Early in the last century Japan placed Korea under its military occupation. The Japanese imperialists turned the whole of Korea into a big prison while setting up repressive machinery under various names and cooking up fascist draconian laws including “Summary Execution Act,” “Criminal Act in Korea” and “Flogging Punishment Act in Korea.” The Korean people were subjected to inhuman maltreatment and humiliation.

Their harsh repression triggered an all-out resistance of the Korean people.

On March 1, 1919 the Korean people launched an uprising against the Japanese imperialists who occupied their country illegally and enforced tyrannical mediaeval rule, predatory economic policy and colonial enslavement policy.

The March First Popular Uprising that started with a mass demonstration in Pyongyang raged across the country like wildfire.

The flames of the nationwide struggle spread as far as Northeast China, Russia’s Maritime Territory, Japan, Hawaii and other regions where Korean compatriots were living.

The demonstrators took to streets and shouted slogans “Long live the independence of Korea!” and “Japanese and their troops, go home!” causing a shudder among the Japanese imperialists.

Taken aback by the uprising, the Japanese imperialists made desperate efforts to put down the anti-Japanese patriotic struggle.

They suppressed the demonstrations by force of arms by mobilizing the troops of the fully-armed Ryongsan 20th Division and Ranam 19th Division of their army stationed in Korea, as well as gendarmerie, police, fire brigades and reserve soldiers in Korea. Not content with this, they hurled huge troops from Japan.

The Japanese army and police indiscriminately massacred bare-handed demonstrators with guns, swords, iron clubs and other lethal weapons, and arrested and imprisoned many of them.

They killed Koreans by employing extremely cruel methods.

A squad of mounted Japanese soldiers raided the demonstrators. One of them cut off with a sword the right arm of a girl student holding a flag and then the left one when she held up the flag with that one.

And as she continuously shouted “Long live the independence of Korea!” the Japs chopped her to death.

The Japanese murderers continued to resort to cruel suppression even after the bloody crackdown.

In order to nip the Koreans’ resistance in the bud, they randomly imprisoned and tortured to death the protesters, their family members and relatives and all others who were suspected of being involved in the demonstration.

Such an unheard-of brutal oppression, which came under fire around the world, is an inhuman crime which will not be erased despite the lapse of time.

Nearly 80 years have passed since Japan’s defeat. However, Japan still flatly denies its crime-woven history and rather brings dark clouds of reinvasion by staging aggressive war drills.

The shouts of “Long live independence!” raised during the March First Popular Uprising, which shook every nook and cranny of Korea, still echo far and wide. The Korean people harden their will to make the Japanese pay dearly for their thrice-cursed crimes.

Ro Mi Hyang