March 1st Movement

Written and photographed by Yunkyoung (Hillel) Kim.

These pictures were taken during last year’s 100th anniversary commemoration of the March 1st Movement here in Gwangju. I have never seen such a large commemoration as this before. I still cannot find the right words to describe the feelings I got from this day. I thought I was there at the very scene of the actual movement in 1919.

And a few weeks ago, I found out what these female students’ acts stood for. The women pictured were taking the role of students from the Jennie Speer Memorial School for Girls (now Gwangju Speer Girls’ High School), who participated in the movement 100 years ago. One of them who led not only the students, but also the rest of the participants, was a student named Yoon Hyungsook. As in the picture, she stood front and center waving flags. A Japanese soldier chopped off her right arm with his sword in order to frighten the protesters and disperse the crowds. She did not retreat but took the flag from her severed hand and waved it with her left hand.

I could not believe the story of Yoon Hyungsook when I first heard it, but it is in fact a part of our history. As a person who is living in Gwangju, I wanted to share this with all of you.

THE AUTHOR

Yunkyoung (Hillel) Kim is a priest in the Anglican Church and also a portrait photographer. More of his pictures can be found at www.instagram.com/hillelkim.