Dbq March 1st Movement

In 1910 Korea was annexed by Japan and was affected in many ways through their politics and society as the Japanese attempted to assimilate them into their culture. During this time many Koreans became labour workers and sex slaves to aid in Japan’s economic growth . From the start of the annexation an Independence Movement was started to try liberate Koreans from the colonial power of Japan. One of the most significant events during this period was the March 1st Movement which was sparked due to a declaration of Independence made by 33 Korean cultural and religious leaders of the time, who set out to liberate Korea. The initial plan created was for the declaration to be read aloud to the people of Korea in Seoul. When this didn’t occur because

A Korean Communist man told his life story to the author of Songs of Ariran, Helen Foster Snow, in which he commented “This [the March 1st Movement] was my first awakening to political consciousness, and the power of mass movement shook we to the very roots of my being…. I learned the meaning of force and futility of non-resistance.” . This holds significance to the fact that Korean people were feeling empowered for the first time since the annexation, and recognised the hope that was among many people who were now able to identify the actions it took to spark a movement. This recognition and identification were important to the progress within the Korean Independence Movement which later caused greater liberation, improving the lives of many

Many people adopted the communist or socialist viewpoint, with many others opting for a more nationalist support. Those who supported the communist and socialist viewpoint were more likely to be younger students that were seen as the more radical supporters, joining demonstrations, and actively fighting the Japanese rule. This divide impacted the life of many Koreans as groups were unable to agree, to be able to move forwards in creating movements and further tactics to support the liberated future. This also created division between young and older people and limited many of the communities already in place from making decisions and staying as a collective.

The March 1st Movement was also not able to alleviate all political pressures that Koreans faced from the Japanese. The Japanese were still able to replace many of their traditional and cultural temples and spaces to replace with government buildings and other Japanese services. Japan still had political control over Korea in WW2 which meant that Korea was made to fight with the axis powers and many of the women were turned into comfort women which refers to sexual slavery for Japanese military men, along with many Chinese