Daegu Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Selects National Debt Redemption Movement Monument as January "Memorial Facility of the Month"

A National Sovereignty Movement Begins in Daegu in 1907
Spreading Nationwide Through Citizen Participation

The Daegu Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (Director Kim Jongsul) designates and promotes a "Memorial Facility of the Month" each year to help local residents become more familiar with memorial sites and to encourage reflection on the value of national service in daily life. For January of this year, the "National Debt Redemption Movement Monument," located at the Daegu Concert House in Jung-gu, Daegu, was selected as the Memorial Facility of the Month.

The National Debt Redemption Movement was a national campaign that began in January 1907 in Daegu, with the aim of restoring national sovereignty by having citizens voluntarily repay the 13 million won national debt that the Korean Empire was forced to bear by Imperial Japan. The movement, which started in Daegu, quickly spread across the country and had a profound impact on Korean society at the time.

On January 29, 1907, at a meeting at Gwangmun-sa in Daegu, patriot leaders from the region, including Kim Gwangje and Seo Sangdon, drafted and distributed a manifesto for the National Debt Redemption Movement throughout the nation, following a proposal by Seo Sangdon. On February 21 of the same year, the Daegu Citizens' Rally for the National Debt Redemption Movement was held at Bukhujeong in Daegu. Countless citizens, regardless of age or gender, participated in the rally, voluntarily collecting donations and demonstrating their determination to restore national sovereignty.

Although the country later suffered the humiliation of the Japan-Korea Annexation, the donations collected through the National Debt Redemption Movement became the financial foundation for the movement to establish a national university, leaving an important mark in modern Korean history.

The National Debt Redemption Movement Monument was erected on October 16, 1997, at the site of the former Bukhujeong pavilion, where the Daegu Citizens' Rally was held on February 21, 1907. Recognizing its historical significance, it was designated as a memorial facility by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2007.

The Daegu Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated, "The National Debt Redemption Movement Monument is a space symbolizing the spirit of voluntary participation and solidarity to protect the nation through the power of the people. We hope that, with its selection as the Memorial Facility of the Month, more citizens will visit memorial sites, reflect on the meaning of history, and that the culture of honoring patriots will spread further in everyday life."