March 1st Movement

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March 1st Movement
Hangul:	삼일 운동
Hanja:	三一運動
Revised Romanization:	Samil Undong
McCune-Reischauer:	Samil Undong

The March First Movement, or the Samil Movement, was one of the earliest displays of the Korean independence movements during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The name refers to an event that occurred on 1 March 1919, hence the movement's name (literally meaning "Three-One Movement" in Korean). It is also sometimes referred to as the Mansei Demonstrations.

The inspiration for the Samil Movement came from the repressive nature of Japanese policies under its military administration of Korea following 1905, and the "Fourteen Points" outlining the right of national "self-determination" proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1918. After hearing news of the Wilson’s speech, Korean students studying in Tokyo published a statement demanding Korean independence. When this statement reached the underground nationalist movement in Korea (which included 33 Cheondogyo, Buddhist and Christian leaders including Son Byong-Hi), the leadership decided that the time to act was nearing. Secret plans were drawn up and information disseminated by word of mouth throughout the towns and villages of Korea.

The timing of the uprising was scheduled for two days before the funeral of Emperor Gojong. From a Korean point of view this funeral brought to an end not only the Joseon Dynasty but also one of the last symbols of the Korean nation. With the death of their last reigning Emperor, many Koreans felt that the last remaining link to the time they had a independent nation was now lost, and that Korea’s fate now lay solely in the hands of the Japanese.

At 2 PM on the 1 March 1919, the 33 nationalists who formed the core of the Samil Movement convened at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul, and read the Korean Declaration of Independence that had been drawn up by historian and writer Choe Namson. The nationalists initially planned to assemble at Tapgol Park in downtown Seoul, but they chose a more private location out of fear that the gathering might turn into a riot. The leaders of the movement signed the document and sent a copy to the Japanese Governor General, with their compliments. They then telephoned the central police station to inform them of their actions and were arrested afterwards.

Despite of the nationalist’s concerns, massive crowds assembled in the Pagoda Park to hear a student, Chung Jae-yong, read the declaration publicly. Afterwards, the gathering formed into a procession, which the Japanese police attempted to suppress. According to reports issued by the Korean Yon-Hap news agency, the crowd was fired upon by the officers and "…more than 7,500 demonstrators were killed and about 16,000 wounded. Some 47,000 others were arrested by the Japanese police".

Coinciding with these events, special delegates associated with the movement also read copies of the independence proclamation from appointed places throughout the country at 2 PM on that same day, but the nationwide uprisings that resulted were also brutally put down by the Japanese police and army.

However, these protests continued to spread, and as the Japanese national and military police could not contain the crowds, the army and even the navy were also called in. There were several reports of atrocities. In one notable instance, it was reported that Japanese police in the village of Jeam-ri herded male protesters into a church, locked it, and burned it to the ground.

By the end of the months of protests, Japanese officials declared that 553 people were killed with over 12,000 arrested. However, Korean and most neutral sources counted 7,500 killed and 45,000 arrested.

Before the Japanese finally suppressed the movement 12 months later, approximately 2,000,000 Koreans had participated in the more than 1,500 demonstrations.^[1]

One consequence of the March 1st movement was that it marked a major change in Japanese imperial policy towards Korea. Japanese Governor-General Hasegawa Yoshimichi accepted responsibility for the loss of control (although most of the repressive measures leading to the uprising had been put into place by his predecessors), and was replaced by Saito Makoto. Some of the aspects of Japanese rule considered most objectionable to Koreans were removed. The military police were replaced by a civilian force, and limited press freedom was permitted under what was termed the 'cultural policy'. Many of these lenient policies were reversed during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

The March 1 Movement was a catalyst for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in April 1919.