Yi Dong-hwi
이동휘
Pioneer of Korean communism who fused the Bolshevik revolution with national liberation against Japanese rule
On his deathbed he declared: 'I die without seeing the Korean revolution succeed. Comrades, you must establish a Korean Soviet Republic.'
A pioneer of Korean communism who transformed from a Korean Empire army officer into a socialist revolutionary, becoming the first to fuse Marxism with the Korean national liberation struggle. He founded the Korean Socialist Party in 1918, served as prime minister of the Korean Provisional Government where he championed armed resistance, and after breaking with Syngman Rhee led the Korean Communist Party (Shanghai faction) in pursuit of combining national liberation with class revolution.
Career timeline
- 1895–1902Graduated from Imperial Military Academy; army major and Ganghwa garrison commander
- 1906–1911Co-founded New People's Association; founded Bochang School; jailed in 105-Man Incident
- 1913–1917Exiled to Primorsky Krai and Manchuria; established military academy, trained independence forces
- 1918Founded Korean Socialist Party in Khabarovsk; chairman
- 1919–1921Prime Minister of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai
- 1921Founded Korean Communist Party (Shanghai faction)
- 1922–1935Comintern liaison; Far East Korean director of MOPR