Nationwide anti-Japanese resistance

Nationwide anti-Japanese resistance The March First Popular Uprising which was vigorously staged one century ago was the patriotic resistance to retake the sovereignty of the country and the nation usurped by the Japanese imperialists. The uprising swept over Korea in a moment and it influenced Koreans in foreign countries including Manchuria, Shanghai, the Littoral Province of Siberia and Hawaii. At that time, millions of broad spectrum of Korean people took part in the uprising. Stunned by the anti-Japanese resistance of the Korean people, the Japanese imperialists hurled all their repressive forces including the army and policemen into indiscriminately massacring the demonstrators, killing and arresting the people at random. The March First Popular Uprising fully demonstrated the Korean nation’s steadfast anti-Japanese spirit and independent mettle to decorate the page of history of the national liberation struggle against imperialism. Commemorative events were held in south Korea and overseas Korean community in Japan, US, Britain and France to mark the uprising.   They demanded Japan to atone for the past crimes and called for achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean Peninsula At a rally held in Seoul, they remembered the Korean compulsory laborers and demanded the Japanese government to make apology and reparation for its past crimes.   Civic and overseas organizations called a press conference outside the old Japanese embassy to protest against the Japanese authorities’ suppression of Koreans in Japan and urged the authorities to resolve discrimination of Korean schools in Japan. Through a statement issued on March 1, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said that it marked the 100th anniversary of the March First Popular Uprising at a time when the south Korean people are waging the nationwide action to open up a fresh era of peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. It called for the workers to turn out in the action for implementing inter-Korean declarations.