"What is the March 1st Movement?"

Years ago when one of my colleagues from England asked this question, the immediate reaction inside my head was ‘How could you not know? You live here…!' 

Knowing of course, that I was being too harsh on someone who came to live only temporarily in Korea, I quickly gave the shortest account I could to summarize the day that hails the national spirit and blamed the ignorance partly to not enough English references in the country, as visitors here occasionally complained at the time.

This, however, doesn't change the fact that the March First Movement is a big thing in Korea. Exactly 89 years ago in 1919 people who could no longer stand the iron-fisted rule of Japan since the annexation nine years previous decided to launch a peaceful demonstration on March 1st for the world to see and understand Korea's cry for liberation.

Things didn't go as planned. On the day the 33 nationalist leaders were put behind bars while the crowd awaiting them at the Pagoda Park on Jongno-gu Street, downtown Seoul went ahead with the peaceful march anyway. As the movement spread from region to region,
Japanese military police resorted to violent measures and opened fired on the public.

After some 7,000 deaths, the imprisonment of over 45,000 and wounding of many more, Koreans had to admit it was naïve to have taken at face value U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's declaration of "self-determination" of nations two months earlier that seemingly guaranteed the independence of weaker nations.

Nonetheless the movement became a turning point for Koreans to seek more realistic measures to fight back the oppressors. A provisional government was established in Shanghai in April 1919 where many independence fighters began their operations.

In October, 1949, four years after Korea's liberation, March 1st was designated a national holiday to commemorate the courageous demonstration of national spirit.

Patriots in the media 

“Did you hoist the Taegeukgi flag today?”

That means “good morning” on the day of March 1st. One will hear plenty of it through televisions and radios for the day. Special documentaries and feature programs especially for this day will air.

This year, History Channel will air a two-part documentary called the “Memories of Arirang” at noon on Saturday and Sunday. The first part will study the root of the word “Arirang” a Korean traditional folk song in China, Japan, Mongolia and other nations of Northeast Asia. The second part will focus on what the song came to mean during Japanese colonial times and how the song can be reborn to symbolize Korea in this global era.

The Korean Broadcasting System, one of the major channels will introduce historical figure Choi Jae-hyeong (1858-1920), one of the hidden patriots in Russia, who helped An Jung-geun (1879-1910) the independence fighter to assassinate Ito Hirobumi (1841-1910) the first prime minister of Japan who played a pivotal role in Japan's annexation of Korea. 

New books on Japanese colonial times have also hit the store. Korean-Japanese scholar Park Gyeong-sik's (1922-1998) record of the forced draft of Koreans in the colonial period, which caused a sensation in Japan back in 1965, has finally arrived in a full translation in Korea.

A collection of writings by a group of 18 scholars from both Korea and Japan has also been released to delve into conflicting views of history and propose a new framework for Korea-Japan relations.

Other books coming out include one by Shim Jeong-seop, 65, from Gwangju, who will trace the activities of the traitors of the country in opposition to independence fighters. “I think there will be people who feel ashamed once the book is out,” he said in his interview with the daily Chosun Ilbo. He has gained over 2,000 sources on hidden independence activities and another 3,000 on pro-Japanese activities over the past 40 years.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs  will posthumously award an additional 66 independence fighters including those who founded the independence movement overseas in Russia, Indonesia and other places.

Taegeukgi, the national flag

Interested in purchasing a Taegeukgi? It can easily be bought, but if you're in Korea, try waiting until the approach of the national day and you might get one for free.

On Tuesday in Myeongdong Street, Shinhan Bank employees, together with student volunteers gave out a total 1,200 flags to passersby.

Their only condition “Please hoist the flag on March the First.” The bank has been giving out free flags since 2004 in various popular streets in Seoul.

Local government offices are also distributing free flags.

Hail the freedom of the country at home and abroad

Could we even fathom the noble spirit of people who waved flags in front of the bullets? We can only try. Celebrating the 89th anniversary, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans announced it would sponsor a massive revival of the “Manse (hurrah)” movement with an allotted budget of 300 million won.

The grand bell will ring in Bosingak (belfry) in the capital city and the cheering of “manse (hurrah)” will sweep through all 51 regions nationwide.

The first manse movement will take off at Awunae Marketplace in Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong Province) with the participation of some 2,000 people. That's where the teenage female patriot, Yu Kwan-soon (1902-1920), took part in the movement. It will then spread from region to region, headed by civic groups, memorial committees, local cultural centers and others.

The March First revival activities will be expressed in various forms according to the region including torchlight marches, ancestral rituals, street festivals and theatrical performances that include the depiction of the Japanese army. A more light-hearted commemoration ceremony will include face painting of Taegeukgi and Taegeukgi puzzle games. 

“The movement to revive the scene began in 1999 at the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the independence movement participated by 15 regions,” a ministry official said. “The scale is growing larger every year with 51 regions volunteering to take part this year.”

For more entertainment, tourists are encouraged to visit Insadong Street of Jongno-gu Seoul where some 1,500 students will march with a giant flag. The Seodaemun Prison History Hall  will also host a manse event from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All are welcome. One can also go through the experience of being imprisoned together with reconstructed torture devices by request.

Korea's Independence Hall at Cheonan-si, Chungchengnam-do is another must-see site, which also has special programs galore, including visit to the famous Awunae Marketplace and folk plays.


By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net staff writer