Citizens work to save forgotten independence movement sites

In Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, residents have mobilized to protect neglected sites linked to Korea’s independence movement. In March, they formed the Chuncheon Guardians of Anti-Japanese Patriotic Heritage, a group of 55 locals concerned about the shortage of facilities honoring independence activists in the city. The members include small business owners, homemakers, and professors. They tend to the graves and former homes of independence fighters whose descendants no longer care for them, and they work to uncover long-forgotten historical sites for registration with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

On Aug. 13 in Nam-myeon, Chuncheon, the group’s chairman, Nam Gui-woo, 61, was seen clearing fallen leaves from the grave of Yun Hui-sun (1860-1935), Korea’s first female militia leader, and brushing dust from her tombstone. Yun led militia resistance in Korea and anti-Japanese struggles in Manchuria. In 1994, her remains were exhumed in Manchuria and reinterred here through the efforts of her late grandson, Ryu Yeon-ik, then head of the Gangwon branch of the Liberation Association. By the time her great-grandchildren’s generation came, however, upkeep had ceased. Last month, about a dozen members of the group mowed and cleaned the site. “It has been only a month since we tidied the graveyard, yet the weeds have already grown over a handspan,” Nam said.

The grave of militia leader Park Hwa-ji (date of birth unknown-1907) nearby was in similar condition. When members visited last month, forsythia bushes had grown more than two meters high, blocking entry. Four members were stung by wasps while clearing the area. A sign listing the eldest descendant’s phone number carried an outdated “017” mobile prefix, making contact impossible. A metal plaque also misspelled Park’s name, using “華芝” instead of “化知.” “Among ourselves, we say not to call this volunteer work,” Nam said with a smile. “If it were not for these people, we would not exist, so it is our responsibility.”

The group also aims to uncover independence sites and activists who have yet to be recognized. Park served as a militia adjutant during the 1907 Jeongmi Uibyung uprising, was captured and died under torture, but he has yet to receive official honors. Members plan to supplement documentation to expedite his commendation.

“Many gave their lives for the nation’s independence but have yet to be recognized as independence patriots,” Nam said. “Elderly descendants cannot easily take on the work of finding and documenting memorial sites. If the state does not act, these heritage sites could disappear within our generation.”


춘천=서지원 wish@donga.com