In the heart of Taichung, at the intersection of Minquan (People’s Rights) and Ziyou (Freedom) Roads, stands a modest monument commemorating the 1928 assassination attempt by Korean independence activist Cho Myeong-ha. The site reflects on the complex and intertwined histories of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
In the 1920s, both Taiwan and Korea were Japanese colonies, and resistance movements arose in both regions against Japanese imperial rule. Known by the Japanese colonial government as the “Taichung Disrespect Incident,” this event took place on May 14, 1928, when Cho attempted to assassinate Japanese Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi in front of what is now the Taiwan Cooperative Bank. Cho, just 23 years old, left behind his wife and child in Korea and stayed in Taiwan for months to prepare for the act.
The assassination failed. Following the incident, the Japanese colonial government suppressed information about it to prevent further unrest. The event had political consequences, with several Japanese officials resigning in its aftermath. Cho was swiftly arrested, trialed, and sentenced to death. He was executed in October of the same year, and his remains were buried in Taipei. The prince, reportedly injured in the attack, returned to Japan, where he died months later of unrelated causes.
The Cho Myeong-ha Incident was largely forgotten in Taiwan until 2018, when the Taichung City Government erected a trilingual monument in Mandarin, Korean, and English at the site. Beyond Taichung, statues of Cho also stand in Seoul Grand Park and at the Korean School in Taipei, commemorating his role in Korea’s independence movement.
