Korean Independence Movement Day is Today!
In the Koreas, people celebrate March 1st as an official holiday known as the March First Movement, Samil Independence Movement Day, or the Manse Demonstrations.
The day marks the tipping point in Korean history during the Japanese occupation, which was March 1st, 1919. This day does not mark when Korea became independent. That didn’t happen until August 15th, 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces ending World War II.
Korea didn’t gain independence until 26 years after Independence Movement Day. But Koreans still recognize March 1st for being the catalyst for unifying the country in rallying openly against the Japanese occupation.
Why March 1st?
March 1st was the commemoration day for the late Korean Emperor Gojong. He died on January 1st. And the Korean people speculated that Japanese officials poisoned him.
The late emperor had proclaimed a Korean Empire equal and independent of China in 1897 and kept trying to re-assert his sovereignty over Korea during the Hague Peace Convention of 1907. Thus, Koreans recognize as a hero to Korea for trying to establish an independent state.
The Korean people organized an attempt to rebel and re-establish independence after Emperor Gojong’s suspicious death. The Japanese had already been ruling for almost a decade!
What Happened on March 1st?
On March 1st, 1919, 33 Korean cultural leaders and activists wrote a Declaration of Independence and organized a mass peaceful demonstration in Seoul. The declaration was read aloud by Chung Jae-yong, who was just a student, in Tapgol Park. It was simultaneously read by other activists aloud across the country in an effort to unify the Korean people against their oppressors. And it worked in inciting nationwide protests which were violently suppressed by the Japanese.
Of course we know that the Independence Movement didn’t ultimately work to regain independence. Like I said earlier, that didn’t happen until 1945. But it did lead to the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai on April 13th, 1919.
How do Koreans celebrate Independence Movement Day?
There is a reading of the 1919 Declaration of Independence every year in Seoul’s Tapgol (or Pagoda) Park.
And, the Mayor of Seoul and other dignitaries ring the bell in Bosingak, Seoul 11 times in three groups of four people for a total of 33 times. This 33 is in reference to the cultural leaders/heroes mentioned earlier who drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1919.
Many died in those protests and today we recognize their sacrifice and heroism. They faced impossible odds and yet fought for what they believed to be just and right – “that all people may be free from bondage”.
Manse! Hooray for Korea! Hooray for Independence!
Do you celebrate Independence Movement Day? What do you do? Share in the comments!