Editing March First Movement (section)

=== Character of the protests ===
The protests were decentralized and diverse.<ref name=":6" /> The diversity in the protests was influenced by local culture and religion. In some regions, Christians played a more significant role in organizing protests, and in others Cheondoists were more significant. The scholar Kim Jin-bong argued that Christians played a larger role in regions with more developed transportation, and Cheondoists in regions with less developed transportation.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> According to one estimate, 17% of arrests made during the protests were of Christians, when they composed less than 1% of the population.{{Sfn|Palmer|2020|pp=|p=202}} 58.4% of arrests were of peasants, and 3.9% were of laborers.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|p=141}}

The [[Pyongan Province|Pyongan region]] played what historian [[Michael Shin (historian)|Michael Shin]] argued was an outsized role in the protests. Many of the movement's earliest protests were in the region, and a plurality of the signers were from there (11 of the 33). This region contained the second-largest city in Korea Pyongyang, was a center of Christianity, and produced a large number of intellectuals.{{Sfn|Shin|2018|pp=21–23}} [[North Hamgyong Province]] was the last province to join the protests;<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> they began on March 10.<ref name=":7" /> Its protests have been characterized as less intense than others, possibly due to transportation being less developed there, as well as security being tighter due to it being on the border with both Russia and China.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" /> In addition, the ratio of Japanese security forces to civilians was lower in the area.<ref name=":7" /> In [[Chūseihoku-dō]] ([[North Chungcheong Province]]) and Chūseinan-dō, some radical groups attacked and destroyed Japanese government offices and police stations. [[Zenrahoku-dō]] ([[North Jeolla Province]]) had protests that have been characterized as less intense than others. This has been attributed to the region being relatively depleted after having previously heavily participated in the 1894–1895 [[Donghak Peasant Revolution]] and subsequent [[Righteous armies|righteous army]] conflicts. In this province and in [[Zenranan-dō]] ([[South Jeolla Province]]), students often played a significant role in protests.<ref name="EncyKorea Movement" />

Women both led and participated in many of the protests. A group of female students wrote a public letter entitled "From Korean School Girls" to world leaders that was reprinted in international newspapers. The role of women in the protests was hailed by international feminist observers, and described as a milestone in their changing social status, especially in contrast to [[Women in Joseon|their status during the conservative Joseon period]].<ref name="YNA 2019 7">{{Cite web |last=임 |first=주영 |date=2019-02-18 |script-title=ko:[외신속 3·1운동] ⑦ WP "선언문 든 소녀의 손 잘라내"…日편들던 워싱턴 '충격' |url=https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20190216018300071 |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |language=ko |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501221406/https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20190216018300071 |url-status=live }}</ref>