Detail

Kim Sangohk is a patriot who spearheaded the campaign for Korea’s independence during the Japanese occupation. Kim is revered for leading the `1,000 vs 1 Battle of Seoul` where he confronted about 1,000 soldiers and police in the middle of Seoul. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of patriot Kim Sangohk who devoted his life to reviving the momentum of Korea’s national independence movement. Kim Sangohk (1889–1923) was born into a poor family and worked as a laborer from childhood, but he accumulated money together with his brothers to run Yeongdeok Hardware Store across the street from Dongdaemun Gate. However, he didn`t settle for a comfortable living guaranteed by his boomed business. He organized a trade association in opposition of the Japanese business hegemony, and put tremendous time and effort into engaging himself in the independence movement following the March 1st Independence Movement in 1919. Kim organized a political faction called Hyeoksindang and reported news about the independence movement to the underground press Hyeoksin Gongbo. Then, he initiated a death squad to directly target the Japanese Empire after being in pursuit by the Japanese police. In August 1920, Kim planned to eliminate the Japanese Governor-General by destroying major Japanese institutions, but unfortunately his plan was discovered just before execution. He hid from tracking by the Japanese, and evacuated in October of the same year to Shanghai where the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was located. There he joined the independence movement together with key figures of the Provisional Government, including Kim Gu, Lee Si-yeong, and Jo So-ang, and participated in the reorganization of the Heroic Corps, an armed independence movement group against the Japanese Empire. In December 1922, Kim returned to Korea and planned again for the assassination of the Japanese Governor-General and the destruction of major Japanese institutional facilities. In January 1923, he waited to seize the opportunity of the Japanese Governor-General leaving for Tokyo to take part in a meeting of the Japanese Empire. Kim and his comrades took up their action and threw flares to the Jongno Police Station in Seoul, which was notorious for the torture of independence activists, in opposition of the Japanese Empire. Kim successfully escaped from the Japanese police to his hideout in Sampan-tong (now Huam-dong), but he was later tracked down in Hyoje-dong on January 22. In a gunfight against the four-layered blockade with more than 1,000 soldiers and police, Kim took his own life with the last bullet of his gun, sticking to his determination that “I will never yield!” This incident, which displayed the patriotic spirit of the Korean people, instilled fear in the Japanese while rekindling hope and determination for independence once again since the March 1st Movement in 1919. This commemorative stamp features a portrait of Kim Sangohk, which was completed based on his only photo that was taken in Shanghai, as well as his throwing a flare to Jongno Police Station under the Taeguekgi (Korean flag). We hope this commemorative stamp serves as an opportunity to look into the life of Kim Sangohk, who gave Koreans hope by giving up his life as an entrepreneur and dedicated himself to the independence movement.