The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Homeless women struggle to find place to spend night

  • 3

    More than dozen chaebol scions indicted on alleged drug use

  • 5

    People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions

  • 7

    Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film

  • 9

    Life prisoner sentenced to death for beating inmate to death

  • 11

    Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E'

  • 13

    Korea's childbirths hit record low in Nov.

  • 15

    Korea's GDP shrinks 0.4% in Q4, 1st contraction in 10 quarters

  • 17

    Jang Keun-suk steps out of his comfort zone with 'The Bait'

  • 19

    Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings

  • 2

    Koreans stunned by spike in heating costs

  • 4

    Heavy snow hits Seoul, surrounding areas

  • 6

    Netflix series 'The Glory' draws focus to real school bullying

  • 8

    Inflation weighs on households

  • 10

    'I was a stock investment addict': psychiatrist seeks to help addicted people through his book

  • 12

    INTERVIEWPartnerships with Korean companies help Delta Air Lines' post-pandemic recovery

  • 14

    PHOTOSAnother day of heavy snowfall in Korea

  • 16

    Gov't to double subsidies for vulnerable households as energy bills soar

  • 18

    S. Korea to increase joint air defense exercises following N. Korean drone incursions

  • 20

    Gov't seeks to limit where child sex offenders can reside

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Sat, January 28, 2023 | 09:01
Kim Ji-myung
1919-2019: time for new narratives
Posted : 2018-07-29 17:23
Updated : 2018-07-29 17:35
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Kim Ji-myung

The year 1919 marked a historical turning point in Korea. It was the 10th year of Japanese colonial rule. Emperor Gojong suddenly died on Jan. 21, 1919, at today's Deoksu Palace. Rumors and information from reliable sources pointed to Japan as the mastermind of his murder by poisoning.

The Japanese had dethroned Emperor Gojong in 1907, replacing him with his unprepared son, Sunjong. Why? Japan decided to remove Gojong who dispatched three envoys behind Japan's back to The Hague in the Netherlands to proclaim Korea's rejection and protest Japan's illegitimate control of the country at the World Peace Conference.

The poisoning of Gojong was a measure to silence him for good as he continued to fight for Korea's independence. Later it was found the Japanese governor-general in Korea had the royal doctor poison the emperor's tea, according to the memoir of Yi Bang-ja (1901-1989), the consort of Crown Prince Euimin.

Words of officials who inspected the emperor's body instantly circulated throughout the city: His mouth was all black inside, and whole uprooted teeth were found at the bottom of his mouth.

The national funeral for the deceased emperor was slated for March 3, 1919. Enraged and frustrated at the story of the murder of their ruler of 56 years by the Japanese, people from across the country congregated in front of the main gate of Deoksu Palace to mourn his death.

This voluntary and peaceful gathering in protest against the Japanese interference in the Korean government was the beginning of what we now call the March 1 Independence Movement.

The Korean Declaration of Independence was read and the March 1 Independence Movement spread across the country. In reaction to Japanese suppression of the movement, the Korean Provisional Government was created in April 1919 as a government in exile in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan published a 10-year report, praising Japan's achievements in Korea and Manchuria. Before and after pictures contrasted the rugged poor agrarian lands and the well-designed modern commercial and industrial towns with newly built roads and buildings.

Next year, 2019, will be the 100-year anniversary of these events. Seoul reportedly proposed to Pyongyang to stage a centennial jubilee of the March First Movement together.

Korea's historical events cannot be independent of neighboring countries, especially Japan. In that sense, history is never a thing of the past but is here with us.

It is unfortunate the people of the two countries lack fundamental trust in one another. Their manners of expression and communication vastly differ. We can look in more detail at the events of 1919 and see how the views between Korea and Japan still differ.

Japan may ignore the fact, but Koreans can never forget the seven years of total destruction of their land and abductions by Japanese invaders during the 1592-98 Imjin War. Japanese students may not learn about the invasion itself.

Nor can Koreans forget the murder of Queen Min (Empress Myeongseong), committed inside Gyeongbok Palace by a group of Japanese elites and so-called ronin, or lordless samurai aristocrats. The killing in 1895 was brutal and vulgar, unprecedented by any standard of international law or diplomatic relations. Maybe because the act was so shameful, the Japanese do not teach about this event to their people.

It is ironic that the first in-depth book on this event, "Murder of Queen Min," was written by author Fusako Tsunoda (1914-2010) in 1993. Tsunoda was at first shocked to hear about the Japan's brutal killing of the queen of a neighboring country inside her quarters. And she felt ashamed to have been totally ignorant of such history. After five years of research, she presented a detailed and fact-based narrative of the event.

Since the people of Japan and Korea met as imperial colonizers and the colonized 120 years ago, we have lived in absolutely different worlds. Our narratives on history could never draw closer.

Sometimes we hope that Japan as a nation could open their minds to acknowledge their historic acts. Today, is our mutual understanding much different since 100 years ago? On our part, we may ask ourselves, are we telling stories on history in cool, objective calmness?


The writer (Heritagekorea21@gmail.com) is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).


 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions People attempt to cut surging heating costs with creative solutions
2Seoul to work with Hanoi to pursue peace on Korean peninsula Seoul to work with Hanoi to pursue peace on Korean peninsula
3Cabinet ministries turn deaf ear to watchdog's advice on sexual minorities Cabinet ministries turn deaf ear to watchdog's advice on sexual minorities
4More Korean manufacturers enjoy Georgia's hospitality More Korean manufacturers enjoy Georgia's hospitality
5SK E&S retains gov't support for Barossa gas project in Australia SK E&S retains gov't support for Barossa gas project in Australia
6Superintendent of Seoul Education Office gets suspended jail term Superintendent of Seoul Education Office gets suspended jail term
7KT&G aims to become global top-tier company KT&G aims to become global top-tier company
8Indonesia celebrates 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea via virtual event Indonesia celebrates 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea via virtual event
9LGES to capitalize on US IRA, Tesla partnership to continue record earnings LGES to capitalize on US IRA, Tesla partnership to continue record earnings
10Middle East 'sales diplomacy' picks up speed Middle East 'sales diplomacy' picks up speed
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film Shunsuke Michieda overwhelmed by Korean fans' support for his coming-of-age film
2Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E' Kim Hyun-joo says humanity is at heart of action film 'Jung_E'
3Jang Keun-suk steps out of his comfort zone with 'The Bait' Jang Keun-suk steps out of his comfort zone with 'The Bait'
4Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings Renaissance aesthetics meets surreal fantasy in Park Min-joon's oil paintings
5BLACKPINK sets 6 more Guinness records BLACKPINK sets 6 more Guinness records
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

wooribank
CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group