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Remembering an inspiring March 1st Movement

By Alyssa Kang and Jung-Eun Son

The following viewpoint was written on behalf of Korean American United Students for Education and Service (KAUSES).

Nearly eight decades ago today, March 1 became a significant day in Korean history. On this day in 1919, hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life came together calling for national independence from Japanese colonial rule. This movement occurred in the aftermath of World War I, and was inspired by President Woodrow Wilson's famous Fourteen Points speech.

These points called for respect for the self-determination of peoples and the principle of humanism. By promoting the concept of national autonomy at a time when most third world countries were under imperialist rule, Wilson's statement lifted the spirits of these colonized people. Although Wilson was referring to Europeans, his speech encouraged Asians around the world, including Koreans. They thought a world power like the U.S. would fight for their rights and guarantee political self-determination for all people.

But the world was not ready to recognize the sovereignty of people outside of Europe. Only 13 years prior to the March 1st Movement, an African pygmy man was caged at the New York Bronx Zoo. Colonized people and their culture were objects to be controlled, exploited and studied. In a way, it was naïve for Koreans to think that a country that could treat a human being in such a racist and dehumanizing manner would help Koreans gain sovereignty from a foreign power.

But with the belief that the U.S. would respond with their support, the Koreans organized the March 1st Movement, marking the first Korean mass movement since Japanese occupation of the country began in l910. The movement grew out of frustrations resulting from harsh Japanese colonial rule. The Japanese government treated Koreans like second-class citizens in their own country, imposing strict censorship laws and confiscating land from the natives.

The March 1st Movement brought together people from different class backgrounds, political orientations and religions. More than one million people participated in the demonstrations with disturbances reported in all but seven of Korea's 218 counties.

On March 1, the declaration of independence, inspired by the U.S. declaration, was read publicly at Pagoda Park in downtown Seoul. The fervent demonstrators gathered and paraded peacefully, celebrating Korean national will, and shouting, "Long live an independent Korea!" (Taehan tongnip mansei). The peaceful demonstrations on March 1 sparked a nationwide movement in the following months.

The Japanese police force reacted to subsequent gatherings with a series of arrests, beatings, killings and village burnings. Korean nationalists estimated more than 7,500 deaths, 15,000 injuries and 45,000 arrests. The demonstrations failed to bring independence from Japanese rule, and the Koreans' appeal to world powers like the U.S. was greeted with indifference. However, the movement provided a catalyst for the expansion of the nationalist movement for future decades.

The March 1st Movement may have occurred nearly 80 years ago, but its message should be a source of inspiration for Koreans and Korean Americans of today. Although the Los Angeles Korean community strives for the same goal of political and social justice as immigrants and people of color, religious, economic and social class divisions impede its ability to work as a united front.

Granted, the community has come together in the wake of such events as the 1992 L.A. uprisings and the escalating anti-immigration trend, but we should not only come together in reaction to events like these. We should strive to maintain unity throughout the years. Even within UCLA's Korean community, there is a need for improved communication between the many student organizations on campus.

On March 1, 1919, the people of Korea united under the common title of Koreans for the common goal of liberation. But even today, South Korea is not entirely free of foreign influences and some argue it is now a colony of the U.S. We as Koreans and Koreans Americans at UCLA may not face the same type of overt oppression as our ancestors, and within the sheltered university setting, it is easy to forget the subtle forces that oppress people of color, immigrants, women, lesbians, gays and bisexuals and other "minorities."

As students we should look at the March 1st Movement as a symbol of Korean unity and strength. It should encourage us to learn about our history and recognize the parallels between past and present struggles. We have a duty to our courageous ancestors, and to ourselves, to break away from complacency, and to fight for social justice on campus and within the surrounding community.

Kang, a fifth-year senior in Asian American studies, and Son, a third-year geography and East Asian studies student, are members of KAUSES, a service and political advocacy group which strives to empower the Korean American community and promote a more just and equitable society for all people.

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