By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Bardise Eldeeb from Egypt
Cartoon = Bardise Eldeeb

On March 1 every year, Koreans celebrate March First Independence Movement Day, and this year marks the centennial anniversary of this historic event. My handmade toy and its cute friend shown above are also celebrating the occasion by holding the Korean flag Taegeukgi.

So what was the movement about?

Koreans in 1919 banded together to resist and protest Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The movement was started on March 1, 1919, and is known in Korean as Samiljeol (March 1 Day). It was also dubbed the "Manse Demonstration."

Japanese colonial rule was harsh on Koreans. Many were forced to do labor, faced discrimination and received a far lower quality of education than the Japanese. Despite the suffering Koreans endured during Japanese occupation, the Korean language survived despite Japanese attempts to eradicate it.



Japan put teachers of Korean out of work as part of the Japanese objective to eliminate the Korean language and culture. Thus Koreans were forced to use Japanese instead of Korean and faced heavy punishment for violating this rule.

As a lover of the Korean language, I cannot imagine life without Korean. Language is crucial to a nation and its people, culture, history and tradition, and this is why Koreans strived to preserve their mother tongue. Though they were forced to learn and speak Japanese, they never forgot their native language and taught it to their children.

For those truly interested in Korea, learning the language is a must to attain a better understanding of the country's history and culture. Though books on Korea are available in English and other languages, reading a work in the author's original language makes it 100 times more understandable.

And as a foreigner, I'm glad that Korean still exists, as it was one of the main things that attracted me to Korea, and this is true for many other non-Koreans who learn the language.

Thanks to the language, I got to know about the March First Independence Movement and other historical events. Thus Koreans deserve kudos for preserving their language in the face of heavy oppression.



wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.