Dreaming of Independence Through the Spirit of Self-Reliance – Baeksan Ahn Hee-je
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea served as the spiritual foundation of the Korean people and the root of today’s Republic of Korea.
Behind its remarkable 26-year existence in exile stood Baeksan Shop and its founder, Ahn Hee-je.
Born into a wealthy landlord family in Uiryeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, he was an enlightened young patriot who was engaged in the national enlightenment movement in his early years.
While traveling in Russia and China, he witnessed the harsh realities faced by Korean independence activists and realized that the success of the independence movement depended on economic strength.
Ahn established Baeksan Shop in Busan - then Korea’s largest trading port - and secretly funded the Provisional Government by disguising financial support as legitimate business transactions. The shop supplied about 60 percent of the domestic funds flowing to the Provisional Government.
He also established Gimi Yukyeonghoe to cultivate leaders for the independence movement and took an active part in the press by acquiring the Jungwae Ilbo newspaper.
He saw business, education, and the media as the three pillars of national independence. His lifelong conviction was rooted in the spirit of self-reliance, achieving independence through one’s own strength.
In the 1930s, anticipating a prolonged struggle for independence, he went into exile in Donggyeongseong, the old capital of Balhae. There, he established the Balhae Farm, the final overseas base for the independence movement and a national economic community, carrying on the struggle through economic independence.
Devoted to Daejonggyo, a Korean indigenous religion, he was captured during the Imo Gyo-byeon Incident in 1942 and died for his country just before Korea’s liberation.
Unlike many of the wealthy and educated who compromised with the Japanese, he selflessly devoted every privilege granted by his homeland to independence, emerging as the true leader of his time who led independence movements across borders through secret organizations, education, media, culture, and religion.
On the 80th anniversary of liberation and the Day of Patriotic Martyrs, we reflect on the spirit of independence that he left as a legacy to today’s Republic of Korea.
Link : https://youtu.be/xl3kuV4cv2Q?si=Q-Sb2FVGZEjtgqCx