The New People's Association, established in April 1906 was a clandestine organization for fostering the independence and national strength of the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

. The organization was formed by social activists such as

Ahn Changho Ahn Changho, sometimes An Chang-ho (; , November 9, 1878 – March 10, 1938) was a Korean independence activist and one of the early leaders of the Korean-American immigrant community in the United States. He is also referred to by his pen n ...

Shin Chaeho Sin Chaeho, or Shin Chae-ho (; November 7, 1880 – February 21, 1936), was a Korean independence activist, historian, anarchist, nationalist, and a founder of Korean nationalist historiography (민족 사학, ''minjok sahak''; sometimes shortene ...

Park Eunsik Park Eunsik (September 30, 1859 - November 1, 1925) was a Korean historian and the second President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai during part of 1925. Soon after the impeachment of Syngman Rhee from the presid ...

, and Lim Chi Jung. With their belief that the enlightenment can strengthen the national power of Korea to achieve independence, they took in actions on military movement, education, publication, and industrialization. Even after the New People's Association had been dissolved by the

Governor-General of Korea Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

in 1911, they made a huge contribution to the

Korean Independence Movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

Background

After the

Independence Club The Independence Association (독립협회, 獨立協會) was founded through the initiative of Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-pil) on July 2, 1896. At its founding it was recognized by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite some remarkable ac ...

(독립협회, 獨立協會) was dissolved on December 25, 1898 as

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

officially announced a prohibition on congresses held by people, the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

made a treaty with the Korean Empire called the Eulsa Treaty which made the Korean Empire become a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...

of the

. The treaty laid the foundation for the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907 and subsequent

annexation of Korea Annexation ( Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal ac ...

in 1910. Even though

Emperor Sunjong Sunjong, the Emperor Yunghui (; 25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), was the second and the last Emperor of Korea, of the Yi dynasty, ruling from 1907 until 1910. Biography Crown Prince of Korea Sunjong was the second son of Emperor Gojong a ...

, who is a son of Emperor Gojong, sent a

Hague Secret Emissary Affair The Hague Secret Emissary Affair (''Heigeu teuksa sageon'', 헤이그 특사사건) resulted from Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire sending confidential emissaries to the Second Peace Conference at The Hague, the Netherlands, in 1907. Backgro ...

to expose the unfairness of the treaty in the

Hague Convention of 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amo ...

, due to the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

, they were ignored.

History

From the initiation by Ahn Changho in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the people who used to be the leaders of the Independence Club decided to organize Korean New People's Association (대한신민회) from

Pyeongyang 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 population ...

and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in the late 1906. After the establishment, they established branches nationwide, and started to support education, industrialization, and military actions for independence. However, in 1911, the New People's Association was dissolved. Even though they were dismissed, their ideology and main actions were inherited by the

Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a partially recognized Korean government-in-exile based in Shanghai, China, and later in Chongqing, during the period of Japanese c ...

later.

Ideology

The main political ideology of the New People's Association was based on ideals of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

and

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

, which is far different from the

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

the

espoused. Also, to strengthen national power, they asserted that citizens should be reformed to become new people (신민, 新民) first. In other words, they believed people should be 'prepared' first for the opportunity of Korean independence.

Actions

Military School of the New Rising

The New People's Association had supported the

Righteous Army Righteous armies, sometimes called irregular armies or militias, are informal civilian militias that have appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance. The first righteous armies emerged during th ...

movement (

militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in Korea) to restore the power of the nation. They established the Military School of the New Rising, which made a huge contribution to the foundation of the

Korean Liberation Army The Korean Liberation Army, also known as the Korean Restoration Army established on September 17, 1940, in Chongqing, Chungking, China, was the armed force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Its commandant was General Ji Cheo ...

(한국 광복군), Korean Independence Army (대한독립군), Korean Revolutionary Army (조선혁명군), and Righteous Patriots Corps (의열단) from 1911 to 1920.

Education

As they believed that the enlightenment is one of the most crucial factors to strengthen national power, the New People's Association also made a huge investment in education in Korea. It is assumed that some hundreds of middle schools were established by the New People's Association.

Publication

The New People's Association also published the Daehan Maeil Sinbo (Korean Daily News, 대한매일신보) At the same time, Sonyeon (Boys, 소년) was published as a monthly magazine for students, and all these publication activities provided a basis of the modern culture of Korea.

Leaders of Sinminhoe

(신채호, 申采浩) *

(안창호, 安昌浩) * Yun Chiho (윤치호, 尹致昊) *

(박은식, 朴殷植) *

Yi Dongnyeong Yi Dongnyeong (also spelled Yi Dong-nyung) was a Korean independence activist. He served as the fourth (1926), seventh (1927–1930), eighth (1930–1933), tenth (1935–1939), and eleventh (1939–1940) President of the Provisional Government of ...

(이동녕, 李東寧) * Yang Gitak (양기탁, 梁起鐸) * Jang Jiyeon (장지연, 張志淵) *

Yi Donghwi Yi Donghwi (; August 2, 1873 ~ January 31, 1935) was a prominent Communist politician of Korea, and the second Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. In 1911, Yi was exiled in Manchuria and moved to Primorsky ...

(이동휘, 李東煇) * Lim Chi Jung (임치정, 林蚩正)

Footnotes

{{Authority control Korean independence movement Yun Chi-ho