Four new books that collected German and Japanese news articles on Korea during the Japanese colonial rule, including Japanese news articles on the February 8 Independence Movement in 1919, are published.
The Independence Hall of Korea said on Tuesday that it recently published “A collection of German news articles on Korea,” “A collection of news articles on Korea by Jiji ShinboⅠ·Ⅱ,” and “A collection of news articles on Korea by Osaka Asahi Shimbun Ⅲ.” These books are part of a series about Korean independence movement published annually by the Independence Hall of Korea. These new books will be distributed to colleges and public libraries nationwide.
There are articles on the February 8th Independence Declaration by Korean students studying in Tokyo in “A collection of news articles on Korea by Jiji Shinbo Ⅱ,” in which news articles from 1919 to 1932 are extracted. According to the Independence Hall of Korea, the Jiji Shinbo ran an article on February 9, 1919 that said more than 600 Koreans got into a tussle with Japanese policemen at the Joseon Christian Youth Center in Kanda on a snowy day and 29 of them were arrested. The article quoted a Korean student as saying, “We will strive to achieve our purpose under any pressure until only one of us is left. Those who are placed under apprehension should feel proud of themselves because they are fighting for a great cause.”
Another article reported about Korean students studying in Tokyo chanting “Manse,” or “Long Live!” at Tokyo’s Hibiya Park, celebrating the first anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement. The Jiji Shinbo reported on March 2, 1920 that some 200 Korean students staged a protest against Japan’s colonial rule and 53 of them got arrested as a result. The article included a photo of seven female students, including Hwang Shin-deok, who were kept in custody at Hibiya Police Station. The Independence Hall of Korea said those articles show how young Koreans studying in Japan fought for Korea’s independence around the March 1st Independence Movement.
German newspaper “Vossische Zeitung” reported an article about the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake on October 9, 1923 and specified that Koreans were slaughtered there, citing the testimony of Germans, who witnessed the earthquake in Japan. “It appeared that Japanese soldiers were protecting Koreans but they were in fact all shot to death,” the article wrote. The article is significant in that it revealed what actually happened in Kanto despite Japan’s attempt to cover up the fact that Koreans were massacred by Japanese soldiers.
Another German newspaper “Allgemeine Zeitung” detailed the efforts by Yi Wi-jong (1887~?), who was a member of the Hague secret emissary in 1907. The “Deutsch-Chinesische Nachrichten,” a German newspaper published in Tenjin, China, reported the patriotic deed of Lee Bong-chang and Yoon Bong-gil.
Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com