The Provisional Government of Korea, known as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a Korean-in-exile government established in China between 1919 and 1945. The Korean Provisional Government was once established in Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Chongqing. To this day, China still retains the ruins of the Korean Provisional Government. Nowadays, Koreans travel to China, and the ruins of the Provisional Government of South Korea are popular tourist destinations. In addition, South Korean dignitaries visit China and visit the sites of the Provisional Government of South Korea. So what's going on, and why was the Korean Provisional Government set up in China?
First, the relationship between South Korea and China. South Korea and China are two countries with very deep roots. During the Tang Dynasty, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula was under the jurisdiction of Goguryeo, and the southern part of the Korean Peninsula was under the jurisdiction of Baekje and Silla.
Now Korea regards Goguryeo as a part of Korean history and considers Goguryeo to be a historical dynasty of Korea. From South Korea's point of view, the Goguryeo era is the Three Kingdoms era of the Korean Peninsula. But in fact, Goguryeo was not a historical dynasty in Korea, but a frontier regime in ancient China.
Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by the Buyeo tribe Jumeng, and the earliest capital was located in the area of Huanren, Liaoning Province, and later moved to the area of Ji'an, Jilin Province. In the 5th century, Goguryeo's territory expanded to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and in order to avoid the attack of the Central Plains Dynasty, the capital was moved to the Korean Peninsula.
Under the suppression of Goguryeo, the territory of Baekje and Silla, the native powers of the Korean Peninsula, became smaller and smaller. In the 6th century, Baekje and Silla formed an alliance to fight against Goguryeo. However, Goguryeo was strong, and the alliance between Baekje and Silla gradually broke down.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, Baekje was attached to Goguryeo, and Silla was attached to the Tang Dynasty. In 660 AD, the combined forces of the Tang Dynasty and Silla destroyed Baekje, and in 668 AD, the Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo.
After the fall of Goguryeo and Baekje, Silla gradually grew larger and unified the central and southern regions of the Korean Peninsula. Silla belonged to the Korean historical dynasty, so the Tang Dynasty was kind to Silla, and if it weren't for the Tang Dynasty, Silla would have been destroyed by Goguryeo.
In the 9th century, Silla was divided, and the Korean Peninsula was formed into three states: Later Goguryeo, Later Silla, and Later Baekje. Korean history books refer to this period as the "post-Three Kingdoms" era. But in fact, Later Goguryeo is different from Goguryeo, which is a state after the division of Silla and is already a native dynasty on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, Chinese history books refer to Later Goguryeo as Goryeo.
With the rise of Goryeo, which annexed Later Baekje and Later Silla, the Korean Peninsula was reunified under Goryeo rule. The Goryeo Dynasty lasted 475 years, and in 1392, Yi Sung-gye overthrew the Goryeo Dynasty and established the Joseon Dynasty, and the Korean Peninsula entered the Joseon Dynasty of the Lee family.
The Joseon Dynasty was a vassal state of the Ming and Qing dynasties of China, and maintained close suzerain-vassal relations with the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Wanli period, Japan invaded the Korean Peninsula, and the Ming Dynasty sent troops to help repel the Japanese army, and the Joseon Dynasty was even more grateful to the Ming Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, the Korean Peninsula was under the strict control of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1882, the Korean Peninsula was in turmoil, and the Qing Dynasty intervened and brought Dayuanjun to China where he was imprisoned for 3 years. In 1884, the Jiashen coup d'état occurred on the Korean Peninsula, the pro-Japanese faction tried to seize power, and the Qing Dynasty sent Yuan Shikai to lead the Qing army to quell the rebellion.
Second, Japanese aggression. By the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, the Qing Dynasty was defeated and forced to give up suzerainty over the Korean Peninsula. Since then, the Korean Peninsula has become a Japanese colony. In 1897, Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty proclaimed the establishment of the Korean Empire and changed his name to Emperor. With the establishment of the Korean Empire, "Korea" officially appeared on the stage of history as a national name. In 1910, Japan forced the Korean Empire to sign the Japan-Korea Merger Treaty, and Japan annexed the entire Korean Peninsula.
Third, it is geographically close to China. After the merger of Japan and Korea, Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty was placed under house arrest by Japan for a long time, and after the death of Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty in 1919, some people with lofty ideals began to seek to overthrow Japanese rule and achieve independence. However, at that time, the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese control, and China and South Korea were geographically close and had very deep historical ties, so these people with lofty ideals came to China.
On April 10, 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established in Shanghai and the Provisional Charter of the Republic of Korea was adopted. At that time, China was also under strategic threat from Japan, so it was relatively supportive of the establishment of a provisional government in Korea. Especially after the September 18 Incident in 1931, Japan stepped up its aggression against China, and China began to provide more convenience for the Korean Provisional Government. In 1937, after the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance against Japanese aggression, the Nationalist government moved to Chongqing, and the Korean Provisional Government moved to many cities in China, and later moved to Chongqing. After the victory in World War II in 1945, the Korean Provisional Government completed its historical mission and moved back one after another. In 1948, the Republic of Korea was proclaimed in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, referred to as South Korea.