Kim Jung-geon’s Wonjong (元宗) and the anti- Japanese independence activities of Shin Honggyun, a Korean medical doctor

Abstract

Japanese colonial rule ultimately aimed at destroying Korean history, culture, and its national spirit. Korean traditional medicine is a precious national asset containing the spirit and philosophy of the Korean people that has been preserved for 5,000 years. Based on Japan’s policy guidelines of assimilation, the Government-General of the Japanese Empire attempted to root out Korean traditional medicine, which had accumulated a national tradition and spirit. With the beginning of Japanese colonial rule, the alien rulers in Korea launched a program of subjugating the medical system of Joseon to Western medical science under the name of modernization. This article is a historiographic and biographic study on the life of Shin Hong-gyun, a Korean Independence Army (military surgeon) member, who bravely joined the battle of Daejeonjaryeong (大甸子嶺). It was Kim Jung-geon who led Shin Honggyun to join the difficult path of the anti-Japanese struggle. Kim Jung-geon founded Wonjong (元宗), which aimed to renovate Korean society to present a new ideal world called Daegonghwamukuk (大共和無國). He developed his strategy of the anti-Japanese independence movement through implementing a social reform, Ubokchon (魚腹村), which embodied his philosophy and experience. The relationship between Shin and Kim lasted for 17 years through their collaborative works in the anti-Japanese independence movement and social reform. This article introduced the trajectory of how Kim Junggeon’s philosophy influenced Shin Hong-gyun’s determination to join the independence army.