박은식 朴殷植

Independence activist, historian, and journalist who served as the second president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea

Life & career

His courtesy name was Seongchil, and his pen names were Gyeomgok and Baegam. He worked as chief editorial writer for the Hwangseong Sinmun and the Korea Daily News (Daehan Maeil Sinbo), promoting an enlightenment movement through the press, and took part in the New People's Association (Sinminhoe) and other groups in the effort to restore national sovereignty.

In 1911 he went into exile in Manchuria, the Russian Maritime Province, and elsewhere and devoted himself to the independence movement. He wrote The Tragic History of Korea (Hanguk tongsa, 1915) and The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement (Hanguk dongnip undong ji hyeolsa, 1920), documenting the injustice of Japanese aggression and the history of the independence movement. He also left works such as Biography of Yi Sun-sin and Biography of An Jung-geun to foster national consciousness.

After Syngman Rhee was impeached in 1925, he became the second president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, but died of illness in Shanghai the same year. In 1962 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Presidential Medal.

Grave

Buried in Shanghai; in 1993 his remains were repatriated and interred at the Seoul National Cemetery.

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