Newsletter

The manse movement that shouted for independence began to spread like wild fire on March 1, 1919. The movement in which all people took part, regardless of age, status, and gender, went beyond Korea and even spread abroad. This year’s new series, “Looking Back on the March 1st Movement,” introduces new stories and facts that have not been generally known in connection with the March 1st Movement and that shook the whole country 100 years ago.

Patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun seemed to come alive this year with the occasion of the centennial of the March 1st movement and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. This is because Yu Gwan-sun is the very symbol and epitome of the March 1st Movement. Therefore, a growing number of media outlets, symposiums, and special events have been shedding light on Yu Gwan-sun. In particular, A Resistance, a film inspired by Yu Gwan-sun, was released in late February and generated fairly positive reactions. It was a low-budget movie but attracted a nearly 1.15 million-person audience. The government also conferred the top-ranked “Republic of Korea Medal,” which is higher than the previous Order of Merit for Grade 3 Independence Medal, on the movie in honor of patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun. This honor would have been impossible to receive without the specific occasion of the centennial of the March 1st Movement.

Using Data to Trace the Path of Patriotic Martyr Yu Gwan-sun

Yu Gwan-sun was born in Byeongcheon (Aunae), Cheonan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province, in December 1902, and her short life ended when she was only 18 in September 1920. Her name is so familiar to us, but how well do we know her? Why did patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun resist Japanese imperialism so fiercely? While reviewing representative data, it is important to contemplate this question. First of all, let us go over major parts of the Gyeongseong Court of Review’s (now Seoul High Court) sentencing of Yu Gwan-sun that was disclosed 10 years ago.

“Defendant Yu Gwan-sun, a student at Gyeongseong Women’s College, having seen Son Byong-hi and others fight for Joseon’s independence, and engage in the independence movement by announcing the Declaration of Joseon Independence and forming organizations in Gyeongseong on March 1 of Taisho’s 8th Year (1919), returned to her hometown on March 13. She then planned a protest fighting for Joseon’s independence at the market to take place in Byeongcheon (Aunae), Galjeon-myeon, Cheonan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province, carried a homemade Taegeukgi (Korean flag), rushed to the market around 1 p.m. on the same day, and disturbed the peace by taking part in mobs of thousands of people fighting and shouting for independence, joining in the independence movement, and waving the Taegeukgi.”

“Military police at a police substation in Byeongcheon tried in vain to restrain the mobs and opened fire, resulting in numerous casualties; Yu Jung-gwon and Yu Jung-mu, father and elder brother of defendant Yu Gwan-sun, respectively, were victims… defendants Yu Jung-mu, Yu Gwan-sun, Kim Yong-i, Jo In-won (father of Jo Byeong-ok), and Jo Byeong-ho led the crowd… defendant Yu Gwan-sun grabbed and shook the chief of the military police substation in Byeongcheon and clung to his chest…”

As seen through this sentencing, patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun led the Byeongcheon protest movement on April 1, 1919, with father Yu Jung-gwon, uncle Yu Jung-mu, and so on. In particular, her father Yu Jung-gwon and mother Lee So-jae were killed by Japan’s military police and the whole family, including her uncle Yu Jung-mu and cousin Yu Ye-do, took the initiative in participating in the manse movement.

Parents Killed Amid Intensifying Struggle

Yu Gwan-sun was finally captured with Yu Jung-mu, as the leaders of the independence movement in Byeongcheon, and taken to the bureau of prosecutors in Gongju. There she met her elder brother Yu U-seok who was arrested for participating in the protest movement in Gongju-eup on April 1, as a student representative of Yeongmyeong School in Gongju – what a fate. As Yu Gwan-sun’s parents died and Yu Gwan-sun and uncle Yu Jung-mu were imprisoned, her grandfather Yu Yun-ki became sick due to shock. Yu Yun-ki died on June 16, 1919, two months later, at the age of 75, resulting in a great tragedy to the family of Yu Gwan-sun. It was very rare that three generations of a family were victimized because of participation in the March 1st Movement.

After being sentenced to five years in jail at the Gongju District Court for violating the security law, Yu Gwan-sun defied the decision and lodged an appeal with the Gyeongseong Court of Review. She was incarcerated in Seodaemun Prison after it was finalized that she would be imprisoned for three years. Considering that national leader Son Byong-hi was handed a three-year jail sentence, her lower-court sentence was considered very severe. She continued to fight for independence, even in prison, carrying out protests on the first anniversary of the March 1st Movement with Eo Yun-hi and Park In-deok. In the end, she died for the country in prison at the age of 18 on September 28, 1920, following a stringent prison life and being tortured and abused by guards. Although her prison term was changed to a year and a half due to the pardon issued in April that year, she died three days before being released.

We can understand the background of patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun’s fierce struggle through these facts. Japanese authorities, especially Japan’s colonial rulers like the Government-General of Joseon, became Yu Gwan-sun’s “bitter enemy.” Her parents and grandfather died and her uncle, elder brother, and cousin took part in the March 1st Movement, longing for independence and freedom.

March 1st Movement, Women’s Cries for Freedom

Frederick Arthur McKenzie, a journalist at Britain’s London Daily Mail who witnessed the March 1st Movement, wrote Korea’s Fight for Freedom to inform the world about the Korean’s fight for independence, as they risked their lives for the cause. He devoted chapter 17 of his book to “Girl Martyrs for Liberty” in order to describe girl students’ and women’s participation in the March 1st Movement in detail.

McKenzie stated, “The most dramatic scenes of Korea’s independence movement were of girls’ and women’s participation.” Recording girl students’ active participation in the protests, he described their protests in detail: “Girls exiting from school canvassed the whole town, staging protests.”

Girl students’ and women’s participation in the March 1st Movement was notable. Yu Gwan-sun was even more notable. She took part in the protest movement in front of Sungnyemun in Seoul on March 5, 1919 and returned to her hometown with hidden copies of the Independence Declaration, after Gyeongseong Women’s College was temporarily closed, to lead the independence movement there.

Yu Gwan-sun! Regardless of the centennial of the March 1st Movement, it is necessary to fully notice and ponder her name, life, and the meaning of the March 1st Independence Movement.