Lee Gangjeon

Lee Gangjeon (June 19, 1869 – November 7, 1948) was a member and later leader of a small communist group called The Chosen Force. These were known as being the original communists in south-east Asia. He started out in 1910, when he read the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, joining the leader Kin Yang-Song.

His faith in Kin Yang-Song was tested when he, Kin Yang-Song and the other Chosen Force followers conspired to burn down Japanese governmental buildings in 1918. He escaped with around 25 other followers and Kin Yang-Song. The other 70 were put to death.

They then decided to run north to the Soviet Union finally reaching Chelyabinsk in 1936. He and a few others found papers stating that Kin Yang-Song’s motives weren’t in their best interests for example selling his followers as slaves. It was at this point that Lee Gangjeon, Park Seong and a few other dedicated followers assassinated Kin Yang-Song. He was then proclaimed the new leader of the Chosen Force.

His first act as leader was to employ more dedicated followers from Chelyabinsk. This boosted their numbers to 400. His second was to march to China and drum up more support. Their number had reached their peak with 750 people taken in altogether. He then marched back to Korea in June 1945. They had many peaceful protests including one in the home of the Chosen Force, Daegu. However, he was killed, three months after North Korea had been established properly, by a South Korean protestor.