Posung Middle School and Hunminjeongeum

The Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty’s signing on August 22, 1910, and its proclamation a week later, heralded the Daehan Empire’s demise. Lee Jongho fled to Vladivostok, accompanied by notable figures Sin Chaeho (1880-1936), Lee Gap (1877-1917), and No Baeklin (1875-1926). Beleaguered by financial difficulties, Posung High Common School came under the Cheondogyo Foundation’s aegis in 1910. However, the school faced renewed crisis when Cheondogyo leader Son Byeonghui (1861-1922) utilized it as an Independence Movement stronghold. Son Byeonghui, one of the thirty-three leaders of the March 1st Movement in 1919, had the school’s principal, Choe Rin, print the Declaration of Independence on the premises. Japan’s severe suppression and interference left the school barely viable.

In 1924, the Central Administrative Headquarters of the Joseon Buddhism Foundation assumed ownership. However, financial catastrophe befell the Buddhism Foundation due to excessive investment in establishing the Central Buddhism Institute (later renamed Hyehwa College). Consequently, Posung High Common School was sold to the Gogye School Foundation. The Gogye School Foundation’s poor financial standing and mismanagement pushed Posung High Common School to the brink of bankruptcy. As the school faced closure under the 3rd Decree on Joseon Education in 1938, Kansong intervened, acquiring it at an exorbitant price from the Gogye Foundation. On June 25, 1940, Kansong established the Dongseong School Foundation to manage Posung High Common School.

While Kansong’s primary motivation in acquiring Posung was to provide higher education opportunities to Joseon people, resisting systemic Japanese efforts to suppress them through enforced ignorance, he harbored a more ambitious vision. He aimed to nurture individuals capable of inheriting and perpetuating Korea’s traditional heritage.

As Oh Sechang inscribed on Bohwagak’s foundation stone, Korea’s first private museum was conceived as a “pontoon bridge” for the nation’s cultural heritage. Having established a base for collecting, studying, and restoring Korea’s traditional culture, Kansong recognized the urgency of cultivating a new generation of talented individuals to carry forward this mission.

His aspiration was to illuminate the excellence of Korean culture for the youth, enabling them to spearhead its renaissance, lay the groundwork for Joseon’s independence, and sustain Korea’s cultural legacy post-independence. Japan’s 1938 abolition of Korean language and Sino-Korean character courses from school curricula, an attempt to deprive Joseon youth of opportunities to learn their history and language, intensified Kansong’s resolve to establish a school expeditiously. This urgency underpinned his willingness to acquire Posung at any cost.

On February 11, 1940, Japanese colonialists mandated the adoption of Japanese names by Joseon people and demanded schools implement “assimilation” curricula. The Japanese authorities likely anticipated with satisfaction the impending closure of Posung High Common School due to financial straits. To their chagrin, Kansong’s unexpected acquisition and stabilization of the school manifested his unyielding resistance against Japan. This act stands as another of Kansong’s remarkable achievements in the educational sphere.

Posung’s survival held particular significance for Kansong. Oh Sechang, whom Kansong revered above all others, had administered the school as Hyeongijang during its ownership by the Cheondogyo Foundation. Moreover, Kansong vividly recalled witnessing Posung High Common School students at the vanguard of the March 1st Movement, their indignation against Japan palpable, during his third year at Eouidong Common School. Post-independence, Kansong unfailingly attended the school’s annual March 1st Movement commemoration, where he recited the Declaration of Independence and led three cheers, exhorting students to emulate their alumni’s indomitable spirit.

Japan’s policy of ethnocide, however, intensified. In August, Japanese authorities forcibly shuttered the Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo daily newspapers. By October, they had established the People’s Mind Alliance as a puppet organization to advance their assimilation policy. As Japanese aggression escalated, Kansong redoubled his efforts to safeguard and advance Korea’s cultural heritage. In spring, while navigating obstacles in his bid for Posung High Common School, he completed the expansion of Hannamseorim Bookstore, creating another avenue for acquiring cultural properties. Such was Kansong’s remarkable capacity

The potential consequences had this unparalleled cultural asset fallen into Japanese hands—the same authorities who had suppressed Hangeul scholars in the Joseon Language Society Incident of February 1942, merely two years after Kansong’s acquisition—are too dire to contemplate. Kansong persisted in collecting rare books and documents, including the sole original copy of the Correct Rhymes of the Eastern State (National Treasure) and the only extant copy of Collection of Zither Scores for the geomungo, or six-stringed Korean zither (Treasure)

The Zhouyi (Book of Changes) posits, “The family that accumulates goodness is sure to have superabundant happiness.” On December 29, 1940, the 35-year-old Kansong welcomed his fourth son, Youngwoo, who would later emulate his father’s dedication to protecting and studying Korean cultural assets as head of the Center for National Art of Korea. Such is the miraculous nature of karmic law.