강우규 姜宇奎
Patriot of Independence · Armed Resistance (Uiyeol Struggle) · Grand Order of the Republic of Korea (Daehanmin-guk-jang) (1962)
| Life | 1855 ~ 1920 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 진주 강씨 |
Life & career
Kang U-gyu was a herbal doctor and independence activist from Deokcheon, South Pyongan Province. While running a herbal clinic in Hongwon, he founded schools and churches to promote enlightenment education. In 1911 he emigrated to Jilin, Manchuria, where he built the settlement of Sinheung-dong and established Gwangdong School to educate Korean children and support the independence movement.
When the March 1st Movement broke out in 1919, he led demonstrations in Sinheung-dong. On September 2 of that year, at age 66, he threw a bomb at the newly appointed Japanese Governor-General Saito Makoto in the plaza of Namdaemun Station (now Seoul Station). The assassination attempt failed, but the blast caused numerous casualties.
He was arrested on September 17 by the collaborator police officer Kim Tae-seok and remained defiant throughout his trial. He was executed by hanging at Seodaemun Prison on November 29, 1920.
Source: Korea National Archives of Independence Movement records; Korean Wikipedia; Namuwiki
Grave
His remains were first buried at a public cemetery in Sinsa-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, moved to Suyu-ri in 1954, and reinterred at the National Cemetery in Seoul in 1967.
Descendants
His eldest son Kang Jung-geun and granddaughter Kang Yeong-jae remained in Seoul; with her death in 1985, his direct line is said to have ended.