백범 김 구 Kim Koo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If God asked me what was my wish, I would reply unhesitatingly,
"Korean independence."
If He asked me what was my next wish, I would again answer,
"Our nation's independence."
If He asked me the same question for the third time, I would reply in an even louder voice,
"My wish is our Great Korean Nation's Complete Independence."
My dear compatriots!

 

I, Kim Koo, have but this one wish.

I lived the past 70 years of my life because of this one wish,

and even now I am living my present life for this one wish.

In the future, I will also live in order to fulfill this one wish.

 

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I hope that our nation's young people, both male and female,

will abandon the small and narrow thoughts of the past

and become conscious of our people's great mission

so that they will make it their joy of life to cultivate their minds and to increase their strengths.

If all our young people exert their efforts in this direction with this spirit,

I am sure that, within 30 years, our people will have become great beyond all recognition.

 

 

 

 

 

My political philosophy, summed up in one word, is freedom.

The nation that we establish must be a nation of freedom.

 

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What distinguishes freedom from what is not freedom is

from where the law originates that binds the individual's freedom.

In free nations, the law springs forth from the people's free will.

In nations without freedom,

it comes from a certain individual or a class of individuals among the people.

When a nation's laws are issued by a single individual,

the nation is said to be a totalitarian or an autocratic state.

When they are mode by a single class,

this is called a class dictatorship or what is popularly known as fascism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I want our nation to become the most beautiful nation in the world..

I do not want our nation to become the richest and powerful nation in the world.

Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation.

I do not want my nation to invade others.

It is sufficient that our wealth is such that it makes our lives abundant

and our military strength such that it is able to repel others' invasion.

The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is

the power of a highly-developed culture.

This is because the power of culture both makes ourselves happy

and gives happiness to others.

 

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I do not desire that our nation become a nation that imitates others.

Rather, I desire that it become a nation that becomes the origin, the goal,

and the model of this highly-developed and novel culture.

I desire that a true world peace is fulfilled in,

and because of, our nation.

I believe that this is the very humanitarian ideal of Dan-gun,108

our national founding father.

 

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A nation's happiness certainly does not come from class struggles,

and an individual's happiness does not come from selfishness.

Class struggles give birth to endless class struggles which stain the land with blood.

If I hurt others out of selfishness, the entire world will hurt me out of selfishness.

This, indeed, is getting little only to lose far more.

The retaliation that Japan suffered in the War is the best example

proving the validity of this principals on national and international levels.

 

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I can only pray, therefore, that all educators and students under the heaven

will realize the importance of this and reform their minds accordingly.

 

 

 

 

http://www.kimkoomuseum.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

백범 김구 Kim Koo