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Patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-soon (December 16, 1902 - September 28, 1920) was born as the second daughter among three sons and two daughters in an ordinary family in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. She was transferred and admitted to the second year of ordinary-level class at Ewha Academy in around 1914, and then proceeded to the first year of high-level class at Ewha Girls School in 1918. In those years, Ewha Academy's independent organization known as Imunheo (以文會) invited prominent social figures to give lectures on current affairs, and encouraged the students to be independent and self-reliant and instilled them with a love of their country and their people.

The March 1st Movement and the Aunae Marketplace Rally

On March 1, 1919, Yu Gwansun organized a group of five and participated in the March 1st Movement in person. On March 5, she and her friends climbed over the school walls and participated in the student group's joint demonstration, against the instructions by the school authorities. She was then caught by the police, but released soon afterwards. As the independence rallies intensified day by day, the Imperial Government of Japan issued an order to close schools across the country on March 10. Yu Gwansun returned to her hometown and prepared the Aunae Marketplace Rally in Cheonan.

Avoiding the Japanese police that were intent on keeping watch on residents in the wake of the March 1st Movement, Yu Gwansun took on the liaison role and discussed the planning of the rally with the representatives of neighboring villages. And she took time out of her busy schedule to work hard with her cousin Yuye on making Korean flags for the rally. On April 1, 1919, the day slated for the rally, Yu Gwansun handed out the Korean flags at the entrance to the Aunae Marketplace. At 1 p.m., she and village elders stood at the head of the crowd, shouting for the independence of Korea and waving the Korean flags, and marched toward the Japanese MP. Then there was a bloody chase between the angry crowd and the Japanese MP.

According to the judgment, thousands participated in the rally that day, of whom nineteen were killed on the spot and about thirty injured by the MP's gun or sword, and sixteen were brought to trial. Yu Gwansun's parents were also shot to death on the spot that day. The Japanese MP suffered no single casualty. The physical damage done to them was no more than broken windows and cracked walls in the MP substations.

A three-colored knit hat for infants made by patriotic martyr Yu Gwansun for her cousin once removed.
This is her only remaining article.

Cheering for the Independence of Korea Even in Prison

Yu Gwansun was sentenced to five years in prison by the Gongju Court and three years in prison by the Seoul Court. Her uncle Yu Jungmu and Cho Inwon advised her to appeal to a higher court, but she refused to the end, saying, "Everywhere in our country is prison." From the day she was incarcerated in Seodaemun Prison, she cheered for the independence of Korea every day whenever she had the time to do so, and was brutally tortured.

At 2 p.m. on March 1, 1920, Yu Gwansun waged a rally in prison on the occasion of the first anniversary of the March 1st Movement. Once Yu Gwansun began cheering for the independence of Korea in her cell (Cell No. 8), the other cells followed suit. The sounds of their cheers reached outside over the prison walls. There were so many people rushing in upon hearing the sounds that they caused a traffic jam. Yu Gwansun died of brutal torture, only a few days before her release from prison.

Her classmates from Ewha Academy, chipping in on new clothes, hairpins and shoes, had prepared a welcome-back ceremony for Yu Gwansun, who was scheduled to be released from prison on the special occasion of the Korean Crown Prince's wedding, only to find that she came back as a cold dead body. Her body was buried in the Itaewon Cemetery by her family and her classmates from Ewha Academy. But her grave was moved to the Miari Cemetery as Japan developed the area as a military camp. Her remains were lost in the process. An empty tomb for her was established at the foot of Maebongsan Mountain behind the house where she was born. Yu Gwansun received the most severe punishment of all those who were punished for the rally at that time. This shows how great her resistance was, and it means that she played a leading role in the rally.