A collection of papers commemorating the March 1st Movement and the Yeondang Lee Kap-sung

On the occasion of the 79th anniversary of National Liberation Day, Incheon National University's Incheon Institute for Independent Movement History, General Book No. 4 (Volume 8), "March 1st Movement and Yeondang Lee Kap-sung Memorial Paper Collection" was published.

The book was written by professors Kim Chang-soo (Dongguk University) and Yoo Jun-ki (Chongshin University) in December 2006, and Lee Jung-eun (March 1st Movement Commemoration Association), Lee Tae-ryong (Incheon National University), and Heo Dong-hyun (Kyunghee University) at the "National Representative 硏 Memorial Conference" in August 2023 along with the pictorial. It is expected that social interest will be high in line with the "pro-Japanese issue" following the recent appointment of the Independence Hall of Korea.

▲ 「上海韓聞」(In the column "Near New Year" of the first issue (1932.01,04),  ‘濟衆藥房 李甲成’appears.

In these papers, the Yeondang gathered the student representatives of Gyeongseong in February 1919. In connection with religious leaders, the party finally declared the Declaration in the name of 33 national representatives. Yeondang was caught after successfully leading the March 1st Movement by distributing the Declaration by sending students not only to Gyeongseong, but also to Hamheung in Hamnam, Daegu in Gyeongbuk, Gimhae and Masan in Gyeongnam, and Gunsan in Jeollabuk-do. Yeondang suffered imprisonment for more than three years until May 1922. In 1924, Yeondang was caught again while giving lectures to various parts of the country to establish a national university, and served as an secretary of the Singanhoe for two years (1928-1930), and suffered from six months (1931). Afterward, Yeondang fled to Shanghai(上海) and operated the "Jejung Pharmacy(濟衆藥房)," but was captured by Japanese authorities and endured hardships for approximately nine years. He was imprisoned for one year (1937-1938) and seven months (1940) for his activities with the Heung-up Club, and was later detained in Shanghai for various charges related to independence activities for 11 months (1941), 8 months (1942), 4 months (1943), and 3 months (1945), suffering in police stations and prisons (precursors to detention centers and prisons).

▲ Academic Conference on Governor Lee Gap-sung of Yeondang(2006·2023)

After liberation, the ruling party served as the first member of the Democratic Party and the second member of the National Assembly. Immediately after being elected as the second chairman after serving as the first chairman of the "Kwangbokhoe(光復會)," the party was engulfed in a sudden "pro-Japanese clandestine theory." In the end, a person who made false advertisements in the newspaper was fined 500,000 won for defamation and finished. However, immediately after Yeondang's death in 1981, false packaging was re-released in the magazine, causing Yeondang to fall into pro-Japanese trafficking, and the Liberation Association and scholars devoted themselves to finding out the truth.

As a result, the Gyeongseong Industrial Company where he worked was not a Japanese military factory, as some argue. Gyeongseong Industrial Co., Ltd. was an American company that manufactured and sold automobiles and parts, with J.H. Morris as its president, After Yeondang was released from prison in May 1922, the theory that he served as the commission of Maruyama Tsurukichi(丸山鶴吉), director of the police department of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, was not true because there was no Lee Kap-sung(李甲成) in the "list of commissioners" of the "Joseon Government-General Staff Record" on the website of the National History Compilation Committee.

▲ a fabricated copy of the register1

 The "Jejung Pharmacy", which was run by the party at the French Jogye(租界) Chapeiro(霞飛路) in Shanghai, has an article titled ‘濟衆藥房 李甲成’ in the "Near New Year" column of the first issue of the 「上海韓聞」(Korean Independence Party) (1932.01.04). In addition, it turned out that Jejung Pharmacy was a place where independence activists such as Kim Gu and Ahn Chang-ho frequently came and stayed.

▲ a fabricated copy of the register2

Moreover, from the 1880s to 1910, the birth years in the family registry (hojeokbu) were not handwritten with the penmanship of ‘Gae-guk(開國)’, ‘Geon-yang(建陽)’, or ‘Gwangmu(光武)’ but instead stamped with seals of ‘Meiji(明治)’·‘Dangi(檀紀)’ In addition, the registry prominently included Japanese-style names (Changssi-gaemyeong), which were not present in the original records.

Meiji (明治), Taisho (大正), and Showa (昭和) were used as birth years during the Japanese colonial period, while Dangi was used from the liberation of Korea until 1961. Even when men established separate households or women married and moved out, these dates were transferred and recorded as they were.

The fact that the family registry (hojeokbu) of a person born in the 1880s recorded the Meiji and Dangi eras clearly reveals falsification. This, along with other evidence, proved that the accusations of pro-Japanese spy activities against Yeondang were entirely baseless, fictional, and mere rumors. These findings were the result of efforts by the Korean Liberation Association and scholars.

▲ The family registry (Jejok Deungbon) of the descendants of Jeong Jae-gyu (a renowned Confucian scholar from Gyeongnam).

The Independence Movement Research Institute at the Incheon Studies Research Institute of Incheon National University determined that thoroughly investigating the activities of Yeondang Lee Gap-seong is not only crucial for restoring the honor of one individual but also impacts the reputation of all 33 national representatives of that time. As a result, they compiled and published a series of five key research papers. Dr. Tae-ryong Lee, who edited this book, stated, "Among those who played significant roles in uniting religious leaders and student representatives, and in making the cry for independence resonate across the nation following the March 1, 1919, Declaration, Lee Gap-seong's contributions were the greatest. However, spreading falsehoods through advertisements and articles that falsely branded him as a 'pro-Japanese spy' is a grave injustice." He further committed to exposing any false content regarding independence activists in future research papers or books.

▲ Lee Ki-dong, the head of Imsil Cheondogyo Parish, Jeollabuk-do, has been registered