Pak Hon-yong
Encyclopedia
Pak Hon-yong was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher and Communist activist. One of the main leaders of the Korean communist movement
during Japan's colonial rule (1910–45). his nickname was Ijung(이정).
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, he tried to organize the Korean Communist Party. However, when the Japanese authorities cracked down on the party, he went into hiding. After Korea's liberation, August 1945, he set up the Korean Communist Party organization in the South, but under pressure from US authorities he moved to North Korea
in April 1948, and attended a meeting with Kim Gu
and Kim Kyu-sik
on the subject of Korean reunification. After 1955 he was not seen again, and it is widely believed that he was eliminated by Kim Il-Sung's security forces.
family of the Yeonghae Park
lineage in Sinyang-myeon, Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do
. However, he was the illegitimate son of a concubine.
In 1919 he graduated from Kyŏngsŏng Ordinary High School, now Kyunggi High School
.
faction. At this time, he was secretary of the Korean Communist Youth League. In January 1922 he participated in the Comintern
Far East People's Representative Council in Moscow.
Pak Hon-yong was arrested in Korea in April 1922 and was charged with being a Communist Party organizer. He was released in 1924 and became active as a reporter for the newspapers Dong-a Ilbo
and Chosun Ilbo.
In 1926 he appeared in court. During the trial, he feigned insanity and ate feces, with the result that he was acquitted in November of that year. Afterwards, he was confined to his home due to his supposed ill-health, but in December he escaped by way of Manchuria
to reach the Soviet Union
. It was only then that the Japanese realized that he was feigning madness.
In Russia he was educated in Communism, returning home in 1940. Back in Korea, he was active in the resistance to Japanese rule.
In December 1946 he organized the South Korean Workers' Party
, and became its first secretary.
for negotiations, along with Kim Gu
and Kim Kyu-sik
. In May the negotiations ended, and he remained in the North.
In September 1948, whilst keeping his role as secretary of the South Korean Workers' Party, he became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of North Korea
.
Pak Hon-yong became secretary of the Korean Workers' Party when the North and South parties united in April 1950.
of the South Korean Workers' Party faction by Kim Il-sung
.
On 15 December 1955 he was sentenced to death. According to recently obtained Russian documents, Pak was still alive as late as the summer of 1956. The Soviet ambassador to North Korea, Ivanov, discouraged Kim Il Sung from carrying out Pak's sentence as Pak's political career was ruined and by killing Pak, the North Korean leader might alienate South Korean progressives. Kim Il Sung rejected Ambassador Ivanov's advice, accusing him of meddling in internal North Korean matters, and suggested that the sentence would be carried out sooner rather than later. The date of Pak's death is uncertain.
Communist Party of Korea
Communist Party of Korea was a communist party in Korea. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Japanese colonial regime had banned communist parties under the Peace Preservation Law , so the party had to operate in a clandestine manner...
during Japan's colonial rule (1910–45). his nickname was Ijung(이정).
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, he tried to organize the Korean Communist Party. However, when the Japanese authorities cracked down on the party, he went into hiding. After Korea's liberation, August 1945, he set up the Korean Communist Party organization in the South, but under pressure from US authorities he moved to North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
in April 1948, and attended a meeting with Kim Gu
Kim Gu
Kim Gu , the sixth and later the last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean politician, educator, leader of Korean independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea that lasted from 1910 to 1945, and reunification activist who had struggled for...
and Kim Kyu-sik
Kim Kyu-sik
Kim Kyu-Sik, also spelled Kimm Giusic and Kimm Kiusic, was a Korean politician and academic during the Korean independence movement and a leader of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea...
on the subject of Korean reunification. After 1955 he was not seen again, and it is widely believed that he was eliminated by Kim Il-Sung's security forces.
Early life
He was born to a yangbanYangban
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who...
family of the Yeonghae Park
Park (Korean name)
Park is a common and time-honoured Korean surname, founded by King Hyeokgeose. All Parks are descendants of him in principle except naturalized people...
lineage in Sinyang-myeon, Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...
. However, he was the illegitimate son of a concubine.
In 1919 he graduated from Kyŏngsŏng Ordinary High School, now Kyunggi High School
Kyunggi High School
Kyunggi High School is the oldest modern secondary school in Korea, and has educated many leaders of South Korean society. Before the abolition of high-school entrance exams, it was the highest-ranked school in the country. It is located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, today one of South Korea's most...
.
Political activities
In 1921 he joined the Shanghai branch of the Korean Communist Party, IrkutskIrkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
faction. At this time, he was secretary of the Korean Communist Youth League. In January 1922 he participated in the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
Far East People's Representative Council in Moscow.
Pak Hon-yong was arrested in Korea in April 1922 and was charged with being a Communist Party organizer. He was released in 1924 and became active as a reporter for the newspapers Dong-a Ilbo
Dong-a Ilbo
The Dong-a Ilbo is one of three major South Korean newspapers with over 2 million daily circulation...
and Chosun Ilbo.
Underground
On 18 April 1925 Pak Hon-yong became one of the founders of the Korean Communist Party. From this point until the end of World War II his activities were clandestine.In 1926 he appeared in court. During the trial, he feigned insanity and ate feces, with the result that he was acquitted in November of that year. Afterwards, he was confined to his home due to his supposed ill-health, but in December he escaped by way of Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
to reach the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It was only then that the Japanese realized that he was feigning madness.
In Russia he was educated in Communism, returning home in 1940. Back in Korea, he was active in the resistance to Japanese rule.
After WWII
Late in August 1945 the Korean Communist Party was re-established, having been officially disbanded in 1928, and Pak became its secretary. On 5 January 1946, as a representative of the Korean Communist Party, he announced at a foreign and domestic press conference that, supporting the decision of the Moscow conference of great powers (UK, US, Soviet Union), Korea was now in the process of a "democratic revolution".In December 1946 he organized the South Korean Workers' Party
Workers Party of South Korea
The Workers Party of South Korea was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It was founded on November 23, 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of South Korea and a fraction of the People's Party of Korea...
, and became its first secretary.
South and North Korea negotiations and life in North Korea
In April 1948 he visited North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
for negotiations, along with Kim Gu
Kim Gu
Kim Gu , the sixth and later the last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean politician, educator, leader of Korean independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea that lasted from 1910 to 1945, and reunification activist who had struggled for...
and Kim Kyu-sik
Kim Kyu-sik
Kim Kyu-Sik, also spelled Kimm Giusic and Kimm Kiusic, was a Korean politician and academic during the Korean independence movement and a leader of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea...
. In May the negotiations ended, and he remained in the North.
In September 1948, whilst keeping his role as secretary of the South Korean Workers' Party, he became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
Pak Hon-yong became secretary of the Korean Workers' Party when the North and South parties united in April 1950.
Arrest and death
Pak Hon-yong was arrested on 3 August 1953 in a purgePurge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
of the South Korean Workers' Party faction by Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
.
On 15 December 1955 he was sentenced to death. According to recently obtained Russian documents, Pak was still alive as late as the summer of 1956. The Soviet ambassador to North Korea, Ivanov, discouraged Kim Il Sung from carrying out Pak's sentence as Pak's political career was ruined and by killing Pak, the North Korean leader might alienate South Korean progressives. Kim Il Sung rejected Ambassador Ivanov's advice, accusing him of meddling in internal North Korean matters, and suggested that the sentence would be carried out sooner rather than later. The date of Pak's death is uncertain.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Korean independence movementKorean independence movementThe Korean independence movement grew out of the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. After the Japanese surrendered, Korea became independent; that day is now an annual holiday called Gwangbokjeol in South Korea, and Chogukhaebangŭi nal in North Korea.-Background:In...
- List of North Koreans
- Politics of North KoreaPolitics of North KoreaThe politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic multi-party system within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-il. In practice, North Korea...
- Kim GuKim GuKim Gu , the sixth and later the last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean politician, educator, leader of Korean independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea that lasted from 1910 to 1945, and reunification activist who had struggled for...
- Kim Kyu-sikKim Kyu-sikKim Kyu-Sik, also spelled Kimm Giusic and Kimm Kiusic, was a Korean politician and academic during the Korean independence movement and a leader of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea...
- Kim Won-bongKim Won-bongKim Won-bong was Korean nationalist, independence activist and statesman of North Korea. He created a Korean nationalist underground organization, the Korean Heroic Corps and became its leader. And he served as the deputy commander of the Korean Liberation Army of the Provisional Government of...
- Yuh Woon-Hyung
- Kim Il-SungKim Il-sungKim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...