This month’s design celebrates the life of Shin Chae-ho (신채호), Korean historian, journalist, novelist, independence activist and anarchist, who was born on 7 November 1880. Shin had been Korea’s most prominent journalist, writing for Hansong News and Dae Han Daily, and he drafted the Korean Revolutionary Manifesto put out by the Band of Heroes anti-colonial combat organisation. Shin’s writings highlighted the relationship between destruction and creation:
“The revolutionary path begins at destruction, thus opening up new ways for progress. However, revolution does not stop at destruction. There can be no destruction without construction; no construction without destruction… In the mind of the revolutionist, these two are indivisibly linked: destruction, ergo construction”.
These ideas of progress in the form of continuous deconstruction and reconstruction inspired the musician and graphic artist Conny Ochs to create the new T-shirt of the Month design with the slogan “Deconstruct to Reconstruct”.
Shin was also well known for his idiosyncrasies. For example he was known to wear, at least occasionally, women’s underwear, as he thought it was “beautiful”. When he washed his face, he would always end up splashed with water because he was using his hands to splash the water from the sink up to his face in an upright position. When asked why this happened, he responded: “Because I refuse to lower my head for anyone till the day I die!”
Shin was eventually arrested by Japanese colonial police and was sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour for belonging to a secret organisation which led to his death in prison in 1936. He was trying to set up an Oriental Anarchists League with individuals in Beijing and Manchuria, which was also under Japanese occupation. In 1945, Shin’s comrades in Shanghai set up a publishing house called the Shin Chae-ho Study School, publishing historical and theoretical works until it was shut down by the Communist Party government in 1949.
This month’s design can be ordered on black t-shirts as well as black hoodies.
Estimated date of shipping
January 10, 2024
Estimated delivery time
Estimated delivery time for Germany, the EU, UK and Switzerland is on average 4-7 days from the date of shipping . USA and rest of the world is 7-14 days on average from the date of shipping.
