Yun detonated the canteen bomb, intending to kill the targets. He intended to use the lunch box bomb to kill himself afterwards, but it failed to detonate.[7]

The bombing killed General Shirakawa and Chancellor Sadaji. It also seriously injured Commander Ueda, Consul-General Murai, diplomat Shigemitsu, and Vice Admiral Nomura.

Memorial to the Hongkou Park Incident in Lu Xun Park

Yun Bong-gil was arrested at the scene and convicted by the Japanese military court in Shanghai on May 25. He was transferred to Osaka prison on November 18, and executed by firing squad in Kanazawa on December 18. He was buried in the Nodayama graveyard.[5]

The event drew significant publicity and made the Kim and the KPG infamous.[8] Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Republic of China, said of the incident "One Korean succeeding in accomplishing what a million Chinese soldiers failed to do".[6] Chiang would then provide funding and protection for the KPG until 1945.[9][10]

The KPO attempted two other missions around the time of the Hongkou Park incident that failed.

In April 1932, members Yu Chin-sik (Korean: 유진식; Hanja: 兪鎭植) and Yi Dŏk-chu (Korean: 이덕주; Hanja: 李德柱) were sent to Korea to assassinate Japanese Governor-General of Korea Kazushige Ugaki.[11][12][13][8] If Yun had not been captured, he would have been on this mission. However, the mission failed; Yu was arrested around 24 April – 28 April, and Yi was arrested afterwards in Haeju.[14]

On 26 May 1932, the organization failed another mission. The targets were Kwantung Army general Honjō Shigeru, Japanese Foreign Minister and President of the South Manchuria Railway company Uchida Kōsai, and Kwantung Governor Mannosuke Yamaoka (Japanese: 山岡萬之助).[15][16][8] Kim dispatched members Ch'oe Heung-sik (Korean: 최흥식; Hanja: 崔興植) in late March and Yu Sang-kŭn (Korean: 유상근; Hanja: 柳相根) on 27 April to Dalian, in Manchuria. The targets were going to appear at Dalian station on 26 May at 7:40pm, for a meeting with delegates from the League of Nations.[17] Kim dispatched Ch'oe a month earlier than Yu, in order to have him scope out the area before the attack. Yu, carrying weapons and a canteen bomb, similar to a bomb used by Yun at Hongkou Park, arrived at Dalian on 4 May.[18] However, a telegram they had sent at the Dalian post office days prior was intercepted by the Japanese. Ch'oe was found in his hideout, tortured for the whereabouts of Yu, and executed.[19] Yu was caught on 25 May, sentenced to life imprisonment, and passed away on 14 August 1945, a day before the liberation of Korea.[20]

After the Shanghai bombings in late April, the KPG and Kim especially became infamous. Kim's role in planning the attacks were published by newspapers in Shanghai. Various Japanese government bodies put bounties on him worth a combined 60,000 Dayang (Chinese: 大洋), an enormous sum for that time.[21][22][23] The Japanese police authorities rushed to arrest key figures of the KPG. Many KPG officials, including Kim, went on the run, relocating numerous times until 1939. Not all managed to escape; among those arrested was Ahn Changho.

The KPG's activities were severely disrupted, and it did not resume regular activities until 1939.[24] As a result, the KPO largely ceased to exist after 1932. The attacks also led to the assassination of Ok Kwan-bin and several other Japanese sympathizers of Korean descent in China.[25]

However, the KPG did somewhat benefit from the attacks. It significantly improved Chinese-Korean ties.[26][27] Before 1932, the KPG did not have a source of stable revenue, and largely worked off of donations. The Kuomintang began providing funding and protection for the KPG in 1934, and continued doing so the liberation of Korea in 1945.[9][10]

• Japan–Korea disputes
• Heroic Corps
• Assassination (2015 film)
• Korean National Association