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Ilwahn Hong Beom-sik's Sacrificing Suicide and the Dying Instruction

박걸순 1

1충북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Hong Beom-sik(1871～1910) is the person who was the highest officer as a governor among the suicided people over country's ruination in 1910, as well as who became the ignition of the anti-Japanese struggle as he killed himself as soon as the Korea-Japan Treaty was proclaimed. Not only for this, his sacrificing suicide is the detailed case of the dying instructions to make many people go to the anti-Japanese struggle, so it can be given the special meaning. He was noble birth ofNoron(老論) and passed the state examination following his father and grandfather to succeed the honor of family. After he passed the exam in 1888, he got an appointmentas a governor of Tae-in, Jeonbuk Province in 1907. At that time, army raised for the justice all over the nation, especially in Jeonbuk area. He persuaded Japanese army to suppress them not to kill thoughtlessly so that he could save so many lives. Furthermore he didn't extorted taxes and exerted himself to save his people from bad crop and to do irrigation works. People in Tae-in published an ad to praise his beneficent government at Hwangseong Daily. With this, there are remembrance like many monuments for him in Tae-in and Geum-san where he governed and they are the historical commemoration and there markable evidence about him. He already had decided to kill himself for country before the ruination of country. The face that the date he wrote his will was August 27th, two days before the ruination confirms it. He left many letter of will for his family and hanged himself on ta pine tree in Jojong mountain behind of the government office. Japanese Imperialism tried to cover and distort Hong's sacrificing suicide, but this news was spread instantly to inside and outside of the country and created big sensation. His suicide became not only the ignition of the anti-Japanese movement for the compatriot inside and outside of country, but also the symbolic existence for remembrance to reaffirm their resolve to achieve independence for abroad compatriot society and independence movement group in every national humiliation day. His sacrificing suicide influenced many people as well as his family to make them go to independence movement. Three generations of his brother Hong Yong-sik and the son Hong Myeong-hee with Hong Seung-he as well as grands on HongKi-mun led the racial movement like 3․1 movement and Singanhoe in Chungbuk Province after his sacrificing. It was not only hisfamily who took a lead after his will. During 3.1movement, the people in Chungbuk Province went to participate the national movement praising Hong Beom-sik who sacrificed in the National Humiliation. Furthermore, Kim Ji-Seop, who had kep this will secretly and carried it to Hong Myeong-hee, exiled himself and participated in Uiyeoldan(義烈團) to drop a bomb at Nijubashi Bridge(二重橋); Song Cheol, who had witnessed directly Hong Beom-sik's suicide, exiled swearing revenge and led the independence movement in America. A same governor Jo Yong-ha also was affected by Hong's suicide and he resigned from office to go to the independence movement. In short, as we can see in Hong Beom-sik's case clearly, sacrificing suicide as a noble fight is not just an old-fashioned or passive struggle. Sacrificing suicide deserves to be valued that encouraged national awakening and triggered public revolt and struggle through individual dramatic sacrifice.

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