THE KUKMIN DAILY

Ms. Nam Ja-hyeon (1872∼1933·photo), anti-Japan activist during the Japanese colonial period, is said to be the real-life character of An Ok-yun (played by actress Jun Ji-hyun, photo below) in the movie “Assassination,” watched by 9 million persons so far. She was a member of Seorogunjeongseo (a Korean independence revolution group in South Manchuria during the Provisional Government era), and a female military activist for independence who attempted to assassinate Saito Makoko, the Governor-General of Korea, and Nobuyoshi Muto, the Japanese ambassador to Manchukuo. She was arrested in 1933 while preparing to receive arms supplies to be used for the assassination of Muto, when a betrayer informed on her to the Japanese police. She was tortured for six months and martyred that year at an inn owned by a Korean in Harbin. (For more information in Korean about her, see HERE).



But that is not the whole story. While she was a militant activist for national independence, at the same time she was a Christian who planted churches and was actively involved in enlightening women.

Born of an elite family in Yeongyang, Gyeonsangbuk-do, she first encountered the Christian faith at Gyedong Church, in her village. In a telephone conversation with Kukmin Daily on August 10, Nam’s great-grandson, Prof. Kim Jong-shik of Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST), testified, “A mission lady, Ms. Jeon Won-gu of Subi-myeon in Yeongyang-gun, planted Subi Church around 1910 and Gyedong Church a year later. I heard that my great-grandmother became a Christian through Jeon’s communication about the Gospel, and helped to plant Gyedong Church.”

In February 1919, Nam moved to Seoul and met Ms. Kim, a remote relative of Nam’s husband Kim Yeong-ju. Nam’s husband had lost his life due to his anti-Japanese activities as a volunteer soldier, and following the will that he left, Nam secretly helped independence movement activists. Ms. Kim brought Nam to Seoul and introduced her to independence movement activist Rev. Son Jeong-do.

That was how Ms. Nam, together with Rev. Son, planted churches and carried out an enlightenment movement for women in Manchuria. Prof. Kim said, “Rev. Son of Chungdong First Methodist Church in Seoul helped my great-grandmother to plant 12 churches in Tonghua, and held women’s education gatherings at 10 different places… After she went into exile, my great-grandmother met Rev. Son again in Jilin, China, in 1920 or so, and planted churches. Her match-making story, from the time of her stay at Rev. Son’s, about her stepdaughter and a stepson, both in the independence military, made me think that her activity for churches and women was promoted closely together with Rev. Son.”

Nam’s faith movement and support for the independence activists changed in 1926 to a military struggle to assassinate Saito. By that time, she was company commander of Seorogunjeongseo. As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of national independence, we should never forget that we are here thanks to Nam, who devoted her life to her fatherland as a Christian and as a company commander.

Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Click here for the original article in Korean