Participation of Supia Girls’ Middle and High School and Soongil High School Students
Manse Demonstration Performance and Street Play for Citizens
Namgu District of Gwangju will hold a reenactment event of the March 10th Independence Movement, which was the first and largest in Gwangju and Jeonnam 106 years ago, protesting Japanese colonial rule and demanding independence in the Yangnim-dong area. The photo shows the reenactment event of the March 10th Independence Movement held in 2023. Provided by Namgu District of Gwangju.
Gwangju Nam-gu announced on the 27th that it will hold a reenactment event of the March 10th Independence Movement, which took place 106 years ago in Yangnim-dong. This movement was the first and largest in Gwangju and Jeonnam to resist Japanese colonial rule and call for independence.
The Gwangju March 1st Movement Memorial Association is organizing the event, with support from Nam-gu.The reenactment of the Gwangju March 10th Independence Movement will take place on the 7th of next month from 2:00 p.m. at the main gate of Supia Girls’ High School and throughout the Yangnim-dong area.
This event commemorates the 106th anniversary of the March 1st Movement and reflects on the historical significance and value of the March 10th Independence Movement, which marked the full-scale beginning of Gwangju’s independence movement. Around 500 students from Supia Girls’ Middle and High School and Soongil High School, as well as about 1,000 citizens, are expected to participate.
The reenactment will proceed in the order of cultural events, commemorative ceremonies, and a Manse (independence) march. At the cultural event, the Supia Girls’ High School student council will present a Manse demonstration performance, and the Obang Choi Heungjong Memorial Hall will stage a street play for citizens titled "Becoming the Spark of the March 1st Independence Movement."
Supia Girls’ High School, which produced 23 independence activists including the patriotic martyr Yoon Hyungsuk, was closed in 1937 for refusing to participate in Shinto shrine worship. The Manse demonstration performance by the current students is especially meaningful as it honors the patriotic spirit of their predecessors and independence activists. The commemorative ceremony will follow, featuring a speech by a student representative, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and a meaningful awards ceremony.
The Gwangju March 1st Movement Memorial Association will present the 2nd Gwangju March 10th Independence Movement Award posthumously to the late Kim Cheol, an independence activist who played a key role in the March 1st Movement in Gwangju. Kim Cheol was imprisoned for three years for his involvement in the movement and later served as the first secretary-general of Gwangju YMCA, secretary of the Singanhoe, and vice-chairman of the Committee for the Preparation of National Foundation, dedicating his life to national and independence movements. His father, the nationalist Kim Chang-gon, was executed for leading anti-Japanese activities in the Naju area at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.
After the commemorative ceremony, all participants will join in a Manse march to relive the spirit of that historic day.
An official from the district said, "Descendants and successors of independence activists will honor the noble sacrifices of our patriotic forebears and reflect once again on that day’s history," adding, "We hope for much interest and participation in this meaningful event."
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