''Korea Review'' () was a monthly journal published in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It was founded by Philip Jaisohn (

Soh Jaipil Seo Jae-pil (; January 7, 1864 – January 5, 1951), better known by his English name Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean Americans, Korean American politician, physician, and Korean independence movement, Korean independence activist. He was the fi ...

) in 1919 and published by the Korean Students League of America alongside the Korean Information Bureau. The journal was printed in English to inform Americans about the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

. As Philip Jaisohn and Homer Hulbert were friends, it is likely that Jaisohn titled his 1919 publication as an homage to Hulbert. ''Korea Review'' ceased publication in 1922, just a few years after its formation. However, its campaign to win support for Korean independence succeeded in strengthening organizations like the League of Friends of Korea and in bringing Japanese aggression to the attention of American politicians.

Political background

Koreans wanted the support of the American public because many believed that their government failed to honor an agreement with Korea. In 1882, the United States signed the Shufeldt Treaty, which established a friendly relationship with Korea and promised support in the event of an attack. When Japan annexed Korea in 1910, some Korean politicians petitioned the U.S. government, arguing that they were obligated to help under the treaty signed just decades prior. Despite multiple attempts, the American government did not intervene on behalf of Korea, and the Japanese had control of the nation until their surrender to the Allied forces of WWII in 1945.

History

The first issue of ''Korea Review'' was printed in March 1919, but founder Philip Jaisohn had been planning the journal since 1918. He had long been seeking to reform Korea—in 1884, he participated in the

Gapsin Coup The Kapsin Coup, also known as the Kapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating ...

, which sought to eliminate social distinctions and legal privileges for the upper classes. After its failure he fled to America, where he earned a medical doctorate and met his wife Muriel Armstrong. Seo Jae-pil and Muriel Armstrong in 1895

Seo Jae-pil and Muriel Armstrong in 1895

He returned to Korea in 1895, again hoping to change the consciousness of the people, this time by spearheading various peaceful reform movements, sharing

Wilsonian Wilsonianism, or Wilsonian idealism, is a certain type of foreign policy advice. The term comes from the ideas and proposals of United States President Woodrow Wilson. He issued his famous Fourteen Points in January 1918 as a basis for ending Wor ...

ideals, and advocating for Korean

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

. In 1898, he moved back to the United States, where he began to focus on American support for Korean independence. Korea Review 1920 cover

On March 1, 1919, a nation-wide nonviolent protest occurred in Korea. During this event, now known as the

March 1st Movement The March First Movement was a series of protests against Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese colonial rule that was held throughout Korea and internationally by the Korean diaspora beginning on March 1, 1919. Protests were largely concentrated in ...

or Sam-il Movement, a declaration of independence was read in Seoul, and people gathered at over 1,000 other sites to object to Japanese colonization. In support of this movement, Jaisohn organized the

First Korean Congress The First Korean Congress was a conference in support of the independence of Korea, then a colony of Japan. It was convened by Soh Jaipil, Philip Jaisohn in Philadelphia from April 12 to 14, 1919 in the Plays and Players Theatre, Little Theater ...

, a three-day event in Philadelphia attended by Koreans and Americans. The Congress petitioned President Wilson and "released a number of tracts that outlined the Korean message to the world" including appeals to Christianity and a desire for global peace. Jaisohn also helped start the League of Friends of Korea, which eventually grew to over 10,000 members in 21 cities including the United Kingdom. Jeong HK and Seo JP and Syngman Rhee in Philadelphia 1919

Jeong HK and Seo JP and Syngman Rhee in Philadelphia 1919

Content

The motto of ''Korea Review'' was "truth enlightens the world" and the journal focused on encouraging Americans to support Korean independence. Philip Jaison believed that Korea "had been misrepresented in America by the very clever Japanese press bureau, composed of highly educated men and backed by the government." To gain the trust of the American public, ''Korea Review'' focused on three areas: the brutality of the Japanese colonial government, Japan's political ambitions and global politics, and the suppression of Korean Christianity.

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

, the first president of the

Korean Provisional Government The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), was a Korean government-in-exile based in Republic of China (1912–1949), China during Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule over K ...

, was featured frequently in ''Korea Review''. His writing often addressed Japan's illegal occupation and insinuated that the nation would seek more territory on the Asian continent, which could destabilize Japanese-American relations. Students were also a prominent part of ''Korea Review''. Issues printed in 1919 and 1920 had a "Students' Corner" section in the back where Korean students shared their achievements related to the cause of Korean independence or offered their thoughts on Korea's relationship with Japan. The removal of this section of the paper coincided with the removal of the Korean Students League of America as publishers and the shift to a greater focus on economic concerns.

References

{{reflist 1919 establishments in Pennsylvania 1922 disestablishments in the United States Korea–United States relations Korean independence movement English-language journals Korean-American mass media