Gwangju Student Independence Movement
Students during the Japanese colonial period joined the March First Movement in 1919. And again in 1926, they launched the June Tenth Movement on the occasion of the state funeral for Sunjong, the last Korean Emperor. The Gwangju Student Independence Movement, which began in November 1929 in opposition to discriminatory education policy enforced by Imperial Japan, also spread across the country and continued until March 1930. Presently in Korea, the day when the Gwangju Student Independence Movement began, November 3, is celebrated as Student Day every year.
Members of Seongjinhoe, a Secret Student Organization in Gwangju
Seongjinhoe was a secret student organization formed in November 1926 in Gwangju. The name Seongjin means “Awaken and move forward.” Students opposed the discriminatory nature of Imperial Japan's education policy through unified boycotts of classes and other means, and led the Gwangju Student Independence Movement in 1929 together with reading clubs organized at each school.
Korean Compatriots in Cuba Who Sponsored the Gwangju Student Independence Movement
1930. 2. 27. | The Sinhan Minbo
The Gwangju Student Independence Movement lasted from November 1929 to March 1930, and more than 54,000 students participated. This news reached Korean expatriates all the way in Cuba. Those working at sugarcane farms at the time held a rally and raised $100 to support the students.
Women's Independence Movement
During the Japanese colonial period, Korean women joined the men in working towards national independence. They participated in the March First Movement and formed women's organizations to improve political and social consciousness. They took care of family members who were independence activists, as well as the rest of their families, and raised money to support the independence movement as a whole. In some cases, they participated in the “Uiyeol” struggle and even by joining the Korean Liberation Army, risking their own lives.
Executives of the Korean Patriotic Women's Association
The Korean Patriotic Women's Association was formed in October 1919 and engaged in such activities as delivering military funds to the ROK Provisional Government in Shanghai or took care of imprisoned independence activists. Marked no. 8 in the photo is Kim Maria(1892~1944), who led the group. She defected to China in 1921 and was elected as the first female member of the Korean Provisional Congress the following year.
Yu Gwan-sun's Prison Record Sheet
This is one of many prison records containing information on independence activists imprisoned at Seodaemun Prison in Seoul. Yu Gwan-sun(1902~1920) is a female independence activist well known to Koreans. On April 1, 1919, when she was only 17, she led the March First Movement in her hometown of Byeongcheon, Chungcheongnam-do Province. For this reason, she was sentenced to three years in prison and died there the following year.
