해공 신익희의 망명과 중국에서의 독립운동 = Haegong Shin Ik Hee's Devotion to Korean Independence Movement in China

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article reviews Haegong's long devotion to Korean independence movement in China, which lasted for about 27 years. The legacy of his ardent involvement in Korean independence movement is varied comprehensive. If for Korea's independence, he did not mind much which political line to follow or what strategies to engage, and above all, he was quite determined to put his faith in action. In the beginning, he wholeheartedly devoted himself to firmly establishing Korean Provisional Government, and when Korean independence movement fell into disarray due to a motion of no confidence against the president, he resolutely left Shanghai to launch direct military struggles against Imperial Japan. He also paid attention to the left-wing organizations like National Revolution Party and Chosun Youth Vanguard League in 1930s when the north-east Asia was on the brink of war because of Imperial Japan's invasion of China. He, however, never followed any one political line or strategy, which is well testified by the very fact that he tried to unify all Korean independence movement fronts in the late 1930s.
Haegong's involvement in the Korean independence movement ranged widely as he had various ideas and strategies. Though he belonged to the third generation independence activists, he cooperated with the second generation activists to establish Korean Provisional Government, and when Korean independence movement was in great difficulties in the 1930s, he led the movement to find a new way out as a leader of the third and fourth generation activists.
In 1942 when the hope for Korean independence was slightly in the air, Haegong rejoined Korean Provisional Government. At the time, Korean Provisional Government settled down in Chongqing, trying to recover its leadership as the center for Korean independence movement. He was appointed as the Secretary of Interior, and was in charge of administering the government.
While making various efforts in Chongquin to realize Korean independence, Haegong greeted the day when Korea was liberated from Japanese imperial rule in 1945. He returned to his liberated home country just as a private citizen, because the US Military Government in Korea did not acknowledge Korean Provisional Government. Still, he was engaged in various activities to rebuild the nation, which could be properly labeled as a second-time independence movement.
The spiritual and physical legacy of Haegong's ardent involvement in Korean independence movement formed a source of Korean nationalist movement in general, and laid the cornerstone of the democratization movement in Korea after its liberation. On these accounts, it can be said, he set a precious example in the Korean modern history with his life-long struggles for the nation's independence and its rebuilding and its democracy.