Editing March First Movement (section)

{{Short description|1919 anti-colonial protests in Korea}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}{{Infobox protest
| title = March First Movement
| partof = the [[Korean independence movement]]
| image = L’Indépendance de la Corée et la Paix-02.jpg
| caption = A march during one of the protests in Seoul (1919)
| date = Mostly March and April 1919, continued possibly until 1921
| place = {{Plainlist|
* [[Korea under Japanese rule]]
* [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]
*[[Russian Empire]]
*United States
*Mexico
*Japan
}}
| concessions = Colonial government granted limited cultural freedoms as part of its {{Ill|Cultural rule|lt=cultural rule|ja|文化政治|ko|문화 통치}} policies
| causes = Ideals of [[self-determination]], discontent with colonial rule, and {{Ill|Death of Gojong of Korea|lt=theories that former Emperor Gojong had been poisoned by Japan|ko|고종 독살설}}
| goals = * Secure Korea's independence
* Gain international support
| methods = [[Nonviolent resistance]]
| result = * Violent suppression
* No official support from foreign governments
* Damaged Japan's international image
* Invigorated independence activism
* Creation of the [[Korean Provisional Government]] in exile
* Inspiration for other protest movements abroad
| side1 = [[Korean independence activists]]
| side2 = [[Government-General of Chōsen]]
| howmany1 = Around 0.8<ref name="Database Incidents" /> to 2 million<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />{{Sfn|Kwon|2018|pp=115–116}}
| fatalities = Around 798<ref name="Database Incidents" /> to 7,509<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />{{Sfn|Kwon|2018|pp=115–116}}
| arrests = 46,948 (1920 Korean estimate)<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />{{Sfn|Kwon|2018|pp=115–116}}
}}{{Campaignbox Revolutions of 1917–1923}}
The '''March First Movement'''{{Efn|North Korean name<!--Presenting North first because of alphabetical order-->: {{Korean|hangul=삼일인민봉기|lit=March First People's Rebellion|labels=no}};{{sfn|Hart|2000|p=151}} South Korean name: {{Korean|hangul=3·1 운동|lit=March First Movement|labels=no}}. The South Korean name is sometimes transliterated as the '''Sam-il Movement''' ({{lit|three-one movement}}).<ref name="Japan Focus" /> Alternate names '''Manse Movement''' ({{korean|hangul=만세운동|hanja={{linktext|萬歲|運動}}|lit=Ten-thousand Year Movement|labels=no}}), '''Gimi Independence Movement''' ({{Korean|hangul=기미독립운동|hanja=己未獨立運動|labels=no}}; named for the year the movement occurred in the [[sexagenary cycle]]),<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> and '''March First Revolution''' ({{Korean|hangul=3.1 혁명|hanja=三一革命|labels=no}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=윤 |first=호창 |date=2019-02-19 |title=3.1혁명 100년, 이젠 복지국가 혁명이다 |url=https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/229263 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=[[Pressian]] |language=ko}}</ref>}} was a series of protests against [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial rule]] that was held throughout Korea and internationally by the [[Korean diaspora]] beginning on March 1, 1919. Protests were largely concentrated in March and April of that year,<ref name="Database Incidents" /> although related protests continued until 1921.{{Sfn|Ku|2021|pp=|p=108}} In South Korea, the movement is remembered as a landmark event of not only the [[Korean independence movement]], but of all of Korean history.

The protests began in [[Seoul]], with public readings of the [[Korean Declaration of Independence]] in the restaurant {{Ill|T'aehwagwan|ko|태화관}} and in [[Tapgol Park]]. The movement grew and spread rapidly. Statistics on the protest are uncertain; there were around 1,500 to 1,800 protests with a total of around 0.8 to 2 million participants. The total population of Korea at the time was around 16 to 17 million.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|p=3}} Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, they were frequently violently suppressed. One Korean estimate in 1920 claimed 7,509 deaths and 46,948 arrests. Japanese authorities reported much lower numbers, although there were instances where authorities were observed destroying evidence, such as during the [[Jeamni massacre]].<ref name="EncyKorea Jeamni">{{Citation |last=김 |first=진봉 |script-title=ko:수원 제암리 참변 (水原 堤岩里 慘變) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0031610 |access-date=2024-04-30 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311093553/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0031610 |url-status=live }}</ref> Japanese authorities then conducted a global disinformation campaign on the protests.{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|pp=208-209}} They promoted a wide range of narratives, including outright denial of any protests occurring,<ref name="YNA 2019 14">{{Cite web |last=김 |first=상훈 |date=2019-02-14 |script-title=ko:[외신속 3·1 운동] ① 그 날 그 함성…통제·조작의 '프레임' 뚫고 세계로 |url=https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20190207090000009 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |language=ko |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430052059/https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20190207090000009 |url-status=live }}</ref> portraying them as violent [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] uprisings,{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|p=204}}<ref name="YNA 2019 9" /> and claiming that Koreans were [[Civilizing mission|in need of the benevolent rule]] of Japan.{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|p=210}}<ref name="YNA 2019 14"/><ref name="YNA 2019 6" /> These narratives were publicly challenged by sympathetic foreigners and by the Korean diaspora.

The movement did not result in Korea's prompt liberation, but had a number of significant effects. It invigorated the Korean independence movement and resulted in the creation of the [[Korean Provisional Government]]. It also caused some damage to Japan's international reputation and caused the [[Government-General of Chōsen|Japanese colonial government]] to grant some limited cultural freedoms to Koreans under a series of policies that have since been dubbed "{{Ill|Cultural rule|lt=cultural rule|ja|文化政治|ko|문화 통치}}". Furthermore, the movement went on to inspire other movements abroad, including the Chinese [[May Fourth Movement]] and Indian ''[[satyagraha]]'' protests.<ref name="Shin 2009">{{Cite news |last=Shin |first=Yong-ha |date=February 27, 2009 |title=Why Did Mao, Nehru and Tagore Applaud the March First Movement? |url=http://www.koreafocus.or.kr/design2/layout/content_print.asp?group_id=102423 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928102203/http://www.koreafocus.or.kr/design2/layout/content_print.asp?group_id=102423 |archive-date=2011-09-28 |access-date=2009-06-27 |work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |language=en |via=Korea Focus}}</ref>

The anniversary of the movement's start has been celebrated since, although this was largely done in secret in Korea until its liberation in 1945. In South Korea, it is [[Public holidays in South Korea|a national holiday]]. The North Korean government initially celebrated it as a national holiday, but eventually demoted it and now does not evaluate the movement's significance similarly. It now promotes writings about the event that seek to emphasize the role of the ruling [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim family]] in the protests.<ref name="Kim 1997">{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Hyeon-gyeong |date=1 March 1997 |title=In North Korea, March 1st is distortedly taught as being caused by the Kim Il-sung family |work=[[MBC News]] |url=https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/1997/nwdesk/article/1764225_30717.html |access-date=8 March 2023 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308213247/https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/1997/nwdesk/article/1764225_30717.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Hart|2000|pp=153–154}}