March First Movement

March First Movement
Hangul 삼일 운동 Hanja 三一運動 Revised Romanization Samil Undong McCune-Reischauer Samil Undong

The March First Movement, or the Samil Movement, was one of the earliest displays of Korean independence movements during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The name refers to an event that occurred on 1 March 1919, hence the movement's name (literally meaning "Three-One Movement" in Korean). It is also sometimes referred to as the Mansei Demonstrations.

Background

The Samil Movement stemmed from the repressive nature of Japanese policies under its military administration of Korea following 1905, and was inspired by the "Fourteen Points" outlining the right of national "self-determination" proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919. World War I had paved the way for relationships between colonizer nations and their colonies to be radically changed and Korean activists leading figures everywhere felt a new hope.

In December 1918 and January 1919 Korean students in Tokyo met underground, discussed independence, and selected a leadership of ten people including Choe Pal-yong. The Association of Korean Students in Japan declared Korean independence at the Korean YMCA building in Tokyo, but police dispersed them. Again on February 23, organized as the Korean Youth Independence Corps the students demonstrated in Hibiya Park. In China the New Korea Youth Party was organized in 1918, and sent Kim Kyu-shik the Paris Peace Conference to appeal for Korean independence. Syngman Rhee, who had emigrated in 1911 to head a Christian school in Hawaii (he later became South Korea's first president), hoped to join them from the US in 1918. Washington, however, had acquiesced to Japan's 1910 annexation of Korea and refused to allow him to travel for fear of angering Tokyo. Rhee wrote to President Woodrow Wilson in Paris and asked for Korea be put under trusteeship of the League of Nations.

Korean students studying in Tokyo published a statement demanding Korean independence. When this statement reached the underground nationalist movement in Korea (which included 33 Cheondogyo, Buddhist and Christian leaders including Son Byong-Hi), the leadership decided that the time to act was nearing. Secret plans were drawn up and information disseminated by word of mouth throughout the towns and villages of Korea.

The timing of the uprising was scheduled for two days before the funeral of Emperor Gojong. From a Korean point of view this funeral brought to an end not only the Joseon Dynasty but also one of the last symbols of the Korean nation. With the death of their last reigning Emperor, many Koreans felt that the last remaining link to the time they had an independent nation was now lost, and that Korea’s fate now lay solely in the hands of the Japanese.

Events

At 2 PM on the 1 March 1919, the 33 nationalists who formed the core of the Samil Movement convened at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul, and read the Declaration of Independence that had been drawn up by the historian/writer Choe Namson and the poet Manhae, also known as Han Yongun. The nationalists initially planned to assemble at Tapgol Park in downtown Seoul, but they chose a more private location out of fear that the gathering might turn into a riot. The leaders of the movement signed the document and sent a copy to the Japanese Governor General, with their compliments. They then telephoned the central police station to inform them of their actions and were arrested afterwards.

Despite the nationalists' concerns, massive crowds assembled in the Pagoda Park to hear a student, Chung Jae-yong, read the declaration publicly. Afterwards, the gathering formed into a procession, which the Japanese police attempted to suppress. According to reports issued by the Korean Yon-Hap news agency, the crowd was fired upon by the officers and "…more than 7,500 demonstrators were killed and about 16,000 wounded. Some 47,000 others were arrested by the Japanese police".

Coinciding with these events, special delegates associated with the movement also read copies of the independence proclamation from appointed places throughout the country at 2 PM on that same day, but the nationwide uprisings that resulted were also brutally put down by the Japanese police and army.

However, these protests continued to spread, and as the Japanese national and military police could not contain the crowds, the army and even the navy were also called in. There were several reports of atrocities. In one notable instance, it was reported that Japanese police in the village of Jeam-ri herded male protesters into a church, locked it, and burned it to the ground.

By the end of the months of protests, Japanese officials declared that 553 people were killed with over 12,000 arrested. However, Korean and most neutral sources counted 7,500 killed and 45,000 arrested.

Before the Japanese finally suppressed the movement twelve months later, approximately 2,000,000 Koreans had participated in the more than 1,500 demonstrations.

Effects

One consequence of the March 1st movement was that it marked a major change in Japanese imperial policy towards Korea. Japanese Governor-General Hasegawa Yoshimichi accepted responsibility for the loss of control (although most of the repressive measures leading to the uprising had been put into place by his predecessors) and was replaced by Saito Makoto. Some of the aspects of Japanese rule considered most objectionable to Koreans were removed. The military police were replaced by a civilian force, and limited press freedom was permitted under what was termed the 'cultural policy'. Many of these lenient policies were reversed during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

The March 1 Movement was a catalyst for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in April 1919.

On May 24, 1949, March 1st was designated a national holiday in South Korea.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York: W.N. Norton and Company, 1997.
• Han, Woo-keun. The History of Korea. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1988.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics

External links

• Full text of Samil Proclamation of Korean Independence
• Further explanation including Japanese actions and photographs
• Torture Murder of a Teenage Girl, Yu Kwan-soon
• The Jeam-ri Massacre

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