Ahead of the 99th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, the location of the Habiro government office, which was in Shanghai on April 11, 1919, has been confirmed for the first time.
The Habiro government office is a historic place, where the Korean provisional government, on September 6, 1919, passed a constitutional amendment integrating provisional government offices in and outside the country such as Shanghai, Hanseong and Noryung (Yeonhaeju) organized after the March 1st Independence Movement. It is recognized as the second official government office following the Kimshinburo government office, where the first provisional assembly meeting was held.
The provisional government aggressively promoted independence movement at home and abroad by establishing Yeontongbu (secret liaison office) and Gyotongguk (transportation office) at the Habiro government office from August to October in 1919.
There had been efforts from the government and academia to find the location of the Habiro government office since before the establishment of diplomatic ties with China in 1992. It was a long-cherished desire to find the location before the centennial of the establishment of the provisional government.
“A land registration map of the French residence in Shanghai that was made in 1920 was recently discovered in China. We found the street address (321) of the Habiro government office in the map and confirmed the exact location of the office in today’s map,” National Institute of Korean History researcher Kim Kwang-jae said Monday in an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo. According to Kim, Habiro 321 is today’s Huaihai Road 651. The government office building is presumed to be demolished around 1920-1930 and there is a department store now.
Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com