Independence patriot · Chief of staff of the Northern Route Military Administration (Battle of Cheongsanni) · Head of the general staff of Sinminbu · Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal (1963)
| Life | 1867 ~ 1928 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 나주 나씨 |
Na Jung-so (1867–1928) was an independence activist who led armed resistance in Manchuria under Japanese rule. His clan seat was Naju; his childhood name was Bong-gil, his courtesy name Yeong-hun and his pen name Poseok, and he was nicknamed the 'Butterfly General'. Born in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, he studied at the Korean Empire's Military Academy and served as an army captain at the Yeonseong School. After the Korean army was disbanded in 1907 he was sent to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy as a government scholarship student, returning in 1908. Before going into exile he used the name Na Yeong-hun.
After Korea's annexation in 1910 he went into exile in Manchuria. In 1919 he organised the Northern Route Military Administration (Bungno Gunjeongseo) with Seo Il, Kim Jwa-jin, Hyeon Cheon-muk and Lee Beom-seok, and commanded the training corps of its officer school in Wangqing County. In 1920, facing a large Japanese punitive campaign, he became chief of staff and helped commander-in-chief Kim Jwa-jin win the decisive victory at the Battle of Cheongsanni that October.
In the winter of 1920 he entered Russian territory with the Korean Independence Army Corps, then returned with Kim Jwa-jin to Ning'an in northern Manchuria, where he helped found Sinminbu and headed its general staff, and established the Seongdong Officer School in Muling County to train independence army officers. He died in Manchuria in 1928 and was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1963.