Spring comes to Seoul every year around the end of February, and every year for the past one hundred years it has always come with new hope for the independence of Korea—as yet unfulfilled. March 1 is a holiday in Korea. It marks the 3.1 ( samil ) movement for independence, which began on March 1, 1919. Actually, it began on February 8, 1919, with Korean students in Japan issuing a declaration of independence in Tokyo. It spread quickly to every part of Korea. In Seoul, in Tapgol Park, a popular place then as now for people to mull about and enjoy the spring air, on the morning of March 1, hundreds of students gathered together to push for independence. The movement was met by the Japanese authorities with violence and repression. Tapgol Park February 2018, preparing for Samil Jeol Seoul on March 1, 1919 from a photo in a Red Cross pamphlet public domain: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll126/id/5245 We have photos of these events thank
John in Korea; The United Church of Canada and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, in partnership with each other: for justice, peace, and reconciliation -- sharing in God's work of transformation -- in Korea, in Canada, and beyond . . .