Soon after, he advanced to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. At that time, there were several students from the Empire of Korea enrolled at the military academy, and with the shock of the 1910 annexation of Korea by Japan, a few left the Academy to join in the movements for Korean independence, but most followed the lead of Ji Cheong-cheon, who argued that they should leave to fight only after having studied and developed their skills. A few, such as Hong, attempted to stay aloof from either movement, and largely parted ways with his classmates.