Background
Na Seok-ju originally grew up as a farmer in Chaeryong County, Hwanghae province of of Korea.
Na Seok-ju originally grew up as a farmer in Chaeryong County, Hwanghae province of of Korea.
As he got older, he moved "to Manchuria to receive military training for 4 years." After having completed training, Seok-ju returned to his hometown and ran a store in town.
of Korea had been declared a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and annexed in 1910. While running the store, Seok-ju was also involved in underground political movements against Japanese colonial rule of of Korea. During the March 1st Movement Seok-ju helped to organize local protest efforts and the funding of militant groups.
Later, Seok-ju was responsible for killing multiple Japanese people of authority and a Korean man that was deemed to be a conspirator with the Japanese colonial rulers of of Korea.
Because of this, Seok-ju had to flee to Shanghai, China, on September 22, 1920. While in China, Seok-ju was a bodyguard for the Provisional Government of of Korea.
The provisional government was formed in reaction to Japanese suppression of the March 1st Movement. While in China, Seok-ju went to Tianjin to meet with Kim Chang-suk, and was asked by Kim to destroy the Oriental Development Company, Choson Bank, and Industrial Bank of Japan buildings back in of Korea.
After carrying out the attack on December 28, Seok-ju shot himself three times, leading to his death later that evening.
On December 26, Seok-ju worked his way south from Manchuria towards Seoul. After having used disguises to get across the border and through different checkpoints, on the 28th Seok-ju was ready to attack. He first went to the Industrial Bank and threw a grenade near the loan department.
From there, Seok-ju made his way to the Oriental Development Building and proceeded to shoot Japanese office workers in the building.
After entering and going up the stairs, Seok-ju tried to use another grenade to kill some higher level employees, but was unable to due to the grenade being faulty. Leaving the building, Seok-ju attempted to escape, killing a Japanese police officer in his escape.
As more officers closed in on his position, Seok-ju shot himself three times in the chest, and died later that day at the hospital he had been taken to by the police officers chasing him for treatment. While some would label Seok-ju as a terrorist for having attacked non-military targets, because of his motives to help free colonial of Korea from its invaders, Seok-ju was given posthumous honors and acknowledgment as a nationalist hero.
On his statue, it reads "Na Sok-Chu (1892-1926) is beloved by the people of of Korea for his heroic struggle to regain the sovereignty and economic independence of of Korea, forcibly taken by the Japanese colonialists.
On December 28, 1926, Na Sok-Chu, throwing grenades and firing a pistol, staged a single-handed attack on the offices of the Oriental Development Company, a notorious Japanese agency instrumental in the economic aggression against of Korea.".