7-2-2. 민족주의, 사회주의 계열의 분화 [명순구, "자유·정의·진리의 여정"/보성전문학교와 독립운동: 암흑기의 불빛/II.1920년대 보전 학생 독립운동 조직의 성장과 분화]

Main Ideas

• Student organizations increasingly reflected nationalist–socialist divisions. Amid conflict between the Joseon Student Association and the General Federation of Joseon Students, students formed independent groups according to their political and ideological commitments. From the 1920s, nationalist and socialist currents in the student movement became more distinct, with socialist organizations eventually taking a leading role.

• The Revolutionary Youth League (Hyeokcheongdan) shifted from nationalist reform to socialism.

  • Law students Lee Gye-gwa and Lee Sa-yun gathered students from vocational schools and launched the organization on December 15, 1923.
  • At its founding meeting on December 21, held at the Central Chapel of Cheoncheongyo in Jongno, members adopted its rules and elected Sim Sang-hwan and 19 others as officers.
  • Initially, the organization promoted nationalist enlightenment by opposing public prostitution introduced under Japanese rule and seeking to improve social and student morals.
  • Its direction changed rapidly in 1924. At an extraordinary meeting on November 27, attended by about 30 people, members elected new officers—including socialists Jo Am and Kim Hwan-gyeong. The meeting’s resolution also reflected a strong socialist orientation.
  • Boseong students Sim Sang-hwan and Ju Byeong-seo helped lead this shift.

• The Engineering Society encouraged socialist study and helped spur clandestine organizing.

  • In May 1925, about 60 students from vocational and secondary schools in the Gyeongseong area formed the society.
  • Led by students associated with the North Wind faction and joined by students opposed to Japanese rule, it aimed to study social sciences and provide education grounded in the people.
  • Boseong student Seo Jeong-gwan and other elected officers took part.
  • When the society tried to hold a second extraordinary meeting in October 1925, the colonial police ordered it dissolved, judging its principles unacceptable.
  • Although short-lived, the society encouraged students to study socialist thought and helped stimulate secret-society activity.

• Students circumvented the dissolution of a research association by changing its name.

  • The Student Science Research Association was organized on September 27, 1925, but the Government-General of Korea immediately dissolved it, fearing its links to the spread of socialist groups.
  • After strong student protests, permission was granted in early November on the condition that the group use a different name and include students at least of secondary-school age.
  • By adding “Joseon” to its name, students established the Joseon Student Science Research Association, also called Jogwayeon, on November 3, 1925, retaining the same platform and purpose.
  • Boseong students Seo Jeong-gwan, Yeom Geun-yong, and Hyeon Pil participated, along with Lee Cheon-jin, then a preparatory student at Keijo Imperial University who later entered Boseong College.

Overall significance: Boseong students played leading roles in several organizations as the student movement developed toward socialist leadership. The lecturer also presents the authorities’ eventual approval of the renamed association—after an initial ban and student resistance—as evidence of changes in colonial policy after the March 1st Movement.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: The lecture presenter, identified by the video title as Myung Soon-gu (명순구).
• Organizations and records discussed: The Joseon Student Association; the General Federation of Joseon Students; the Revolutionary Youth League (Hyeokcheongdan); the Engineering Society; the Student Science Research Association; and the Joseon Student Science Research Association (Jogwayeon).
• The lecture refers to organizational rules, resolutions, and platforms, but the subtitles do not identify specific publications, archival sources, or interviewees.