hankyoreh

Yu Gwan-sun

Yu Gwan-sun, a 16-year old girl who became a hero of the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period, was profiled in the Mar. 29 edition of the New York Times as part of the newspaper’s “Overlooked” series. Yu was involved in the Mar. 1 independence movement of 1919, participating in marches, distributing copies of the Korean declaration of independence and handing out Taegeuki flags in her hometown of Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

Yu was imprisoned for her part in the movement and sent to Seodaemun Prison in Seoul, along with thousands of other independence activists. She was subjected to harsh interrogations and torture, and died on Sept. 28, 1920 at the age of 17. Before dying, she wrote that, “even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my country. My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country.”