Lee Bong-chang


Lee Bong-chang was a Korean independence activist during the Japanese occupation of Korea. In 1932, he attempted unsuccessfully to assassinate Japanese emperor Hirohito with a hand grenade, which became known as the Sakuradamon Incident.

Biography

Born in Hanseongbu to Lee Jin-gyu, Lee Bong-chang was raised in poverty. He graduated from Munchang Elementary School in Yongsan, later working as a shop clerk and an apprentice railroad engineer. In 1925, he traveled to Japan with his older brother, Lee Beom-tae. He was adopted by a Japanese family in Osaka and took on the Japanese name Kinoshita Shoichi.
In 1931, Lee Bong-chang traveled to Shanghai where he met Kim Gu, president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and a leader in the Korean independence movement. Lee joined the Korea Patriotic Legion, which Kim had organized, and made plans to assassinate Hirohito, the Japanese emperor.
After obtaining grenades, Lee made an oath at Kim Hae San's residence on December 13, 1931, saying: "I do swear, with singleness of heart, to become a member of the Korea Patriotic Legion, which is dedicated to restoring independence and liberty to our fatherland, and to slaughter the enemy's leader." A commemorative photograph was then taken with Lee holding a hand grenade in each hand. He then set off for Tokyo on December 17.
On January 8, 1932 at the Sakuradamon gate of Tokyo's Imperial Palace, Lee Bong-chang hurled a pair of hand grenades at Hirohito. One of Hirohito's guards was injured, but the Japanese emperor escaped harm. Lee was arrested on the spot. He was sentenced to death in a secret trial, and was hanged at Ichigaya Prison.

Legacy

After Korea achieved independence, Kim Gu interred Lee's remains at Hyochang Park, along with those of Yoon Bong-Gil and Baek Jeong-Gi. Their grave site is known as the Graves of the Three martyr. A statue of Lee wielding a hand grenade is also located at the park.
Lee was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962.