The 31st Man

Who is the 31st Man?

My story takes place in the countryside, 220 kilometers south of Seoul, in the mid-thirties. Our township's involvement in what transpired during that period converges with historical events and provides a rare and compelling glimpse into Korea's past.

When I was a young boy, our township's well-respected teacher was known by his alias, "Mr. Kang." He was in fact, a legendary political fugitive, the sole escapee of the famous 31-man rebel group who orchestrated the 1919 nation-wide uprising against Japanese rule. In the aftermath of this event, Mr. Kang had been traveling for nearly 17 years, sometimes as an itinerant poet, other times as a hunter, thus earning a cryptic code name "Tiger Hunter."

One day a rumor surfaced, accusing Mr. Kang of abusing his 14-year-old student, the beautiful daughter of Mr. Hung, township chief. This act supposedly took place in dense fog under the famous Virgin Bridge. As a result, the local waenom ('foreign devil' policeman) put Mr. Kang under surveillance. As we students watched, Mr. Kang challenged the waenom to a fight and he felled the policeman with a single blow. We cheered, of course, and Mr. Kang fled later that day, accompanied by his errand boy Poong Do. The policeman was able to go home unaided, but committed a hara-kiri next day.