고종 측근 심상훈과 제천지역 의병운동과의 연관관계

Shim Sang-hun and the Righteous Army in Jecheon

Shim Sang-hun, who was a most trusted person by the King Kojong, is worth remembering in the history of the national independence movement before the demise of Taehan Empire with his efforts to protect Kojong’s sovereignty and independence of Choson, both in central government and in local area during the period between Imo Soldiers’ riot and the collapse of Taehan Empire. He was a moderate reform-minded official, though regarded as a die-hard conservative by some radical reformists and conservative scholars. The characteristics and limitations of his national independence movement are as follows. First, he participated in the Righteous Army Movement in a indirect way, in which he supported its activity behind the line rather than fighting on battle fields because he was very politically influential as a entourage of the King Kojong. The most important activity he conducted was to deliver a secret letter of the King to those who were out of office, which granted the justification of their activity. Second, he contributed, though limitedly, to the outbreak of the Righteous Army Movement in Jecheon by mobilizing the large-scale Righteous Army troops in alliance with those out of office, encouraging uprising of the Righteous Army Movement in neighboring areas where he sent a secret letter or a encouraging letter of the King, and spreading the Righteous Army Movement by recruiting the Righteous Army soldiers widely and extensively. Third, his Righteous Army Movement features a political nationalistic movement varying forms as to the times with at first trying to protect the King’s sovereignty by driving out Japanese Imperialism and pro-Japanese groups and later protect independence of Choson as well as the King’s sovereignty by removing pro-Japanese officials and Japanese military troops. But, the motivation of his participation in the Righteous Army Movement was completely different from other groups in a sense that he, power-oriented, was motivated by his self-interest while the conservative scholars were motivated by the defense of Neo-Confucian social structure, the enlightened scholars by the expulsion of the Japanese Imperialism and pro-Japanese groups and the mass by their sustenance. Forth, The reason why Shim Sang-hun took alliance with those out of office, although he had realized that the movement by those was destined to fail due to their lacking of military power, organizational skills and military fund against the overwhelming military strength of the Japanese troops shown in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, was to stir up a save-the-nation movement in Seoul and utilize it to seek refuge for the King Kojong in a foreign legation or to make the Western powers intervene in the Japanese aggressive policy toward Taehan Empire. Lastly, he contributed to modernization of Jecheon, where the conservative scholars were very influential, by spreading the wave of enlightenment though his political stage was in Seoul, because he, a cousin of the King Kojong and the most influential figure in Jecheon during the end of Choson, stayed there when the political situation was unstable in Seoul.