The year 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Movement. In 1910, Japan integrated Korea with its nation with force, but the people of Korea did not succumb to this with the hope of regaining independence. In the 1910s, Korea and the world was experiencing an era of chaos. Internationally, World War 1 broke out due to the conflict between powerful imperialist states. Domestically, a brutal fight against the Japanese occupation took place. By the end of World War 1, as the news of President Wilson of the United States advocating for ‘the principle of national self-determination’ was delivered across the world, Korean independence fighters in Korea and other countries rekindled the hope of independence. The hope led Korean religious leaders including Catholic and Protestant priests and Buddhist monks to plan a manse movement.
March 1st Movement that occurred in 1919 was the biggest independence movement of Korean people against Japanese occupation. Through the March 1st Movement, people of Korea united with one heart and various groups fighting for independence could joint forces together to establish the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea has significance in that it was the first Korean government that adopted the system of a democratic republic. After the independence, founders of the Provisional Government chose various political routes, but the system of democratic republic still remains unchanged.
The exhibition focuses on the historical background, order of progression and historical meaning of the March 1st Movement. We can imagine the people who risked their lives to regain the lost territory and sovereignty, and how loud and desperate people’s voice shouting “Korean Independence Manse” on the streets would have been. We hope the exhibition will offer an opportunity to remember how the people who were shouting on the streets were the driving force behind democracy that we enjoy today 100 years later.