Volta
Person1854 – 1908

Heo Wi

Military chief of the Thirteen-Province Righteous Army who led its vanguard to within 30 li of the capital; executed at Seodaemun Prison

He raised a righteous army at Gimsan (now Gimcheon) in Gyeongsang during the Eulmi uprisings. He later served as an official of the Korean Empire but resigned in protest against Japanese encroachment. After the army was disbanded in 1907 he rose again in Gyeonggi, and when the righteous armies united as the Thirteen-Province Righteous Army he became its military commander. In January 1908 he led the vanguard to just outside Dongdaemun, but the main force did not arrive in time and the Japanese drove him back. Captured that year, he was the first person executed at Seodaemun Prison.

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2 related events

  1. 1907 – 1909Jeongmi Righteous Armiesmilitia leader

    Against Gojong’s forced abdication and the army’s disbandment, righteous armies joined by former soldiers rose across the country; the struggle became a war, and the Thirteen-Province Army attempted to march on Seoul.

  2. 1
    1908Thirteen-Province Righteous Army’s March on Seoulmilitia leader

    Some 10,000 righteous army fighters from across the country gathered at Yangju as the Thirteen-Province Army and advanced on Seoul; Heo Wi’s vanguard came within 30 li of the East Gate before being driven back.

People who appear alongside

  • Yi In-yeong1868 – 1909

    Commander-in-chief of the Thirteen-Province Righteous Army; executed in 1909

  • Sin Dol-seok1878 – 1908

    Commoner righteous army leader who rose at Yeonghae in 1906 and fought in the eastern mountains, called the "Tiger of Taebaeksan"

  • Hong Beom-do1868 – 1943

    Commander of the Korean Independence Army who won at Bongo-dong and fought at Cheongsan-ri; died in Kazakhstan