Gimjwajinjanggun Stele

This stele was erected to commemorate the achievements of General Gim Jwa-jin, who devoted his life to the independence movement. Gim Jwa-jin (1889–1930) was born in Hongseong. At the age of fifteen he freed the slaves owned by his family and distributed farmland evenly among them so that they could support themselves by farming. In 1905 he went up to Seoul and entered the Military Academy, and in 1907 he returned to his hometown, founded Homyeong School and gave over more than ninety kan of his own house for use as the school building. He joined the Gwangbokdan (Restoration Corps) and fought against Japanese rule, then crossed into Manchuria in 1918, where he was one of thirty-nine national leaders who signed the Mu-o Declaration of Independence, a forerunner of the Declaration of Independence of 1 March 1919. He went on to serve as commander-in-chief of the Bungno Gunjeongseo (Northern Route Military Government), concentrating on training an independence army, and won great distinction in the anti-Japanese independence movement, including a major defeat inflicted on Japanese forces at Cheongsanli. In 1930 he was shot dead near his home by the communist Bak Sang-sil. This stele was erected in 1949 with funds raised by the Hongseong County branch of the Korea Youth Corps.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hongseong, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료