Who is Yoo Gwan Sun?

While I was searching about the concept of "minjok," for the assignment of take-home essay, I found a big relationship between the spirit of "Samil Movement"(a 1919 civil uprising against Japan's colonial rule) and a natural temper of Korean minjok. And I got interested about 'our sister' Yoo Gwan Sun and got to know about her life.

Yu Gwan Sun was a female independence activist who is an icon of the resistance movement against the colonial Japanese period. Cheonan is the hometown of Yu Gwan Sun.

Before I tell you of Yu Gwan Sun’s significance, let me give you a short background of Korean History.

Due to a long period of isolation, Korea had become militarily weaker than its three neighbors, China, Russia and Japan. China was a traditional trading partner who wished to protect its interests in Korea. The Russians also courted a stronger relationship with Korea. This situation protected Korea for a time against the Japanese, who were interested in expanding their influence in Asia through “Gunboat Diplomacy”. In 1895, Japan won the wars against China. Soon after, in 1905, Japan defeated Russia as well during the Russo-Japanese War. This left Korea unprotected and alone.

Japan invaded Korea in 1910, and proclaimed it an official part of Japan. Korea lost all of its rights as an independent country and Japanese rule over Korea officially began. The Japanese occupation was heavy handed and brutal as the Korean people were treated poorly. The Japanese even went so far as to assign Korean citizens new Japanese names, in an effort to fully destroy Korean culture. 

On March 1st, 1919, the Korean people rose up to protest Japanese rule and declared Korea once again an independent country, (This is now known as the “March 1st Movement”). While this movement started in Seoul; in Cheonan, a young girl named Yu Gwan Sun, joined and led the independence movement while still only a high school student.

In Cheonan, Yu Gwan Sun planned demonstrations for independence, and on March 31, 1919, Yu is remembered for lighting 24 torch beacons on Mt. Maebongsan, which inspired about 4,000 Cheonan citizens gathered at Aunae Marketplace to protest Japanese occupation shouting, “Long live Korean Independence!”

Unfortunately, 19 people were shot during the Cheonan protest, and dozens of people were injured. Yu Gwan Sun was arrested by Japanese police and was forced to serve detention at Cheonan Japanese Military Police Station. She was tried and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison. During her captivity, Yu Gwan Sun continued to protest for the independence of Korea, for which she received harsh beatings and was severely tortured. She died of her torture on October 12, 1920.

Yu Gwan Sun’s death was meaningful though she never saw the independence of Korea. The independence movement lasted for about one month, with about 2 million people participating in the movement. During the protests, the Japanese killed more than 7,000 people. While the Korean people failed to regain independence through these protests, they succeeded in showing the world a strong will for independence.