Kwon Led Uprising Against Japan in 1905
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has selected Kwon Deuk-su (1877-1907) as the independence fighter of the month, in consultation with the Korea Liberation Association and the Independence Hall of Korea.
When Japan forced a protectorate pact -- or Ulsa Treaty in 1905, which took away the sovereignty of Korea -- Kwon sold all his assets to raise military funds to reverse the faltering fate of Korea and went down to Yangpyeong in Gyeonggi Province to launch an uprising against Japan.
Afterward, Kwon led hundreds of volunteer troops in Yangju and Pocheon, in the Gyeonggi Province, and Hongcheon and Chuncheon, in the Gangwon Province.
His 400-strong army later joined forces with another volunteer troop, called “Uibyeong.” When the Uibyeong movement got fierce in and around Yangpyeong in August 1907, Japan attempted to suppress them and waged a flurry of fights with Uibyeong troops in the area from Aug. 23 through 26.
He died at the age of 31 in a battle with the Japanese on Sept. 2, 1907. Kwon was posthumously awarded the government medal, Aeguk Jang (the Order of Patriotism), in 1990.