The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has selected Park Ha-kyun, Kang Dal-ryong and Park Nae-hong, who planned and led the June 10 Independence Movement during Japanese colonial rule, as the independence activists of June, the ministry said Saturday.
Marking its 100th anniversary this year, the June 10 Movement is considered one of the three major independence movements that resisted Japanese colonial rule, alongside the March 1 Movement of 1919 and the Student Independence Movement of 1929.
The movement broke out on June 10, 1926, on the occasion of the funeral of Emperor Sunjong. Although the joint preparations by socialist, nationalist, Cheondogyo and student groups were dealt a blow when manifestos were discovered in advance, students independently went ahead with the demonstration and shouted for independence despite Japanese surveillance.
Park Ha-kyun played a central role in preparing the June 10 Movement while studying at Yonhi College and participating in the Korean Students Science Research Association. He led the demonstration and was sentenced to one year in prison.
Kang Dal-ryong led the March 1 Movement in the Jinju region and, after serving a prison term, actively participated in labor, farmer and socialist movements. Serving as chief secretary of the Korean Communist Party, he prepared the June 10 Movement in cooperation with Cheondogyo and nationalist forces.
Park Nae-hong was an independence activist who led the Cheondogyo youth movement. Although the plan was uncovered in advance, he served as a representative member of the Cheondogyo Youth Alliance during the preparation of the June 10 Movement, taking charge of printing manifestos and coordinating with regional contacts to plan a nationwide uprising.
"The June 10 Movement set a new direction for the national movement of the 1920s," the ministry said. "It was an independence movement in which socialists, nationalists, Cheondogyo followers and students stood in solidarity, and it later became an important foundation for the establishment of the Singanhoe."
