Heroic Corps
The Heroic Corps was an organization founded in Korea in 1919, during the Japanese colonial period. Its activists believed in revolutionary uprising as well as egalitarianism.
| Heroic Corps | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Kim Won-bong |
| Dates of operation | 9 November 1919–1928 |
| Country | Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Allegiance | Korean independence movement |
| Headquarters | Shanghai |
| Ideology | Anarchism |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 의열단 |
| Hanja | 義烈團 |
| Revised Romanization | Uiyeoldan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ŭiyŏltan |
After the March 1st Movement was crushed in 1919, many independence activists moved their bases to foreign countries. However, members of the Heroic Corps thought that those organizations were too moderate and would not contribute to independence in Korea, and instead took a more radical approach by opposing compromising solutions such as culturalism. The Heroic Corps wished for a violent revolution, reflected by the Manifesto of the Korean Revolution (조선혁명선언) by independence activist Shin Chae-ho. The Corps struggled for independence by assassinating high-ranking Japanese officials and committing acts of terrorism against government offices. The Heroic Corps moved their base to Beijing, China and brought members to Shanghai where they had about 70 members in 1924. Kim Gu, Kim Kyu-sik, Kim Chang-suk, and Shin Chae-ho were engaged as advisers and Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China, supported the Heroic Corps. However, as time passed, their movement evolved with the spirit of the times.