1. General Hong Beom-do was a Korean independence activist and national hero.
13 Facts About Hong Beom-do
1. 2.
When Japan annexed Korea in 1910, Hong Beom-do moved to Manchuria, China to train anti-Japanese freedom fighters.
3.
Once across the river and in Korea, Hong Beom-do successfully attacked the Japanese troops in Hyesanjin, Jaseong, and Kapsan.
4.
Hong Beom-do succeeded in integrating the northern army in Gando with other forces.
5.
In December 1920, Hong Beom-do's forces were integrated with other independence forces to organize the Korean Independence Corps.
6.
Hong Beom-do, still hoping to oppose the Japanese in Korea, chose to join the Red Army.
7.
Hong Beom-do was among those 171,781 Koreans forcibly relocated to Kazakhstan.
8.
On October 25,1963, Hong Beom-do was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of Merit for National Foundation.
9.
Hong Beom-do is revered as a folk hero by three parties: Central Asian Koreans, South Koreans, and North Koreans.
10.
The South Korean government first tried to move Hong Beom-do's remains from Kazakhstan to South Korea in 1995 during Kim Young-sam's administration.
11.
Hong Beom-do wanted to buried in his birthplace if and when Korea is liberated from Japan.
12.
An agreement between the two governments was reached in 2020 to move Hong Beom-do's remains from Kazakhstan to South Korea, but the date was pushed off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
13.
Hong Beom-do's remains were reinterred in the Daejeon National Cemetery.