Yu Chin-san (; 18 October 1905 – 28 April 1974) was a South Korean politician and
Korean independence activist. He was born with the name Youngpil () but adopted the name Chin-san and the
art name
An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...
Okgye () later in life.
Biography
Yu Chin-san was born into a poor farming family in
Geumsan county on 18 October 1905. In May 1919, he actively participated in the
March First Movement
The March First Movement was a series of protests against Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese colonial rule that was held throughout Korea and internationally by the Korean diaspora beginning on March 1, 1919. Protests were largely concentrated in ...
, a significant anti-Japanese protest in Korea. After graduating from Bosung High School in 1923, he studied at
Waseda University
Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...
in Japan, but dropped out in his third year to return to work for agricultural organizations in Korea.
In 1933, Yu left Korea for Shanghai and was appointed as a liaison to the
Korean Provisional Government
The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), was a Korean government-in-exile based in Republic of China (1912–1949), China during Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule over K ...
(KPG). In 1934, he was arrested in China by the Japanese police and repatriated to Korea. Despite the challenges, he managed to escape to the Manchuria region of Northeast China as a liaison for the Provisional Government of Korea. However, he was arrested once again and deported back to Korea, where he remained imprisoned until the end of the Japanese occupation.
Following his release in 1945, Yu joined the
White Shirts Society, a right-wing terrorist group. In 1949, he became a member of the
Special Investigation Committee of Anti-National Activities, but the organization was soon disbanded. In 1950, he ran for the National Assembly in the newly established Republic of Korea but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he achieved success in the 1954 elections and served as the leader of the opposition party for a substantial period. Yu Chin-san was a member of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th sessions of the
National Assembly of Korea.
He died on 28 April 1974.
Popular culture
* Portrayed by Shim Yang-hong in the 1981–82 TV series, ''
1st Republic''.
* Portrayed by
Lee Hyo-jung in the 2002–2003
SBS TV series ''
Rustic Period''.
See also
*
Kim Du-han
*
Kim Ku
Kim Ku (; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his art name Paekpŏm, was a Korean independence activist and statesman. He was a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan, head of the Provisional Gove ...
*
Kim Won-bong
References
External links
Yu Chin-san, Member of National Assembly of Korea
1905 births
1974 deaths
20th-century South Korean politicians
People imprisoned on terrorism charges
South Korean anti-communists
Chin-san
Members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
White Shirts Society
Waseda University alumni
{{SouthKorea-politician-stub