The most glorious victory in the history of independence movement
The March 1, 1919 Independence Movement launched by Korean patriots to resist Japanese rule intimidated the colonizers, as it paved the way for independence movement bases in Manchuria and the Russian Far East. On October 20, 1920 Japanese troops heard a rumor that independence fighters were to gather at a valley in Cheonsan-ri on the way to Mount Baekdu. Ten thousand Japanese troops besieged the area on three sides but faced resistance from 2500 independence fighters, who were hiding quietly before they launched a massive ambush on the enemy, killing 2200 Japanese troops. More than ten battles ensued, but each was won by the Korean independence fighters. The man who led Cheonsan-ri battles to victory was General Kim Jwa-jin.

Laying stepping stones for independence movement
Kim Jwa-jin was born in November 1889 to an affluent family in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province. From his early childhood, he drew attention for his extraordinary personality, perhaps because he was born in the same city as the prominent Goguryeo General Choi Yeong and Joseon Admiral Yi Sun-shin. He enjoyed reading books about military arts and practiced martial arts, which helped him develop a strong sense of morality and justice. When he turned 17, Kim Jwa-jin burned the registries of his family’s slaves to release them and provided them with land to live on free of charge. In 1905, Kim Jwa-jin enrolled in a military academy in Seoul to protect his home country. Upon graduation, he returned to Hongseong to establish a school for young people. When Joseon fell under Japanese colonial rule in 1910, Kim Jwa-jin took the helm of the anti-Japanese movement.

Kim Jwa-jin established a store as a front to raise funds for his struggle and contact overseas bases. He was arrested by Japanese police in 1911 for collecting funds from rich people in Seoul, and served a two-and-a-half-year sentence in prison. After his release, he joined the secret organization Korea Liberation and went to China, where he led anti-Japanese armed forces based in Manchuria. In 1919, when the March 1st Independence Movement took place, Kim established the Northern Military Administration Office Army on funds provided by the Shanghai provisional government to train military officers for Korea’s liberation. In 1920, he led the Cheongsan-ri Battle, in which the Japanese army was crushed. In December the same year, he became commander-in-chief of the Korean independence army. But ironically enough, the Cheonsan-ri Battle threw his life into turmoil.


An immoral independence fighter
After the crushing defeat in the Cheonsan-ri Battle, the Japanese deployed a massive army to destroy Korean independence fighters. General Kim wanted to relocate his base to the Russian city of Alexeevsk to minimize casualties, but the Red Army demanded disarmament to avoid a conflict with the Japanese. General Kim returned to Manchuria and in 1925 founded the military group Shinmin to integrate Korean nationalist groups in Manchuria and lay a foundation for their armed struggle. General Kim also dispatched secret envoys to Joseon to encourage his compatriots to resist Japanese colonization. In January 1930, General Kim was assassinated by a communist and died at age 41. As he was crossing the Yalu River, he wrote a poem that said:

The chilly wind is strong but the moon is bright
My knife is cold, I miss my home country
What is the enemy doing in our land?
I will help you regain our home country

General Kim didn’t live to see his home country gain liberation, but his victory in the Cheonsan-ri Battle helped his nation regain hope, which led Korea to independence in 1945. General Kim was a national hero and the shining star of the anti-Japanese armed movement.