• The Journal of Korean Medical History
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.31-46
• /
• 2021

Shin Hong-Gyun and his family have been in medicine for many generations as Korean Medical Doctors (KMDs). In 1919 when Shin Hong-Gyun was participating in an independence movement in Jang-Baek-Hyun, his younger brother Shin Dong-Gyun was killed by Japanese military police forces. This tragic incident triggered Shin Hong-Gyun to establish an army for national independence called , holding 200 young men, to serve in armed struggle against the Japanese Government with Kim Jung-Geon in May, 1920. In March 1933, Shin Hong-Gyun, as a military surgeon, led his men to the Korean Independence Army to fight a battle. Once he became a member of the Korean Independence Army, he, in fact, participated in few battles: Sadohaja, Dong-Kyung-Sung, Deajeonjayeong. Daejeonjayeong was a waypoint that the Japanese military needed to pass through in order to reach the Wangcheong area. Shin Hong-Gyun's independence forces had to endure painful starvation and heavy rain while hiding in ambush for long periods of time until the Japanese military would appear. Due to its summer rainy season, rainwater overflowed into their trenches and was filled up to the waist. Even worse, food stockpiles were low and the Japanese army did not appear for longer time. Shin Hong-Gyun's entire team suffered severe hunger and extreme cold. At this critical moment, Shin Hong-Gyun used his expertise as a KMD to find edible black mushrooms that grow wild in the mountains and use them to feed his men. This event led to the victory of the independence army at the battle of Daejeonjayeong. The purpose of the paper is to inform and highlight the forgotten history of Shin Hong-Gyun who was, both, a Korean Medical Doctor and a military surgeon.