History of Korea

With the people infused with a renewed sense of nationalsim, the Japanese government became extremely concerned about the stability of its regime in the colony. Japan sent troops in May of 1919 to ease the situation, but an emotionally stirred Korean populace proved too riotous for the soldiers, and they began to implement mass arrests and beatings in certain cases. The Koreans inscensed by the brutality of Japanese soldiers fought back, resulting in numerous bloody clashes.

The March First Movement represented the first singular, coordinated attempt espousing some sort of nationalist thought. While nationalist movements existed in the past, they were for the most part factionalized and ineffective. This incident demonstrates an unprecedented unilateral cohesion on the part of the Korean people, and although the movement failed in regards to actually establishing independence, it was a huge success in instilling a new sense of pride and empowerment and in establishing a forerunner to the other nationalist groups which would later emerge.

Colonial Period