Korean Declaration Of Independence

The Korean Declaration of Independence () is the statement adopted by the 33 Korean representatives meeting at Taehwagwan, the restaurant located in what is now Insa-dong, Jongno District, Seoul on March 1, 1919, four months after the end of World War I, which announced that Korea would no longer tolerate Japanese rule.

As reported by the New York Times in 1919, "Korea has proclaimed its independence. What was formerly the Hermit Kingdom, in this, the 4,232 year of its existence, declares through a document signed by thirty-three citizens the liberty of the Korean People"

This was the beginning of the March First Movement, which was violently suppressed by Japanese authorities, as well as the cornerstone of the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government one month later. Nearly thirty years later, Korea's true independence came after the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II.

Drafting and development

The development of a Korean Declaration of Independence started after the heads of the Christian and Cheondogyo independence movements combined their efforts for Korean Independence out of solidarity that it was something that concerned the entire Korean race. Initially, the Christian leaders elected to write a petition of two or three hundred influential persons to send to the Japanese government as they felt that the Korean people may not view them as qualified individuals to declare independence. However, when the movements were combined, it was decided both a petition and Declaration of Independence would be developed to help portray a stronger expression of their desire for self-determination, an idea from the Paris Peace Conference that played a role in the declarations content.

The leaders in the creation of the declaration realized that this had not been the first attempt at a Korean Declaration of Independence, as students in Tokyo had recently published the February 8 Declaration of Independence. The February 8 Declaration focused heavily on the outrage and frustrations of Koreans by primarily focus on the deceits and lies that led to Korea's annexation as well as presenting a long history of deceptions committed by Japan against Korea. Ideas relating to liberty, justice, and peace would carry over directly to the Korean Declaration of Independence developed for the March First Movement. The biggest difference that the drafters wanted to establish between the two, however, would be that the Korean Declaration of Independence would be a lot more moderate and emotionally detached in the presentation of its content.

Choe Nam-seon was the primary drafter of the document. He believed that the document had to be moderate in content and peaceful in its appeal in order to be successful in gaining sympathy from Japan and the powers meeting in Versailles. He believed that the world would welcome Korean independence as long as the declaration came off as Koreans simply wanting their country to be free again rather than because they were anti-Japanese. While he didn't actually sign the document, he was jailed for 2 years as a result of his involvement in its creation. Han Yong-un, a Buddhist reformer, was responsible for the creation of the Three Open Pledges located at the end of the document. He also offered to rework the declaration, but this offer was declined by the other leaders of the movement. Son Byong-hi, a Cheondogyo leader, also had heavy influence and prominent leadership over the document and the entire independence movement as well due to his finances and organized network of followers in Korea. It was at Son Byong-hi's house that the plan of distributing, signing, and reading the declaration was created.

Religious involvement in the movement

All of the signees of the March 1st Declaration of Independence were religious leaders. Under normal circumstances, the Christian and Cheondogyo religions took different approaches to the Japanese occupation of Korea. The idea of the Declaration was brought about by Christian religious leaders who wanted to start a non-violent protest of the Japanese occupation of Korea. While Cheondogyo leaders generally wanted to take a more militant approached to the Japanese occupation, they thought it was in the best interest of Korea to form an alliance with the Christian leaders. Together, they prioritized a non-violent approach to proclaim their liberty through the March 1st Declaration. Due to this alliance, the 33 signees were broken up into three religions. 16 Christian leaders, 15 Cheondogyo leaders, and 2 Buddhist leaders signed the Declaration. After the signing of the Declaration, all of the signers were charged with crimes and arrested.
"After Ham had consulted for some time with Kil, the two agreed to gather together all religious and social groups in the country. They emphasized, however, that the method of the Movement was to be non-violent." This quote speaks to the foundation that religion had in the March 1st movement.

Printing

The printing of the Korean Declaration of Independence occurred at Cheondogyo run printing shop called Boseongsa, where approximately 21,000 copies of the declaration were printed the day before distribution. It is believed that during the printing process of the declaration, a high-ranking dective from the Jongno Police Station by the name of Shin Cheol raided Boseongsa and discovered the printing of the declaration. Shin Cheol stopped the press, removed the Declaration of Indepdence in front of Lee Jong-il, the president of Boseongsa, examined what it was, and then left. It is believed that when Lee Jong-il reported this to Choi Rin, and Choi Rin then invited Shion Cheol to dinner and gave him money for his silence. There are conflicting accounts whether or not Shin Cheol received the money as Japanese records state that he did, while Korean records state that he did not. Regardless, Shin Cheol remained silent and this incident is believed to be the reason why the date of the protest was changed from March 3 to March 1.

Signing and reading

In total, there were 33 signers of the Korean Declaration of Independence consisting of 16 Protestant Christian leaders, 15 Cheondogyo leaders, and 2 Buddhist leaders. The declaration was read and proclaimed at 2 P.M. on March 1, 1919, at Myŏngwŏl'gwan Restaurant nearby Pagoda Park, Seoul in order to avoid violence from erupting between gathering crowds of Korean students and responding authorities.Shortly after the reading ended around 4 P.M., the room was stormed by the authorities and all those involved in the signing and reading were arrested. Papers were distributed in Pagoda Park to inform the masses that independence had been declared and the signers were arrested and taken to Cogno Police Station. The paper requested that Koreans avoid violent and destructive acts in response as it would harm the movement and go directly against the wishes of the signers.

Text

From a transcript of the First Korean Congress:

Legacy

Since the Korean War, the South Korean Government has given out medals to commemorate people who worked towards Korean Independence. Many of the 33 signers of the March 1st Declaration of Independence received medals for their independence efforts. These medals are given out by the Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Many were lifelong freedom fighters, contributing to the effort for Korea to gain independence from Japan.

There are two categories of these independence awards. The first category is for people who died as a result of their resistance while protesting at home and abroad against Japan's invasion of national sovereignty. Some signers died due to the brutal condition of Japanese prisons and earned this award for being a patriotic martyr. The second category is for Korean patriots who did not die during their independence work and includes many March 1 Declaration Signers as well. These people are known as persons of merit for independence.

References

External links

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Declarations of independence
March 1919
1919 in Korea
1919 documents
Korean independence movement
March First Movement