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South Korean President Moon Jae-in offers his support at the launching ceremony for the Presidential Committee to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement and the Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea at Cultural Station Seoul 284 on July 3. (Blue House photo pool)

On July 3, South Korean President Moon Jae-in launched the Presidential Committee to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement and the Establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, reflecting his strong desire to identify the independence movement and justice-minded citizens as the mainstream of the Republic of Korea. He also made clear that he intends for next year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the provisional government, to be a turning point in establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

The Mar. 1st Movement was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance after the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. The following month, leaders of the Korean independence movement established a provisional government in Shanghai, China.

“Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement and the establishment of the provisional government will lay the foundation for a country that is just and fair,” Moon said during a message marking the commemorative committee’s launch, which was held at Cultural Station Seoul 284 (former building of Seoul Station) on July 3. Moon left no doubt that the Republic of Korea’s legitimacy and legal traditions are to be found in the provisional government and the Koreans who demanded “independence, peace, democracy, human rights and a free and equal democratic republic” 99 years ago.

“The Korean people deserve credit for the success of the inter-Korean summit. The strength of the people who long for peace and co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula laid the groundwork for a bold imagination, and they are ushering in a new history on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

Moon asked the committee to lay a foundation for inter-Korean exchange programs, based on the two sides’ shared history of the independence movement. During his message, he revealed for the first time that an inter-Korean joint commemorative project for the 100th anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement had been discussed during the inter-Korean summit on Apr. 27. This is taken to mean that South and North Korea’s shared history can create momentum not only to improve inter-Korean relations but also for the two sides to collaborate in writing the “history of the future” on the Korean Peninsula.

“The division of the peninsula and hostility between South and North Korea over the past 70 years have also divided the history of the independence movement. If South and North Korea could share that history, I think they would be able to feel more affinity with each other,” Moon said.

During an address commemorating the Mar. 1 Movement this year, Moon said that he “will make the 100th anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement and the establishment of the Republic of Korea a new starting point for building a lasting peace regime and for prosperity based on that peace.” Moon asked the committee to “come up with projects that South and North Korea can work on together.”

Seoul Station was selected as the location of the launch ceremony not only because of its symbolic association with the independence movement but also apparently in order to emphasize the role it will play as a gateway to the continent of Asia after linking the South and North Korean rail networks. Moon said he had personally chosen Seoul Station to be the location of the event.

“Seoul Station was a major staging ground in our history, and it was a starting point for extending our lives onto the continent,” Moon said during his address, while mentioning that important historical figures such as independence activist Nam Ja-hyeon, diplomat Yi Jun, Berlin Olympics marathon gold medalist Sohn Kee-chung and painter Na Hye-sok had boarded trains at Seoul Station en route to China and Europe.

“As we reflect upon the traces of our history that remain at Seoul Station, we gaze at the future lying ahead of us. I hope that the launch ceremony held at this place [Seoul Station] will be the energetic starting point for commemorating the past century along with the blowing of a whistle that signals the century to come,” Moon said.

The commemorative committee that was officially launched yesterday is expected to not merely commemorate the history of the independence movement but also to serve as a “national vision committee” that creates new values for the country.

“The vision of the commemorative project is a proud people, a just state and a peaceful peninsula. During the Korean Peninsula peace process, we will diligently prepare for peace and future prosperity on the peninsula,” said former prime minister Han Wan-sang during the event. Han is serving as the co-chair of the committee alongside current Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon.

Han announced that the committee would be working on drafting a vision for the next century, organizing a joint inter-Korean 100th anniversary commemorative event and providing education about democratic citizenship and peaceful unification to students in elementary, middle and high schools.

“On the 100th anniversary of the Mar. 1 Movement and the establishment of the provisional government, [the committee] will reaffirm the legitimacy and legal tradition of the Republic of Korea and prepare for the next century of prosperity that is based in democracy, human rights and peace,” the Blue House said.

The launch ceremony itself was no ordinary ceremony, given its focus on expressing a variety of values that the committee will represent. An emphasis was placed on the future generation upholding the spirit of the Mar. 1 Movement, with Han Hyun-min, a model from a multicultural family, pledging allegiance to the Republic of Korea, and students from Ewha Girls’ High School, the alma mater of famed independence activist Yu Gwan-sun, leading the audience in singing the South Korean national anthem.

The actor Kim Jong-gu also recited Kim Koo’s essay “The Country I Want,” as an extension of his role as Kim in a musical about the man who led the provisional government. On Aug. 15, 2017, on the anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japanese rule, Moon visited Hyochang Park, in Seoul’s Yongsan District, where Kim is buried.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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