Memorial Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Hangzhou

Memorial Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Hangzhou

The Memorial Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Hangzhou is a base for patriotic education.

On the morning of November 30, 2007, people from all walks of life in China and South Korea gathered by the West Lake to attend the grand opening ceremony of the Memorial Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Hangzhou.

In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, prompting a large number of anti-Japanese patriots to move to China. In 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established in Shanghai. Korean independence activists carried out arduous struggles for liberation and the restoration of their country across Chinese territory, the Korean Peninsula, and within Japan. On April 29, 1932, following orders from Kim Gu, Yoon Bong-gil threw a bomb at Shanghai’s Hongkou Park, killing Japanese General Kenkichi Ueda, Commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, along with other high-ranking officials — an act that shocked the world. Thereafter, under intense manhunts by the Japanese invaders, members of the Provisional Government of Korea were helped by progressive Chinese individuals and relocated to Zhejiang’s Hangzhou and Jiaxing to continue their resistance. Sites such as Hubian Village on Changsheng Road, Sixin Fang on Xueshi Road, and the Second Qingtai Hotel in Hangzhou all bear the footprints of key figures of the Provisional Government. South Korea’s founding father Kim Gu and his comrades evaded capture by the Japanese thanks to the protection of the people of Zhejiang, and the Provisional Government also overcame a crisis in Hangzhou.

To promote the traditional friendship between the peoples of China and South Korea, and to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges between Zhejiang, Hangzhou, and Korea, the Hangzhou Municipal Government invested heavily in constructing the Memorial Site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Hangzhou at No. 55 Changsheng Road, Hubian Village — the original office site of the Provisional Government. The memorial has been expanded threefold from its original size, featuring three exhibition halls restored to their 1930s appearance, showcasing the historic chapter of the joint struggle between the Chinese and Korean peoples over 70 years ago.