How did Korean independence fighters resist Japanese colonial rule between 1919 and 1945? Explore the Korean Provisional Government, secret networks, armed resistance, the Korean Liberation Army, and the history behind Assassination, The Age of Shadows, The Battle: Roar to Victory, and 100 Days of Deception.
Korean Independence Movement Series — Part 3 of 3
The 2026 K-Drama 100 Days of Deception takes place in 1930s Gyeongseong, the colonial-era name for Seoul. Its story follows Lee Ga-gyeong, a skilled pickpocket recruited by Korean independence fighters to infiltrate the Japanese Government-General of Korea under a false identity.
The mission is fictional, but the dangers of secret communication, intelligence gathering, and Japanese surveillance were very real.
Korean resistance involved far more than a handful of dangerous undercover missions. After Japan annexed Korea in 1910, independence activists continued organizing both at home and abroad, particularly in China and the Russian Far East.
Following the March 1st Movement of 1919, efforts to establish a government, build resistance networks, raise funds, and organize armed forces became increasingly important. Different groups followed different political ideas and strategies, but all faced the challenge of sustaining their struggle against Japanese colonial rule.
How Did the Korean Provisional Government Lead the Independence Movement from Abroad?
In April 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established in Shanghai, China. That September, a process of unification brought together provisional governments that had emerged in Korea and abroad.
This was more than the creation of another independence organization.
Through its Provisional Charter, the government declared that Korea would be a democratic republic. It sought to establish institutions for legislation and administration, reflecting a vision not only of regaining sovereignty but also of building a new political system after independence.
The legacy of that government remains significant today. The preamble to South Korea’s Constitution explicitly states that the Republic of Korea upholds the legitimacy of the Provisional Government established through the March 1st Independence Movement.
Operating from abroad presented enormous difficulties. Because Japan controlled Korea, the provisional government could not openly establish its administration inside the country.
Instead, it developed a secret administrative network known as Yeontongje and a communication and transportation network called Gyotongguk. These systems helped carry information between Korea and the government in Shanghai while supporting fundraising and other independence activities.
Donations from Korean communities overseas and government-issued independence bonds also provided essential funding. Maintaining an organization, supporting activists, and coordinating activities across borders required a continuing supply of money.
Diplomacy was another major strategy.
In 1919, Kim Kyu-sik attempted to present Korea’s case for independence at the Paris Peace Conference. The provisional government also sought international support, including from the United States. However, the major powers were unwilling to actively support Korea’s independence at the time.
The 2015 film Assassination, set in 1933, depicts a fictional assassination mission associated with the provisional government. Although much of its plot and many of its characters are fictional, the film reflects the dangers surrounding organized resistance under Japanese rule.
In reality, the provisional government struggled with limited finances, surveillance, personnel shortages, and disagreements among its leaders. It never commanded every Korean independence group, but it continued working to preserve a political center for the independence movement.
How Did Korean Independence Fighters Carry Out Secret Missions and Armed Resistance?
Korean independence fighters had to obtain money, weapons, and intelligence while avoiding Japanese police and intelligence networks. Their organizations, however, differed in both their methods and objectives.
In 1919, Kim Won-bong and other activists founded the Uiyeoldan, or Korean Heroic Corps, in Jilin, China.
The group targeted institutions and individuals associated with Japanese colonial rule. Its designated targets included the Governor-General of Korea and senior colonial officials, Japanese military commanders stationed in Korea, Japanese colonial authorities in Taiwan, prominent collaborators, informants, and other individuals the organization regarded as supporting imperial domination.
In 1923, resistance fighter Kim Sang-ok died after engaging in a gunfight with Japanese police in Seoul. His actions became one of the notable examples of militant resistance during the colonial period.
Kim Won-bong was considered a particularly dangerous opponent by Japanese authorities. According to historical accounts, Japanese colonial authorities reportedly placed a bounty of one million won on Kim Won-bong, an enormous sum at the time. Some estimates place its equivalent value today at over 30 billion Korean won (approximately 30 billion KRW). The reported bounty illustrates just how seriously Japanese authorities regarded Kim Won-bong and his resistance activities as a threat.
The widely reported bounty reflects the reputation he acquired through his involvement in anti-Japanese resistance. He was never captured by Japanese colonial authorities.
The 2016 film The Age of Shadows dramatizes an attempt to transport explosives into Gyeongseong while Japanese police pursue the resistance network. Its story draws inspiration from the 1923 Hwang Ok incident, although the historical officer’s true intentions remain disputed.
Another important organization was the Korean Patriotic Corps, established by Kim Gu in 1931.
Unlike the Korean Heroic Corps, it operated under Kim Gu’s leadership and became associated with two particularly significant operations in 1932.
In January, Lee Bong-chang attempted to assassinate the Japanese emperor with a bomb in Tokyo. In April, Yun Bong-gil threw a bomb at a Japanese military ceremony in Shanghai’s Hongkou Park, killing and injuring senior Japanese officials.
Yun’s action attracted considerable attention in China and helped the Korean Provisional Government secure greater support from Chinese authorities.
Kim Gu played a major role in preserving the provisional government through periods of political conflict and uncertainty. He later became its president in 1940 and helped lead its wartime administration and military activities.
His diplomatic efforts also reached Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. In 1943, Chiang expressed support for seeking international recognition of Korea’s independence. Later that year, the Cairo Declaration by China, the United States, and Britain stated that Korea would become free and independent “in due course.”
Meanwhile, Korean independence armies were conducting military operations in Manchuria, northeastern China.
Two important victories took place in 1920: the Battle of Bongodong, involving forces led by Hong Beom-do and other commanders, and the Battle of Cheongsanri, involving Kim Jwa-jin’s Northern Military Administration Office forces and other Korean units.
The 2019 film The Battle: Roar to Victory is based on the Battle of Bongodong. While its characters and combat sequences include dramatized elements, the historical battle demonstrated how Korean fighters used the mountainous terrain to confront Japanese troops.
These victories did not end Japanese military operations against Korean resistance groups. Japanese forces subsequently attacked independence bases and carried out violent reprisals against Korean civilians in the Jiandao region.
Hong Beom-do’s later life also reflects the difficult circumstances faced by Korean independence activists in exile.
In 1937, he was forcibly relocated to Kazakhstan under Stalin’s mass deportation policy targeting ethnic Koreans in the Soviet Union. He spent his final years in hardship and died there in 1943.
In 2021, his remains were returned to South Korea and buried at Daejeon National Cemetery.
From secret operations and targeted attacks to organized military battles, Korean armed resistance took many forms. The groups shared opposition to Japanese colonial rule, but they did not necessarily follow the same leadership, tactics, or political vision.
What Role Did the Korean Liberation Army Play in World War II?
The outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 created new challenges for Korean independence activists based in China.
As Japanese forces advanced, the Korean Provisional Government moved between several Chinese cities before establishing itself in Chongqing in 1940.
On September 17, 1940, it founded the Korean Liberation Army.
The army represented an effort to establish an organized military force under the authority of the provisional government. However, limited personnel, weapons, and resources made cooperation with the Chinese government essential.
Members of other Korean independence organizations subsequently joined the force.
Following the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, the Korean Provisional Government declared war against Japan.
The Korean Liberation Army also cooperated with Allied forces. It dispatched personnel to the India–Burma theater, where they participated in intelligence, propaganda, and related operations alongside British forces.
In 1945, the army worked with the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the wartime American intelligence organization.
Selected Korean personnel received special training in preparation for missions inside Korea. The proposed operation involved infiltration, intelligence gathering, and resistance activities against Japanese forces.
These plans, often associated with the Korean Liberation Army’s proposed operation to enter Korea, were never carried out.
Japan surrendered before the trained operatives could be deployed.
Movies such as Assassination and The Age of Shadows, along with 100 Days of Deception, portray independence activities through dramatic intelligence operations. Yet the real struggle also depended on less visible work: recruiting and training soldiers, raising money, maintaining communications, and negotiating support from foreign governments.
The Korean Liberation Army demonstrated how years of organizational preparation became connected to the wider Allied war against Japan.
On August 15, 1945, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule.
Liberation resulted from the convergence of decades of Korean independence activities and the international circumstances of Japan’s defeat in World War II. It cannot be attributed to a single battle, assassination, or secret operation.
Closing
Between 1919 and 1945, Korean independence activists built a government in exile, pursued international diplomacy, established secret communication networks, raised funds, and organized armed resistance.
The Korean Provisional Government, Korean Heroic Corps, Korean Patriotic Corps, independence armies in Manchuria, and Korean Liberation Army were distinct organizations. Their political beliefs, leadership structures, and methods sometimes differed, but they shared the goal of ending Japanese colonial rule.
Films such as Assassination, The Age of Shadows, and The Battle: Roar to Victory, along with the drama 100 Days of Deception, offer fictionalized perspectives on different parts of this history.
The reality extended beyond the dramatic missions shown on screen. Behind individual acts of courage were people who organized networks, supplied resources, preserved institutions, and worked for international cooperation.
Liberation in 1945 ended Japanese colonial rule, but the challenge of establishing a fully independent political system remained.
PS)
One of the most revealing reflections on Korea’s future came from Kim Gu, the independence leader who had spent decades working toward liberation.
In “The Country I Wish to See,” included in Baekbeom Ilji (The Diary of Kim Gu), he explained that his ideal nation was not one defined by wealth or military dominance, but by peace and culture.
I want our country to become the most beautiful country in the world. I do not wish for it to become the wealthiest or most powerful. Having suffered deeply from the invasion of others, I do not want my country to invade another. It is enough for us to have the economic strength to provide a comfortable life for our people and the military strength to defend ourselves against invasion. What I desire without limit is the power of a high culture. The power of culture makes us happy and, beyond that, brings happiness to others.
— Kim Gu, Baekbeom Ilji, “The Country I Wish to See”
Nearly eight decades later, his words have found a new place in conversations about Korean popular culture.
On March 20, 2026, BTS released their fifth studio album, ARIRANG. In the track “Aliens,” RM directly references the independence leader with the lyric:
> “Pardon 김구 선생님 tell me how you feel”
Here, “김구 선생님” (Kim Gu Seonsaengnim) means “Mr. Kim Gu,” with seonsaengnimserving as a respectful Korean title. The line can be understood as, “Pardon me, Mr. Kim Gu. Tell me how you feel.”
The line can be understood as a reflection on the distance Korea has traveled since Kim Gu expressed his hope that Korean culture would one day contribute to the happiness of people beyond its borders.
Just days earlier, the animated film KPop Demon Hunters had won two awards at the 98th Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for “Golden.” The ceremony took place on March 15 in Los Angeles, or March 16 in Korea.
On March 16, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung celebrated the achievement on X, formerly Twitter, invoking Kim Gu’s vision of a nation whose culture could inspire the world. He suggested that the country Kim Gu had dreamed of was becoming a reality.
These moments do not mean that every part of Kim Gu’s vision has been fulfilled. His ideal also included genuine independence, peace, and a country that would never seek to dominate others.
Still, there is a striking connection between the words he wrote in 1947 and the global reach of Korean culture in 2026.
For Kim Gu, independence was never simply about ending foreign rule. It was about building a country that could protect its people, preserve its identity, and share the power of its culture with the world.
Today, as Korean music and stories reach audiences across languages and borders, his vision of cultural strength continues to resonate.