Chi Ch'ŏngch'ŏn

Chi Ch'ŏngch'ŏn (Korean: 지청천; Hanja: 池靑天; 25 January 1888 – 15 January 1957), also known as Yi Ch'ŏngch'ŏn (이청천; 李靑天), was a Korean independence activist during the period of Japanese rule (1910–1945). He later became a South Korean politician. His name was originally Chi Sŏkkyu, but he took the nom de guerre Chi Ch'ŏngch'ŏn, meaning "Earth and Blue Sky", while leading Korean guerrilla forces against the Japanese. To hide his identity from Japanese forces while conducting military independence activities, he also used the names Chi Taehyŏng, Chi Subong, and Chi Ŭlgyu. His pen name was Paeksan, meaning White (Bright, Clear, Snowy) Mountain.

He was a 1914 graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy; however, he defected to the Korean guerrilla forces in 1919, bringing with him knowledge of modern military techniques from his experience as a lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. His skills were appreciated by the Korean guerrilla forces, who made him the superintendent of the Sinheung Military Academy, where new leaders of the Korean forces were trained.

In 1940, he became the commander-in-chief of the Korean Liberation Army, sponsored by the Chinese Nationalists. During the Second World War, he invited General Hong Sa-ik, the highest ranking Korean officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, to defect and join the Korean Liberation Army, but the invitation was declined.

Following Korea's liberation, he served as a member of the South Korea's National Assembly. He died in 1957, and was posthumously honored by the government of South Korea with the Order of Independence Merit for National Foundation in 1962.