The Study On Korean Students In Beijing During The Period Of Beiyang Government (1912-1928)

This paper focused on Korean students who studied aboard in Beijing during the period of Beiyang Government,and analyzed the relevant historical materials of modern China,Japan and Korea,using positivist methods to investigate Korean students,in order to elucidate their situation and significance of studying abroad in Beijing during this period.As the capital of the early Republic of China,Beijing had convenient transportation and numerous universities.During the period of Beiyang Government,the higher education in Beijing made a certain breakthrough not only in quantity but also in quality,which became the beginning of modern universities in China.In addition,after the establishment of the Beiyang Government,the implementation of educational reforms,such as allowing the establishment of private universities and carrying out new educational regulations,have made Beijing a better study environment for overseas students.And due to the influence of the March First Independence Movement in 1919 and the phenomenon of 'Eager to Learn',some Korean youths who are eager to accept new ideas came to Beijing to study.In the 1910s,there were about 20 Korean students in Beijing,and the number of Korean students in Beijing began to increase gradually after the March First Independence Movement in 1919 and the May 4th Movement.In 1922,due to the abolition of the travel certificate system required to come to China,entering and leaving China was freer,the number of Korean students in Beijing increased to approximately 100.After the Kanto earthquake in 1923,the Japanese army slaughtered Korean students studying in Japan,which causes large surges in the number of Korean students coming to China.However,after that,under the influence of the second Zhi-Feng War in 1924 and the establishment of the National Guangdong University to attract foreign students,Korean students in Beijing began to show a decreasing trend.Therefore,by 1927,the number of Korean students studying in Beijing was reduced to about 40.During the period of Beiyang Government,Korean students in Beijing mainly studied at National University Peking University,private universities Minguo University and Pingmin University,and Catholic University Yenching University,and also in Beijing Normal University and Beijing Industrial School and some other universities.According to the graduation status of Korean students in Beijing,their academic status was not optimistic.Most of them dropped out of school due to various reasons such as participating in the independence movement,economic reasons and warlord wars.In addition,with the increase in the number of Korean students studying in Beijing,Korean student groups had been established one after another,and their organizational activities had become increasingly active.Compared with other regions,Beijing had a larger number of the Korean student groups.In the 1910s,influenced by missionaries,some religious groups were established,like the Beijing Young Men's Christian Association,wearing a religious coat,but in fact they participated in the national movement.In the 1920s,social relief groups,for instance,the Korean Painful Students'Association,national movement groups such as the Beijing Korean Students'Association,as well as interest activity groups such as the Beijing Korean Sports Association,they all took part in the historical stage one after another.Relying on some student groups,Korean students published newspapers,magazines and other publications to publicize nationalism,socialism and other ideas,which inspired the Koreans'awareness of anti-Japanese and revolutionary consciousness,and contributed to the national movement.However,some of these publications had been postponed or discontinued soon,which also illustrated the limitations of Korean students'participation in the national movement.In short,as an important part of the modern Korean society in Beijing,the Korean students during the Beiyang Government are of great significance to our understanding of the Korean modern society in Beijing.Through this paper,we can get a general understanding of the actual situation and ideological trends of Korean students in Beijing during this period,which provides an important perspective for understanding the modern history of Korea.