Kim Ji-seop (1884~1928) was a Korean independence activist, .
He worked as a teacher at Sangju Elementary School, served as a clerk and interpreter at Geumsan District Court, and also worked at the Sangju branch office of Kim Eung-seop’s law firm.
After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Kim resigned from his job and returned to his hometown to discuss independence activities with Kim Won-bong, Gwak Jae-gi, and Kim Si-hyeon.
He participated in the March 1st Movement in 1919 and fled to China in 1920. In 1922, he joined the Heroic Corps (Uiyeoldan). In 1923,
Kim attempted to smuggle 36 bombs from Shanghai to Seoul to destroy Japanese facilities in Korea.
However, the plan was discovered due to the actions of a Japanese spy named Hwang Ok, leading to the arrest of three comrades, while Kim fled to Shanghai. In 1924, upon hearing about the massacre of Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake, he planned to assassinate high-ranking Japanese officials attending the Imperial Diet in Tokyo.
He carried three bombs, departing from Shanghai on December 20, 1923, and arriving in Fukuoka on December 31, with the help of Kobayashi Kanichi. He infiltrated Tokyo on January 3, 1924, but after reading a newspaper article that the Imperial Diet was indefinitely postponed, he changed his plan to throw the bombs at Nijubashi in the Imperial Palace.
On January 5, he attempted to enter the palace and threw the bombs, but all three failed to explode, leading to his arrest.
He was incarcerated at Ichigaya Prison and later transferred to Chiba Prison. His sentence was reduced to 20 years in 1927, but he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in prison on February 20, 1928.
Kim Ji-seop’s “Yeongsanjae” can be translated into English as “House with an Outstanding Mountain.
