Choi, Ik-hyun, who was born at Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do in 1833 and studied under Lee, Hang-ro, settled down at Jeongsan, Cheongyang-gun, Chungnam in 1900 after being in government office. He settled in Cheongyang for the purpose of seeking the ties with Min, Jong-sik who had settled here previously. Choi, Ik-hyun established the strategy for righteous soldiers’ struggle against Japan here and in 1906, he went down to Honam to raise righteous soldiers at Taein.
Min, Jong-sik was born of good ancestry at Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, and entered government service. After retiring from the post in 1895, he settled down at Jeongsan, Cheongyang-gun. His moving to Cheongyang was attributable to the regional ties that his father formerly held the post of governor of Chungcheung-do.
Min, Jong-sik had mapped out a scheme for an anti-Japanese struggle and finally formed a united front by calling in Choi, Ik-hyun, a powerful leader in an anti-Japanese fight. Considered together, it is judged that Choi, Ik-hyun and Min,Jong-sik formed a mutual consent in the process of developing righteous soliders’ struggle.
The leaders of righteous soldiers at Jeongsan including Choi, Ik-hyun established the strategy for righteous soldiers’ struggle in a big frame. In other words, they established the strategy through which they intended to develop an anti-Japanese fight by raising an anti Japanese righteous soldiers and setting up a mutually united front simultaneously in connection with several patriots in southern and central district. According to the fighting strategy like this, Choi, Ik-hyun went down to Honam, and raised the righteous soldiers by gathering mobilizing country-loving patriots there while Min, Jong-sik raised Hongju righteous soldiers by mobilizing anti-Japanese forces of Chungcheong district. In addition, Kwak, Han-il and Nam, Kyu-jin who studied under Choi, Ik-hyun, carried out liaison work between the two camps. Meanwhile, they dispatched literary persons to Yeongnam district to plan an uprising and encouraged raising righteous soldiers by sending letters to various places. However, their schemes were inadequate to raise righteous soldiers. From this point of view, Cheongyang district has a great significance in that it was the place of origin where the two armies of righteous soldiers having an important meaning in righteous soldiers’ war history in the late Joseon, or Choi, Ik-hyun’s Honam righteous army and Min, Jong-sik’s Hongju righteous army rose.