On March 1st, 1919, Korea remembers the day the citizens declared their country independent from Japan and raised awareness of humanitarian ideals based on a code of conduct emphasizing peace and non-violence. An article in the Korean Times gives us some understanding of the meaning of the day and the difficulties faced by the Catholic Church at the time.
The Catholic Church in Korea adapted to the Japanese demand for separation of church and state and did not, in principle, support armed struggle involving violence through political non-intervention. In that sense, the Catholic nationalist movement focused on non-violent patriotic enlightenment movements that focused mainly on education and the press. However, there were cases where believers participated in armed struggle movements on a personal conscience level. Movements through education and the press expanded further after the Eulsa Treaty was signed (Eulsa- Korea Protectorate Treaty)
When Japan announced the Private School Ordinance in 1908 and suppressed the national education movement, more than half of the church schools were closed. Nevertheless, the education movement led to establishing a few schools and contributed to the patriotic Enlightenment movement for modernization and the protection of national sovereignty.
The media salvation movement through ‘Kyunghyang Shinmun’ and the national debt redemption movement also had great meaning in preventing Japanese invasion and recovering national sovereignty.
1904, when the Japanese attempted to seize land under the pretext of reclaiming wasteland, believers gathered at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul and held a prayer meeting to oppose it.
Some consider this “the first social participation and national movement in modern times in which the Korean Catholic Church collectively responded to social issues outside the church.” Some people showed their patriotic spirit by participating in the anti-Japanese volunteer army movement with pride as believers. Representative examples include Ahn Jung-geun, who is known to have prayed to God every day while participating in the volunteer army war, and Kim Sang-tae, the leader of the Gyeongsang Province volunteer army during the Jeongmi volunteer army in 1907. It is said that he carried a rosary with him until he was captured and killed by the Japanese army.
In March 1919, the March 1st Movement took place nationwide, influenced by Emperor Gojong’s state funeral, the end of World War I, and U.S. President Wilson’s advocacy of the principle of national self-determination. Bishop Mutel and Bishop Demange were confident that the believers would not participate in this movement, but the believers did not avoid the national issue. They participated in the independence movement as individuals despite the church’s ban.
The first place to take action was the Seminary in Daegu. When 60 seminarians heard the news of the independence movement, they gathered in the playground and sang the “Independence Song.” Afterward, they copied the “Declaration of Independence” and prepared the Korean flag in preparation for the mass demonstration in downtown Daegu on March 8, but it was confiscated by the school. Upon hearing this, Bishop Demange, then Archbishop of Daegu, demanded “unconditional obedience” and announced that “those who participated in the independence movement will be expelled and the seminary will be closed.” However, the seminarians boycotted classes and planned to participate in the independence movement on April 3, but this did not happen. Eventually, Bishop Demange declared an early vacation out of concern for the student’s participation in the independence movement.
Students from the Yongsan Seminary also participated in the March 23 demonstration that year. The students tearfully appealed to Bishop Mutel, who admonished them to “maintain order,” saying, “We cannot turn away from our homeland trampled by the Japanese.” Still, Bishop Mutel prohibited them from participating in the movement “in the name of God” and postponed the ordination ceremony that year as a disciplinary measure. Those who participated in the movement had to leave the school. The seminarians’ participation in the March 1st Movement lost momentum early on. This shows their worries about giving up the March 1st Movement to become priests.
There is also an anecdote about the late Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan (Stefano), who attended Dongseong Commercial School Euljo (Soshin School) around the time of the March 1st Movement. Cardinal Kim revealed that he would often feel national resentment rising as he listened to lectures from his teachers about the atrocities of Japanese colonial rule and the awakening of the national spirit. When a subject in seminary asked, “As a subject of the Japanese Emperor, write your thoughts on the Emperor’s edict,” He hesitated and submitted the answer: “I am not a subject of the Emperor, so I have no thoughts on the Emperor’s edict. After that, the principal called me in, slapped me, and severely reprimanded me."
The March 1st Movement spread nationwide over time, and on March 10, Catholic believers participated in the Independence Movement in Haeju, Hwanghae Province, along with Protestants, Cheondogyo believers, and Buddhists. As a result, four Catholic believers were imprisoned. By the end of May that year, it is estimated that around 50 Catholic believers were arrested working for independence.
The March 13 Independence Movement in Yongjeong, North Gando, was centered around the Catholic Church. At noon, when the church bell rang, more than 10,000 people gathered in Yongjeong City and began an independence movement called the “Independence Celebration.” When Kim Yeong-hak, the head of the Catholic Church, read the “Declaration of Independence,” the crowd reportedly chanted “Long Live the Independence of Korea.” They then began a street parade, but 17 people were killed when the Chinese police opened fire. In addition, there were armed resistance movements such as the independence movement by students of the symphony school in Daegyo-dong, a Catholic village north of the Amnok and Duman Rivers, and the attack on the Japanese police station by 30 believers.
Professor Yoon Seon-ja (Dominica) of Chonnam National University stated in Kyunghyang Magazine, “When looking only at the independence movement cases, most Catholic believers who participated in the March 1st Movement were Catholic believers in the public office,” and “This shows that the frequency and intensity of sanctions against believers by missionaries and Korean clergy were weaker than those of the parish church, and Catholic believers in the public office mainly participated in the independence movement.”
At the time, Catholic believers’ participation in the independence movement was inevitably limited within the structural system of the church centered on hierarchy and the dualistic faith structure that understood that the church’s involvement in real-world issues hindered spiritual life. However, some priests cooperated with the independence movement or supported it individually.
In her article titled “Activities of the Korean Catholic Church Before and After the March 1st Movement,” Professor Yun Seon-ja stated, “Although the participation of Catholic believers in the independence movement was a small minority compared to Protestantism or Cheondogyo, it was significant in that it took place in a situation where most foreign missionaries and clergy who were in charge of the Korean Catholic Church actively discouraged it,” and added, “The Korean Catholic Church should be evaluated positively in that it was centered around Koreans.”
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