차일혁 車一赫
Police superintendent who came from the independence movement and saved Hwaeomsa and other Jirisan temples
| Life | 1920 ~ 1958 |
| Era | 일제강점기·현대 |
| Clan | 연안 차씨 |
Life & career
Cha Il-hyeok (1920-1958) came from the independence movement and became a police officer of the Republic of Korea. Born in Geumsan-myeon, Gimje, he is recorded under the names Cha Gap-su in the household register and Cha Yong-cheol in the genealogy, and used names such as Lee Gang and Cha Cheol in China. In 1936, in his second year at Hongseong Technical School, he struck a Japanese detective who was taking a Korean away and had to leave school; after hiding at Singyesa on Mount Geumgang he went to Shanghai.
In 1937 in Shanghai he met his mentor Kim Ji-gang (Kim Seong-su) and joined the anti-Japanese movement. After graduating from the Whampoa branch of the Chinese Central Military Academy in 1940 he fought the Japanese as an artillery officer of the Chinese 32nd Division, then served in the Korean Volunteer Corps and fought around the Taihang Mountains with the Eighth Route Army. After liberation he returned home and served in the North Jeolla police, and during the Korean War took part in the recapture of Gamagol and in operations against Yi Hyeon-sang's southern partisan force.
He is widely remembered because in May 1951, ordered to burn temples that could shelter partisans, he had only the doors of Hwaeomsa's main hall burned and so saved the temple. The words 'Burning a temple takes half a day, but building one is not enough in a thousand years' are attributed to him. He died aged 38 in 1958 while chief of Gongju Police Station, and in 2008 received a commendation from the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit.
The Hwaeomsa Story
At a May 1951 meeting, an order was given to burn temples that might serve as partisan bases. Cha Il-hyeok proposed to a battalion commander of the 8th Division that only the doors of the main hall and other buildings be removed and burned, and he is said to have avoided shelling temples such as Cheoneunsa, Ssanggyesa and Seonunsa. He was disciplined and had his pay cut for this.
The Last of Yi Hyeon-sang
After Yi Hyeon-sang died at Bitjeom Valley on Mount Jiri in September 1953, his body was taken to Ssanggyesa in Hadong, and when his relatives refused to claim it, Cha Il-hyeok is said to have had a monk perform Buddhist rites over the objections of others, cremated the body, and scattered the ashes in the Seomjin River. He is also said to have been reprimanded for this.
Decorations and Memorial
He was posthumously awarded a Cultural Heritage Administration commendation and the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2008, promoted to police superintendent in 2011, and named a 'Korean War Hero of the Month' in 2013. His death is said to have occurred while swimming with family at Gomnaru, though some sources mention other accounts. Whether he received independence-merit recognition was not confirmed here, so no such mark is given.
Grave
His grave location was not confirmed here; a merit monument stands at Hwaeomsa, where a memorial tea ceremony has been held since 2023.