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'Independence fighters paved way for Air Force'
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Hong Sun-pyo
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea officially established its Air Force on Oct. 1, 1949, four years after its liberation from Japan’s colonial rule. This establishment, however, did not happen suddenly, but was a result of the strong will and constant efforts of independence fighters in the early 1900s, according to a researcher on the independence movement.
Hong Sun-pyo, Ph.D., a senior researcher at the Institute of Korean Independence Movement Studies, said members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which was born out of the March First Independence Movement of 1919, began to make efforts to establish an air force and nurture pilots. The institute is an affiliate of the Independence Hall of Korea.
“Members of the Shanghai provisional government envisioned the formation of an air force as part of their efforts to prepare for the anti-Japanese war,” Hong said in a recent interview.
Hong explained that the initial charter of the provisional government, announced on April 25, 1919, only referred to an army and a navy when explaining the role of a department in charge of the military. But the charter said the government planned to nurture talented pilots to organize aircraft units within the army and naval forces.
“That government planned to select talented South Koreans and send them to the United States to give them an opportunity to learn aircraft manufacturing and flight techniques,” Hong said. “This showed that independence fighters already recognized air power as one of the core values of the military.”
The efforts led to the establishment of Willows Korean Aviation School in the city of Willows, Calif. in 1920, which bought three airplanes and invited instructors from Redwood Aviation School in the city of Redwood. Willows School was established with the help of Korean residents in Northern California who amassed wealth from rice farming, but was closed in 1921 after their farms were seriously damaged by heavy floods, Hong said.
From 1932, Baekbeom Kim Gu, a renowned leader of the Korean independence movement, began to seek the establishment of a separate air force, in cooperation with China. In 1943, the provisional government set up a committee tasked with creating the air force.
“A revised charter of the provisional government at the time stated the army, navy and air force system for the first time, which was a notable development compared to the initial charter,” Hong said.
He announced the findings during an academic conference arranged by the Air Force last Thursday.
The researcher began studying the history of the foundation of the Air Force as he believed existing studies, which were mostly based on historical data from Japan, were considerably distorted.
“I first announced the untold story of Willows Korean Aviation School in 2003, and then continued my research to find out how the Air Force was formed,” he said. “I believe understanding the historical context of the formation will help members of the Air Force take pride in their jobs.”
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