Kwŏnŏphoe

Kwŏnŏphoe^[a] was a Korean diaspora organization in Primorskaya Oblast, Russian Empire from 1911 to 1914.

The group was a secret hub for the Korean independence movement, and operated the militant Korean Independence Army Government: the first Korean government-in-exile during the 1910–1945 Japanese colonial period. While in the midst of training an army it was building, it was suddenly forcefully closed upon the beginning of World War I. Russia and Japan both joined the Allies, and created an agreement to suppress Korean independence activists.

The group holds an important place in Korean history, and had many significant members and successor organizations. Its Korean Independence Army government was later succeeded by the National Assembly, then by the Korean Provisional Government, then by South Korea.^[4] Its newspaper, Kwŏnŏp sinmun, was considered a significant publication for the Korean diaspora at the time.

Until the mid-19th century, Korea was isolationist, and Koreans rarely left its borders.^[5] Thousands of Koreans began moving into the area that became the Russian Far East in the late 1800s, to escape a famine.^[6] Around that time, the Empire of Japan moved to consolidate its control over Korea, and eventually colonized it in 1910. Vladivostok developed a significant Korean population that congregated in the enclave Sinhanch'on, and became a center for the Korean independence movement and independence activists in exile.^[7][8][9]

Kwŏnŏphoe was founded on June 1, 1911, in Sinhanch'on. On the surface, the group was meant to promote agriculture, commerce, industry, and education, but it secretly served as a center of the Korean independence movement.^[9] The reason for the secrecy was because Russia had signed a number of agreements with Japan, including one in July 1910^[10] and one on June 1, 1911, in which they would suppress and extradite Korean independence activists to the Japanese Empire.^[9] Several Korean organizations in Vladivostok, including the newspaper Taedong kongbo, were closed due to this.^[10]

At the inaugural meeting, independence activists Ch'oe Chaehyŏng and Hong Beom-do served as president and vice president respectively. They had an initial membership of around 300.^[9]

A number of feuding factions existed in the organization, including the North Faction (북파; 北派; Bukpa), which was composed of people from Hamgyong Province. Another was the Seoul Faction (서울파; Sŏulpa), which merged into the Korean-American^[b] Kyŏng Faction (경파; 京派) in September 1911. These factions had existed for years prior across previous organizations, and in Kwŏnŏphoe they initially continued feuding on a number of ideological issues. For example, they disagreed on whether a liberated Korea should be a constitutional monarchy. They continuously made efforts to unite against their common enemy: the Empire of Japan.^[9]

Kwŏnŏphoe gained the support of a local youth organization, Ch'ŏngnyŏn Kŭnŏphoe (청년근업회; 靑年勤業會), and eventually absorbed it on July 16, 1911. Kwŏnŏphoe assumed operation and funding of the youth group's newspaper, Taeyangbo.^[9] However, in the midst of an internal dispute,^[11] around 15,000 pieces of movable type were stolen from the paper by the pro-Japanese Korean spy Ŏm Insŏp.^[12][13] This effectively halted the paper's printing.^[9]

Beginning in late 1911, the local Vladivostok government began moving to officially recognize Kwŏnŏphoe, and held meetings in which they mediated the group's internal disputes.^[9] Nikolay Gondatti, then governor-general of the region, was made an honorary member of Kwŏnŏphoe.^[11] The group's management structure was reorganized, and in December, the two factions united with Russian help.^[9] On December 19, they became the first Korean organization in Vladivostok to be officially recognized by Russia.^[11] Factional influence still lingered however, and by 1913 the North Faction had more influence in the group.^[9]

With support from the Russian government, they became the de facto organization for Koreans in not just Vladivostok, but the Russian Far East.^[9][11] They established branches in various settlements with Korean populations, including Nikolaevsk, Khabarovsk, Partizansk, and Ussuriysk. They had ten branches by July 1914, and around 10,000 members. In 1914, it absorbed the Sinhanch'on Residents' Association (신한촌거류민회; 新韓村居留民會).^[9]

Much of its expenses came from the printing of its newspaper, Kwŏnŏp sinmun, which it established on May 5, 1912.^[11] The organization received membership fees and donations, but member Yi Chongho ended up contributing much of the funding for its activities.^[9] The newspaper became a significant presence in the Korean diaspora, alongside the Korean-American papers Sinhan Minbo and Sinhan kukbo.^[11][9]

Alongside its public-facing activities, the group also secretly planned militant activities for the liberation of Korea.^[14][11] In June 1912, Yi Chong-ho, Shin Chae-ho, and Yun Hae planned an assassination attempt on Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō, who had overseen Korea's annexation and was visiting Russia around this time.^[14]

In June 1913, Kwŏnŏphoe received approval from the Vladivostok government to organize a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Koreans immigrating to Russia. Kwŏnŏphoe was granted funds to create monuments, research histories, and translate texts into both Russian and Korean for the occasion. Kwŏnŏphoe embezzled some of these funds to fuel its secret militant arm and Korean government-in-exile: the Korean Independence Army Government. This government coordinated activities with Korean groups across China and Russia. They established an army and militant training school in Wangqing County in Manchuria.^[9]

The group and its activities came to an abrupt end with the beginning of World War I in mid-1914. Russia and Japan joined the Allies, and subsequently established an agreement to crack down on Korean independence activist organizations. Russia then forcefully disbanded Kwŏnŏphoe, some time around August 1, 1914.^[9]