My name is Maddie Cho. My Korean name is Cho Young-Mee. I’m 15 years old, I live in Tenafly, and I’m currently a sophomore at Tenafly High School. I spend a lot of time studying, I play piano, I attend hakwon, and I like to spend time with friends and family. Sounds like a typical Korean-American right? Well, yes and no. I don’t have a lot of Korean friends, I don’t know anything about K-pop, I can’t really speak Korean, and I definitely cannot eat spicy food! When my aunt told me about this speech, I was hesitant, because up until now, I haven’t given much thought to my Korean identity or Korean history.

However, as I researched the March First Movement, I discovered that I was more connected to Korean history than I thought. In particular, the story of the young girl Ryu Gwansun inspired me to delve deeper into the movement for Korean independence. Her story helped me to realize that my comfortable suburban American life came at the cost of many generations of struggle.

So, the question I want to ask is this: “How is the spirit of the March First Movement relevant to me and Korea?”

At the time of the March First Movement, Ryu Gwansun was 16 years old, not much older than me, and she attended Ewha High School, an elite girls’ high school in Seoul founded by Methodist missionaries. She had earned a scholarship and was reportedly very bright, being able to recite bible verses upon hearing them once. When I first saw a picture of her, I was struck by how similar she looked to Korean girls that I might know. However, as I learned, her passion for our people’s independence made her a stronger girl than I could ever imagine myself being.
A century ago, on March 1, 1919, she and four of her classmates participated in the protests in the streets of Seoul, where the Korean Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time. Four days later, she and her classmates marched again at Namdaemun and were arrested by the Japanese police, but they were shortly released at the behest of the Ewha school missionaries.
On March 10th, the Japanese government ordered all schools to be closed, and Ryu Gwansun returned to her hometown of Cheonan, where she helped to organize a 3,000 person protest at the local marketplace. She held a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and she distributed homemade Taegukgi Korean flags of independence.
On April 1, the day of the protest, Japanese police opened fire on the crowd killing 19 people, including both of her parents, and Ryu Gwansun was sent to the infamous Namdaemun prison in Seoul. This protest was one of 1,542 marches across Korea that resulted in over 7,000 dead and 46,000 imprisoned. While in prison, despite being severely tortured, she continued to protest, famously writing: “Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation.” As a result of her injuries, she died in prison on September 28, 1920 at the age of 17.

I told this story to my grandmother in Korea, and to my surprise, I discovered that her grandfather (my great great grandfather) was the head pastor at Chungdong Methodist church in 1920. In fact, he was the minister that presided over Ryu Gwansun’s funeral. Hearing this, I was moved, and I felt a personal family connection to her tragic story. I also discovered that my grandmother and all of her sisters attended Ewha High School, and the story of Ryu Gwansun, Ewha, and the Methodist church were all part of my family’s past.
Also, my great grandmother is 107 years old and living in New Jersey (she is still sharp as a tack!). I thought about her age in relation to the March First Movement. She was 7 years old during that time and lived through the occupation and the struggle for Korea’s freedom. My great great grandfather, my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and father - they all represent many generations of Koreans, connected to the struggle for independence. I realize now that that I am also a part of that chain.

The authors of the Declaration of Independence were well aware of the connection we have to our past and future generations. It states “The spirit of our many ancestors protects us from within, and the tide of the new world from without.” “To future generations, they proclaimed the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people” to our descendants so that they may enjoy in perpetuity their inherent right to nationhood.”

In the early 20th century when the Declaration of Independence was written, Korea had been under foreign rule for the first time in its 4,252 year history. This was a result of the imperialistic expansion of the Pacific superpowers of Japan, Russia, China and the US. However, after the liberation of Korea from the Japanese in 1945, Korea was split into North (protected by the Soviets and China) and the South (protected by the US), a cold war division that led to the Korean War and the utter destruction of the country.

Since then, North Korea has become an increasingly isolated totalitarian communist regime, while South Korea has grown to become the 11th largest economy in the world. However, the war is still active, and Korea remains a victim of the cold war policies of Pacific superpowers, with China influencing the North and the US influencing the South.

Although Korea is a thriving nation, the Korean people are still divided, and I believe the liberty envisioned by the authors of the 1919 Declaration of Independence has not been fully achieved. Thus, I think the spirit of the March First Movement is more relevant today than ever before for the Korean people.

As I sit here in my comfortable life in suburban New Jersey, it’s easy to continue living as an American while forgetting my Korean heritage. However, as I finish high school and enter into adulthood, my identity as a Korean-American is becoming more important to me. I would like to step into the future knowing who I am and where I came from, and this project has helped me to understand the foundations of my identity. I don’t know where life will lead me, but I hope that the spirit and passion of the March First Movement will guide me like it guides Korea today.

<Maddie Cho/ 10th Grade, Tenafly H>