Yu Gwan-sun
Encyclopedia
Ryu, Gwan-Sun was a student and organizer in what would come to be known as the March 1st Movement
against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea
in South Chungcheong. In 1919, Yu, Kwan-Sun was a student at Ewha Womans University
's high school in Seoul, where she witnessed the beginnings of the March 1st Movement. Her deep faith in God and the teachings from the Methodist Ehwa School gave her the courage to act boldly. When the school went into recess, following an order by the Japanese government closing all Korean schools, she returned to her home in Jiryeong-ri (now Yongdu-ri).
There, along with her family, she began to arouse public feeling against the Japanese occupation. She also planned a demonstration for independence, which included people from some neighboring towns, Yeongi, Chungju
, and Jincheon
. The demonstration was scheduled to start on the first lunar day of March 1919 at 9:00 a.m. in Awunae Marketplace. About 2,000 demonstrators shouted, "Long live Korean Independence!" ("대한독립만세"). The Japanese police were dispatched at around 1:00 p.m. that same day, and Yu was arrested with other demonstrators. Both her parents were killed by Japanese police during the demonstration.
Yu served a brief detention at Cheonan
Japanese Military Police Station, and then she was tried and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison. During her sentence, Yu, Gwan-Sun continued to protest for the independence of Korea, for which she received harsh beatings and torture. She died in prison on October 12, 1920, reportedly as the result of torture. Her final words were, "Japan shall fall... my finger nails may fall off, my nose and ears cut off, my hands and legs broken. I can bear the pain. But the pain of losing my country, I cannot bear. That I only have one life to give for my country, it is my only sadness."
The Japanese prison initially refused to release her body, but eventually and reluctantly the prison released her body to Lulu Frey and Jeannette Walter, principals of Ewha Womans School, and only after Frey and Walter threatened to expose this atrocity to the world. Her body was reported to have been cut into pieces. Contrary to this report, Walter, who dressed the body for burial, claimed that it had not been mutilated. The body was contained inside an oil crate which was supposed to be returned to Saucony Vacuum Company. The Japanese Authorities did this as a retaliation against the threat from Ehwa School.
She was posthumously awarded the Order of Independence Merit
in 1962.
March 1st Movement
The March 1st Movement, or Samil Movement, was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the occupation of the Korean Empire by Japan. The name refers to an event that occurred on March 1, 1919, hence the movement's name, literally meaning "Three-One Movement" or "March First...
against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
in South Chungcheong. In 1919, Yu, Kwan-Sun was a student at Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University is a private women's university in central Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the city's largest institutions of higher learning and currently the world's largest female educational institute. It is one of the best-known universities in South Korea, and often considered to...
's high school in Seoul, where she witnessed the beginnings of the March 1st Movement. Her deep faith in God and the teachings from the Methodist Ehwa School gave her the courage to act boldly. When the school went into recess, following an order by the Japanese government closing all Korean schools, she returned to her home in Jiryeong-ri (now Yongdu-ri).
There, along with her family, she began to arouse public feeling against the Japanese occupation. She also planned a demonstration for independence, which included people from some neighboring towns, Yeongi, Chungju
Chungju
Chungju is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Namsan is a mountain located on the outskirts of the city.The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon grew up here....
, and Jincheon
Jincheon
Jincheon County is a county in Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea.-Location:Jincheon belongs to the middle of Chungcheongbuk-do. It borders several cities of its province but also meets Gyeonggi-do...
. The demonstration was scheduled to start on the first lunar day of March 1919 at 9:00 a.m. in Awunae Marketplace. About 2,000 demonstrators shouted, "Long live Korean Independence!" ("대한독립만세"). The Japanese police were dispatched at around 1:00 p.m. that same day, and Yu was arrested with other demonstrators. Both her parents were killed by Japanese police during the demonstration.
Yu served a brief detention at Cheonan
Cheonan
Cheonan is a city located in the northeast corner of South Chungcheong, a province of South Korea, and is 83.6 km south of the capital, Seoul...
Japanese Military Police Station, and then she was tried and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison. During her sentence, Yu, Gwan-Sun continued to protest for the independence of Korea, for which she received harsh beatings and torture. She died in prison on October 12, 1920, reportedly as the result of torture. Her final words were, "Japan shall fall... my finger nails may fall off, my nose and ears cut off, my hands and legs broken. I can bear the pain. But the pain of losing my country, I cannot bear. That I only have one life to give for my country, it is my only sadness."
The Japanese prison initially refused to release her body, but eventually and reluctantly the prison released her body to Lulu Frey and Jeannette Walter, principals of Ewha Womans School, and only after Frey and Walter threatened to expose this atrocity to the world. Her body was reported to have been cut into pieces. Contrary to this report, Walter, who dressed the body for burial, claimed that it had not been mutilated. The body was contained inside an oil crate which was supposed to be returned to Saucony Vacuum Company. The Japanese Authorities did this as a retaliation against the threat from Ehwa School.
She was posthumously awarded the Order of Independence Merit
Order of Merit for National Foundation
The Order of Merit for National Foundation is an Order of South Korea. It is typically reserved for those who contributed to the founding of the modern Republic of Korea.It is awarded in five grades:...
in 1962.