| The 1919 Korean Declaration of Independence |
2019-04-12 |
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| 기자 | 이메일 |
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HK세미오시스연구센터·외대학보 공동기획
We hereby declare Joseon to be a sovereign nation and the people of Joseon to be independent. We tell it to the world that the cause of equality for mankind is manifested, and proclaim to all future generations that they may enjoy the legitimate right to independence. This declaration is made with the authority of five thousand years of history, is spread far and wide by the combined loyalty of twenty million people, and is asserted for the constant development of eternal freedom for our people. We raise this issue for advancement, matched to the great movements and opportunities for world reform based on the awakening conscience of mankind. This is the command of heaven and the great tendency of our time, and the valid exercise of the right of the all mankind to live in harmony. Nothing on earth and nothing in heaven may prevent or hold back it.
Already ten years have passed since we became the victims of the invasionism and authoritarianism, the relics of a bygone era, for the first time in several thousand of years, having suffered from other people’s oppression and troubles. For the time, how much has our right to life been stripped away, how many countless things lost, how much our spiritual development hindered, how much our people’s dignity and honor damaged? How much have we been deprived of our opportunities to contribute our eminent creativity to the development of world culture?
Alas! In order to shake off the chagrin of the past, to strip away the suffering in front of our eyes, to eliminate the threats to our future, to unleash and unfold the crushed, withered, and faded conscience of the nation and the dignity and morality of the country, to sufficiently develop the character of every man, to leave no shameful reality to our poor sons and daughters, and to leave to posterity an eternal and complete reward and happiness, the biggest and most urgent task is to ensure the independence of our people. And today every one of our twenty million people bear swords in their hearts when the universality of mankind and the conscience of the ages help us, leading the army of justice and carrying the weapon of humanitarianism. And thus we are proceeding to take, hence no strength we cannot destroy; we are retrieving to recover, hence no purpose we cannot accomplish.
We do not intend to punish Japan’s betrayal of having abandoned the solemn pledges since the Treaty of Amity of 1876. We do not intend to reprimand Japan for their lack of honor because their scholars on their platforms and their politicians in offices have regarded our occupations, which have passed down generation to generation since antiquity, as the property of the colony, and viewed our civilized people as barbarians and have indulged in their simple pleasures of the conqueror. We do not reproach Japan’s unfaithful meanness of having ignored our longstanding social foundations and the remarkable spirit of our people. Busy lashing and encouraging ourselves, we have no time for blaming others. Rushing to closely and carefully prepare for the future, we have no time to punish old wrongs or lay blame for misdeeds.
The task that we face today is just to raise ourselves up, not to destroy others. We only seek to pioneer our new destinies by the command of a solemn conscience, not by holding on to old grudges and temporary emotions to ostracize others. We wish to adjust and correct the deviated state of the Japanese politicians, who are enslaved with futile glory and fame and tied down by antiquated ideas and old power and have fallen into unnaturalness and irrationality, and to return to the path toward a foundation that is upright and honorable, natural and rational.
Look at the reality of today: that the annexation was not based upon national desire, and the result is ultimately a deep pit of resentment between two nations with different interests, born of conventional coercion, discriminatory inequality, and falsified statistics. To correct these old mistakes with alacrity and bright resolution, should it not be understood that the development of a new, friendly state with a foundation in true understanding and sympathy is a shortcut to defeat anger and invite fortune? Not only can the continuing peace of the East not be guaranteed by the forceful suppression of these twenty million people with their built-up grudges and rage, the fear and envy toward Japan carried by four hundred million Chinese, who are the deciding force behind the safety or danger of the East, grows even stronger, and because it is clear that the entire East will fall into a miserable destiny of ruin as a result, the independence of Joseon today will not only achieve proper survival and prosperity for its citizens: it will also lead Japan to be away from the wrong path and achieve their responsibility as protectors of the East; it will let China escape from their unforgettable anxiety and fear; it will become a necessary step toward world peace and happiness for mankind, which are important parts of peace in the East.
How could this be a problem of trivial emotion? Oh, a new world spreads out before us. The age of power is gone, and the age of morality has come. A humanitarian spirit cultivated and polished through centuries has just now begun to shine onto human history the dawn of a new civilization. Early spring has come to the whole world and is urging all things to be revived. If the state of the previous age was so harsh and cold that it left people breathless and unable to move, then the state of this age is what makes the spirit and blood break free and unfold in the clear breeze and warm sunlight, and we, who heard of the fortune returned to the earth and rode the changed currents of the world, will have no cause for hesitation and nothing in our way.
We will wholly protect our inherent right to freedom, will enjoy to the fullest a vigorous life, and will display our abundant creative powers to establish a pure and shining national culture on the spring-filled earth. We will break free and rise. Conscience is at our side and the truth advances with us. Man and woman, young and old alike will rise briskly from the old nests and achieve a happy and pleasant revival together with all of nature. The spirits of our distant ancestors help us, though unseen, and the vitality of the entire world protects us outside. So the beginning itself is a success. Here and now, with strength, toward the bright light of the road ahead, we will only go onward.
Three Pledges
One, that our rebellion today is a national demand for justice, humanity, survival and honor, and we will demonstrate only our freedom of spirit, without falling into exclusive emotions and straying from the truth.
One, that we will announce with no hesitation the true doctrine of our nation, until the very last man, until the very last moment.
One, that all our actions respect order above all, and we will keep our arguments and attitudes upright and honorable.
On this, the first day of March, in the 4252nd year since the founding of Joseon. Representing the people of Joseon:
Son Byeonghee Gil Seonju Lee Pilju
Baek Yongseong Kim Wangyu Kim Byeongjo
Kim Changjun Kwon Dongjin Kwon Byeongdeok
Na Yonghwan Na Inhyeop Yang Soonbaek
Yang Hanmuk Yoo Yeodae Lee Gapseong
Lee Myeongryong Lee Seunghun Lee Jonghun
Lee Jongil Im Yehwan Park Junseung
Park Huido Park Dongwan Shin Hongsik
Shin Seokgu Oh Sechang Oh Hwayeong
Jeong Chunsu Choi Seongmo Choi Rin
Han Yongun Hong Byeongki Hong Kijo
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