Shin Suk (申肅, December 29, 1885 – November 22, 1967) was an independence activist who served during the Japanese colonial period as deputy chairman of the National Representative Conference, chief of staff of the Korean Independence Army, and chairman of the Jaman Tongjihoe. He was a Cheondoist and a member of the Pyeongsan Shin clan. He was from Gapyeong (加平), Gyeonggi.
Life
He was born in Hyanggyo-ri, Gunnae-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, the son of Shin Seok-beom. His birth name was Shin Tae-ryeon (申泰鍊), he later changed it to Shin Tae-chi (申泰癡), and his pen names were Gangjae (剛齋), Sijeong (是丁), and Chijeong (癡丁). He was the only son of four generations of his family. From age 12 to 14, he studied classical Chinese under the scholar Lee Gyu-bong, who had a high reputation in the region.
In April 1903, he married Choi Baek-gyeong, the second daughter of the righteous army leader Choi Do-hwan.
In December 1903, he joined Donghak. In 1905, despite his father's opposition, he moved to Seoul when the Donghak church, centered on the Jinbohoe, launched the Gapjin Enlightenment Movement, and immediately took part in the movement. He worked for six months as a reporter for the Gukmin Sinbo. When the Gukmin Sinbo showed pro-Japanese tendencies, from 1907 he took a job as a proofreader at the Printing Bureau of the Ministry of Finance on the introduction of Min Yeong-sun, a Cheondoist, and worked there for four years. Around this time, together with Kim Nam-su, Kim Nam-gyu, and others, he founded the four-year Munchang School in Yongsan, Seoul, and served as vice principal, devoting himself to running the school. Among the graduates of this school was the patriot Lee Bong-chang.
In 1909, he attempted to assassinate Lee Yong-gu, president of the IlJinhoe.
In January 1912, he was appointed secretary of the Cheondoist Jonghak Training Institute and then elected secretary of the Dosa Office.
In 1914, he was appointed head of the Cheondo Church's Daegu diocese.
In January 1917, he was reassigned to the Cheondo Central Great Master Jongbeopwon and Uisawon.
During the March 1 Independence Movement of 1919, he took part, under the direction of Lee Jong-il, president of the Bosung Press operated by the Cheondo church, in proofreading and printing the Declaration of Independence together with Kim Yeong-ryun, and distributed it to various regions. On May 1 of that year, he was arrested by the Gyeongseong Gendarmerie Headquarters together with 28 Cheondo leaders, including Lee In-suk and Jeong Gwang-jo, and held in Seodaemun Prison, and was released three months later.
In April 1920, at the request of the Provisional Government, he went into exile in Shanghai as a representative of Cheondoism together with Shin Sang-tae, and consulted with provisional government figures including Ahn Chang-ho on the direction of the independence movement. At that time, Lee Gun-o, head of the Seonchon diocese, and Choi Seok-ryeon, head of the Uiju diocese, were sending Choi Dong-o, Kim Ui-jong, Lee Min-chang, and others to Manchuria to support the independence movement. He dispatched Park Jae-hyuk (朴在赫) to Korea to throw a bomb at the Busan Police Station. He used the pamphlet The Reality of Cheondoism as propaganda material. In September 1920, he went to Beijing and, together with Shin Chae-ho, Park Yong-man, and others, initiated the Military Unification Promotion Association. On December 22, 1920, he was elected a member of the Shanghai Korean Residents' Association Council and was active in that role. Shin Suk, together with Choi Dong-o, Kim Ui-jong, Jang Gyeong-sun, Lee Min-chang, and others, established the Cheondo Shanghai Jeongyosil, and organized the Unification Party based on Cheondoist ideology. In the early Unification Party, Shin Suk was chosen as premier, Choi Dong-o as head of political affairs, Kim Ui-jong as head of economic affairs, and Lee Min-chang as head of cultural affairs.
In 1921, in Beijing, together with Shin Chae-ho (申采浩), Park Yong-man (朴容萬), and others, representatives of eight organizations from the Russian territories, South and North Manchuria, and inside Korea gathered near Xizhimen in Beijing to convene a Military Unification Conference, and he was elected chairman and was active in that role. Also, in May of that year, as representative of the Domestic Unification Party, he attended the Tianjin Popular Mass Rally and signed the declaration.
On May 10, 1922, he participated as a member of the preparatory committee for the National Representative Conference. In January 1923, more than 140 representatives of domestic and overseas organizations gathered and the conference opened, but it did not achieve great results, and after five months the National Representative Conference collapsed due to the fierce conflict between the Creationist and Reformist factions. In July of that year, to support the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, he organized the Sisa Chaekjinhoe and was active as a member.
In May 1923, after the National Representative Conference convened in Shanghai was disintegrated by the withdrawal of the Reformist faction, Yun Hae (尹海) was elected chairman and he was elected deputy chairman; they reorganized the ranks and conducted proceedings, but the conference again collapsed without significant results.
In 1924, he settled in a farming village in Jiaohe (蛟河) in Manchuria, founded the Cheondo Lafa Gangjong Lee Won (拉法講宗理院), and devoted himself to student instruction, rural enlightenment, and spreading doctrine.
In 1925, while working as a teacher and carrying out rural enlightenment activities across northern Manchuria, he joined Hong Jin and others in the movement for a unified national party.
In October 1926, he moved to the Samcheonggung Farm in Erdaohezi, Binxian, on the Zhongdong Railway (中東線賓縣二道河子), and in February 1927 he relocated to the reclamation farm on Songfeng Mountain (松峰山), where he founded Sinchang School (新彰學校) and became its principal. While staying at the Cheondo Beijing Jongnihwon, he united Korean farms in Binxian and Shuangcheng County (雙城縣) to organize the Ssangbin Regional Autonomous Association and was elected its chairman. At the request of the Sinmin Prefecture (新民府), he also attended, as a representative of the Sinmin Prefecture, the unification conference of the three prefectures of Jeongui, Sinmin, and Chamui.
In 1930, in northern Manchuria, together with Hong Jin (洪震), Lee Cheong-cheon (李靑天), and others, he organized the Korean Independence Party, and was active as its general affairs committee chairman and head of cultural affairs. In 1931, when the Mukden Incident broke out, he participated as chief of staff of the Korean Independence Army in the attack on Shuangcheng County. He also organized the Hanjok Jachi Yeonhaphoe and was active as one of its standing committee members.
In 1933, as chief of staff of the Korean Independence Army, he was dispatched to Nanjing, Shanghai, and other places to seek military cooperation with the Kuomintang government.
On December 4, 1935, upon hearing that his mother was critically ill, he set out for Manchuria, but was arrested by Japanese police at the port of Yingkou (營口), and was released on bail in March 1936 through the Japanese government's policy of conciliation.
In 1945, in Harbin, together with Oh Gwang-seon (吳光鮮) and others, he organized the Jaman Dongjihoe (在滿同志會) and was elected its chairman. In that year he was elected chairman of the Jilin Korean Association, which was organized then, and devoted himself to protecting the rights and interests of overseas Koreans, including relief for refugees and assistance with repatriation.1
In August 1946, he was elected chairman of the Northeast Korean Overseas Nationals General Assembly, which was held in Mukden, and visited the U.S. Army Military Government branch office in Tianjin to discuss the repatriation of Koreans. After returning to Korea in December, in March 1947, as representative of Korean nationals in Northeast China, he submitted a petition to the Interim Legislative Assembly urging "the rescue of Korean compatriots in Manchuria and negotiations for the return of property." In April, at the recommendation of Kim Kyu-sik, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly and organized a survey team to help Korean compatriots return. In June 1947, Shin Suk was chosen as a member of the Left-Right Coalition Committee as representative of the Cheondo Bogukdang, and in March 1948 he was elected a central standing committee member of the Democratic Independence Federation. On April 11 of that year, together with Kim Gu and Kim Kyu-sik, he attended the Pyongyang North-South Joint Conference as a liaison and worked to prevent the division of North and South.
In 1948, Shin Suk was chosen as a Dosa of the Cheondo Central General Headquarters, and he organized the Manhwahoe, serving as its chairman and devoting himself to religious activities. During the Korean War, after fleeing to Busan, he founded the Cheondo Bogukyeonmaeng and was elected its chairman, and organized branches in various regions to help settle Cheondoists who had moved south and to develop the organization.
In 1957, he organized the Donghak Association and served as adviser, and in 1960 he was elected chairman.
In March 1958, based on Cheondoist ideology, a preparatory committee for the founding of the Donghak Party was formed, and he was chosen as a representative committee member and prepared for the party's founding, but the effort was halted.
After the April 19 Revolution in 1960, he was chosen as deputy chairman of the National Citizens' Emergency Committee, and in the July 29 general election he ran as an independent in the Cheorwon area but lost.
On November 22, 1967, at 3:15 p.m., he died at his home in Gahui-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, at the age of 81. He was afterward buried at the foot of Bukhansan Mountain in Uido-dong, Gangbuk-gu.
Posthumous Honors
References
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