Kim Suk-won
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This is a Korean name; the family name is Kim.
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| Japanese name: Kaneyama Shakugen (金山錫源?) |
Kim Suk-won (born Seoul, Korea, 29 September 1893; died 6 August 1978) was a major general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the second-highest ranking ethnic Korean behind Hong Sa-ik. He went to Japan in 1909 for study, and entered the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1913. Following his 1915 graduation, he was assigned to the 617th Regiment, 4th division of the Imperial Army, based in Osaka. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.[1] During the 1931 invasion of Manchuria, he was captain of a mechanised artillery division. After the 1937 outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was promoted to major. Following the 1939 implementation of the sōshi-kaimei (name change) policy, he adopted the name Kaneyama Shakugen, by adding the character "mountain" to his Korean surname; the given name "Shakugen" was just the Japanese reading of his Korean name. In 1943, he was promoted to major general; he was active on the home front during this time, giving speeches at schools and publishing articles in the official newspaper Maeil Sinbo encouraging Korean youths to volunteer to serve in the army. He was also instrumental in the implementation of the draft on the Korean peninsula, which began from 20 January 1944.[2] After the surrender of Japan ended World War II, Kim joined the provisional government's military affairs commission, and later the Republic of Korea Army, where he held the rank of brigadier general; he retired from active duty, but was recalled in early July 1950 due to the outbreak of the Korean War.[2][3] He published his memoirs in 1977.[4] After his death in 1978, he was buried next to Seongnam High School, of which he was one of the founders.[5] A bronze bust of him remains standing on the school ground; in 2002, protestors attempted to have it taken down.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Gen. Kim Suk Won : A Hero of the Japanese Imperial Army", Korea Web Weekly, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ a b c ""일본군 출신 김석원 동상 철거하라" ("Bronze statue of Japanese Army's Kim Suk-won must go!")", OhmyNews, 2002-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Paik, Sun Yup (2000). From Pusan to Panmunjom: Wartime Memoirs of the Republic of Korea's First Four Star General. Brassey's, p. 31. ISBN 1574882023.
- ^ Kim, Suk-won (1977). 老兵의 恨 (An Old Soldier's Lament). Yukbeopsa.
- ^ Yang, Hoe-sun. "제2부, 왜곡된 역사의 보고 국립현충원! 역사는 다시 심판되어야 한다", CPN Broadcasting, 2005-03-08. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
