Editing March First Movement (section)

== Japanese reactions and policy changes ==
In Japan and abroad, the movement was widely seen as an embarrassment to the colonial government.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> Scholar Penny Bailey argues that the majority of Japanese opinions in publications supported the colonial government and Japanese colonialism.<ref name="Japan Focus" /> Others publicly debated what was dubbed "the Japan–Korea problem" ({{Langx|ja|[[wikt:日鮮|日鮮]]問題|translit=Nissen mondai}}), and presented a range of opinions on what caused the protests, how serious they were, and how to prevent future unrest.<ref name="Japan Focus" /><ref name="Caprio Marketing">{{Cite journal |last=Caprio |first=Mark E. |date=2011 |title=Marketing Assimilation: The Press and the Formation of the Japanese-Korean Colonial Relationship |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490268 |journal=[[The Journal of Korean Studies]] |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=16–17 |doi=10.1353/jks.2011.0006 |issn=0731-1613 |jstor=41490268|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Public intellectual [[Sakuzō Yoshino]] published articles in Japanese and at least one in English, in which he described Japan's colonialism as a noble venture, but condemned the assimilation of and discrimination towards Koreans as causing humanitarian concerns.<ref name="Japan Focus" /> His writings reportedly attracted criticism from nationalists.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Souyri |first=Pierre-François |date=2015-01-01 |title=Criticising Colonialism in pre‑1945 Japan |url=https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/1121 |journal=Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies. English Selection |language=en |issue=4 |doi=10.4000/cjs.1121 |issn=2268-1744 |doi-access=free |archive-date=June 5, 2024 |access-date=June 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605075047/https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/1121 |url-status=live }}</ref> Right-wing expansionist group [[Black Dragon Society|Kokuryūkai]], while not advocating for granting Koreans independence, reportedly promoted granting Korea some degree of "domestic self-governance".<ref name="Japan Focus" />
[[File:ISHIBASHI Tanzan.jpg|thumb|166x166px|Japanese journalist [[Tanzan Ishibashi]] reportedly welcomed the March First Movement.<ref name="Japan Focus" /><ref name=":5" />]]
Some, especially those in the Japanese left wing,<ref name="Japan Focus" /> criticized the colonial government and argued that the movement began because colonial policies had been too repressive.<ref name="Caprio Marketing" /><ref name="Japan Focus" /> Journalist [[Tanzan Ishibashi]], as part of his "Small Japan" ideology ({{Langx|ja|小日本主義|label=none}}), reportedly welcomed the movement and saw it as signaling the end of colonial rule in Korea. He reportedly saw it as a part of the global trend of liberalization, and argued that Japan had previously treated Koreans extremely poorly.<ref name="Japan Focus" /><ref name=":5" /> Japanese [[Koreanist]] and art historian [[Yanagi Sōetsu]]'s sympathy towards Korea reportedly increased after the protests. He became a significant voice in advocating for the protection of Korean art and architecture, although modern Korean nationalists have reportedly criticized his participation in what they view as the colonial government's subsequent superficial cultural appeasement efforts. Yanagi publicly condemned assimilation efforts and was eventually met with censorship.<ref name="Japan Focus" /><ref name=":5" />

=== Cultural rule ===
[[File:조선미술전람회 1923.jpg|thumb|The inaugural [[Chōsen Art Exhibition]], created as a part of the cultural rule policies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=김 |first=동근 |date=2009-12-31 |script-title=ko:[동아일보 속의 근대 100景]미술전람회 |url=https://www.donga.com/news/Opinion/article/all/20091231/25133871/2 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=[[The Dong-A Ilbo]] |language=ko |archive-date=March 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312044340/https://www.donga.com/news/Opinion/article/all/20091231/25133871/2 |url-status=live }}</ref> (1922)]]
The colonial government enacted a number of concessions after the protests. Many of these efforts have been grouped under the name "{{Ill|Cultural rule|lt=cultural rule|ja|文化政治|ko|문화 통치}}" ({{Langx|ja|文化政治|translit=bunka seiji|label=none}}); this was in contrast to the previous era, which has been dubbed "{{Ill|Military rule (Korea under Japanese rule)|lt=military rule|ko|무단 통치}}" ({{Langx|ja|武断政治|translit=budan seiji|label=none}}).<ref name="Japan Focus">{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Penny |date=2019-08-15 |title=The Centenary of Korea's Sam-il (March First) Independence Movement: Remembering Japanese Art Critic Yanagi Sōetsu's Solidarity with Colonized Koreans |url=https://apjjf.org/2019/16/bailey |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |language=en-US |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507023339/https://apjjf.org/2019/16/bailey |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Shin|2018|p=115}} These policies allowed several limited cultural freedoms and programs for Koreans. This included permission for several Korean newspapers to be founded, which resulted in the creation of the now newspapers of record ''[[The Dong-A Ilbo]]'' and ''[[The Chosun Ilbo]]'',<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /><ref name="EncyKorea Newspapers">{{Cite web |last1=정 |first1=진석 |last2=최 |first2=진우 |script-title=ko:신문 (新聞) |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0032944 |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430021143/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0032944 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Efn|Previously, from 1915 to early 1920, the only Korean newspaper allowed for publication in Korea was the ''[[Maeil Sinbo]]'', which was de facto operated by the colonial government. Previous papers were pressured to close or were banned.<ref>{{Cite web |last=김 |first=덕영 |script-title=ko:경남일보[慶南日報] |url=https://www.nl.go.kr/newspaper/news_release.do |access-date=February 2, 2024 |website=[[Korean Newspaper Archive]] |archive-date=February 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203020153/https://nl.go.kr/newspaper/news_release.do |url-status=live }}</ref>}} as well as the establishment of institutions like the [[Chōsen Art Exhibition]]<ref>{{Citation |last=이 |first=경성 |script-title=ko:조선미술전람회 (朝鮮美術展覽會) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052023 |access-date=2024-03-12 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425132305/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052023 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Government-General of Chōsen Library]].<ref>{{Citation |last=강 |first=주진 |script-title=ko:국립중앙도서관 (國立中央圖書館) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0006248 |access-date=2024-03-12 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=November 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107055342/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0006248 |url-status=live }}</ref> Access to print materials and the arts significantly expanded.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|p=69}} In addition, while the colonial government had previously been more consistently dismissive towards [[Korean culture]], it began conceding that Korea had some unique traditions worthy of protection and development.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />

A number of commentators have evaluated these policy changes as being largely cosmetic and intended to appease Koreans and international observers.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|pp=|p=203}} An August 22, 1919 article in American newspaper ''[[The Washington Star|The Evening Star]]'' described one such concession as "merely one of those face-saving diplomatic schemes of Japan".{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|pp=|p=203}}

Historian [[Michael Shin (historian)|Michael Shin]] argues that colonial authority actually expanded during this period. Colonial expenditures doubled from 1919 to 1921, policies encouraged active management of Korean culture instead of passive punishment, and the police presence and intervention in Korea's economy increased.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|pp=115; 117–119}} Koreans saw little improvement to their socioeconomic conditions and civil rights as a result of these policies.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|p=|pp=3–4}} Throughout the period of cultural rule, Japan continued violently suppressing the Korean independence movement.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> By the late 1930s, many of these concessions were retracted, and assimilation was enforced with greater intensity.<ref name="EncyKorea Newspapers" />