장준하 張俊河
Independence activist who escaped from the Japanese army and joined the Korean Liberation Army, founder of the magazine Sasanggye, democracy activist; Order of Merit for National Foundation (Patriotism), 1991
| Life | 1918 ~ 1975 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 안동 장씨 |
Life & career
Jang Jun-ha (張俊河, 1918-1975) was an independence activist, journalist and politician born in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province. His seat of origin is Andong; his grandfather Jang Yun-hui was a Christian elder and enlightenment figure, and his father Jang Seok-in a Presbyterian minister who refused Shinto shrine worship. Sources disagree on his birth year (1915 in the household register, 20 July 1918 in the Japanese army roster); Wikipedia gives 27 August 1918.
Enlisted as a student soldier in the Japanese army in 1943, he escaped from Xuzhou, China, on 7 July 1944 with Kim Jun-yeop and others and is said to have walked some 6,000 li to the Provisional Government in Chongqing. His autobiography Dolbegae (1971) records this. Incorporated into the Korean Liberation Army, he was preparing a domestic landing operation with the US OSS when liberation came, and returned in November 1945 together with Kim Gu and others.
He founded the magazine Sasanggye in 1953 and built it into the leading general-interest journal of the 1950s and 60s, and received the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Award (journalism). He later opposed the Park Chung-hee regime, leading campaigns against the Korea-Japan talks, denouncing smuggling in the saccharin affair and, in 1974, a million-signature drive for constitutional revision, for which he was arrested under Emergency Measure No. 1. On 17 August 1975 he was found dead at Yaksabong in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province; authorities announced a fall, but his family and civil society have raised doubts.
Honours and Commemoration
He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Patriotism) in 1991, the first Hanshin Prize in 1993 and the Gold Crown Order of Cultural Merit in 1999. His tomb lies in Jang Jun-ha Park (built August 2012) in Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju. His 1974 Emergency Measure conviction is introduced as having been overturned with a not-guilty verdict by the Seoul Central District Court in January 2013.
Differing Assessments
Many praise him as a magazine journalist who greatly influenced intellectual society through Sasanggye, and Ham Seok-heon admired his fearless spirit. Others criticize the editorial right after the 5.16 coup as effectively supporting it (though it is uncertain he wrote it) and the memorial issue for Choe Nam-seon, so assessments do not converge.
Grave
He was first buried at the Nazareth cemetery in Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, and in August 2012 was reburied at Jang Jun-ha Park in Seongdong-ri, Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju.
Descendants
He had three sons and two daughters with his wife Kim Hui-suk; his eldest son Jang Ho-gwon has called for the truth about his father's death to be established.