Association decided to establish an operational base for anti-Japan activities

. As is clear from this statement of its purpose, the

Association believed that Korean independence could not be achieved by external forces and so, it should

be accomplished by the Koreans themselves.

The Association decided to establish an operational base for anti-Japan activities at Gan-do and

dispatched an advance team to lay the groundwork. The Association was organized meticulously. It

chose and accepted members after lengthy investigation; only people with well established track records

were invited into the Association. Members were organized in independent cells and secret codes were

used for communications among the members. Secret documents were encrypted. The members got

together once a year on the occasion of Sungsil school anniversary. It ran several front organizations

such as Education Society, Stone Monument Society and Home Society. These legal open entities were

used to cover the secret activities of the Society. Liaison offices were set up in Beijing and Dandong for

external contacts.

The Association was established with full support of the people; its membership included workers,

farmers, teachers, students, military (independence armies), merchants, religionists, businessmen and

people from other socio-economic strata. The association's membership was not limited to people living

in Korea and reached Beijing, Shanghai, Jirin, Musong, Rimgang, Jangbaik, Yuha, Kwangjun, Dandong,

Hwajun and Hong Kong. My father recruited Jang Chul Ho, Kang Jeh Ha, Kang Jin Gun, Kim Si Woo

and many other key members into the Association and they played important roles in the organization

and expansion of the Association. Recruiting a member took a great deal of time and effort. Father would

travel even one thousand ri in order to recruit one single member.

One day. Oh Dong Jin dropped in unexpected to see my father. Oh was on his way to Hwanghae

Province. He was unusually quiet and had an air of tension. Oh said proudly that he found a good man

for my father -"Gong Young from Byokdong is still a green young buck, but he is highly intelligent, tall

and good-looking. He is trust-worthy and an martial art expert, too. In the olden days, he would have

made a good marshal." My father was pleased and thanked Oh for a fine job well done. From the ancient

times, it had been accepted that finding a talent was more important than the talent itself.

Upon Oh's departure, Father asked my eldest uncle to make him several pairs of straw sandals, and in the

next morning, Father left home with the sandals. Father was gone for about one month. He had

apparently walked long distances, for he wore out all of the sandals that Uncle made for him, but he

came home with smiles on his face. Father met Gong Young on his trip and he was very satisfied with

Gong. Father's way of caring for and nurturing his comrades was one of the most important lessons I

learned from him in my youth.

For several years, the Korean People's Association spread its gospel in Korea and abroad. Its membership

increased and its word got around. However, the Japanese got wind of it in the Fall of 1917 and started

to dismantle it ruthlessly. On a windy day, three Japanese policemen burst into my father's classroom at

Myonsin School and dragged him away right in front of his students. Mr. Huh followed my father to the

river ferry, where Father managed to whisper a message to Huh. Huh ran all the way to my house and

relayed Father's message and the news of his arrest. Father instructed Mother to burn documents hidde

in the roof of our house. She climbed to the roof, recovered the documents and burnt them in her cooking

fire.