Li Jong-am's photo on Dec. 19, 1926, edition of Dong-A Ilbo newspaper / Courtesy of Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) named Li Jong-am, Lee Kang-hoon and Eom Soon-bong as the independence fighters of October.

Born in 1896 in Daegu, Li attended Shinheung Military Academy, a school in Manchuria that gave military training to young Koreans who would later fight to liberate Korea from Japanese colonial rule.

Along with Kim Won-bong and other independence fighters, Li founded the Heroic Corps, or "Uiyeoldan," which carried out actions like assassinations of Japanese officials and bombings of government offices as part of independence movements.

In 1925, he secretly returned to Korea to finance independent movements, and sought refuge in Dalseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, but was arrested by Japanese police in November of that year on charges of attempted murder and other crimes, resulting in a 13-year prison sentence. While serving his sentence, he suffered serious illness due to being torture by his captors and passed away in May 1930.

The government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation Independence Medal in 1962.

Lee Kang-hoon / Courtesy of Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

Lee Kang-hoon was born in Gangwon Province in 1903 and served as a secretary for the Korean Provisional Government in 1920. He served as an instructor at Sinchang School in 1926 near Mount Baekdu on the North Korean-Chinese border, where he promoted a sense of national spirit among young people for the liberation of their homeland.

While attempting to assassinate Japanese Minister to China Akira Ariyoshi, he was arrested in 1933 and imprisoned in Tokyo, Japan. He was released in 1945 when Korea regained its independence.

After liberation, Lee worked as the Vice Chairman of the Korean Residents Union in Japan and returned to Korea in 1960. He became a member of a progressive party called the Korean Society Party but was arrested again in 1961 over suspect ideology and spent another two years in prison.

Following his release, Lee served in several key posts on history committees associated with the independence movement and was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation Independence Medal in 1977. From 1988, he served as the 10th and 11th Chairman of the Heritage of Korean Independence for five years and passed away in 2003 at the age of 100.

Eom Soon-bong was an independence activist and anarchist who was born in Yeongyang County, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1906. He sought refuge in Manchuria in 1923 and participated in the independence movement in the early 1930s as a member of anarchist groups, including the Namhwa Korean Youth Federation.

During this period, he assassinated a Japanese spy Lee Jong-hong in 1933 and other pro-Japanese figures including Ok Gwan-bin and Yi Yong-ro.

After being arrested, he was tortured before being sentenced to death by a Japanese court in Seoul in 1936. In April 1938, he was executed at Seodaemun Prison at the age of 33. The government posthumously honored his dedication by awarding him the Order of Merit for National Foundation Independence Medal.

The MPVA has been naming independence activists for each month to honor the movement and the legacy of those who participated in it.