Lee honors Korea's independence activists at historic site in Shanghai

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung pose for a commemorative photo, following a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea headquarters building in Shanghai, Wednesday. Yonhap

SHANGHAI — Marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea’s Shanghai headquarters and the 150th birth anniversary of independence leader Kim Koo, President Lee Jae Myung visited the historic site on Wednesday afternoon as the final stop on his state visit to China.

At the venue, Lee expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its cooperation in preserving the site and underscored the significance of Korea’s independence movement.

“The history of Korea’s independence movement cannot be told without China,” the president said. “Nearly half of Korea’s independence-related historical sites are located in China, which served as the main stage for our struggle," he added.

Among them, the Korean president noted that Shanghai is especially symbolic.

“This building housed the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1926 to 1932, after it was forced to relocate multiple times to evade harsh Japanese repression following its establishment in 1919,” he said.

Lee emphasized that it was here that independence fighters preserved the nation’s name, refused to abandon the hope of a democratic republic and endured solely on their belief in Korea’s eventual liberation.

He also pointed to the fact that the Shanghai headquarters once faced demolition but was successfully restored to its 1920s-era appearance in 1993 thanks to the Chinese government’s active cooperation, and has been preserved for the past 33 years.

“I extend my deepest gratitude to the Chinese government for safeguarding this historic site despite difficult circumstances,” he said.

The president also thanked the descendants of those who assisted Kim Koo during his years in hiding, while highlighting Korea’s achievements as the only formerly colonized nation to accomplish both industrialization and democratization, emerging today as a leading democratic country among the top 10 global economies.

Quoting Kim Koo’s famous words — “What I desire endlessly is the power of a noble culture” — Lee said that vision is steadily becoming reality, as Korean culture continues to captivate the world through K-pop, K-content, K-food and K-beauty.

He added that during his Beijing visit, he emphasized that Korea’s independence movement history now serves as a foundation for contemporary Korea-China friendship and cooperation.

“I believe that setting history right is the path to opening the future together,” he said.

The president left a message in the building’s guestbook: “This is where the Republic of Korea began," he wrote. "The Republic of Korea will protect it."