Freedom Fighters Gone to China, Russia, Us

The March 1 Independence Movement was an inspiring event in history.

Reading out the prepared "Declaration of Independence" statement at the Taehwagwan Restaurant in Insadong, Seoul, in 1919, 33 activists announced that Korea must be a free independent state and determine her own fate. Nationwide uprisings then followed.

Some 2 million Koreans took to the streets in the peaceful uprisings across the country, calling for "Freedom for Korea." The popular protests continued for three months until May, despite Japan's brutal suppression of the participants.

Korea's peaceful, non-violent uprising also inspired Mohandas Gandhi to launch his nonviolence movement against the British colonial rule of India.

The March 1 protests, meanwhile, became a turning point in Korea's independence movement. Overseas independence groups gained momentum as freedom fighters migrated to China, Russia and the United States after the popular uprising.

Japan's brutal crackdown on the protesters, which led to the deaths of around 7,500 civilians with nearly 16,000 wounded and 47,000 arrested, fanned skepticism among independence fighters who thought that launching an anti-Japan campaign at home was less likely to bear fruit. Some began to look outside the country to find a new base camp for the independence movement.

"Organizers and those who were involved in the resistance movement were arrested and some were tortured to death. The activists who managed to escape arrest and became wanted by the Japanese police realized their years of endeavor to achieve Korea's independence were about to become in vain if they were caught," said Ban Byung-yool, a professor of Korean history at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "To avoid arrest and continue the independence movement, some crossed the Tumen River to find a home in Vladivostok, while some crossed the Yalu River for China."

The northeastern part of China, particularly the greater Manchuria area, and the Russian Far East emerged as favorite foreign lands for freedom fighters because of the Korean diaspora in place there.

According to Ban, in the northeastern part of China, there were already some 70 armed groups fighting for Korea's independence. Large groups had 700 to 800 fighters while smaller ones had 200 to 300.

Koreans' migration into northeast China and the Russian Far East had begun in the 1860s.

In the face of famine and poor crop production caused by extreme weather conditions at the time, Korean farmers...