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People say that a person can survive an abduction by a tiger as long as one remains alert. That being true, a defeated nation may not remain extinct forever as long as its people keep alive their spirit of independence . Consider the independence of Greece; its brilliant success was not achieved overnight. Also consider the independence of Italy; its magnificent achievements are not the work of one individual. For many years, many people worked tirelessly with their pens and voices and shed sweat and blood, cultivating the aspirations of united peoples for independence . Since ancient times, therefore, wise men and women did not seek to become solitary heroes or heroines. Instead, they sought others to become heroes or heroines like themselves by opening the ears and the minds of the people of the whole nation in the hope that everyone would march in the same direction. Alas! At this time when the name of the Korean nation has been altered5 and the Korean people have become slaves, where is the soul of the Korean nation, and where is the spirit of the Korean people? Although the nation has been caught between the foreigner’s teeth, its spirit must be preserved. Now, The Spirit of Independence, written by Mr. Syngman Rhee, has made its appearance; it is a voice that speaks for the first time in the four-thousand-year history of Korea, and it conveys information that is heard also for the first time. The Spirit of Independence was not originally written hastily after our nation had met its demise; rather, it was written at a time when the roar of the cannons was about to fill the air in the harbor of Inch’ŏn at the outset of the Russo-Japanese War. Mr. Syngman Rhee was then in the sixth 27 Postscript year of his incarceration on account of [his involvement in] the political turmoil of 1898. I myself had been released from prison only a few months earlier. [The manuscript] was first shown to fellow prison inmates Chŏng Sun-man, Sin Hŭng-wu [Hugh Cynn], and Yi Tong-nyŏng6 before I was asked for comments. Because I felt unqualified for the task, comments were solicited from Mr. Yi Sang-jae,7 an accomplished scholar, and the manuscript was revised afterward. Alas! Was it because the Korean people were unlucky, or because I had not worked hard enough—a question that I cannot readily judge—that the manuscript had remained unpublished although I had so intended for a long while. I had tried everywhere to raise the substantial amount [for publication costs]. I had brought it over to the United States to publish it without delay, but a series of impediments of one type or another defeated my plans. At the end, I had to return the manuscript to its author . I deserved the blame that I was negligent toward him, and I had no defense against a charge that I had undermined a common interest of fellow compatriots. Nevertheless, a precious jewel cannot stay hidden, and the scent of musk cannot be covered up. Euphonies of this writing resounded everywhere , leading like-minded friends to join their minds and efforts for a year to publish it at long last. On the basis of my past experience, I can well appreciate how difficult it must have been for them. The author, those who publish this book, and I myself share a common regret and concern that the delay in publication may diminish the interest of the readers because of the intervening changes in world events and circumstances. However, because this book refers to many rules of politics and since it compares the rise and fall of our nation with those of others, all its readers will realize, first, that the author had achieved enlightenment ahead of his time, and I also believe that they will embrace the spirit of independence and become independent persons who would be of use to Korea in the future. January of the 4,243rd Year since the Foundation of the Nation [1910]. Pak Yong-man8s 28 The Spirit of Independence ...

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