1차 대전 후 한인의 프랑스 스위프(Suippes) 이주와 독립운동

Abstract

The research done in this paper deals with two connected subjects : on one hand, it brings some new explanations and details about the history of the Korean migrants who came to work at the end of 1919 in the small city of Suippes in the North of France(200 km from Paris), just after the end of the 1rst World War; in the second hand, and consequently, it gives also a new light on the history of the Association of Korean Residents in France(Chae pŏp Han’guk min-hoe). The aim of this paper is to present new documents which were found by the author in the French archives, but also in the private family archives and to confront them to the already known sources in order to precise or complete the knowledges about this research field. The first anniversary celebration of the March 1st Independence Declaration in 1920 took place in the small city of Suippes and was organized by the Association of Korean Residents in France. Suippes was the place where a group of Koreans workers arrived to work at the end of 1919, coming from Murmansk in Russia. They have founded the Association of Korean Residents in France. The man who made possible their installation was a member of the Korean delegation of the Korean Provisional Government in Paris, Hwang Ki-Hwan. The author found in the Marne Department archives a nominative list of those Koreans who where established in Suippes in 1920, as well as several certificates of civil status. What it is very special in that list is the fact that, apart the names, their nationality is specified as “Koreans(Coréens)”, not Japanese, nor Chinese for example. After one or two years the Suippes Korean workers moved to other places to work, in Paris or abroad, and there are lots of examples of Korean students who went to America to study. Among them, some participated to the Korean Independence movement, and later, after the Liberation of 1945, some of them belonged to the academic or political circles in Korea. In the case of Hong Chae-Ha, a worker of Suippes who has been in charge of the Association of Korean Residents in France, one knows that he has established himself in France and also that he has actively financially supported the delegation in Paris. The Association of Korean Residents in France has made its existence known to the world by organizing the commemorative event of the March 1st Independence Declaration in 1920. If the advertisements about the Korean independence were done in 1919 by the members of the Paris delegation, the organization of the commemorative event in Suippes can be seen as the starting point of the participation of Korean residents in Europe to the independence movement. Among the activities of the Association of Korean Residents in France, one is the financial support to the Korean independence movement activities of the Paris delegation.There are records stating that, as financial contribution to the Paris delegation, the members of the Association of Korean Residents in France raised the huge amount of 6,000 francs within 6 months. It corresponds to a saving of 1,000 francs by month from the Suippes workers who were working very hard for a small salary. They have also helped financially Hwang Ki-Hwan in England to establish the Friends of Korea Association(Han’guk Ch’inu-hoe), and also it is acknowledged that they have even sent money to the Korean Provisional Government in China. On top of that, they have founded the Association of Koreans to promote the Korean people international Federation(Han kungmin kuche yŏnmaeng kaejin-hoe) in order to support financially the activities of Yun Hae and Yi Kwan-Yong who were sent by the Paris Delegation to the 4th Conference of the League of Nations Federation of civil groups which was held in October 1920 in Milano, in Italy. However, after the departure of Hwang Ki-Hwan and the cease of the communication with the Korean Delegation in America or with the Provisional Government, the Association of Korean Residents in France established a new association, the “Paris Koreans Friendship Association”(Paris Hanin ch’inmok-hoe) in June 1923. Later, this association changed again its name into “Association of Korean Residents in France” and pursued its activities until after the Liberation of 1945.