1910년대 남만주 독립군 기지 건설과 신흥무관학교 ―안동유림의 남만주 이주와 이상룡ㆍ김동삼의 활동을 중심으로

Abstract

By utilizing existing studies and other new materials, this paper examines and analyzes the efforts of the New People’s Association(Sinmin-hoe), an organization set up with the belief that enlightenment can save Korea and lead to Independence, and establish Korean Independence Army Base in Manchuria and its plans to nurture talents. It aims to form relations with the Sinheung Military School and to review the activities of leaders from Andong, Gyeongbuk Province in their organizations centering on the Sinheung school. Numerous studies on activities and contributions of renowned figures in the Gyeongju Lee clan including Lee, Si-young and Lee, hoe-young and in the West-central region of Korea have not highlighted activists from Andong, Gyeongbuk Province. This paper narrows the gap. After thorough reviews of articles in The Independent, not widely known newspaper to the academia and the public, it was newly found that Sinheung Military School was established and operated in accordance with plans and strategies of Ahn, Chang-ho, one of the leaders in New People’s Association, who aimed to nurture talent. Also from Yang, Ki-tak’s letter to Ahn, description of the school and independence organization in 1916 was discovered along with detailed processes for the construction of the Independence Army Base and progress of the Independence War. Moreover, recently translated and published diary and posthumous works of Kim, Dae-rak and Lee, Sang-yong depict how Confucian scholars with Andong background preactively engaged in national independence movement by leading Sinheung Military School and other organizations after moving into West Jiandao(西間島) of Southern Manchuria in the 1910s. This description helps to detail the history of Korean migration in the 1910s and a new part of Korea-China relations. In addition, this research analyzes the thinkings of Kim, Hak-gyu(the graduate of the school), Kim Gyeong-cheon(the instructor), and Kim Gu(the last premier of the provisional government of the Republic of Korea). There were four schools to accommodate 2,000 students during the school’s heyday in 1919 and they were aggressively preparing for the Independence War. Based on these findings, Sinheung Military School should be understood as a study on the history of Northeastern China, namely within the Manchuria region. Therefore, an in-depth study from complex and scholastic perspectives is urgently needed to view Northeastern China-South Manchuria-West Jiandao as an intersection of international relations between China, Japan, Korea and powers such as Russia, the US, and the UK.