亞太 商報
Asian Pacific Business Journal WWW.APBJOURNAL.COM
Issue Number 0120
2019 February Issue
1548 W. Alameda Avenue, Suite D, Denver, CO 80223| Tel: 303-733-8888, 303-722-8268, Fax: 303-722-7861| asianpacificbiz@gmail.com
Overlooked No More:
Yu Gwan-sun, a Korean Independence Activist Who Defied Japanese Rule
When a call for peaceful protests came in spring 1919, a schoolgirl became the face of a nation’s collective yearning for freedom. Yu Gwan-sun took an active part in the March 1, 1919, independence movement against Japanese colonial rule in Korea. Dying in prison at 17, she became a national hero. Since 1851, obituaries in The New York Times have been dominated by white men. With Overlooked, we’re adding the stories of remarkable people. SEOUL, South Korea — When a call for peaceful protests in support of Korean independence came in spring 1919, a 16-year-old girl named Yu Gwan-sun became the face of a nation’s collective yearning for freedom. Yu was a student at Ewha Haktang in Seoul, which was established by American missionaries as the first modern educational institution for women in Korea. On March 1, 1919, Yu and four classmates joined others taking to the streets with cries of “Mansei!” (“Long live Korean independence!”) in one of the earliest protests against Japanese colonial rule. Amid the demonstration, the Declaration of Independence — written by the publisher Choe Nam-seon and
signed by 33 Korean cultural and religious leaders — was recited at Seoul’s Pagoda Park. The next day, protest organizers came to Ewha Haktang and encouraged Yu and her peers to join a student demonstration to be staged in three days. On March 5, she and her classmates marched at Namdaemun, a gate in central Seoul. They were detained by the Japanese authorities, but missionaries from the school negotiated their release. The colonial government retaliated quickly, ordering all schools closed on March 10. A few days later, Yu returned to her hometown, Cheonan, about 53 miles south of Seoul in South Chungcheong Province, with a smuggled copy of the Declaration of Independence. She went from village to village spreading word of the Samil (literally “three-one,” or March 1) Movement and rallying local residents to organize their own protests. The movement quickly took hold. Early on April 1, 3,000 people gathered at Aunae, a marketplace in Cheonan. Yu was there, distributing homemade taegeukgi, or Korean national flags, and giving speeches calling for independence. The Japanese military police arrived and fired on the crowd, killing 19 people. Yu’s parents were among the dead. By the time the authorities quashed the protests a few weeks later, an estimated two million people out of a population of 20 million had participated in
Proclamation Marking Korean Independence Movement Adopted in NYS Legislature
On Jan. 15, the New York State Senate and Assembly adopted a resolution to designate March 1, 2019 as a memorial day to mark the centennial of the March 1st Movement, and to honor Yu Gwan-sun’s legacy in the fight for Korea’s independence from Japan. Here are excerpts from The Korea Times’ coverage: On Jan. 15, the resolution introduced by state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky was approved unanimously. ( … ) In the New York State Assembly, the resolution was adopted by Assemblymember Ron Kim, Edward Braunstein, Erik Dilan, Yuh-Line Niou, and Dan Quart. After the resolution was approved, two senators – Stavisky and John Liu – and three Assemblymembers – Ron Kim, Erik Dilan, and Dan Quart – issued a proclamation. ( …. ) Yu Gwan-sun studied at “Ewha Haktang,” the first women’s educational institution in South Korea, which was established by American missionary Alice Sharp. There,
Yu learned American values – freedom, justice, equality and human rights – and stood up against Japanese colonial rule at a young age. Assemblymember Kim said: “I am very grateful that the resolution was adopted. It means that all New Yorkers can learn about the history of the March 1st Movement and the spirit of Yu who devoted herself to peace and human rights in her teens. My long-term goal is to educate public school students in New York City about Korea’s March 1st independence movement.” Nearly 50 Koreans from various associations, the Korean National Assembly delegation composed of Young-sun Park, Kyunghyup Kim, Chang-won Pyo, Dong-sup Lee, and Jin-gyu Ham, and Consul General of South Korea in New York Hyo-sung Park watched the resolution adopted in the chamber of the New York State Capitol in Albany. This resolution will also be delivered to South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
1,542 pro-independence marches, according to Djun Kil Kim, author of “The History of Korea.” More than 7,000 people had been killed, and about 46,000, including Yu, had been jailed. After being convicted of sedition, she was sent to Seodaemun Prison in Seoul. At Seodaemun, Yu demanded the release of other prisoners and continued to express her support for Korean independence. She shouted at her Japanese captors and, with other inmates, organized a largescale protest on the first anniversary of the March 1 Movement. “Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation,” she wrote in prison. “My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country.” She was eventually transferred to an underground cell, where she was repeatedly beaten and tortured for speaking out. “Japan will fall,” she wrote shortly before dying of her injuries on Sept. 28, 1920, at 17. （Article from THE NEW YORK TIMES）
Yu Gwansun Day proclamation On 2/25/2019 at 7:15PM at City Hall(1st floor), City of Aurora