Jeon Jae-il

Jeon Jae-il (全在一, 17 May 1875 (1875-05-17) – 3 September 1951 (1951-09-03)) was an independence activist of South Korea. His pen name was Gyeongseong (鏡城). His eldest son was General Jeon Seong-ho.

Main career

Born in Gyeongseong (鏡城), Hamgyong Province, he briefly served in lower-level official posts from 1893 to 1902, including clerk in the county office of Pyeongsan County, Hwanghae Province, Joseon; clerk in the county office of Suan County, Hwanghae Province, Joseon; clerk in the county office of Pyeongwon County, South Pyeongan Province, Joseon; clerk in the county office of Yeongheung County, South Hamgyong Province, Joseon; clerk in the county office of Chosan County, North Pyeongan Province, Joseon; and clerk in the county office of Chosan County, North Pyeongan Province, Korean Empire. After the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910, he led his entire family into exile in Longjing (龍井), Jiandao, where he engaged in cultural work. During the March 1st Movement of 1919, he took part in demonstrations in Longjing, and when many casualties occurred, he carried out activities such as burying the dead and comforting the wounded; he was subsequently subjected to a prohibition on residence (在留禁止) and returned to his hometown.

In 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea established the Yeontong System (聯通制), a secret organization under the Provisional Legislative Council that connected domestic and overseas activities. This organization served as a local administrative body linking home and abroad, and in addition to collecting funds for the Provisional Government, it was also in charge of communications. In August of that year, he joined the Yeontong System in North Hamgyong Province together with Song Yun-seop (宋允燮), Yi Sang-ho (李相鎬), and Park Du-hwan (朴斗煥), among others. In August 1920, 47 of his comrades were arrested simultaneously, and he was sentenced to four years in prison by the Cheongjin (靑津) District Court and suffered imprisonment.

After his release, he returned to Longjing and devoted himself to education work, but after contracting an illness, he quit on 8 June 1945, and on 10 July 1945 he returned to Gyeongseong Prefecture in Korea under Japanese colonial rule. On 15 August 1945, he witnessed the liberation of Korea in Gyeongseong Prefecture. Even at the time of the 15 August Liberation, he was already bedridden due to a chronic illness. During the Korean War in 1950, he evacuated to Seocheon-myeon, Seocheon County, South Chungcheong Province, and continued to evacuate southward; then, one year later, on 3 September 1951, he died of illness at a place of refuge in Miryang town, Miryang County, South Gyeongsang Province.

Posthumous honors

The government of the Republic of Korea, wishing to honor the merits of the deceased, posthumously awarded him the Order of National Foundation Medal on 1 March 1977, and the Order of National Foundation, Patriotic Merit Medal on 1 March 1990.