Crossing Mount Bainang

Note the rugged terrain. Later, Kim Il Sung's family moved to the Chinese town of Lim-gang (Linjiang)

across Yalu.

Crossing Mount Bainang was hard on Mother. She carried my 3-year old brother Chul Ju on her back

and a bundle on her head. Her shoes wore out and her feet were a mess of bleeding blisters. Joong-gang

was a letdown for me. It was teaming with Japanese, not much different from the Hwang-gum or

Sehmun regions of Pyongyang. While we Koreans were forced to leave our home villages and wandered

around in alien places, why do these Japanese follow us even to the most remote boondocks and lord

over us? •Father told me that everywhere Koreans are, Japanese are there, too. I saw that Joong-gang

had a Japanese police station, a jail and a military police station. Joong-gang made me realize that all of

Korea was a gigantic dungeon.

More than half of Joong-gang was occupied by the Japanese immigrants and there was Japanese school,

a Japanese hospital and Japanese shops. I learned from Jung-gang residents that the Japanese occupation

began some ten years ago. Japan took over the rights to our timber in Ulsa Agreement and set up a timber

processing plant at Sinyiju and a branch at Joong-gang and brought Japanese woodcutters to settle in

Joong-gang. Among the woodcutters were many battle-hardened Japanese army veterans and they were

in fact paramilitary units ready to do battle at any time. In addition, there were a number of armed

Japanese police and regular army troops.

The main reason why Father moved us there was because Joong-gang was a hub of Korean nationalist

movement. He wanted to set up a hospital there and promote anti-Japan activities. He believed that being

a medical doctor, he would be less subject to Japanese surveillance and would have more degree of

freedom to move around; also, being a doctor would make it easier for him to see people.

We moved in Kang Ki Rak's lodging house. Kang gave us the cleanest and quietest room he had. After

getting out of prison, Father traveled in Kan-do and stayed in the this very room whenever he came to

Joong-gang. Kang Ki Rak ran the lodging "Yuh In Hotel" and also, a dental clinic and a photo shop. He

was a liaison for the Korean People's Association. Father operated from Kang's hotel room and

maintained contacts with Korean nationalists in Lim-gang, Jang-baik, Joong-gang, Byuk-dong, Chang-

sung. Chosan and other towns in the Yalu region.

Kang Ki Rak was well known in Joong-gang and visited the town hall at will. He passed on whatever

intelligence he gathered from the unsuspecting town officials to Father, which was invaluable to Father's

work. I worked for Father as a lookout and took care of the nationalists who came to see Father. I also

carried secret messages to Joong-sang and Joong-duk for Father.

One of the most memorable events in Joong-gang that I recall is the wrestling match I had with a

Japanese fellow. He was much bigger than I was but I won the match by doing a belly-throw on him. I

was called in to go after any Japanese kid that hassled Korean kids, which made the lodging proprietors

fear for Japanese reprisal. Father told him that we should never kowtow to anyone who look down upon

us, and he blessed my actions.   PAGE 40

Stateless Vagabonds in Foreign Places

Father changed his operations base often and so, my family moved several times when I was young. The

first move was when I was five. In the Summer, we moved to Bongwha-ri, leaving behind Grandpa,

Grandma and other close relatives. Because of my tender age, I felt no sad feeling parting with them. I

was too excited about our new home.

But our move to Jung-gang in the Fall was entirely a different matter. It was a sad move. Our relatives

were sad that we were moving so far, to the northern tip of the country. Grandpa, who normally stood

behind Father and supported his decisions, was aghast at Father's decision to move us away more than a

thousand ri. Father saw what was going through Grandpa's mind and did his best to calm him down.

Father sat next to Grandpa and helped with his handcraft work for the last time and said: "Dad, I am on

the blacklist of the Japanese police and I cannot do anything in Korea. They told me to stay home and

work the farm when I was released from prison. I will go on fighting, even if they jailed me ten times

more. Japanese are savages and merely shouting for independence will not bring it."

Uncle hugged Father and told him to write often, if he moved far away, too far to come home; he begged

Father never to forget the home and wept openly. Father held onto Uncle's hands for a long time. Father

consoled Uncle: "Hey, I will never forget our home. How on earth can I forget our home? We are forced

to part because of the bad times we are having, we shall meet again when Korea is freed and live happily

together again. Since our childhood, you have been cleaning up the mess I created and now I am leaving

and you have to be the man of the family now. I am very sorry."

"Dear elder brother, don't talk like that! I will care for Mom and Dad and you don't worry about them.

You keep your mind on your work and make sure you succeed. I will be here waiting for your success."

I was moved by their tearful farewell and wept with them. Although Mother told me that we would be

back home when Korea became independent, I wondered when that will be. I had no clear idea. In fact,

Father and Mother passed away in foreign places and this was their last moment with the family.

I kept on looking back toward our old home; I did not want to leave Grandpa and Grandma behind. I did

not want to leave the home, the mountains and rivers I grew up in, but I was happy that we were moving

far, far away from that prison in Pyongyang. Even after Father was released from prison, I was uneasy

about that prison. I feared that Father might get arrested and jailed there again. I was so naive that

moving to a remote village, away from Seoul and Pyongyang, we could find a safe haven from the

Japanese savages.

I asked how far Joong-gang was from Pyongyang and was told that it was one thousand ri. This sounded

like a safe distance because I thought no Japanese would come that far to get Father. It was said that

Joong-gang is the coldest place in Korea, but I did not mind as long as Father was safe theRE..PAGE 37

Father's belief in communist movement

hope in communism in light of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The March First fiasco convinced him

that we must change our nationalist movement into communist revolution. Father argued for toilers'

revolution at the Chung-su Conference in July 1919. He convened a conference of the Korean People's

Association cadres, liaison officers and leaders of other nationalist organization in August at Hongtong-

gu, China. At the conference, Father expounded his belief in transforming our nationalist movement into

communist movement. He emphasized that the movement must defeat the Japanese imperialists by our

own power, adapting to the prevailing world situations and work to build a society that protect the

proletariat.

Formulating concrete steps to go from nationalist movement to communist movement was one of my

father's achievements in our struggle for independence. Father explained his idea of proletarian

revolution is to build a new society wherein those without food are given rice and those with nothing to

wear are given clothes. He awakened workers, peasants and other toilers by setting examples; he united

various organizations and groups into a united front and nurtured it into a powerful organ of revolution..

Father advocated that petitions and diplomacy would not bring us freedom and we must rely on military

forces to gain freedom. He began to organize new military organizations. Father wanted to train

nationalistic youth from farming families on military tactics and leadership and to indoctrinate the

existing military leaders and junior officers. They would form the core of a new army of workers and

peasants. Father dispatched members of the Korean People's Association to various military organization

to spread his new military doctrine; he directed arms procurements and education of military officers.

Father endeavored to unite military groups. At the time, there were many groups competing to expand

and this was the most agonizing defect of our independence movement to my father. In Kan-do and

Siberia, there were a host of armed Korean camps. Almost every day, a new "Korean Society", "Korean

Freedom Corps", "Korea Corp" and so on popped up. There were at least 20 of such armed groups in

southern Manchuria alone. They might have achieved something significant, if they got together and

coordinated their actions. But the fact of the matter is that they betrayed each other and vied for

dominance.

Father feared that this sad situation, if continued, would alienate the Korean people and help Japanese

wipe out the camps. Father learned that Korean Independence Youth Corp and Kwangje Youth Corp

were at each other's throat; he rushed to Kwangje and called on the leaders to bury the hatchet and work

together for common cause. Thanks to Father, Hong-up Corps, Gung-bi Corps and other armed groups

in the Yenan-Yalu region merged into a united national army.

Transforming extant armed groups into a people's army of workers and peasants and embarking on the

road of communist revolution was one of Father's agenda. This new direction would help unite the armed

groups and minimize contentious rifts amongst them. Father worked tirelessly to redirect our military

activities until the day he died. He was struck down with an incurable disease. After Father's

announcement of the new direction at the Kwanjun Conference, ideological splits among the nationalists

intensified. Even among those who had supported Father's plan when he was alive deserted after his

death. Some of them were captured by the Japanese, some became turncoats, and others scattered away.

Few took up the banner of revolution when Father fell. The conservatives in the nationalist camp built walls around them and kept to their old ways; but many progressive leaders chose the new way and later

joined in our communist revolution.

Father's belief in communist movement provided much needed nourishments for my growth

The failure of the March First Movement

The failure of the March First Movement showed that the Korean bourgeoisie nationalist leaders could

not lead our anti-Japanese independence movement. The social class mix of the march leaders was such

that they were not totally opposed to the Japanese rule of Korea. Their objective was to extract

concessions from the Japanese authorities so as to protect and enhance their class standing in the Korean

society. The fact that many of the leaders became after the march pro-Japanese collaborators and social

reformists under the Japanese rule supports the above assertion..

At the time, Korea had no progressive elements that were stoing enough to counter reformism. There was

no major industrial proletarian class consciousness that could fight against bourgeois reformism at the

time. Our toiling mass was still untouched by Marxism-Leninism and lacked organized leadership. It

would be years before the Korea's working class had at last a vanguard that fought for and protected its

class interest; it had to make a long hazardous journey. In the aftermath of the failed March First

Movement, the Korean people came to realize that a strong leadership was needed to gain independence.

Although, millions of Korean people joined the movement, there was no people's organization or class-

root leadership and the movement was hampered by divisiveness and ineffectual spontaneity.

The failed March First Movement taught us that in order to win our fight for independence and freedom,

we must have effective revolutionary leadership and organizational structures; we must use the right

tactics and strategies; and we must debunk toadyism and build up our strength on our own.

The March First Movement, even though failed, showed to the world that the Korean people did not wish

to be slaves of other nations, that they were strongly self-reliant and self-deterministic, that they were

willing to die for their country. The March First Movement shocked the Japanese imperialists into

imposing harsh martial laws and brain-washing indoctrination policies.

The March First Movement put an end to Korea's nascent bourgeois nationalist movement and the

Korean people's struggle for independence entered a new stage. The loud hurrahs for independence that

shook our land of misfortune and reverberated throughout the world kept on ringing in my ears all

through that summer; the ringing forced me to grow up faster. The Potong Gate boulevard, shrouded in

smoke and sparks of intense fighting between the marchers and the Japanese police, opened a new venue

in my world-view. Shouting "Long Live Korea" squeezed between grownups and on my tiptoes to see

between their legs ended my age of innocence; my childhood ended abruptly on that day.

The March First Movement placed me in the rank of the people and left an image on my eyes of the true

nature of the Korean people. Whenever I hear the echo of the March First hurrahs in my mind's ears, I

feel so proud of the Korean people's unbending determination and heroism.

A letter from Father arrived in that Summer. Along with the letter, there was a "Goldfish" calligraph

y set of a brush and ink, made in China. Father wanted me to become proficient in writing. I immediately put

the set in use, I ground out some ink in water, dipped the brush in it and wrote out three large letters -

"Ah Buh Ji" (father). That night, the family gathered around a dim kerosene lamp and read Father's letter

over and over again. Uncle Hyong Rok read it three times. He was normally restless and vibrant, but he

was slow and deliberate like an old man while reading the letter. Mother quickly glanced over the letter

and handed it me, asking me to read it aloud for Grandpa and Grandma. Even though I had not started

my formal schooling, Father had taught me how to read..PAGE 31-32

The elite of Korea

The elite of Korea who organized and led the March First Movement failed to see this lesson from

history. The March leaders erroneously opted for non-violent marches, totally ignoring the people's

burning desires for action. All they accomplished was to publish a declaration of independence, that

gained precious little for the Korean people. They did not want the people to go beyond peaceful

demonstrations.

Some of the leaders believed that Korea could be freed by sending petitions to other nations. They took

and swallowed US President Woodrow Wilson's "Doctrine of Self Determination" and expected the

United States and other Western Powers to pressure Japan into freeing Korea. They wrote petition after

petition, becoming laughing stocks of the imperialists. Kim Gyu Sik and associates begged and pleaded

with representatives of the imperialist nations, who were more keen on grabbing more colonies for

themselves than freeing any colony.

It was a mistake for those Korean leaders to take Wilson's self-determination doctrine at its face value.

The so-called doctrine was nothing but an American ruse to counter the October Revolution in Russia

and to dominate the world. The American imperialists used the doctrine to stir up divisive forces in the

Soviet Union and prevent it from assisting colonies fighting for independence. The doctrine was also a

scheme to take over colonies of the nations defeated in World War I.

Early in the 20th Century, the United Stated signed Kazra-Taft Treaty whereby Japan was given a free

hand in Korea. To expect America to pressure Japan to give up Korea was ludicrous. There is no record

of any strong nation helping a week nation, presenting its people with freedom and independence. A

nation's nationhood can be maintained or regained only by the people. This is a truth proven throughout

the history. During the Russo-Japanese War and the Portsmouth Kangwha Conference, King Kojong

dispatched emissaries to the United States and pleaded US help in keeping Korea independent. The fact

of the matter is that the United States sided with Japan during the Russo-Japanese War and did

everything it could to ensure Japanese victory. After the war, the United States in effect negotiated on

behalf of Japan and injected issues favorable to Japan. US President Theodore Roosevelt refused to

accept King Kojong's letters claiming that they were not 'official' documents.

King Kojong dispatched secret envoys to Hague Peace Conference. Kojong declared that the Korea-

Japan Ulsa Agreement of 1905 was illegal, void and null. He appealed to the world conscience and

humanitarianism, believing that Korea would be helped doing so. The Japanese countered Kojong's

moves with false propaganda and other world powers ignored the King's pleas. The emissaries suffered

tearful rejection after rejection by the delegates. Because of the secret emissaries, Japan forced King

Kojong to abdicate and his son Sunjong ascended the throne.

The Hague emissary fiasco was a loud warning bell that shook the very foundation of Korea's feudal

ruling class, rooted deep in toadyism (

Lee Wha Rang note: sah-dae ju-i - worship of the powerful; also,

flunkeyism

). Lee Jun, Kojong's secret emissary, cut his stomach open at the Hague Peace Conference

and stained the conference hall red with his Korean blood; it is a tragic lesson that Korea should not 

count on other nations for independence, because they did not care. In spite of this sad lesson, some of

our nationalist leaders clung to the naive notion that the United States, with its 'doctrine of self

determination' would free Korea; it shows how toadish they were; how deep-rooted their pro-

Americanism was.

Nationalist leaders being crucified...

. Even the lowly women servants and entertainment maidens (kisaeng), the bottom echelon in the

feudal society, formed their own formation and joined the march.

For over a month or two, the Korean peninsula resonated with shouts for independence. Spring passed

and Summer came, and the ardor of the uprising gradually subsided. Many Koreans mistakenly assumed

that the Japanese would get out, if they marched for several months shouting slogans. They were sadly

mistaken; the Japanese were not about to leave Korea on account of mere marches. Japan fought three

major wars over Korea.

About 400 years ago in 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent Gonishi Yukinaga to conquer Korea with several

hundreds thousand troops. The Japanese conducted scorched-earth campaigns and torched Korea from

Pusan to Pyongyang to Hamhung. In the 19th century, after the Meiji Reform, the Japanese formulated a

plan to take Korea by force. It was asserted that Korea was essential for the Empire to expand. Some

Japanese were opposed to this plan of naked aggression and a quiet civil war broke out in Japan that

lasted for half a year. The war faction was led by Saiko Takamori, whose stature still stands in today's

Japan. Japan fought war with Russia and China over Korea. America and Great Britain supported Japan

in these two wars.

Nationalist leaders being crucified.

The bestiality of the Japanese troops was fully exposed in the Russo-Japanese War. Maresuke Nogi

commanded Japanese Third Army in the Port Arthur battle. He had dead corps filed high and used them

as stepping stones to attack the "203 Meter Hill" (

Lee Wha Rang note: the Hill fell on December 5, 1904.

The Russian general Anatoly Mikhailovich Stësel surrendered on January 2, 1905.)

. Some 25,000 were

killed for Nogi's human ladders. The Japanese suffered heavy losses and won the war, but they failed to

take Manchuria or Siberia. Angry war widows and orphans of the soldiers who died for Nogi gathered to

confront him. But the crowd fell silent when they saw that Nogi wore three crosses, one for each of his

own sons killed in the war. I do not know how accurate this story is, but the point is that the Japanese

had paid for Krea dearly and they were not ready to cough up Korea.(PAGE 29

marching for independence

I was only eight years old at the time, but I joined in the march wearing my worn-out shoes full of holes.

I shouted and shouted with the marchers and reached Botong Gate. The marchers rushed inside the castle

past the Gate; I could not keep up with them in my tattered shoes and so I took them off and ran after the

marchers as fast as my little legs could move. The enemy mobilized mounted police and army troops to

stop our march, They slashed and shot the marchers indiscriminately. Many of the marchers fell spilling

blood. But the marchers marched on and fought the enemy with bare hands.

For the first time in my life, I witnessed people killing people, Korean blood staining our own land. My

young mind and body was enraged. After the sunset, the villagers from Mangyon-dae went to Mangyong

Peak and held a rally at the summit. Torches were lit and bugles blared. We beat drums and metal pans,

making enough noise to wake up the dead. We shouted hurrah for our independence. This continued on

for several days. Mother and her sister took me along when they joined the crowd at the summit. Mother

was busy carrying drinking water and burning oil for the torches to the protesters at the summit.

The marchers in Seoul were joined by the people who were in Seoul to attend King Kojong's funeral.

Several hundreds of thousands of people joined the march. Hasegawa, Governor General of Korea,

ordered the 20th Infantry Division garrisoned at Yongsan to squash the movement. The Japanese

soldiers attacked unarmed marchers with swords and rifles, turning Seoul into a sea of Korean blood.

But the marchers stayed their course; when the vanguards fell, the next in line took the lead. The

marchers pushed on stepping over their fallen comrades. People marched in all major towns and cities in

Korea on that day.

Photo: Young school girls marching for independence.

Young school girls marched holding up Taeguk-gi. When their hand holding up the flag was cut off by

the Japanese, they picked up the flag with the other hand. When both hands were cut off, they marched

on until they dropped, shouting "Long Live Korea!" Even the most hardened Japanese savages were

afraid of such determined opponents. The mass uprising in Seoul and Pyongyang soon spread to all of

the thirteen provinces of Korea by the middle of March. It had spilled over to Manchuria, Shanghai,

Siberia, Hawaii and other foreign places. The uprising was a true pan-national movement, of all Koreans,

all overseas Koreans, irrespective of their gender, age, religion and vocation. Every one was welcome to 

join (PAGE 28)

Long Live Korean Independence! 1

Long Live Korean Independence!

It was freezing cold on the day when Father left home. I waited and waited for his safe return home all

during the Spring months. Our family did not have enough food to eat, not enough clothing to wear and

not enough heat to keep warm. Winter was a cruel enemy to my shivering family.

Grandma worried that, with the spring thaw, my birthday would come upon her. On my birthday in the

spring, flowers broke out everywhere and Father would be less cold in the north somewhere, but

celebrating my birthday without Father and at a time when our food stock would be at the rock bottom.

Even though my family's food supply ran out late in the Spring, Grandma managed to come out with

bowls of white rice and a cooked chicken egg on my birthday - until that year. Even a single egg was a

major food item in our household, as our daily menu was mainly bowls of thin gruel at best. Celebrating

my birthday was the farthest thing on my mind in that Spring. I was still in shock from my father's arrest

and I was worried sick about my father's being away for so long.

Not long after my father's departure, the March First Movement erupted on March 1, 1919. All the pent

up angers and sorrows of living under the Japanese imperialists for ten long years exploded on that day.

In ten years after the annexation, Korea had become a gigantic dungeon, no better than those of the

Middle Ages. The Japanese colonists used naked military power to suppress the Korean people's

aspiration to become free again. The Japanese took way our freedom of press, freedom to hold meetings,

freedom to form organizations, and freedom to march. They took away our human rights and properties.

The Korean people formed secret organizations, independence fights, mass enlightenment activities, and

had built up considerable potential energy against the decade of plunder and exploitation by the Japanese.

Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists and other religious leaders, patriotic teachers and students had planned

and executed the March First Movement. The Kapsin Reform, Kaboh Peasants War, Patriotic Mass

Enlightenment and Righteous Army ensued one after another, and our nationalistic feelings were

sublimated and ripe for kinetic explosion, like a volcano letting out the pressure built up over the

years. Thus, at noon, March 1st in Pyongyang, church bells rang out in unison to signal the start of the

march. Several thousands students and citizens gathered at the front yard of Sung-duk Girls School

located at Jang-dae-jae. Declaration of Independence was read aloud and it was solemnly proclaimed that

Korea was a free nation. The crowd began the march shouting "Long Live Korean Independence", "Out

with the Japanese and their army". They were joined by tens of thousands of citizens.

The villagers of Mangyong-dae lined up in a file and marched into Pyongyang and joined the crowd of

marchers already there. We got up early on that day and ate our breakfast; all of us joined the march.

When we left the village, there were only a few hundred of us, but by the time we reached Pyongyang,

our rank swelled to several thousands. We beat on drums and gongs and marched toward Botong Gate,

shouting "Long Live Korean Independence!" at the top of our lungs.