April 11th is the anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
This year marks the 103rd anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government in Shanghai.
To commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government, the Institute of Korean Peninsula Studies at Peking University, led by Professor Dong-gil Kim of the Department of History, Peking University, China, has released a number of new materials.
This research was conducted as part of the 'Overseas Korean Studies Core University Promotion Project' of the Central Research Institute for Korean Studies.
The materials released this time are from the 1940s, and some of these documents show the internal divisions of the Provisional Government.
At that time, the Provisional Government coexisted with the Korean Independence Party of Baekbeom Kim Gu and the Korean National Revolutionary Party of Yaksan Kim Won-bong.
The two factions were at odds over anti-Japanese lines and ideological differences, as well as the allocation of funds for activities provided by the Chinese Kuomintang government.
Ahn Jung-geun's nephew Ahn Won-saeng "Kim Won-bong's interest is to gain power"
This conflict is also evident in the conversation between Wonsaeng Ahn and the secretary of the US Embassy in 1943.
Ahn Won-saeng is the son of Ahn Jung-geun, the younger brother of Doctor Ahn Jung-geun. After the Provisional Government moved to Chongqing, he was in charge of foreign affairs as a member of the Provisional Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Propaganda Committee.
According to a conversation log between Ahn Won-saeng and the secretary of the U.S. Embassy, the two met on March 15, 1943 at the U.S. Embassy in Chongqing, China.
The topic of discussion was Korea's independence movement and party reorganization.
At that time, the Korean National Party, the Korean Independence Party, and the Korean Revolutionary Party were reorganized into the Korean Independence Party led by Kim Gu, and Kim Won-bong's Korean National Revolutionary Party also participated in the Provisional Government.
Ahn Won-saeng was a member of the Korean Independence Party.
Ahn Won-saeng harshly criticized Kim Won-bong at this meeting.
"No one trusts Kim Yak-san (Kim Won-bong), the general secretary of the Korean National Revolutionary Party," he said.
“The Korean National Revolutionary Party was organized along Soviet lines, and although the nominal leader of the party is Kim Gyu-sik, the actual control rests with the general secretary, Kim Yak-san,” he said.
Ahn Won-saeng "Kim Won-bong received support from a secret far-right organization… an opportunist"
Ahn Won-saeng also introduced the divisions within the Provisional Government to the US Embassy.
"The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Independence Party are receiving support and assistance from the Chinese Nationalist Party, while the Kim Yak-san organization and the Korean National Revolutionary Party are receiving support and assistance from the Chinese military," said Ahn Won-saeng.
Ahn Won-saeng then pointed to 'The Blue Shirts Society' among the Chinese military organizations as the source of funding for Kim Yak-san.
Namuisa is the name of a secret intelligence agency affiliated with the Nationalist Party of China.
He carried out missions such as white terrorism, purges, and assassinations against the opposition of the Kuomintang, and the color of the Kuomintang uniform was dark blue, so he was called a doctor.
After the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, it was absorbed and integrated into the 'Sam Minju Youth Group'.
This organization was thoroughly armed with a right-wing spirit and took the lead in suppressing the Chinese Communist Party.
Ahn Won-saeng said, "Kim Yak-san was a communist, or at least had communist tendencies."
▲ A part of the conversation between Won-saeng Ahn and the secretary of the US Embassy. Ahn Won-saeng is said to have referred to Kim Won-bong as an "opportunist." (Source = Institute of Korean Peninsula, Peking University)
Ahn Won-saeng argued, "Since the real goal is the independence of the Republic of Korea, the two parties (the Korean Independence Party and the Korean National Revolutionary Party) should cover the difference."
As an obstacle to integration, we heard that the two parties were backed by different Chinese organizations.
"Unification cannot be achieved as long as this situation continues," he said.
He suggested the provisional government's international approval as a solution. In this case, he predicted that "the Kim Yak-san organization would lose its base of activity and inevitably lose the support of its Chinese supporters."
Ahn Won-saeng, however, said, "When the interim government will give Kim Yak-san and his party (the Korean National Revolutionary Party) an equal voice," the U.S. secretary asked, "Kim Yak-san wants complete control, not equal authority." , implying that the Kim Gu family would not give equal rights to the Kim Won-bong family.
It can be seen that the conflict between the two powers was deep.
Kim Won-bong Research Scholars "Kim Won-bong is a pragmatic nationalist"
Research scholars Kim Won-bong evaluated the fact that Kim Won-bong was supported by a medical doctor, saying, "It shows that Kim Won-bong was a pragmatic left-wing nationalist who could join hands with anyone if he could achieve the independence of his country."
He said, "Until liberation, he had no ties with the Soviet Union or the Communist Party of China, and took realistic political steps in the middle of nationalism and socialism, favorable to the struggle against Japan."
When part of the Chosun Volunteer Corps organized by Kim Won-bong joined the Communist Party of China, Kim Won-bong took the main camp and entered the liberation army under the Provisional Government as an example of Kim Won-bong not being a communist.
Unfortunately, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was liberated without the international community's approval.
Had it been approved, the situation on the Korean Peninsula would have been different immediately after liberation.
At the time, data from the Chinese and US governments stated that internal divisions in the Provisional Government were the cause.
However, the main interpretation of the academic community is that it would have been difficult to obtain approval for the international situation even if the Provisional Government had not been divided.
However, this internal division may have provided the great powers with an excuse not to approve the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
The reasons why the great powers did not approve the Provisional Government, other internal conflicts within the Provisional Government, and the position of scholars Kim Won-bong will be dealt with in the next section through another historical material.