Author's Note
Prologue: Yeo Un-hyeong and Kim Kyu-sik Open the Door to the March 1st Movement

Chapter 1: The Chain of Interviews between Yeo Woon-hyung and Crane: The Trio of Formation of the New Korea Youth Party, Petition to President Wilson, and Dispatch of Special Envoy to the Paris Peace Conference (1918)

1. Visit to Shanghai by Crane, 'President Wilson's Special Envoy'
2. The meeting between Yeo Woon-hyung and Crane (1918.
11.
27)
3 The Inside Story of the Petition Written by Yeo Woon-hyung and Jang Deok-su
4 Yeo Woon-hyung-Crane Letter (1918.
11.
29) and a petition to President Wilson (1918.
11.
28)

Chapter 2: Koreans' Attempts to Send Representatives to the Paris Peace Conference and the March 1st Movement

1. Attempts by Korea and other weaker nations to send representatives to the Paris Peace Conference
(1) Attempt by Koreans to send representatives to the Paris Peace Conference
(2) Colonies and weak countries' expectations for the Paris Peace Conference and the dispatch of representatives
2. Perceptions of World War II and the Paris Peace Conference among Koreans at home and abroad
(1) Perceptions of overseas independence movement forces regarding World War I and the Paris Peace Conference
(2) Domestic recognition of the Paris Peace Conference
3. The founding of the Shinhan Youth Party, a sudden political party, and its chairman, Kim Kyu-sik.
(1) The founding of the Shinhan Youth Party and its chairman, Kim Kyu-sik
(2) The organization and members of the Shinhan Youth Party
(3) Generational change in the Shanghai independence movement and the ideological orientation of the New Korea Youth Party

Chapter 3: Kim Kyu-sik's Journey to Paris: His Unknown Whereabouts

1 Kim Kyu-sik's activities in China (1918.
12~1919.
1)
(1) Letter to Park Yong-man (1918.
12.
10.
Cheonjin)
(2) Petition sent to the American ambassador in Beijing (1919.
1. Beijing)
(3) Letter of petition for independence to President Wilson (1919.
1. 25.
wound)
(4) Request for the convocation of the New Han National Representative Committee (1919.
2. 9.
wound)
(5) A request for the establishment of a representative committee of all Koreans sent to An Chang-ho by Shin Gyu-sik (1919.
2. 8)
2 Kim Kyu-sik of the Porthos prepares a draft petition for the Paris Peace Conference.
3 Kim Kyu-sik's floating representativeness
(1) Two conflicting representations
(2) Changes in the power structure and direction of the Korean independence movement in China

Chapter 4: Shinhan Youth Party Secret Agents Dispatched Domestically and Internationally

1. Relationship between the Shinhan Youth Party and Dongjesa
2. Secret envoys of the Shinhan Youth Party dispatched domestically and internationally
(1) Yeo Un-hyeong went to Gando and Primorsky Krai
(2) Jang Deok-su dispatched to Japan
(3) Lee Gwang-su, who traveled back and forth between China and Japan
(4) Seonwoo Hyuk, Kim Cheol, Seo Byeong-ho, and Kim Sun-ae infiltrated the country.
3 The New Korea Youth Party after the March 1st Movement
The light of the March 1st Movement shines on the Korean Peninsula.

Chapter 5: Diplomatic and Propaganda Activities of Kim Kyu-sik, the Only Korean Representative at the Paris Peace Conference

1 Petitions submitted immediately after arriving in Paris
(1) Petitions written at Lee Wook-young’s boarding house (1919.
3. 20~1919.
4. 14)
(2) People from the Paris Committee
2. The Lonely Diplomacy of the Paris Peace Conference
(1) Preparation and submission of official petition and memorandum (1919.
5. 10)
(2) Attempt to contact the American delegation (1919.
5~1919.
6)
3 Propaganda activities in Paris
(1) Publication of the Communications Bureau and the “Communications War”
(2) Various propaganda and solidarity activities

Chapter 6: The ordeal of Kim Kyu-sik, Chairman of the Gumi Committee (1919.
8~1921.
1)

1 Leaving Paris for Washington
2 President Syngman Rhee and public bond salesman Kim Kyu-sik
3 The hardships of brain tumor surgery and being the chairman of the Gumi Committee
(1) Parallel use of patriotic funds and public bonds
(2) Abolition of patriotic funds and Kim Kyu-sik’s brain surgery (1920.
3) North American tour
4. Breakup: Separation with Syngman Rhee

Chapter 7: The Hard Road Back to Shanghai (1921)

1. US Army transport ship Thomas failed to smuggle.
2 Records of attempted smuggling
3 Return to Shanghai via Australia

Chapter 8: Kim Kyu-sik Returns to Shanghai and Seeks a New Path

1 Return to Shanghai, conflict with Syngman Rhee, resignation of the Provisional Government
(1) Kim Kyu-sik's return to Shanghai and his participation as the president of the student affairs office
(2) The issue of Syngman Rhee's resignation and the conflict between Kim Kyu-sik and Syngman Rhee
(3) Kim Kyu-sik's resignation as chairman of the Gumi Committee and the upheaval in the Gumi Committee
(4) Syngman Rhee, Dong-hwi Lee, and Chang-ho Ahn leave the Provisional Government.
2 Three New Directions: National Representative Conference, Sino-Korean Friendship Survey, and Far Eastern National Congress
(1) The path of Syngman Rhee, Lee Dong-hwi, Ahn Chang-ho, and Kim Kyu-sik
(2) Promotion of the National Representative Conference
(3) Kim Kyu-sik and the Sino-Korean Friendship Association
(4) The crossroads of the Washington Conference and the Far East Peoples' Conference

Appendix: A letter from Shin Gyu-sik to Ahn Chang-ho requesting the establishment of a representative committee for all Koreans (1919.
2. 8), Letter and draft of petition sent by Kim Kyu-sik to Kim Sun-ae (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1919).
2. 25), the process of change in the "Memorandum Containing the Appeal of the Korean People for Liberation," the settlement of accounts of the Gumi Committee (September 1919 - November 1921) and expenditures related to Kim Kyu-sik, the salary of the Gumi Committee and expenditures of each overseas organization, and the list of important documents that Kim Kyu-sik had with him when he smuggled himself onto the US Army transport ship USS Thomas.

References│Tables and Figures│Index

The life's work of Jeong Byeong-jun, a peerless researcher of modern Korean history.

“Dealing with Kim Kyu-sik’s life was like dealing with the major issues and activities of modern and contemporary Korean history and the Korean independence movement.
In short, it is a summary of everything I have studied throughout my life.
Writing a biography of Kim Kyu-sik was a lifelong challenge.
“Because that much research and study was required.” (From the author’s note)

And finally, Professor Jeong Byeong-jun, who won the Korean Publication Culture Award in the academic writing category twice (for “The Korean War” in 2006 and “Hyun Alice and His Era” in 2015), published “Kim Kyu-sik and His Era” (3 volumes) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of liberation.
This is a lifelong work that embodies the great sincerity, hard work, and labor of a historian who “wanders the world in search of traces of a single photograph and fragmented letters, and spends all day taking pictures, copying, scanning, meeting people, and reading books to piece together fragments and mosaics of history.”
The sheer volume of 1,872 pages, the dense and tightly structured text, and the appendices, references, tables, figures, and index that are packed into each volume clearly demonstrate the breadth and depth of the author's sweat and effort in creating this book. (In the final section of Volume 3, "Remaining Remarks: Tracking Down Kim Kyu-sik's Materials," the author, like a "historical detective," summarizes the core contents of Volumes 1-3 along with the process of doggedly collecting materials and the emotions he felt after encountering them.)

Orphan boy “John” sparks the March 1st Movement
Until he became an independence activist who traveled the world,
The entire story of Kim Kyu-sik, the human being, rewritten with materials unearthed for the first time.

The main contents of each volume are as follows.

Volume 1: Childhood in an American missionary orphanage, one of the first American university students and scholarship recipients in Joseon history, missionary work at the YMCA and other institutions after returning to Joseon, and all-round academic activities, exile in China, and participation in the independence movement
Volume 2: Attending the Paris Peace Conference (pro-American diplomacy), which became a catalyst for the March 1st Movement; the one-man diplomatic struggle of the Korea Communications Commission; the meeting and major conflict with Syngman Rhee at the European-American Committee; and brain tumor surgery.
Volume 3: Activities and frustrations of the Far Eastern National Congress in Russia (pro-Soviet diplomacy), withdrawal from the Provisional Government, solidarity with the Chinese and anti-Japanese movements, life as a professor at a Chinese university, fundraising for the independence movement in the United States, joining the National Revolutionary Party, returning to the Provisional Government, and serving as Vice Chairman

A boy from an underprivileged family background, called “John” or “Bon-gap” at an American missionary orphanage school, went to study abroad in the United States with his outstanding language skills, graduated with excellent grades, returned to Korea, and established himself as a mid-level leader in society. However, with great ambitions, he went into exile in China and began his independence movement in earnest.
Despite Japan's obstruction, he went around the world to call for and persuade Korean independence.
In particular, his actions, which became a catalyst for the March 1st Movement by establishing and operating the Korea Communications Agency through short-term, one-man diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, were a shining moment of 'diplomacy' in modern and contemporary Korean history.
We will also carry out anti-Japanese movements in solidarity with the Chinese people, respond flexibly to ideologies, political parties, and continue united front activities centered on the cause of the independence movement.
Because he did not go to extremes (the only exception would be the 'Far Eastern National Congress' in the early 1920s), he was sometimes excluded from the 'center' and his activities were restricted (for example, despite his fancy title, his position as 'Vice Chairman of the Provisional Government' in the 1940s did not come with much real power), but he never strayed from the path of struggle.


Due to these unique characteristics, many aspects of his true nature and activities have not been properly discovered compared to his fame.
Although his activities during the five years after liberation are somewhat well known, much of the story of his birth, upbringing, and arduous life as an independence activist is not well known.
"Kim Kyu-sik and His Era" goes far beyond simple analysis of existing literature to the point where it can be said to contain "everything about the human Kim Kyu-sik," by unearthing and revealing a variety of new materials. By also comprehensively organizing "his era," it fully reveals the achievements and limitations, the light and dark sides of "him" and "his era," filling in the complete truth of history and generating numerous future research topics.
It is literally a biography of the human Kim Kyu-sik, a historical non-fiction work on the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period, and a weighty academic work that directly addresses and presents various issues and research topics in modern and contemporary Korean history.

John Kiusic Soho Kimm,
Becoming a Flame of the Era with the March 1st Movement

Volume 2 covers the March 1st Movement, a period that decisively represented his life, including the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, his activities in the European and American Committee in 1920-1921, and his return to Shanghai in 1921.
It was the most brilliant period in Kim Kyu-sik's life, and the time when he played a major role in modern and contemporary Korean history.
The most important political periods in Kim Kyu-sik's life were before and after the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and immediately after liberation from 1945 to 1948.
This is after World War I and World War II.
This is a point that clearly shows his unique characteristics as an independence activist and a global citizen.
The dispatch of a Korean representative to the Paris Peace Conference by the "New Korea Youth Party," a sudden political party formed through the joint struggle of the new (Yeo Un-hyeong) and veteran (Kim Kyu-sik) independence activists, and the subsequent independent diplomatic struggles such as the establishment of the Korean Telecommunications Agency and the publication of "Tongsinjeon" by Kim Kyu-sik in Paris, had a much greater "internal" impact than we have known so far, and can even be evaluated as one of the sparks of the March 1st Movement.
It was a target and achievement point that gave strength to the main players in the independence movement at the time.
In Volume 2, Kim Kyu-sik and Yeo Un-hyeong attempted to participate in the Paris Peace Conference through the New Korea Youth Party, and the details of Kim Kyu-sik's struggle in Paris, as well as its significance and influence, are examined in detail (Prologue to Chapter 5).


However, his vigorous activities lost their power in the conflict with the ambitious Syngman Rhee, who only tried to use his fame in the Korean-American Committee (an organization of Koreans in the US), and the bleak 'practical' results of the US-Western diplomatic line (the limitations of the 'principle of national self-determination' that did not touch the hegemony and great powers revealed at the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Conference) made him turn his eyes to the new power, the Soviet Union (Russia).
At a crucial time when the fate of the nation was being determined, Kim Kyu-sik, while battling illness (brain tumor surgery in 1920), took on an important role and determined the course of his life.
This is why a period of only three years was compiled into one book.

80 Years After Liberation: A Look into the Future Through the Unheard Voices of History

"It's the story of a man who failed in terms of political success or failure, but the moments of sincerity and fiery passion contained in his life captivated my heart." (From the Author's Note)

This year marks the 80th anniversary of liberation.
Our nation's independence was also positioned in the context of World War II, where imperialism, fascism, capitalism, socialism, democracy, and national liberation movements intersected.
But as the civil war and foreign exchange coup of just a few months ago showed, the unfinished liberation has long been oppressed by war, subservience, and dictatorship.
And in 2025, the end of the American unipolar system and the shift in the post-war order of the past 80 years toward multipolarity are once again putting us to a huge test.
80 years have passed, but we still talk about 'unfinished liberation.'
The more so, if we want to confirm our current position and learn from history, we must listen even more closely to the 'unheard voices'.


At a time when the prospect of a "new world" is more urgent than ever, the dedicated yet rational actions of Kim Kyu-sik, who had been excluded or ignored, not fully understood, within the realities of Korean politics and history, and who sought open cooperation with all camps at home and abroad under the banner of independence, and who pondered the position of the independence movement within the flow of the world situation, have great implications for us.
When we listen to the lessons of history, which hold diverse potential for expression, unheard voices finally resonate deeply, becoming a starting point for new imagination as a map for envisioning the future.
This is why we are now focusing on Kim Kyu-sik, a true global man who dreamed of independence and liberation through left-right cooperation and national unity, while also straddling the East and the West, capitalism and socialism, the United States, China, and the Soviet Union (Russia).

Author's Note

“I think what fascinated me about Kim Kyu-sik was the magical power of the tragic narrative that clearly runs through his life.
Although it is the history of a man who failed in terms of political success or failure, it is perhaps because the moments of sincerity and undying passion contained in his life captured our hearts.
For this reason, writing a biography of Kim Kyu-sik was a lifelong challenge.
This is because it had to cover not only the modern history before and after liberation, but also the period of opening ports at the end of the Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese colonial period, and organize domestic and international activities.
When I decided to write a full-fledged biography of Kim Kyu-sik, I assumed it would be possible only after I was in my mid-50s.
Because that much research and study was required.
Since this is a biography about Kim Kyu-sik, it cannot be denied that it is based on interest and affection for him.
However, I did not try to portray Kim Kyu-sik as a special hero or great man who deviated from the path of history and made great decisions.
Biographies of great men or heroes are not the focus of this book.
The author's perspective that runs through this book is unique.
It deals with Kim Kyu-sik, a human being, not a hero or a great man.

Through this book, I hope to reveal previously unseen scenes and unheard voices from the history of the era in which Kim Kyu-sik lived.
Because of the dramatic transformations and twists and turns that modern and contemporary Korean history has undergone, there is a widespread tendency to understand this period's history as a simple dichotomy of success and failure, victory and defeat, good and evil.
But if we perceive history as a record of the victorious, the mysterious deeds of heroes, the providence of God or the decisions of powerful external forces, we will be blind to the true lessons of history.
This book seeks to listen to the resonance of the lessons of history, which have various potential manifestations.
And I hope to turn my eyes there.”