항일독립운동가 최병준의 삶과 활동

Abstract

From 1908 to 1919, Choi Byeong-jun devoted himself to the anti-Japanese armed struggle in the northern Gando in Manchuria and Primorsky Krai in Russia for more than 10 years before and after the Japanese invasion of the Korean Empire and its forcible annexation. He was a very noteworthy figure in the early history of the anti-Japanese independence movement in that he acted as a comrade of Lee Beom-yoon, Choi Jae-hyeong, Ahn Jung-geun, and Hong Beom-do, whom we are familiar with, and that it allows us to know the flow of the anti-Japanese independence movement at the time just by looking at his life. Above all, Choi Byung-jun was a true patriot and comrade whom Hong Beom-do trusted the most. In the early days of his activities, he fought passionately for the Righteous Army, and in the middle and latter half of his career, he faithfully fulfilled his role as a contact officer. In addition, he raised his two sons and Hong Beom-do's son as excellent patriotic youths, which served as a foundation for them to play a major role in the anti-Japanese armed struggle in the 1920s. Besides that, however, there are three major historical meanings that we can learn from Choi Byung-jun's life. First, he did not cling to ideologies s and beliefs that were only instrumental in achieving the great goal of independence, and showed a flexible and humble attitude that allowed him to humble himself at any time if he was considered a better person than himself. Secondly, Choi Byeong-jun, together with Hong Beom-do, was the person who established the basic framework of the Korean anti-Japanese armed struggle, that is, the war of independence. Lastly, Choi Byung-jun gave up his life to save his own son and Hong Beom-do's son. This cannot be explained only in the dimension of paternal love. He did not sacrifice himself as a mere biological father, but sacrificed himself to save the next generation of the independence movement.