Patriot of Independence · Righteous Army · Presidential Medal (Daetongnyeong-jang) (1962)
| Life | 1908 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 여흥 민씨 |
After Japan forced the disbandment of the Korean army in 1907, Min Geung-ho raised a righteous army in Wonju and fought Japanese forces across Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces before dying for the cause. As a sergeant (jeonggyo) in the Wonju garrison, he led roughly 300 soldiers in revolt on August 5 of that year, as King Gojong's forced abdication and the army's disbandment loomed, attacking the Wonju post office and Japanese police.
His forces then waged guerrilla warfare in Jecheon, Juksan, and Yeoju, swelling to thousands of fighters as local residents joined in large numbers. In September of the same year he served alongside Yi In-yeong as a commander of the Gwandong Righteous Army, fighting over a hundred engagements.
On February 29, 1908, he was captured in battle and shot dead by Japanese troops while being escorted to Gangnim-myeon. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Grand Order, in 1962.