By Choe Chong-dae
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It is an immensely positive sign she was recently formally recognized posthumously as a patriotic martyr 92 years after she had died in prison.
On the occasion of the 79th Patriotic Martyrs Day on Nov. 17, she was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in recognition of her outstanding contribution toward Korea's independence.
Fumiko's (1903―1926) short life was dotted with vicissitudes. In her memoirs she explained that the maltreatment she experienced as a child led to her becoming a nihilist. Born out of wedlock to a Japanese couple plagued with alcoholism and poverty, Fumiko was denied entry to schools as a child with no legal existence and she faced abuse at home. When she was nine, her grandmother, a well-off colonist in Korea, took her in but physically and psychologically abused her. After finishing higher elementary school, Fumiko returned to Japan and eventually made her way to Tokyo, working odd jobs to afford tuition for math and English classes.
Influenced by philosophers such as Friedrich W. Nietzsche and Max Stirner, Fumiko fell in with anarchists associated with the Korean independence movement. As she described in her memoirs, her future husband Park Yeol (1902-1974) first entered her life as the mysterious force behind some powerfully moving poetry and Fumiko soon knew he was the special someone she had been waiting for. Park had formed a group called Futeisha or "outlaws," of which Fumiko was a member.
Fumiko and Park published two magazines with articles covering the oppression Koreans faced under Japanese imperialism. Fumiko's writing helped to raise awareness of Koreans' plight both in Japan and Korea.
In September 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake struck the Japanese main island of Honshu and after the tsunami swept away thousands of people, in swept mass hysteria as fires roared through Yokohama and Tokyo. Rumors spread that Korean immigrants were poisoning wells and were planning to overthrow the Japanese government. This led to the arrests of many Koreans, including Park. A few days later, his lover Fumiko was also detained.
Fumiko and Park were convicted of high treason for attempting to assassinate members of the Japanese Imperial family with bombs. Though they confessed to this crime, it is not known for certain whether Fumiko exaggerated the circumstances to sacrifice herself for her cause or to receive the same death sentence as Park.
Probably the most famous photo of the pair shows Fumiko sitting in front of Park and reading some papers. The two were married just a few days prior to their sentencing. Another photo portrays them wearing Korean clothing while on trial in court to make the statement that they were representing the Koreans.
Initially handed down the death sentence, Fumiko and Park later received an imperial pardon commuting that sentence to life imprisonment. While Park accepted the commuted sentence and was released 22 years later, Fumiko, the anarchist and nihilist refused to have her fate controlled by a government or institution she had spent her life rebelling against. She tore up the pardon and opted to commit suicide in her solitary confinement cell at Utsunomiya Prison in 1926 at the young age of 23.
History books have not granted Fumiko equal status to her husband Park. Both in the courtroom and after her death, Fumiko was often portrayed as the dutiful selfless wife who made the ultimate sacrifice for a male anarchist and his native Korea. Today we can reflect on the strong and courageous woman that she was.
Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association.
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