Date 4 June 1937 | Location Pochon-up, North Korea | |
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Similar Battle of Qingshanli, General Sherman incident, Donghak Peasant Revolution | ||
The Battle of Pochonbo was an event which occurred in northern Korea on 4 June 1937 (Juche 26), commanded by Kim Il-sung (or possibly Choe Hyon), during the anti-Japanese armed struggle in Korea. The battle holds an important place in North Korean narratives of history.
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Battle
According to pro-North Korean sources, the battle was in retaliation to the brutality of the Japanese occupation of Korea at a time when "the Japanese imperialists perpetrated unheard-of fascist tyranny against the Korean people." Kim Il-sung crossed the Amnok River and arrived at the Konjang Hill on 3 June 1937. At 22:00, Kim Il-sung fired a shot into the sky, and the battle started. During the battle, the Japanese-occupied police station, post office, foresters' office and fire department hall were destroyed by the northern Korean army.
Kim Il-sung subsequently made a speech, where he noted that the Korean people "turn out as one in the sacred anti-Japanese war." The battle is featured in Kim Il-sung's autobiography With the Century. In it, too, Kim describes his guerrilla troops acting spontaneously and motivated by emotion rather than reason and strategic insights. In it, he said of the event:
The Battle of Pochonbo showed that imperialist Japan could be smashed and burnt up, like rubbish. The flames over the night sky of Pochonbo in the fatherland heralded the dawn of the liberation of Korea, which had been buried in darkness. The Pochonbo Battle was a historic battle which not only showed to the Korean people who thought Korea to be dead that Korea is not dead but alive, but also gave them the confidence that when they fight, they can achieve national independence and liberation.
The news of the battle was reported in numerous newspapers across the world, including the Soviet Union, China, Japan and France.
Battle site
The battle site is situated at Pochon County, Ryanggang Province at the Kusi Barrage on Kojang Hill.
According to Ken Kato, a researcher and human rights activist:
Kim Il-sung's legitimacy came from propaganda that he fought against Japan, symbolised by the Battle of Pochonbo [...] Schools in North Korea teach children that the battle was a glorious victory against Japan led by Kim Il-sung.
Legacy
On 15 August 1945, the DPRK was officially liberated from Japan on V-J Day. According to the Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK:
Another historic significance of the Battle of Pochonbo was that it demonstrated at home and abroad a sure will of the Korean revolutionaries, who pioneered the revolution with arms and would advance it by dint of arms. The battle was an ordinary raid, which combined the use of small arms and a speech designed to stir up public feeling. However, that small battle made a great impact on the world because it showed the truth that the armed imperialists and colonialists should only be fought with arms to emerge victorious in the revolution for national liberation.