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The May Fourth Movement in China and Lee Kwangsoo of Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai

  • Chunwon Research journal
  • Abbr : Chunwon Research journal
  • 2019, (15), pp.11-33
  • DOI : 10.31809/crj.2019.08.15.11
  • Publisher : Chunwon Research Society
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature > Korean Literature
  • Received : June 30, 2019
  • Accepted : August 10, 2019
  • Published : August 31, 2019

SHIN, YONG-CHUL 1

1경희대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the May Fourth Movement in China, which took place in 1919, and what Lee Kwangsoo did for Korean Provisional Government established in Shanghai. The May Fourth Movement was an anti-Japanese political movement, which fights against Japan’s occupation and invasion of Qingdao. It was also a reform movement against the feudal culture, ideas and system, which had been prevalent in China for thousands of years. Around this time in Korea, an independence movement against Japan’s colonization, the March First Movement, took place. When the March First Movement failed to achieve independence, Korean patriots in Shanghai, China, established Korean Provisional Government. Lee Kwangsoo actively participated in the organization and constitution of the Provisional Government as the representative of Pyoung Ahn Province in the Parliament. Together with the great independent activist An, Changho, Lee set up the Historical Material Compilation Committee and collected the records of historical relationships between Korea and Japan. In particular, he began publication of Independence Newspaper and focused on promoting the Provisional Government and raising people’s will for independence as the director and editor in chief. He was a keen independent activist of the Provisional Government until 1921 when he returned to Korea. In 1918, prior to the March First Movement, he scathingly criticized the harmful effects of traditional Confucianism in Korea in 16 times long articles published in Maeil Newspaper and attempted to initiate a new cultural movement (cultural reform) similar to the May Fourth Movement in China. This shows that Lee Kwangsoo contributed to the independence movement politically and culturally during the time for rapid change in 1919. When Lee came back to Korea in 1921, he worked to improve the skills of Korean people. He tried to enlighten people through the media and teach illiterates, as well as wrote historical novels to raise the national awareness. The turbulent life of Lee, which ended in 1947 while writing the biography of Do-san An, Changho, whom he respected greatly, had already been determined during this period.

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