[KS] Official end of WWII in Asia

[gkl1 at columbia.edu]

Ruediger's question has led to one of the more thoughtful threads to  
unwind on this list.

An ChunggOn (안중근 d. 1909) in 1909 and Yun Ponggil (윤봉길 d. 1932) later  
received the same posthumous honor from the Korean government  
(specifically 건국 공로 (Meritorious Efforts in Establishing the Nation,  
1962), and for the last sixty-five years have been eulogized in Korean  
histories, movies and classrooms as 의사 ("righteous gentleman," with an  
etymological echo of
"righteous soldier") and 순국 ("martyr for the nation"). There can be  
little doubt that their exploits have been very widely embraced in  
South Korea.

On the other hand, in 1919, 손병희 (Son PyOnghUi), 이승훈 (Yi SUnghun), 오세창  
(O Sech'ang), and 권동진 (KwOn Tongjin), as leaders of the March First  
Movement, had insisted on non-violent advocacy for independence, a  
stance that was universally accepted and supported by the Korean  
people at that time. In 1962, those leaders were posthumously awarded  
exactly the same honors as Yun and An, and their actions have likewise  
been applauded ever since in South Korean classrooms, movies, and  
history books.

With Yun and An, much worse Japanese policies followed--their own  
immediate executions, the bloody "military" phase of the Japanese  
occupation from 1910-1919, and after 1932 the march toward the banning  
of the Korean language, wide pressures toward Japanese surnames,  
religious restrictions, and hundreds of thousands of Korean forced  
laborers and "comfort women" sent throughout the Japanese empire, and  
many other national humiliations both private and public.

No one would imply that the period that followed the March First  
Movement was any picnic of freedom and independence, but the 33 March  
First leaders kept their lives and mostly died in their own homes  
while the urban population at least could take advantage of  
significant opportunites for educational and commercial advancement  
and the general promotion of cultural activity in Korean literature,  
arts, movies, and journalism. Millions of Koreans could take
justifiable pride and inspiration in that they had made a valid  
political point by simply expressing, from one end of the country to  
the other, their entitlement to independence, and making many Japanese  
understand, if not actually admit, that they had been morally defeated.

The Koreans had not won, but they had shown the positive side of their
character and determination. Whether the Japanese accepted that or
not, it was a fact.

In spite of their virtual equality in terms of formal national honors
and patriotic remembrance, there is an undeniable moral difference in terms
of these two different approaches to independence. The stance of the  
March First leaders and the Korean people of 1919 is superior both in  
moral terms and in the relative efficacy of the practical consequences.

The Gandhian model of non-violent political demonstration had been  
demonstrated clearly in South Africa before 1919, and while the March  
First Movement was not a success in terms of gaining independence, it  
was an inspiration to most of those who had participated in it and  
seen it in action. One wonders what, if anything, An ChunggOn and Yun  
Ponggil might have thought about that.

Gari Ledyard


Ruediger Frank <ruediger.frank at univie.ac.at> wrote:

> Dear all,
> am I the only one who has second thoughts regarding this thread?
> Let me put it this way: In today's world, would Mr. Yoon's deeds be   
>     regarded as an act of heroism? Or as an example of another -ism?  
>    Not   that such a discussion would lead us very far on this list,  
>    but I   find it interesting to observe how blowing up a person  
> (or    ripping   off one of his legs) with a bomb can be interpreted  
> in    very   different ways depending on... on what? On context? On   
>   culture? On   vantage point?
> Best wishes,
> Rudiger Frank
>











Ruediger Frank <ruediger.frank at univie.ac.at> wrote:

> Dear all,
> am I the only one who has second thoughts regarding this thread?
> Let me put it this way: In today's world, would Mr. Yoon's deeds be   
> regarded as an act of heroism? Or as an example of another -ism? Not  
>  that such a discussion would lead us very far on this list, but I   
> find it interesting to observe how blowing up a person (or ripping   
> off one of his legs) with a bomb can be interpreted in very   
> different ways depending on... on what? On context? On culture? On   
> vantage point?
> Best wishes,
> Rudiger Frank
>