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Though he was a major journalist in his day, Hanseo Namgung Eok did not publish many articles in newspapers or magazines. For this reason, we can only glean about his life and thoughts from the textbooks and history books that he left behind. This book is divided into four parts. They are the pieces he wrote, the songs he either wrote himself or popularized, the anecdotes related to him, and the police interrogation records.

Part I consists of the anecdotes related to Hanseo Namgung Eok. The intent here is to remember Namgung Eok, who lived a life of action, through the anecdotes from his younger days, and especially those from his days in Mogok after his retirement.

Part II consists of the songs that Namgung Eok either wrote or distributed, along with concise explanations about them. He wrote lyrics to more than one hundred songs, though many of them were prohibited or censored by Japan. Fortunately, more than one hundred songs have been preserved and continue to be sung by people. In the midst of the uncertain fate of the nation, Namgung flowered hope through the lyrics he wrote, just like in the case of the mugunghwa itself.

Part III contains writings from Namgung’s active days as a journalist while still a government official. In addition to those from his time as the president of the Daehan Association and the Hwangsung Newspaper, the original manuscripts of his congratulatory speeches about the founding issues and editorials are provided.

Part IV introduces Namgung Eok, the educator. This section contains not only A Brief History of the East and Joseon Story, which were written after Namgung’s retirement, but also selections from the Education Monthly and Domestic Education. While Domestic Education was the product of his recognition of the importance of women, it also showed how authentic, practical, and wise his faith was. The selection from Joseon Story (five books in total) delineates the situation at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, the March 1st Movement, and the oppression by Japan, as recorded in Book No. 5. The testimonies of the eyewitnesses, who were present during the actual events, and those who experienced and endured all kinds of hardships and torture at the hand of the Japanese, present vividly those aspects that are not contained in other history books.

Lastly, Part V provides the interrogation records from Namgung’s time of arrest and interrogation for violating the National Security Act in 1933. His calm confessions at the age of seventy, in the face of the Japanese police, talking about his vision for the independence of Korea and the task for the nation, remain a great challenge to us today.

Relevant photos and related resources are included throughout the book so as to aid the understanding of the readers. I hope that this book will not just serve as a simple record of Hanseo Namgung Eok the individual but more importantly an instrument through which the meaning of Namgung Eok’s life and the significance of the mugunghwa are planted in the hearts of readers.

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You Scoundrel, Are You the One Who Gave Me My Government Position?

King Gojong appointed Mr. Namgung as a provincial administrative official in the region of Seongju where people’s grievances were great. In fact, a branch of the Iljin Club, which was known for its pro-Japanese activism, was located inside Seongju and systematically interfered with the installation of the teacher.

In September of the year that Mr. Namgung was installed as the magistrate of Seongju, he received the mandate from Yi Geun-Taek, the governor of Gyeongsang Province, to collect one thousand geun (Unit of weight equal to 600 grams) of ginseng, three thousand coins of gold, and five hundred rolls of silk in addition to taxes. In reality, Yi Geun-Taek was a pro-Japanese official who cooperated with the

Japanese. He essentially levied a sort of bribe money on top of what was legally taxable.

For this, Mr. Namgung went to see the governor and expressed his strong complaint and refused the mandate. In response, the governor rebuked Mr. Namgung. “If you are intent on disobeying your superior’s command by giving an excuse, then you should lay down your position as an official right now and leave.”

Of course, Mr. Namgung was not about to acquiesce. Instead, Mr. Namgung put on a serious expression and went on the offensive to scold the governor. “You scoundrel, are you the one who gave me my government position? Since when has your authority become so emboldened?” Without any hesitation, he resigned from his position and left. -pp. 30-31

Only if You Walk the Right Path

“I was on my way here from home. As I walked over the top of the snowy hill, I tried to follow the footprints that someone had left. It eventually led me to a small stream. When I thought about it, though there were footprints, it was not the right way. Instead, since I knew the path through the mountain pretty well, I blazed a new trail through the snow all the while leaving my footprints behind me so that others could follow the path.”

He continued. “As you walk out through the school gate, what is the direction that you want to take for your path? Why don’t you run to the countryside of your homeland and save the little lambs that roam aimlessly without their shepherds, without the benefits of education and culture? Rather than helping the

powerful and reveling in vain authority, I think it is our duty to help and empower the weak. This I earnestly ask of you. As I blazed a new trail through fresh snow in my effort to find the right path, you should walk the right path so that others that follow you could find the right path. I wish you could become the people that walk the right path.”

It was a message of exhortation for those with high education to get off the path made by the Japanese and instead walk the right path for their nation and fellow countrymen. -pp. 37-38

Even Dogs Would Laugh

There were many Koreans who oppressed the leaders of the country by working as informants for the Japanese. Shin Hyeon-Gyu, who used to spy on and interrogate Mr. Namgung after he was taken into custody, was among them. When Shin Hyeon-Gyu’s interrogation could not rattle Mr. Namgung’s composure or make him servile, Chief Tomida took him aside. By offering cookies and tea, the chief tried to bend Mr. Namgung’s will. But he did not succeed at all. At this time, the content of Mr. Namgung’s interrogation by Shin Hyeon-Gyu were transmitted by word of mouth to many people.

“Let’s say we liberate Korea, do you think you can keep it free?”

There was ferocity with a tinge of rebuke in Mr. Namgung’s answer to Shin Hyeon-Gyu’s question.

“You should know that we are people with five thousand years of history and culture. How is it that you see us as incompetent?”

“It seems like you are confident that there would be liberation soon. How do you know that?”

“It is because Japan boasts of excessive confidence and belittles many powerful nations. Because Japan is too evil God’s judgment will surely come upon it.”

Tomida, who was watching from the sidelines, interrupted,

“I understand you very well. However, the tide has turned. Most Koreans recognize that they have to follow Japan. Isn’t it time for you, Mr. Namgung, to change your thinking too?”

As if he thought it was useless to talk anymore, Mr. Namgung said resolutely with his eyes closed.

“I am seventy years old. I have lived long enough. If I change my thinking now, then even dogs would laugh at it. So, do what the law says.” -pp.40-41

Thirteen Years of Practice

During the time of great difficulty both personally and nationally, his true enemy was himself. Even until three years prior to his death, Mr. Namgung drew water from the well with his own hands and washed and bathed in it every morning. Then he would climb to the top of Peak Yuri behind his house and prostrate himself over the grass in prayer to God for the deliverance of the nation. Once down and back in the village, he would go around waking and rounding up the young adults of the village to get them to mow the fields and catch insects. He would also tie worn-out straw shoes together and soak them in urine to use as fertilizer for his mugunghwa hill.

He never used scarves or gloves regardless of how cold it was. Of course, he had never ridden a rickshaw in his life. Even when he went over to his neighbor’s field to help out, he never failed to pack his own lunch. In his old age, he never minded carrying wood and stones in the A-frame on his back. Whenever he found glass pieces or sharp stones on the road, he never failed to pick them up and remove them for others’ safety.

He lived in such a manner for thirteen years in the rural town of Mogok until he was taken into police custody by Japanese authorities and subsequently incarcerated at Seodaemun (South Gate) Prison in Seoul.

Notwithstanding his own plight, he always told young people, “But you should not be dismayed. Though I shall not, you shall surely see the day of independence.” - p.44

목차

Hanseo Namgung Eok,Saving His Country Through His Faith/ Hyun Jae-Ho

PartI Anecdotes

YouScoundrel, Are You the One Who Gave Me My Government Position?

Do You Fools Not Even Recognize Your Own Country?

The Harmonica-Playing White-Haired Boy

Only if You Walk the Right Path

Just Arrest Me and Be Done with It!

When Sad, to the Mugunghwa Nursery

Even Dogs Would Laugh

Pulling up Mugunghwa until Fingertips Split and Blistered

A Ten-jeon Skimmer Hat

Thirteen Years of Practice

Let us Become Independence Troops

Bury Me under a Fruit Tree to Become Compost

PartII Vision Carried in Songs

A Poem of Mount Seorak (Song of Independence)

Butterfly Out of Season

This Peninsula of Rivers and Mountains

A Song of Joseon Geography

The Goose Song

The Sunday (Mogok) School Song

Ode to the Mugunghwa

Victory Song (Mugunghwa Garden)

A Song of Joseon

Workers of Joseon

Flower of Joseon

A Song of Warriors

Our Paradise

A Song of Action

The Baehwa Women’s Academy Song

PartIIINamgung Eok, the Journalist

The Synergy of Ideology and Ability

Social Harmony

First Issue Commemoration Addresses

(1) Commemoration address for the publication

of the first issue of The Daehan Association Newsletter

(2)Commemoration address for the publication

of the first issue of The Giho Nationalist Society Monthly Newsletter

(3)Commemoration address for the publication

of the first issue of The Janghak Monthly Newsletter

(4) Commemoration address for the publication

of the first issue of The Hwangseong Newspaper

PartⅣNamgung Eok, the Educator

– Women, the Korean Language, and History

Domestic Education

The Education Monthly

Joseon Grammar

Joseon Story and The Modern History of Joseon

partⅤPolice Interrogation

Namgung Eok and Mogok School

Namgung Eok and Singing Education

Namgung Eok and the Mugunghwa

History Education

Independence of Joseon

Chronology

Reference

추천의 글

Namgung Eok (1863–1939) demonstrated in his life the resolve to save his nation through faith. He lived through both the era of enlightenment in the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty and the period of Japanese occupation and helped open up a new horizon for Korea as a freedom fighter, a journalist, an educator, and a true Christian. Namgung Eok embraced his nation in his heart as a government official, sought to provide a future for the children of this land through education, and devoted his entire life to fighting for the independence of his nation. As a Christian, he constantly prostrated himself in prayer for the dreams and hopes of his countrymen. -Hyun Jae-Ho (Pastor, Hanseo Methodist Church)

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