March First Movement in Korea
In August 1910, Imperial Japan officially forced the nation to give up its sovereignty and began ruling Korea as a colony, with guns and swords. On March 1, 1919, Koreans, who had suffered under Imperial Japan’s harsh rule, declared, “Korea is an independent state and Koreans are independent people!” and shouted, “Manse! For independence!” in seven cities, including Seoul. The March First Movement continued across the country until the end of May, and even continued abroad, with men and women participating from all walks of life and all social ranks.
Manse Demonstration in Front of Gyeongungung Palace, Seoul
1919. 3. 1.
This photo captured Koreans walking with their hands held high and shouting “Manse!” in front of Gyeongungung Palace(today’s Deoksugung) in Seoul on March 1, 1919. It was taken by Frank W. Schofield(1889~1970), a Canadian who came to Korea in 1916 as a medical missionary. He helped the world learn of the March First Movement. “Koreans risked their lives to shout for freedom on the day,” he recalled. “I will never forget that day.”
March First Declaration of Independence
1919. | State-Designated Heritage
This is a written declaration of Korea’s independence in the name of 33 national representatives distributed on the day of the March First Movement in 1919. It consists of text explaining the legitimacy of independence, three pledges of action, and the names of 33 representatives. On February 27, just before the planned protest, 21,000 copies were printed. The typo, in which the nation's name, 朝鮮(Joseon) was written backward 鮮朝 on the first line, tells us of the urgency of the situation in the midst of constant Japanese surveillance to prevent any such anti-Japanese activity.
March First Movement Abroad
As the news of the March First Movement in Korea spread outside the country, the campaign continued overseas. Koreans living in China's West and North Jiandao, Russia's Primorsky Krai, the United States mainland and Hawaii, Mexico, and other countries declared Korea’s independence and paraded on the streets to let the locals know of their people’s fervent desire to regain Korea’s national independence.
The First Korean Congress March in Philadelphia, USA
1919. 4. 16.
This photo shows the First Korean Congress, held from April 14 to 16, 1919 in Philadelphia. Some 150 people, including both Koreans and Americans, attended the meeting to declare their support for the Korean people's aspiration for freedom and the legitimacy of Korean independence. On the last day of the congress when this photo was taken, they carried the Korean national flag and marched through the streets to Independence Hall, where they recited the March First Declaration of Independence and gave three cheers to wrap up the event.
The Declaration of Korean Independence
1919. | State-Designated Heritage
This is a written declaration of independence made by the Korean Ladies' Relief Society, organized by Korean women who had moved to Hawaii, then a possession of the United States. Decorated with Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, and mugunghwa(rose of Sharon) on the top, the symbols of the Republic of Korea, it features the March First Declaration of Independence in the middle, and another document about establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea at the bottom. A total of 3,000 copies were printed and the proceeds are said to have been used to fund independence efforts, including assistance for those punished by Imperial Japan for participating in the March First Movement.
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
After announcing the Korean people's desire for independence to the world through the March First Movement in 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established in Shanghai, China on April 11 the same year. The ROK Provisional Government began popular sovereignty and democratic republicanism in Korea, and continued to serve as the supreme organization of the independence movement for 27 years until the nation’s liberation in 1945.
Photo of the ROK Provisional Government and Korean Provisional Congress members, Gathered to Celebrate New Year’s
1921. 1. 1.
This photo was taken against the backdrop of large Taegeukgi flags after 59 members of the ROK Provisional Government and the Korean Provisional Congress(equivalent to Today’s National Assembly) held a New Year's celebration. The gathering includes President Syngman Rhee(1875~1965) in the middle on the second row, as well as other major figures. This photo was taken on the rooftop of the Yongan Department Store in Shanghai, China, which remains to this day.
First Issue of the Shanghai Edition of The Independent
1919. 8. 21. | State-Designated Heritage
Tongnip sinmun(The Independent) was an organ of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and published in Shanghai, China from August 1919 to November 1926. Printed in both the Hangeul alphabet and Chinese characters, it vividly covered the overall situation of the independence movement and the Korean struggle, including the activities of the provisional government as well as the trends of the independence movement at home and abroad. It was reissued in Chongqing, China in 1943 and published until 1945.
