Role in the independence movement
Diplomatic activity
Jo So-ang served roles in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The Government was established in exile in Shanghai on April 13, 1919, following the Japanese suppression of the March First Movement. The interim government resisted Japan's colonial rule of Korea and supported the Korean independence movement. In the midst of dividing political alliances, Jo So-ang remained loyal to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and was elected as their secretary and diplomatic correspondent. Making him in charge of the interim government's remittances, propaganda, and public relations work. In May 1919, Jo traveled to Europe in order to attend the International Socialist Conference to appeal international support and recognition for South Korea's independence movement. In March 1921, after attending the Communist Party Congress in Moscow, Russia, he returned to Beijing with critical views on communism. Jo would incorporate his views and experience with communism when writing his political theories and teachings.Legislative activity
In 1930, based on his " Three Principles of the Equality" Jo So-ang wrote up a draft establishing what is renowned as a national and social democracy. He argued that in order to achieve social democracy, equality between individuals, equality between ethnicities, as well as the equality between nations must be attained. Following this principle, he suggested that to acquire equality amongst individuals it must be through immediate political equality such as free and equal elections. Next, in his theory, he advocated for the equality between ethnicities. Equality between ethnicities would be achieved through equal economic developments and equal educational opportunities. For the betterment of the nation as a whole, Jo so-ang presumed that the political system should be based on a parliamentary democracy in which the execution of the assimilation of lands, production of facilities/institutions, along with a mandated educational regime should be held at the expense of the socio-economic system. In 1941, not long after the "Three Equality Principles" was accepted by the Korean Provisional Government, the theory became known as the "Fundamental Governing of National Reconstruction". Not only did his theories guide the Korean Independence Party during the occupation, but also served as the main foundations of legislation for the country post-liberation.Death
So-ang passed away in 1958 at age 71.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jo, So-ang 1887 births 1958 deaths Hongik Ingan Liberalism in South Korea Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) So-ang Three Principles of the People Members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea 20th-century South Korean politicians March First Movement people Burials at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery