Independence activist who organized the Joseon Independence Army Command and planned to assassinate the Governor-General (alias Park Hwan)
| Life | 1882 ~ 1929 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 진원 박씨 |
Park Mun-yong (朴文鎔, 1882-1929) was an independence activist from Sagok-ri, Gyeombaek-myeon, Boseong, South Jeolla, of the Jinwon Park, alias Park Hwan (朴桓). The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture gives 1882-1929, while a report on his memorial in Boseong gives 1882 to 20 July 1927, so the death year differs. One report calls him an 11th-generation descendant of the Imjin War volunteer leader Park Gwang-jeon. In 1911, after some twenty years wandering in China and elsewhere, he returned home and served as principal of Geogeum Elementary School in Goheung; in 1913 he served as head of Boknae-myeon in Boseong and in June that year of Gyeombaek-myeon.
On 8 December 1913 he went to China with 327 won 6 jeon collected by the township, under the alias Park Hwan, studied at Jinmun University in Beijing and worked as a Shinminbo reporter in Tianjin. In 1919 he joined the Tianjin independence group Cheonjin Bulbyeondan and became deputy leader and head of the doctors' department in August, met An Chang-ho in Shanghai in July, and on 31 October signed the "Second Declaration of Independence" as one of the 30 representatives of the Republic of Korea. He is said to have then served as the Provisional Government's domestic envoy for the Jeolla area.
In 1920 he and Han U-seok sought to organize a domestic arm of the Joseon Independence Army Command and, timed to a visit to Gyeongseong by a US congressional delegation on 24 August, pushed a plan to assassinate the Governor-General, the Director-General and pro-Japanese figures, but it was discovered and he was arrested. On 15 November 1921 the Gyeongseong District Court sentenced him to seven years; released on medical bail in 1924, he returned home and died after an illness. He was awarded an Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1980; the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture writes the Patriotism Medal, the memorial report "People's Medal" and Namu Wiki the Independence Medal, so the grade is written differently by source. At Gyeombaek in Boseong the memorial "Uisa Park Gong Mun-yong Gijeokbi," erected in May 1982, remains as a designated memorial site.
Arriving in China at the end of 1913, Park Mun-yong is said to have studied in Beijing around 1914 and worked as a newspaper reporter in Tianjin. In August 1919 he became deputy leader and head of the doctors' department of the Cheonjin Bulbyeondan in Tianjin, and is known as one of the 30 representatives of the Republic of Korea who signed the "Second Declaration of Independence" on 31 October.
He is also recorded as having met An Chang-ho in Shanghai in this period.
In February 1920 he went to Shanghai with Han U-seok, met Kim Cheol to request a pistol, and returned to Gyeongseong in March to organize the Joseon Independence Army Command. In June he tried to raise independence funds at Gwangju carrying a pistol but failed, and with Han U-seok's arrest the 24 August assassination plan was not carried out and he too was arrested.
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records, based on the verdict and other documents, that the Gyeongseong District Court sentenced him to seven years on 15 November 1921.
Released on medical bail in 1924, Park Mun-yong returned to Boseong and died during an illness. The memorial "Uisa Park Gong Mun-yong Gijeokbi," erected in May 1982, is said to stand beside the Kim Gu hideout monument near the Soesil resting place in Boseong and is a memorial site designated by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
His tomb is said to lie at the foot of Choamsan in Sagok-ri, Gyeombaek. A memorial monument erected in 1982 stands in Boseong.