World Religions › Modern › Donghak and Cheondogyo
March 1st Movement
March 1, 1919· Event· Chinese, Japanese & Korean
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
A nationwide, largely peaceful Korean uprising against Japanese colonial rule, launched by religious leaders on March 1, 1919.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Thirty-three leaders, 15 from Cheondogyo, 16 Protestants and 2 Buddhists, signed a Declaration of Independence read in Seoul on March 1, 1919, two days before the funeral of ex-Emperor Gojong. Inspired partly by Woodrow Wilson's call for national self-determination, demonstrations spread across Korea through the spring, involving perhaps a million or more people. Japanese police and troops crushed them. Korean nationalist historian Park Eun-sik counted about 7,500 dead; Japanese records give far fewer. In Korean it is Samil Undong (삼일운동).
Why it matters
It united Korea's religions behind independence, led to the Provisional Government in Shanghai that April, pushed Japan toward softer 'cultural rule', and is a national holiday in South Korea.
Sources and history
The declaration itself; Japanese police and court records; missionary letters and photographs; and Park Eun-sik's 1920 history of the independence movement.
Questions and debates
Total participants and deaths are disputed, with Korean and Japanese sources far apart, and historians weigh how much was planned versus spontaneous.
Connections (2)
▸March 1st Movement was co-led by leaders of Christianity in KoreaHistorical record
The connection
Sixteen of the 33 signers were Protestant pastors and lay leaders, though Christians were then only about 1–2% of Koreans. Church and mission-school networks spread the declaration; Ewha student Yu Gwan-sun (유관순) led a rally and died in prison in 1920. Christians were heavily overrepresented among those arrested, tying the faith to Korean nationalism.
When and where
Seoul and nationwide, March–May 1919; Presbyterian pastor Gil Seon-ju and Lee Seung-hun; the massacre of villagers at Jeam-ri church by Japanese troops, April 15, 1919.
Historical evidence
The signers' list; Japanese police and court records; missionary reports, including Frank Schofield's photographs of Jeam-ri.
Questions and debates
Historians debate how central church networks were compared with Cheondogyo, students and local organizers, and casualty figures vary widely.
▸March 1st Movement was organized largely by Donghak and CheondogyoHistorical record
The connection
Cheondogyo leader Son Byeong-hui (손병희) headed the 33 signers, 15 of whom were Cheondogyo members. The church's Boseongsa printing house printed about 21,000 copies of the declaration, and Cheondogyo funds paid for much of the organizing. Son was imprisoned and died in 1922.
When and where
Seoul, February–March 1919; Son Byeong-hui and Choe Rin; the declaration drafted by writer Choe Nam-seon.
Historical evidence
Japanese court records of the signers' trials, surviving printed copies of the declaration, and Cheondogyo histories.
Questions and debates
Cheondogyo's membership in 1919 is uncertain, and how much credit belongs to religious leaders versus students and villagers is debated.