Choe Chang-ik (, 1896 – 1960) was a Korean politician in the Japanese colonial era. He was a member of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Empire of Japan, Japan. After the Japanese Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance pe ...

. He was also known by the names Choe Chang-sok (최창석, 崔昌錫), Choe Chang-sun (최창순, 崔昌淳), Choe Tong-u (최동우, 崔東宇), and Ri Kon-u.

Early life

Choe Chang-ik was born in

Onsong County Onsŏng County is a county ( ''kun'') in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, located near the border with China. The administrative center is the town ( ''ŭp'') of Onsong. Onsong is the alleged site of the former Onsong concentration camp, n ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in 1896. His exact date of birth remains unknown. In his fifth year of high school he participated in the

March 1st Movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

, which resulted in his expulsion. That same year he went to Japan to continue his education at the Seisoku English School (today's Seisoku Gakuen High School). Choe Chang-ik later studied at Tokyo's

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

in the Department of Economics and Politics where he organised a student union and continued his activism. This included secretly infiltrating areas in Korea such as Ganggyeong,

Jeonju Jeonju () is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many residents who work in Jeonj ...

, Okgu, and

Gunsan Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an i ...

, where he went on a lecture tour to share his ideas on

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and equality. Choe Chang-ik was arrested by the Japanese police for these activities but was eventually released. He graduated from Waseda University in February 1925.

Timeline

In June 1923, Choe Chang-ik returned to Korea and became a member of the Korean Labor Society. In July of that year he helped found the

Korea Communist Youth Alliance Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and served as a commissioner. By September he was arrested by the police while leading a Korean Labor Conference meeting. In April 1924, Choe took part in the founding of the Joseon Youth Alliance and was elected to the group's central executive committee. Eight months later he helped found the Socialist Alliance (an organization not affiliated with the Seoul Youth Association) and was elected to serve as a member of its executive committee. Following his graduation Choe traveled to the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

World Congress as a representative of the Seoul Youth Association. During his return home he became involved with

Kim Chwa-chin Kim Chwa-jin or Kim Jwa-jin (December 16, 1889 – January 24, 1930), sometimes called by his pen name Baegya, was a Korean general, independence activist, and anarchist who played an important role in the early attempts at development of anar ...

's Shinmin group, a rebel community in Shinmin province,

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

. Choe eventually worked to create a communist league within the organisation. Choe eventually seceded from Kim's group in October 1925 and returned to Korea. In the same month Japanese officials arrested him for his involvement with the Shinmin group along with Han Bin (한빈, 韓斌), Lee Kyung-ho (이경호, 李京鎬) and Lee Young (이영, 李英). In 1926, Choe and Park Du-hui, a member of the Shinmin group, were selected to attend a communist conference in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

. While there he joined efforts to start a national party assembly. In 1927, upon returning to Korea, he joined, and became an executive, of the

Communist Party of Korea The Communist Party of Korea () was a communist party in Korea. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Governor-General of Korea had banned communist and socialist parties under the Peace Preservation Law (see History of Kor ...

. In February 1928 Choe was imprisoned for the so-called "Third Communist Party of Korea Incident". He escaped from prison in 1935. In 1936, he sought and gained political asylum in China. There he became a part of the

Korean National Revolutionary Party The Korean National Revolutionary Party ( ko, 조선민족혁명당, Minjok Hyǒngmyǒng-dang), or KNRP, was a nationalist party formed by exiles in Shanghai in 1935 to resist the Japanese occupation of Korea. At first it was the main nationalist ...

and formed the Chonwi Club (전위동맹) in

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

. He married his wife,

Heo Jong-suk Ho Jong-suk (; July 16, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was a prominent female figure in the Communist Party of Korea and sexual liberation of Korea under Japanese rule. From 1948, she served multiple offices in North Korea, including the Minister of Hea ...

, in 1937. In May 1938, he became the commander of Choson uiyongdae (조선의용대), which was

Kim Won-bong Kim Won-bong (김원봉, 金元鳳 – 1958) was a Korean anarchist, independence activist, communist, and statesman from North Korea. Biography Kim Won-bong was born in 1898, in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-Do province, Korea. His father was Kim Ju ...

's Korean National Revolutionary Party's Military Organisation, but he complained that it was funded by Chiang Kai-shek's

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

. A disagreement followed and he left

's organisation (김원봉, 金元鳳). He also went to

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

, in partnership with Mujong (무정, 武亭) and

Kim Tu-bong Kim Tu-bong (16 February 1889 – March 1958 or later) was the first Chairman of the Workers' Party of North Korea (a predecessor of today WPK) from 1946 to 1949. He was known in Korean history as a linguist, scholar, revolutionary and politi ...

(김두봉, 金枓奉). In January 1941, with funding from the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

, and later with Lee Gunwu, Mujong founded the "Hebei Korea Youth Federation" in Jindong. In 1942, with Kim Dubong and Lee Gunwu, Mujung, Han bin was created as a Chosun independent alliance, and he was elected as the vice-chairman of the independent alliance. In September 1945, he was appointed to the

's Political Committee, and in December he returned to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

with

and Mujong. In March 1946, he founded the New Korean Democratic Party and was elected vice-chairman. In August of that year he was involved in the integration of the New Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Korea. In September the

Workers' Party of North Korea The Workers' Party of North Korea () was a communist party in North Korea from 1946 to 1949 and was a predecessor of the current Workers' Party of Korea. It was founded at a congress on 28–30 August 1946, by the merger of the northern branch ...

's Central Committee, the Standing Committee, elected Choe as commerce and business commissar. Ambassador Ianov and Choe Chang-ik discussed the visit of the DPRK government delegation to Eastern Europe and the USSR, and the policies of the Korean Workers' Party. In 1948 he attended the

's Central Committee and the deputies of the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly. In September Choe became the first North Korea

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

; in 1952 deputy prime minister; in 1954

and in 1955 security minister of the DPRK.

References

External links

Choe Chang-ik

Choe Chang-ik: Korean historic person information

Choe Chang-ik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choe, Chang-ik 1896 births 1957 deaths People from Onsong County Finance ministers of North Korea Korean independence activists Executed politicians Executed North Korean people Korean revolutionaries Communist Party of Korea politicians Korean expatriates in China Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union Waseda University alumni Kim Won-bong Members of the 1st Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 1st Political Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 1st Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 2nd Political Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 2nd Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly

Early life

Timeline

See also

References

External links