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Czech support of the March 1 Movement ideas in 1919/1920

(This article expired 19.05.2010.)

Many people in Korea feel the Czech Republic being only a newcomer in Korean politics as it established the diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea only 19 years ago, but it is not so. Political contacts between the Czechs and the Koreans began already 90 years ago, in January 1919.

These were troubled times. The newly-established Czechoslovak Republic had only ten weeks since its independence, while its armed force, 60,000-strong Czechoslovak Legion, was already for months fighting the Bolshevik forces in Siberia, far away from home

The creation of new independent countries, including Czechoslovakia, would not happen without US president Woodrow Wilson, whose proclamation on self-determination of 1918 was a crucial signal to European politicians. But also Asian leaders took this declaration at face value, more so after they had met Wilson´s emissary Charles Crane in Shanghai in late 1918.

Crane was fighting for independence movements all over the world. He was also a close friend of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the Czech leader, who fought in his US exile for creation of Czechoslovakia. Thus, it was undoubtedly Crane, this Wilson´s trusted advisor, who gave the advice to Korean politicians whom he met in Shanghai to approach Vladivostok-based Czechoslovak Legion, which was under Masaryk´s guidance.

Only a few weeks after Crane´s Shanghai visit, Yeo Un-hyeong, one of the most capable Korean politicians of his generation, but largely „forgotten“ until recently, travelled to Vladivostok to talk with Czechoslovak Legion. Only 33-years old Yeo found a sympathetic partner, there. It was Radola Gajda, ambitious Czech soldier who due to his excellent abilities became the Legion´s general, although having been only 28!

Both men had a unique position, Yeo Un-hyeong was the leading personality behind pre-March 1 Korean independence movements, and Radola Gajda was a commander of powerful army Czech and Slovak army. We can only guess, if behind warm welcome of Yeo there were personal sympathies of Gajda towards other young independence fighter only, or a support of new Czechoslovak leaders, too. Masaryk, recently voted the first president of Czechoslovakia, undoubtedly knew about Crane´s mission and was well informed about situation in Korea, as he travelled across the peninsula only a few months earlier.

When after the talks with Czechoslovak Legion Yeo wanted to leave, general Gajda, worried about his safety, put at his disposal an armoured  train and sent another Czech – Josef Hanč – to accompany him back to Shanghai. „Was it little or much?“ asks Czech Koreanist Zdenka Kloslova, who studied both Czech and Korean sources. „Gajda´s concrete arrangements to assure the security of an independence fighter can be evaluated as particularly generous,“ she assumes. After an unsympathetic approach to Koreans on the Peace Conference in Paris later that year, Czechoslovak Legion´s friendly attitude towards Korean struggle, became even more evident. Shortly after not less than 16 Koreans worked in Gajda´s armoured train headquarters. One of them was even a commander of Legion´s machine gun division. 

A few months later general Gajda was leaving Asia. On his way back to Czechoslovakia, he stopped in Shanghai and, once more, found a time to meet Yeo Un-hyeong, An Chang-ho and other representatives of new Korean Provisional Government. Shanghai Korean newspaper Dongnip sinmun ran two articles about Gajda´s support of the Korean case, and general gave an interview to journal´s reporter, perhaps Yi Gwang-su. Gajda´s words were probably the most optimistic of all high-ranking European officials those days. He mentioned that „the day when you achieve independence is not far“ and spoke highly about the March 1 Movement. Not surprisingly, Gajda was given a silver vase with engraving from the Korean Provisional Government, a unique gift to a foreigner at that time, and his contribution was mentioned in „A Bloody History of Korean Independence“ by future-to-be Provisional Government´s president Bak Eun-sik.

The friendly approach towards Korean independence struggle did not vanish after Gajda´s departure, on the contrary it increased. Brutality of Japanese soldiers against the Koreans in Vladivostok was seen with dismay. This is well documented in numerous literary works written by Czech soldiers upon their return home. While Gajda´s contacts with Koreans were mainly of political nature, in early 1920 delivery of arms and ammunition to the Korean forces started.

It seems that thousands of arms got to the Korean hands from Czechoslovak Legion. Probably the highest number was delivered to the Northern Route Military Command. Both Korean and Czech sources mention many deals, usually for very reasonable prices. One of the Korean military commanders, Lee Beom-sok, mentioned that „piles of arms“ were taken from storages of Czechoslovak Legion. It is almost certain these arms were the cutting edge which gave the Korean fighters enough power for victories as at the battle of Cheongsanri in October 1920.

Unfortunately, with the withdrawal of Legion from the Russian Far East, the contacts between Korean and Czechoslovak officials stopped and it took many years to be reestablished.

Now, the Czech Republic´s contacts with the Republic of Korea are going from strength to strength. Korean films became famous with the Czech viewers, as well as Korean cars now entering the Czech market from recently opened Hyundai car manufacturing plant in Czech city of Nosovice. Similarly Korean visitors are enchanted by historical beauties of the Czech capital Prague, and thousands of Seoul theatre-goers enjoy Czech musicals, the most recent successes being Hamlet and Kleopatra. Contacts between our nations, which began almost a century ago, have now been firmly rooted.

© Jaroslav Olša, jr., 2009