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127-460: Gojong ( Korean :  고종 ; Hanja :  高宗 ; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myeongbok ( 이명복 ; 李命福 ), later Yi Hui ( 이희 ; 李㷩 ), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor ( 광무제 ; 光武帝 ), was the penultimate Korean monarch . He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 1907, first as the last king of Joseon , and then as the first emperor of

254-602: A government in exile abroad, but was unsuccessful each time. Korea formally became a Japanese colony in 1910, and the Korean imperial family was formally absorbed into the Japanese. Gojong died on 21 January 1919, in his palace, in conditions that were then and are still seen in Korea as suspicious. The official cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage but rumors persisted that Gojong had been poisoned by Japan  [ ko ] . His death

381-596: A system of speech levels and honorifics indicative of the formality of any given situation. Modern Korean is written in the Korean script ( 한글 ; Hangeul in South Korea, 조선글 ; Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea), a system developed during the 15th century for that purpose, although it did not become the primary script until the 20th century. The script uses 24 basic letters ( jamo ) and 27 complex letters formed from

508-484: A Korean influence on Khitan. The hypothesis that Korean could be related to Japanese has had some supporters due to some overlap in vocabulary and similar grammatical features that have been elaborated upon by such researchers as Samuel E. Martin and Roy Andrew Miller . Sergei Starostin (1991) found about 25% of potential cognates in the Japanese–Korean 100-word Swadesh list . Some linguists concerned with

635-518: A consensus that nonviolent resistance and turning international public opinion against Japan would be effective in advocating for Korea's independence. They also agreed that they needed assistance from other major groups in Korea. They dispatched representatives to negotiate and secure the cooperation of major politicians and groups in Korea. Some negotiations were strained and took months; they became so disheartened by these setbacks that they reportedly even considered abandoning their plan. However,

762-477: A core vowel. The IPA symbol ⟨ ◌͈ ⟩ ( U+0348 ◌͈ COMBINING DOUBLE VERTICAL LINE BELOW ) is used to denote the tensed consonants /p͈/, /t͈/, /k͈/, /t͡ɕ͈/, /s͈/ . Its official use in the extensions to the IPA is for "strong" articulation, but is used in the literature for faucalized voice . The Korean consonants also have elements of stiff voice , but it is not yet known how typical this

889-613: A critical impact on the timing of, and even the altogether occurrence of, the March First Movement. By the mid-1910s, several hundred Korean students were studying in Japan as part of Japan's cultural assimilation efforts. While there, they were exposed to and developed a variety of ideas, which they discussed and debated. Of particular interest to them were ideas from the West, particularly liberal democracy , which they received in part via

1016-489: A declaration of independence, which they sent to the Japanese government, attendees of the Paris Peace Conference, and to representatives of various countries. The students were arrested en masse by Japanese authorities, although news of their act reached Korea. In late 1918, leaders of the native Korean religion Cheondoism , including Kwŏn Tongjin  [ ko ] , O Se-chang , and Son Byong-hi , reached

1143-462: A drawn sword (李秉武拔劒威嚇)." "Yi Wan-yong drew his sword and shouted in a rough voice, 'Do you not understand what kind of world we are in right now?' People around tried to stab Yi Wan-yong with a sword, but the Emperor eventually waved him off and said, 'In that case, it would be better to step down first.'" Yi Wan-yong and others withdrew. The overnight council meeting ended at 5 a.m. The attendants entered

1270-459: A few extinct relatives which—along with the Jeju language (Jejuan) of Jeju Island and Korean itself—form the compact Koreanic language family . Even so, Jejuan and Korean are not mutually intelligible . The linguistic homeland of Korean is suggested to be somewhere in contemporary Manchuria . The hierarchy of the society from which the language originates deeply influences the language, leading to

1397-482: A foreign film from being screened in Korea because the film had images of President Wilson. After the conclusion of the war, various nations participated in the 1919–1920 Paris Peace Conference , during which the sovereignty of a number of nations was discussed. Koreans made a number of unsuccessful attempts to be represented at the conference. The Korean-American Korean National Association attempted to send Syngman Rhee and Henry Chung  [ ko ] to

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1524-439: A global disinformation campaign on the protests. They promoted a wide range of narratives, including outright denial of any protests occurring, portraying them as violent Bolshevik uprisings, and claiming that Koreans were in need of the benevolent rule of Japan. These narratives were publicly challenged by sympathetic foreigners and by the Korean diaspora. The movement did not result in Korea's prompt liberation, but had

1651-417: A larger role in regions with more developed transportation, and Cheondoists in regions with less developed transportation. According to one estimate, 17% of arrests made during the protests were of Christians, when they composed less than 1% of the population. 58.4% of arrests were of peasants, and 3.9% were of laborers. The Pyongan region played what historian Michael Shin argued was an outsized role in

1778-522: A new era name Gwangmu ( 광무 ; 光武 ; lit.  shining and martial) was declared. This was a symbolic gesture to mark the end of Qing's suzerainty over Korea. That same day, Gojong appointed Sunjong as the Imperial Crown Prince. When the Daewongun died in 1898, Emperor Gwangmu refused to attend the funeral of his father because of their poor relationship. But it was also reported that

1905-481: A number of foreign encroachments. Incidents such as the 1882 Imo Incident , the 1884 Gapsin Coup , the 1894–1895 Donghak Peasant Rebellion , and the 1895 assassination of his wife occurred during his reign. All of these incidents were related to or involved foreign powers. All the while, Gojong attempted to consolidate control, seek foreign support, and modernize the country in order to keep Korea independent. He initiated

2032-545: A number of significant effects. It invigorated the Korean independence movement and resulted in the creation of the Korean Provisional Government . It also caused some damage to Japan's international reputation and caused the Japanese colonial government to grant some limited cultural freedoms to Koreans under a series of policies that have since been dubbed " cultural rule  [ ja ; ko ] ". Furthermore,

2159-513: A possible relationship.) Hudson & Robbeets (2020) suggested that there are traces of a pre- Nivkh substratum in Korean. According to the hypothesis, ancestral varieties of Nivkh (also known as Amuric ) were once distributed on the Korean Peninsula before the arrival of Koreanic speakers. Korean syllable structure is (C)(G)V(C), consisting of an optional onset consonant, glide /j, w, ɰ/ and final coda /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l/ surrounding

2286-497: A reporter for the Chicago Daily News , reportedly witnessed 30 prisoners being kept in a single 10 ft × 6 ft (3.0 m × 1.8 m) room in a Pyongyang prison. Koreans were reportedly kept separate from Japanese prisoners, and given worse facilities. Another issue was heating; physician Jessie Hirst , head of Severance Hospital , reported that four nurses from his hospital were arrested for protesting in

2413-747: A riot, and the Daewongun seized power. When the Imo Incident happened, Queen Min requested the Qing Empire for military support. On 27 June 1882, the Qing deployed about 3,000 soldiers in Seoul. They kidnapped the Daewongun on 7 July 1882, which led the Min family to regain political power. During the Imo incident when Queen Min was taking refuge in her relative's villa, Lady Seon-yeong of

2540-498: A series of secret meetings in Seoul, during which they signed the Korean Declaration of Independence . From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on February 27, they printed 21,000 copies of the declaration at the printing facilities of Posŏngsa  [ ko ] , a publisher affiliated with Cheondoism. On the morning of the 28th, they distributed these copies around the peninsula. They also coordinated the distribution of copies to members of

2667-652: A testimony that was later submitted into the American Congressional Record : It was on the 5th of March that I [joined a] procession at the South Gate . As we neared the Palace , a Japanese policeman seized me by the hair, and I was thrown violently to the ground. He kicked me mercilessly, and I was rendered almost unconscious. He rushed me along by my hair, and I was led to the Chongno Police Station. At

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2794-422: A village at night, set it on fire, and killed people who attempted to put the fires out. On April 15, during the now infamous Jeamni massacre , Japanese authorities lured 20 to 30 Korean civilians into a church, opened fire on them, then burned the church down to hide evidence of the killings. There are reports of crucifixions being performed on Korean Christians; this is attested to in one photograph, which

2921-656: Is an agglutinative language . The Korean language is traditionally considered to have nine parts of speech . Modifiers generally precede the modified words, and in the case of verb modifiers, can be serially appended. The sentence structure or basic form of a Korean sentence is subject–object–verb (SOV), but the verb is the only required and immovable element and word order is highly flexible, as in many other agglutinative languages. Question 가게에 gage-e store- LOC 가셨어요? ga-syeo-sseo-yo go- HON . PAST - CONJ - POL 가게에 가셨어요? gage-e ga-syeo-sseo-yo store-LOC go-HON.PAST-CONJ-POL 'Did [you] go to

3048-511: Is closer to a near-open central vowel ( [ɐ] ), though ⟨a⟩ is still used for tradition. Grammatical morphemes may change shape depending on the preceding sounds. Examples include -eun/-neun ( -은/-는 ) and -i/-ga ( -이/-가 ). Sometimes sounds may be inserted instead. Examples include -eul/-reul ( -을/-를 ), -euro/-ro ( -으로/-로 ), -eseo/-seo ( -에서/-서 ), -ideunji/-deunji ( -이든지/-든지 ) and -iya/-ya ( -이야/-야 ). Some verbs may also change shape morphophonemically. Korean

3175-399: Is mainly reserved for specific circumstances such as newspapers, scholarly papers and disambiguation. Today Hanja is largely unused in everyday life but is still important for historical and linguistic studies. The Korean names for the language are based on the names for Korea used in both South Korea and North Korea. The English word "Korean" is derived from Goryeo , which is thought to be

3302-399: Is of faucalized consonants. They are produced with a partially constricted glottis and additional subglottal pressure in addition to tense vocal tract walls, laryngeal lowering, or other expansion of the larynx. /s/ is aspirated [sʰ] and becomes an alveolo-palatal [ɕʰ] before [j] or [i] for most speakers (but see North–South differences in the Korean language ). This occurs with

3429-716: Is well attested in Western Old Japanese and Northern Ryukyuan languages , in Eastern Old Japanese it only occurs in compounds, and it is only present in three dialects of the Southern Ryukyuan language group . Also, the doublet wo meaning "hemp" is attested in Western Old Japanese and Southern Ryukyuan languages. It is thus plausible to assume a borrowed term. (See Classification of the Japonic languages or Comparison of Japanese and Korean for further details on

3556-667: The French and the United States ' expeditions to Korea, in 1866 and 1871 respectively. The early years of the Daewongun's rule also witnessed a concerted effort to restore the largely dilapidated Gyeongbokgung , the seat of royal authority. During this time, the Seowon (private academies that often doubled as epicenters of factional power), and the power wielded by the Andong Kim clan in particular were dismantled. Finally in 1873, Gojong announced

3683-611: The Gwangmu Reform , which sought to improve the military, industry, and education, to some amount of success. These reforms were seen as insufficient by some parts of the Korean literati, especially the Independence Club , which Gojong at first tolerated but eventually abolished in 1898. After Japan defeated China in the 1894–1895 First Sino-Japanese War , China lost its suzerainty over Korea, which it had held for centuries. In 1897, shortly after returning from his internal exile in

3810-559: The Gyeongui and Gyeongwon railway lines. On March 2, more protests were held in Kaesong and Keiki-dō ( Gyeonggi Province ). On March 3, more were held in Yesan and Chūseinan-dō ( South Chungcheong Province ). Protests continued to spread in this fashion, until by March 19, all thirteen provinces of Korea had hosted protests. On March 21, Jeju Island held their first protest. All but seven of

3937-515: The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 , signed by five ministers of Korea . Gojong refused to sign it and made attempts to bring the treaty to the attention of the international community and convince leading powers of the treaty's illegitimacy, but to no avail. Gojong was forced to abdicate by Japan on 20 July 1907, and was replaced by his son, Yi Cheok . He was then confined to the palace Deoksugung . He made multiple attempts to escape and establish

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4064-583: The Korean Empire from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. His wife, Queen Min (posthumously honored as Empress Myeongseong ), played an active role in politics until her assassination carried out by the Japanese . Gojong oversaw the bulk of the Korean monarchy's final years. He was born into the ruling House of Yi , and was first crowned on 13 December 1863 at the age of twelve. His biological father, Grand Internal Prince Heungseon (widely known as Heungseon Daewongun ), acted as regent until he reached

4191-524: The Korean dialects , which are still largely mutually intelligible . The Chinese language , written with Chinese characters and read with Sino-Xenic pronunciations , was first introduced to Korea in the 1st century BC, and remained the medium of formal writing and government until the late 19th century. Korean scholars adapted Chinese characters (known in Korean as Hanja ) to write their own language, creating scripts known as idu , hyangchal , gugyeol , and gakpil. These systems were cumbersome, due to

4318-645: The Meiji Restoration , secured a victory against Joseon forces in Ganghwa Island , forcing Joseon to sign the Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876. Japan encroached upon Korean territory in search of fish, iron ore, and other natural resources. It also established a strong economic presence in the peninsula, heralding the beginning of Japanese imperialist expansion in East Asia. These events were the roots of Gojong's antipathy to

4445-516: The National Institute of Korean History argue that this reflected increasing discontent in Korea around the time of the movement. Japan had been successfully rapidly industrializing since the late 19th century. Around this time, Western theories surrounding social Darwinism and colonial civilizing missions gained significant traction in Japan. These theories were often used to justify and promote Japanese colonialism . The devastation during

4572-557: The Three Kingdoms of Korea (not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula), while " -eo " and " -mal " mean "language" and "speech", respectively. Korean is also simply referred to as guk-eo , literally "national language". This name is based on the same Han characters ( 國語 "nation" + "language") that are also used in Taiwan and Japan to refer to their respective national languages. In North Korea and China ,

4699-574: The Yuan Shikai 's influence over Korea. Yet Gojong did try to maintain the independence of his nation. The Chinese even considered abdicating Gojong for consolidation of Qing influence in Korea. For Gojong, he believed that relying on to stronger powers was the best solution in the situation without neither army to guard him nor money. However, these decision never followed his own responsibility, ultimately poisoning his very own nation he intended to save. Widespread poverty presented significant challenges to

4826-421: The age of majority , although he continued holding power until 1874. At this time, Korea was under policies of strict isolationism . By contrast, Japan had been rapidly modernizing under the Meiji Restoration . In 1876, Japan forcefully opened Korea and began a decades-long process of moving the peninsula into its own sphere of influence. For the following few decades, Korea was highly unstable, and subjected to

4953-572: The coronation of Nicholas II of Russia . Min returned to Korea in October 1896 with Russian Army instructors. These instructors were able to train guards which enabled Gojong to return to palace in February 1897. On 13 October 1897, Gojong declared himself Emperor of Korea in a ceremony at the newly constructed altar Hwangudan . The name of the state was also changed to the Great Korean Empire , and

5080-562: The national language of both North Korea and South Korea . Beyond Korea, the language is recognized as a minority language in parts of China , namely Jilin , and specifically Yanbian Prefecture , and Changbai County . It is also spoken by Sakhalin Koreans in parts of Sakhalin , the Russian island just north of Japan, and by the Koryo-saram in parts of Central Asia . The language has

5207-949: The 16th century for all Korean classes, including uneducated peasants and slaves. By the 17th century, the yangban had exchanged Hangul letters with slaves, which suggests a high literacy rate of Hangul during the Joseon era. In the context of growing Korean nationalism in the 19th century, the Gabo Reform of 1894 abolished the Confucian examinations and decreed that government documents would be issued in Hangul instead of literary Chinese. Some newspapers were published entirely in Hangul, but other publications used Korean mixed script , with Hanja for Sino-Korean vocabulary and Hangul for other elements. North Korea abolished Hanja in writing in 1949, but continues to teach them in schools. Their usage in South Korea

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5334-406: The 1914–1918 First World War was a shock to many, and motivated intellectuals in Korea and around the world to discuss liberal reforms, especially anti-colonialism , and ideals that would serve to discourage future such conflicts. After the end of the war in 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson announced his vision for establishing peace and the new world order. This vision was dubbed

5461-470: The 19th century Joseon Dynasty. Starvation was rampant, and much of the populace lived in run-down shanties lined along dirt roads. Famine, poverty, crushing taxes, and corruption among the ruling class, led to many notable peasant revolts in the 19th century. In 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution took hold as an anti-government, anti- yangban , and anti-foreign campaign. One leading cause of

5588-657: The 218 administrative districts in Korea hosted protests. Various locations often hosted multiple protests for weeks afterwards. Numerous small villages hosted three or four protests. For example, Hoengseong County held a series of protests from March 27 to mid-April. Protests often coincided with market days, and were often held at government offices. The protests were broadly supported across economic and religious spectrums, including groups such as merchants, noblemen, literati, kisaeng , laborers, monks, Christians, Cheondoists, Buddhists, students, and farmers. Korean shop owners reportedly closed their doors in solidarity with

5715-609: The 33 signers of the declaration gathered in Taehwagwan to start the protest. The signers conducted a prominent reading of the declaration in the restaurant. The Korean restaurant owner An Sunhwan ( 안순환 ; 安淳煥 ) rushed over and reported the event to the Japanese Government-General of Chōsen , which caused the signers to be arrested by around 80 Japanese military police officers. Meanwhile, around 4,000 to 5,000 people assembled at Tapgol Park after hearing there

5842-519: The 6th, Song Byeong-jun , a Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, made a demand to Emperor Gojong. "Either go to Japan yourself and apologize to the Emperor, or apologize to General Hasegawa in front of the Daehan Gate." According to Japanese records, the former council meeting on this day lasted for two hours, during which the Prime Minister instead made a declaration of war and threatened

5969-706: The Chun Sang Door Incident in 1895. Gojong perceived the need for refuge. On 11 February 1896, King Gojong and his crown prince fled from the Gyeongbokgung to the Russian legation in Seoul , from where they governed for about one year, an event known as Gojong's internal exile to the Russian legation . Because of staying in the Russian legation many concessions of Korea were taken by Russia. Gojong sent Min Young-hwan to

6096-602: The Emperor's abdication at 8 p.m. The area outside Gyeongun Palace was surrounded by the pro-Japanese organization Iljinhoe , led by Song Byeong-jun . The Emperor requested more time (帝答之以思數日而下批). The meeting, which ended at 10 p.m., resumed at 1 a.m. the next morning. The details of this meeting are recorded in "Maechen Yarok" by Hwang Hyeon and "Daehan Gye-nyeon-sa" (A History of Late Korean Empire) written by Jung Gyo. "Wan-yong and seven others entered. The Emperor refused (to abdicate). Wan-yong and Byeong-jun used disrespectful language countless times. Lee Byeong-mu threatened with

6223-654: The Emperor, while the Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry pressured him to apologize in front of the palace. On 16 July, the pro-Japanese cabinet met with the Emperor and demanded that he sign the Eulsa Treaty as a measure to stabilize the country, apologize to the Japanese Emperor, and abdicate the throne. Gojong refused. On 17 July, Seoul was in turmoil. Wall posters appeared in Jongno and other places, saying, "Look at

6350-512: The Fourteen Points, and included the right of national self-determination . Koreans who learned of Wilson's vision were inspired, and interpreted it as signaling support for their independence movement. Their sympathy to the U.S. and the Allies reportedly greatly increased. The sincerity behind Wilson's advocacy for self-determination is debated. Some scholars argue his advocacy was limited to

6477-519: The Imjin War! Is it the result of the Queen's execution incident?" "The Japanese aggression is unstoppable and imminent." The cabinet once again demanded the Emperor's abdication. An enraged Gojong once again refused. On 18 July, a cabinet meeting lasted for two hours at Yi Wan-yong 's residence. The agenda was the Emperor's abdication. The lackeys who received orders from Resident-General Ito Hirobumi announced

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6604-797: The Independence Club, which angered them. After rumors emerged, possibly spread by conservative politicians, that the Independence Club planned to abolish the empire and proclaim a republic, Gojong abolished them instead. Gojong was subjected to many assassination or abdication attempts. First in July 1898, Ahn Gyeong-su, the Minister of Military tried to abdicate Gojong. Ahn was executed for conspiracy on 28 May 1900. Second, on 12 September 1898, Kim Hong-rok tried to assassinate Gojong with by instilling poison in Gojong's coffee. In 1904, some Korean students in Japan tried to make Gojong abdicate, and make Prince Imperial Ui

6731-591: The Japanese Taishō Democracy movement and Wilson's Fourteen Points. By early 1919, their ideas coalesced, and they also became angered by the rebuffing of the Korean representatives to the Paris Peace Conference, by the brutality of Japanese rule, and by the possibility that Gojong had been poisoned. On February 8, 600 students of the Korean Young People's Independence Organization ( 조선청년독립단 ; 朝鮮靑年獨立團 ) proclaimed and publicly distributed

6858-485: The Japanese Empire. The Treaty of Ganghwa became the first unequal treaty signed between Korea and a foreign country; it gave extraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens in Korea and forced the Korean government to open three ports, Busan , Chemulpo (Incheon), and Wonsan , to Japanese and foreign trade. With the signing of such a lopsided treaty, Korea became easy prey for competing imperialistic powers, paving

6985-542: The Japanese intensified, and he turned to Russia as an ally by signing Russia–Korea Treaty of 1884 . He sent many emissaries to Russian Empire. Some Confucian scholars, as well as peasants, formed over 60 successive righteous armies to fight for Korean freedom. These armies were preceded by the Donghak movement and succeeded by various Korean independence movements . Pro-Japanese government grew, while anti-Japanese politicians were either killed or fled for their survival after

7112-521: The Japanese, and the queen was killed in the palace. The queen had attempted to counter Japanese interference in Korea. She and her court were pro-Russian in the immediate run-up to the assassination. In 1895 Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War , expanding its influence over the Korean government. The Gabo reforms and the assassination of the queen stirred controversy in Korea, fomenting Korean anti-Japanese sentiment . Gojong's antipathy toward

7239-456: The Korean diaspora, to U.S. President Wilson, and to participants in the Paris Peace Conference. That day, they held a final meeting at Son Byong-hi's house and reviewed their plans for the protests. They initially planned to start the protest by inviting thousands of observers to Tapgol Park in Seoul. However, they worried that if they were prominently arrested, angered Korean observers could possibly violently retaliate against authorities. In

7366-413: The Russian legation in Seoul, Gojong proclaimed the establishment of the independent Korean Empire , and became its first emperor. Gojong's actions drew the ire of Japan. After Japan defeated Russia in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War , it finally became the sole power in the region, and accelerated its pace of absorbing Korea. Two months after the victory, Korea under Gojong lost diplomatic sovereignty in

7493-627: The Soviet Union and fight Japan. Koreans in Hawaii organized an impromptu meeting upon hearing of the protests that was attended by around 600. A followup meeting dubbed the First Korean Congress was symbolically held in Philadelphia , which they viewed as "the cradle of liberty" in the U.S. They sent statements to President Wilson, but were ignored. The Japanese Government-General of Chōsen

7620-474: The Soviet newspaper Izvestia , gatherings became treated with suspicion by Japanese authorities. In one instance, after a Korean attendee of a wedding was found to have documents linking him to the independence movement, Japanese authorities raided the wedding and conducted mass beatings and arrests. There are numerous reports of prison conditions being extremely poor. Seoul's Seodaemun Prison became infamous for

7747-768: The Yeongwol Eom clan showed extreme devotion towards King Gojong. He rewarded her fealty by promoting her to the rank of Jimil Sanggung (5th senior rank of Women of the Internal Court ). On 4 December 1884, five revolutionaries attempted a coup d'état by leading a small anti-old minister army to detain King Gojong and Queen Min. These revolutionaries tried to remove the Qing army from Korea. The Gapsin Coup failed after 3 days. Some of its leaders, including Kim Okgyun , fled to Japan, and others were executed. While suppressing this coup, Gojong actively invited Qing only to increase

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7874-399: The age of 66. There was and still is speculation that Gojong had been poisoned by Japan  [ ko ] . The idea first emerged and was widely circulated around the time of his death. Korean language Korean ( South Korean : 한국어 , Hanguk-eo ; North Korean : 조선어 , Chosŏnŏ ) is the native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is

8001-413: The assumption of his direct royal rule. In November 1874, with the retirement of the Daewongun, Gojong's consort, Queen Min (posthumously known as Empress Myeongseong ) and Yeoheung Min clan , gained complete control over the court, filling senior court positions with members of her family. It was an open secret that the court and its policy were controlled by the queen consort. Gojong tried to strengthen

8128-469: The basic ones. When first recorded in historical texts, Korean was only a spoken language . Since the turn of the 21st century, aspects of Korean culture have spread to other countries through globalization and cultural exports . As such, interest in Korean language acquisition (as a foreign language ) is also generated by longstanding alliances, military involvement, and diplomacy, such as between South Korea–United States and China–North Korea since

8255-455: The beginnings of words. /l/ becomes alveolar flap [ɾ] between vowels, and [l] or [ɭ] at the end of a syllable or next to another /l/ . A written syllable-final ' ㄹ ', when followed by a vowel or a glide ( i.e. , when the next character starts with ' ㅇ '), migrates to the next syllable and thus becomes [ɾ] . Traditionally, /l/ was disallowed at the beginning of a word. It disappeared before [j] , and otherwise became /n/ . However,

8382-428: The biggest reforms in 1894 was abolishing the slave (nobi) system , which had existed as far back as the Gojoseon period. In 1895, Queen Min , posthumously elevated to Empress Myeongseong, was assassinated by Japanese agents. The Japanese minister to Korea, Miura Gorō , orchestrated the plot against her. A group of Japanese agents entered Gyeongbokgung in Seoul, which was under guard by Korean troops sympathetic to

8509-427: The border with both Russia and China. In addition, the ratio of Japanese security forces to civilians was lower in the area. In Chūseihoku-dō ( North Chungcheong Province ) and Chūseinan-dō, some radical groups attacked and destroyed Japanese government offices and police stations. Zenrahoku-dō ( North Jeolla Province ) had protests that have been characterized as less intense than others. This has been attributed to

8636-501: The conference, but the U.S. government denied them permission to go. A group of Koreans in China , the New Korean Youth Party  [ ko ] , managed to send Kim Kyu-sik with the Chinese delegation. Chinese leaders, hoping to embarrass Japan, attempted to put a discussion of Korea's sovereignty on the agenda, but did not succeed. Koreans in China also created a plan to secretly extract former Korean emperor Gojong from his house arrest in Korea, and eventually bring him to

8763-472: The conference. Before that could happen, on January 21, 1919, Gojong suddenly died. Japan reported that Gojong had died from natural causes, but he had reportedly been healthy just until his death. Koreans widely suspected that Japan had poisoned him  [ ko ] ; these theories were in part motivated by knowledge of previous attempts on Gojong's life. Public outrage at the possibility that Gojong had been murdered has since been evaluated as having

8890-454: The emperor's cries could be heard when he looked over the palace wall. On 17 August 1899, Gojong enacted the Constitution of the Korean Empire  [ ko ] , which granted him absolute power. Despite this, Gojong still entertained the possibility of establishing a constitutional monarchy . He discussed proposals proposed by the reformist Independence Club and Gaehwa Party . However, his reforms were seen as insufficient by members of

9017-413: The emperor. Gojong was acutely aware of Korea's, and especially its army's, need to modernize. Min Young-hwan brought on Russian instructors that were tasked with modernizing the army. Gojong was pleased with their work. In March 1898, the Russian instructors departed, and Gojong ordered the Ministry of Military to take over. By the request of the Minister of Military, Yi Jong-geon , a military academy

9144-705: The end of World War II and the Korean War . Along with other languages such as Chinese and Arabic , Korean is ranked at the top difficulty level for English speakers by the United States Department of Defense . Modern Korean descends from Middle Korean , which in turn descends from Old Korean , which descends from the Proto-Koreanic language , which is generally suggested to have its linguistic homeland somewhere in Manchuria . Whitman (2012) suggests that

9271-634: The entrance of the police office twenty or more Japanese policemen, who stood in line, kicked me and struck me [...] in the face so many times... I was made to kneel down with my legs bound together, and each question and answer was accompanied alternately by blows to the face... An April 12 cablegram, sent from Shanghai to the Korean National Association in San Francisco, read: Japan began massacring in Korea. Over [one] thousand unarmed people killed in Seoul during three hours' demonstration on

9398-639: The events of January and February 1919 caused a spike in pro-independence activism; around this time, they were able to quickly secure a number of significant alliances. They found that some groups had already been independently planning protests. For example, Presbyterian leaders in Pyongyang reportedly had a plan to protest in the last week of January; these efforts were merged into the Cheondoist ones. They secured alliances from major Christian and Buddhist groups, as well as from several student organizations. They gained

9525-399: The first Korean dynasty known to Western nations. Korean people in the former USSR refer to themselves as Koryo-saram or Koryo-in (literally, " Koryo/Goryeo persons"), and call the language Koryo-mal' . Some older English sources also use the spelling "Corea" to refer to the nation, and its inflected form for the language, culture and people, "Korea" becoming more popular in

9652-509: The first in North Hamgyong Province . On February 28th, Canadian missionary Frank Schofield was asked to document the protests. Schofield's publicization of the protests proved so significant in influencing global public opinion, that he has since been described as the "Thirty-fourth Representative" ( 민족대표 34인 ), effectively equating his significance to that of the signers of the declaration. Around noon on March 1, 1919, 29 of

9779-453: The former colonies of the defeated Central Powers , which Japan was not a part of. Historian Ku Daeyeol argues Wilson's efforts were sincere, but frustrated by geopolitical realities. The U.S. would not begin openly advocating for Korean independence until decades later, after it joined World War II against Japan. The Japanese colonial government suppressed discussion of the Fourteen Points; for example, around this time it reportedly banned

9906-452: The fundamental disparities between the Korean and Chinese languages, and accessible only to those educated in classical Chinese. Most of the population was illiterate. In the 15th century King Sejong the Great personally developed an alphabetic featural writing system , known today as Hangul , to promote literacy among the common people. Introduced in the document Hunminjeongeum , it

10033-493: The gate Daehanmun of the former royal palace Deoksugung , their numbers had swelled to the tens of thousands. From there, a number of splinter groups marched in different directions throughout the city. News of the protests spread rapidly in Seoul, and marching and public demonstations continued for many hours afterwards. That day, around 3,000 copies of the declaration were distributed around Seoul. These protestors were reportedly consistently peaceful. The declaration contains

10160-479: The inflow of western loanwords changed the trend, and now word-initial /l/ (mostly from English loanwords) are pronounced as a free variation of either [ɾ] or [l] . All obstruents (plosives, affricates, fricatives) at the end of a word are pronounced with no audible release , [p̚, t̚, k̚] . Plosive sounds /p, t, k/ become nasals [m, n, ŋ] before nasal sounds. Hangul spelling does not reflect these assimilatory pronunciation rules, but rather maintains

10287-408: The information about the dispatch of the envoys reached the ears of Resident-General Itō Hirobumi at the time. Ito was experienced. "If this envoy incident is based on a decree, it is believed to be a good opportunity to take decisive action regarding Korea. In other words, I believe it will be a good opportunity for us to have fiscal power, military power, or judicial power." On the previous day,

10414-564: The interest of maintaining the non-violence of the protests, they decided to change the starting location to the less-visible restaurant Taehwagwan  [ ko ] in Insa-dong . Foreigners also played a role in the planning of the protests. In mid-February, Robert Grierson allowed secret meetings about the protests to be conducted in his house in Sŏngjin . Protests in Sŏngjin went on to become

10541-408: The issue between Japanese and Korean, including Alexander Vovin, have argued that the indicated similarities are not due to any genetic relationship , but rather to a sprachbund effect and heavy borrowing, especially from Ancient Korean into Western Old Japanese . A good example might be Middle Korean sàm and Japanese asá , meaning " hemp ". This word seems to be a cognate, but although it

10668-452: The king's authority by giving important positions to consort kins and royal family members. It is known that Min Young-hwan , who was a distant relative of Queen Min, was Gojong's favorite official. In the 19th century, tensions mounted between Qing China and Imperial Japan , culminating in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895. Much of this war was fought on the Korean peninsula. Japan, having acquired Western military technology after

10795-563: The language is most often called Joseon-mal , or more formally, Joseon-o . This is taken from the North Korean name for Korea (Joseon), a name retained from the Joseon dynasty until the proclamation of the Korean Empire , which in turn was annexed by the Empire of Japan . In mainland China , following the establishment of diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1992, the term Cháoxiǎnyǔ or

10922-451: The late 1800s. In South Korea the Korean language is referred to by many names including hanguk-eo ("Korean language"), hanguk-mal ("Korean speech") and uri-mal ("our language"); " hanguk " is taken from the name of the Korean Empire ( 대한제국 ; 大韓帝國 ; Daehan Jeguk ). The " han " ( 韓 ) in Hanguk and Daehan Jeguk is derived from Samhan , in reference to

11049-428: The meeting hiding pistols in their bosoms. The Minister of Justice Jo Jung-eung  [ ko ] cut off all external telephone lines. On that day, Gojong declared that he would pass the throne to his son. The abdication ceremony took place the next day, 20 July. Gojong personally chose the date and added, "Follow the temporary regulations (權停例)." The temporary regulations refer to a simplified ritual performed by

11176-456: The military was Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong, and the Minister of Defense, Yi Byeong-mu. On 19 July, when Emperor Gojong was being threatened, the royal guard unit, which was the palace guard, attempted to enter Gyeongun Palace. "Yi Byeong-mu ordered General Jung Wi-jae, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Capital Guards, to bring in 70 palace guards stationed outside

11303-751: The military. By July 1900, there were 17,000 men of the Jinwidae . In 1901, about 44 percent of the Empire's total revenue was used for the military. Gojong also attempted to establish ties with other countries. For example, Yi Han-eung was sent to London in 1901 as the acting diplomatic minister to the United Kingdom. But Great Britain rebuffed Yi's overtures, and established the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902. Yi killed himself in protest in May 1905. On 2 July 1907,

11430-789: The mistreatment and extrajudicial killings of prisoners. There, women were stripped naked in front of male guards. An April 22, 1919 pamphlet by the Presbyterian Church in America read: [When] they put Korean women in the question box—this, mind you, is before they are condemned at all—they are stripped absolutely naked... From here they have to walk across an open court where they can be seen by any one who pleases... Some women, who tried to cover themselves, had their hands tied behind them. There are reports that conditions were extremely cramped and dirty, and that some rooms were so cramped that people were unable to sit or lie down. William R. Giles,

11557-486: The monarch without sitting on the throne. The Emperor's abdication ceremony took place without the presence of Gojong or Sunjong. The essential element for depriving of ruling power is the deprivation of military power. Yi Byeong-mu , who drew a sword against King Gojong and led the military's neutralization under the command of Ito, carried out the military disarmament. Four days later, the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907

11684-526: The movement went on to inspire other movements abroad, including the Chinese May Fourth Movement and Indian satyagraha protests. The anniversary of the movement's start has been celebrated since, although this was largely done in secret in Korea until its liberation in 1945. In South Korea, it is a national holiday . The North Korean government initially celebrated it as a national holiday, but eventually demoted it and now does not evaluate

11811-523: The movement's significance similarly. It now promotes writings about the event that seek to emphasize the role of the ruling Kim family in the protests. In 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea . Japanese rule was initially especially tight. Japan took control over Korea's economy, and began a process of Japanization : forced cultural assimilation. Land was confiscated from Koreans and given to Japanese people, and economic and administrative systems were created that were systemically discriminatory. Resistance

11938-498: The number of protestors at around 20,000 to 30,000. This was around 10% of the total Korean population of the region at the time. One person, who had sent her son to the protest, later recalled what she had heard of it: I heard that a large crowd of people gathered from all over to hear the news. After the noon bell finished ringing, a large flag celebrating Korea's independence was unfurled. Everyone raised their own flags and shouted "long live Korean independence". The flag blocked

12065-453: The palace on 9 December 1863, and his father and mother were ennobled. On 13 December 1863, Yi was crowned in Injeong gate of Changdeokgung . He was only twelve years old when he was crowned. Queen Sinjeong acted as regent until he became an adult. His father, Prince Heungseon Daewongun , assisted in the affairs of Queen Sinjeong's regency. In 1866, when the queen proclaimed the abolishment of

12192-421: The palace. When Jung Wi-jae refused, Hanmyeong, the commander of the palace guards, drew his sword and shouted at the military dictatorship to resist. The palace guards, wearing civilian clothes and carrying bayonets, entered the palace." On that night, at that time, Yi Byeong-mu asked the Japanese for a favor, and if Jung Wi-jae continued to doubt him, he told him to take away his weapons. On 20 July 1907, Gojong

12319-459: The peninsula opening fire or conducting organized bayonet charges on unarmed protestors. During an intense raid on Suwon and Anseong , Japanese authorities reportedly burnt 276 private homes down, killed 29, and arrested around 2,000 people. Many Koreans were tortured and executed. On April 6, the Sucheon-ri massacre  [ ko ] occurred, during which Japanese authorities entered

12446-507: The protests, and began organizing their own. In Ussuriysk , a protest was held and suppressed on March 17. The Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan had been part of the Allies of World War I , and had signed agreements to suppress the Korean independence movement. Inspired by the Ussuriysk protest, the Koreans of the enclave Sinhanch'on in Vladivostok launched their own that same day, which

12573-486: The protests, with some reportedly refusing to reopen even after Japanese soldiers attempted to force them to. Some shop owners demanded the release of imprisoned protestors. The protests were decentralized and diverse. The diversity in the protests was influenced by local culture and religion. In some regions, Christians played a more significant role in organizing protests, and in others Cheondoists were more significant. The scholar Kim Jin-bong argued that Christians played

12700-612: The protests. Many of the movement's earliest protests were in the region, and a plurality of the signers were from there (11 of the 33). This region contained the second-largest city in Korea Pyongyang, was a center of Christianity, and produced a large number of intellectuals. North Hamgyong Province was the last province to join the protests; they began on March 10. Its protests have been characterized as less intense than others, possibly due to transportation being less developed there, as well as security being tighter due to it being on

12827-631: The proto-Koreans, already present in northern Korea, expanded into the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them). Both had influence on each other and a later founder effect diminished the internal variety of both language families. Since the establishment of two independent governments, North–South differences have developed in standard Korean, including variations in pronunciation and vocabulary chosen. However, these minor differences can be found in any of

12954-463: The regency, Gojong's rule started. On 6 March 1866, Min Chi-rok 's daughter, Lady Min was selected as the new queen. Even though Gojong's father Daewongun had no rights to maintain the regency, he still acted as regent illegally. During the mid-1860s, the Daewongun was the main proponent of isolationism and was responsible for the persecution of native and foreign Catholics, a policy that led directly to

13081-508: The region being relatively depleted after having previously heavily participated in the 1894–1895 Donghak Peasant Revolution and subsequent righteous army conflicts. In this province and in Zenranan-dō ( South Jeolla Province ), students often played a significant role in protests. Women both led and participated in many of the protests. A group of female students wrote a public letter entitled "From Korean School Girls" to world leaders that

13208-458: The revolution was the tax system implemented by Queen Min . Gojong asked for the assistance from the Chinese and Japanese to crush the revolution. Yi Jun-yong and others coordinated with peasants to assassinate Gojong. However, the plot was leaked and the revolution failed. Although the revolution ultimately failed, many of the peasants' grievances were later addressed with the Gabo Reform . One of

13335-660: The short form Cháoyǔ has normally been used to refer to the standard language of North Korea and Yanbian , whereas Hánguóyǔ or the short form Hányǔ is used to refer to the standard language of South Korea. Korean is a member of the Koreanic family along with the Jeju language . Some linguists have included it in the Altaic family, but the core Altaic proposal itself has lost most of its prior support. The Khitan language has several vocabulary items similar to Korean that are not found in other Mongolian or Tungusic languages, suggesting

13462-514: The store?' Response 예/네. ye/ne AFF March First Movement The protests began in Seoul , with public readings of the Korean Declaration of Independence in the restaurant Taehwagwan  [ ko ] and in Tapgol Park . The movement grew and spread rapidly. Statistics on the protest are uncertain; there were around 1,500 to 1,800 protests with a total of around 0.8 to 2 million participants. The total population of Korea at

13589-461: The sun, and the shouting echoed like thunder. When the Japanese authorities saw this, their faces turned ashen. Japanese authorities pressured the Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin into suppressing the protest. This resulted in around 17 to 19 deaths. Like in Korea, the Koreans continued to hold protests for weeks afterwards; by mid-May they would host at least 50 more. Koreans in Russia also learned of

13716-452: The support of several former government officials from the Korean Empire , although they were rebuffed by Joseon -era politicians Park Yung-hyo and Han Kyu-sŏl . They decided to schedule their protest for March 1, the day of Gojong's public funeral, in order to capitalize on the significant number of people congregating in Seoul. From February 25 to 27, thirty-three representatives  [ ko ] from these various groups held

13843-441: The tense fricative and all the affricates as well. At the end of a syllable, /s/ changes to /t/ (example: beoseot ( 버섯 ) 'mushroom'). /h/ may become a bilabial [ɸ] before [o] or [u] , a palatal [ç] before [j] or [i] , a velar [x] before [ɯ] , a voiced [ɦ] between voiced sounds, and a [h] elsewhere. /p, t, t͡ɕ, k/ become voiced [b, d, d͡ʑ, ɡ] between voiced sounds. /m, n/ frequently denasalize at

13970-533: The text "We entertain no spirit of vengeance towards Japan... [L]et there be no violence". The protestors were often met with violent repression by Japanese authorities, which resulted in deaths and arrests. That same day, similar protests were held in other cities in Korea, including in Pyongyang , Chinnamp'o , Anju , and Wonsan . Despite Japanese repression of information, news of the protest in Seoul reached these cities quickly, as they were connected to Seoul via

14097-451: The time was around 16 to 17 million. Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, they were frequently violently suppressed. One Korean estimate in 1920 claimed 7,509 deaths and 46,948 arrests. Japanese authorities reported much lower numbers, although there were instances where authorities were observed destroying evidence, such as during the Jeamni massacre . Japanese authorities then conducted

14224-543: The twenty-eighth. Japanese troops, fire brigades, and civilians are ordered [to shoot, beat, and hook [ sic ]] people mercilessly throughout Korea. Killed several thousand since twenty-seventh. Churches, schools, homes of leaders destroyed. Women made naked and beaten before crowds, especially leaders' family. The imprisoned being severely tortured. Doctors are forbidden caring wounded. Foreign Red Cross urgently needed. Foreigners were also reportedly persecuted by Japanese authorities. American missionary Eli M. Mowry

14351-464: The underlying, partly historical morphology . Given this, it is sometimes hard to tell which actual phonemes are present in a certain word. The traditional prohibition of word-initial /ɾ/ became a morphological rule called "initial law" ( 두음법칙 ) in the pronunciation standards of South Korea, which pertains to Sino-Korean vocabulary. Such words retain their word-initial /ɾ/ in the pronunciation standards of North Korea. For example, ^NOTE ㅏ

14478-460: The way for Korea's annexation by Japan . King Gojong began to rely on a new paid army ( byeolgigun ) of soldiers equipped with rifles. These new armies were requested by the Gaehwa Party and was supervised by Yun Ung-nyeol . In contrast to the well-armed army, the old army had not received a salary for 13 months. The tattered army was finally paid one month's salary. Enraged, the old army sparked

14605-599: Was a direct catalyst for the March First Movement , which in turn bolstered the Korean independence movement . Yi Myeongbok was born on 25 July 1852, in Jeongseonbang ( 정선방 ; 貞善坊 ) district, Seoul, Joseon. He was born into the royal House of Yi , and was the son of Yi Ha-eung and Lady Min . After King Cheoljong died without son, the influential Andong Kim clan nominated Yi as the next King. Yi became Prince Ik-seon, shortly before his coronation. He entered

14732-448: Was also suppressed. They launched another the following day. In Moscow on August 12, a public rally in support of the March First Movement was held, and was reportedly attended by around 200 people, including at least one Soviet politician. The rally was left-leaning; its speakers, including an ethnic Korean Red Army officer (likely Yi Ouitjyong ), interpreted the movement in a socialist framework and advocated for Koreans to ally with

14859-520: Was announced. The key point was the dissolution of the Korean Empire's military. The secret provisions of the treaty included the following clauses: all military forces except the Royal Guards will be dissolved. Disbanded soldiers will be relocated to Gando and engaged in reclamation. They will also be engaged in reclamation in the desolate areas of the country. The person who announced the dissolution of

14986-533: Was called eonmun ('colloquial script') and quickly spread nationwide to increase literacy in Korea. The Korean alphabet was denounced by the yangban aristocracy, who looked down upon it too easy to learn. However, it gained widespread use among the common class and was widely used to print popular novels which were enjoyed by the common class. Since few people could understand official documents written in classical Chinese, Korean kings sometimes released public notices entirely written in Hangul as early as

15113-444: Was dethroned. Some officials, such as Park Yung-hyo , and Yi Do-jae , tried to assassinate the members of cabinet of Ye Wanyong , who led the abdication. After abdicating, Emperor Gojong was confined to his palace Deoksugung , and the Japanese replaced him with his son, Sunjong . In June 1910, Gojong tried to escape to Primorsky Krai in Russia and establish a government in exile , but he failed to do so. On 22 August 1910, Korea

15240-755: Was established in April 1898. In order to command both the army and navy, Gojong appointed himself as the Grand Field Marshal of the Imperial Korean Armed Forces and the Crown Prince as Field Marshal on 29 June 1898. On 2 July 1898, Gojong assumed full control over the army. A Board of Marshals was established on 1 August 1899, which Gojong used to further his control. In 1899, he bought weapons from various countries and sent many cadets to Imperial Japanese Army Academy . Meanwhile, he continued expanding

15367-481: Was formally annexed by Japan . Gojong lost his imperial title, and was instead granted the title, "King Emeritus Yi of Deoksu" ( 徳寿宮李太王 ), and was recognized as a member of the imperial family of Japan. In 1915, Gojong again tried to flee from his confinement with the help of Sangsul , but failed. In 1918, he made another attempt, this time with the goal of going to Beijing with Lee Hoe-yeong , but again failed. On 21 January 1919, Gojong died suddenly at Deoksugung at

15494-470: Was going to be an announcement made there. Around 2 p.m., an unidentified young man rose up before the crowd and began reading the Korean Declaration of Independence aloud. Near the end of the document's reading, cheers of "long live Korean independence" ( 대한독립 만세 ) erupted continually from the crowd, and they filed out onto the main street Jongno for a public march. By the time the marchers reached

15621-585: Was reportedly unaware that the protests would occur until they began, and was surprised by the scale and intensity of them. It rushed to recruit people from various backgrounds, including firemen and security guards at railroads, to stop the protests. The government-general received more military police and police officers from Japan, as well as more army divisions. They equipped these groups with lethal weapons and distributed them around Korea. A significant number of mass murders of Korean civilians occurred. There are numerous reports of Japanese authorities around

15748-473: Was reprinted in American newspapers and paired with expressions of outrage. Korean schoolgirls are attested to being stripped and publicly flogged. An anecdote attested to claims a girl had her hand cut off by a Japanese soldier because she was holding a copy of the declaration. She then reportedly switched to holding the item in her other hand, and continued to protest. One female student of Ewha Haktang gave

15875-546: Was reprinted in international newspapers. The role of women in the protests was hailed by international feminist observers, and described as a milestone in their changing social status, especially in contrast to their status during the conservative Joseon period . On March 7, Koreans in Manchuria learned of the movement. They held a large protest in Longjing on March 13. Estimates of the number of protestors vary, although some put

16002-531: Was sentenced to hard labor for allegedly harboring demonstrators. An American woman was reportedly attacked in Pyongyang. According to the League of Friends of Korea , two American women "were beaten by the Japanese soldiers for no other reason than they were sympathetic with the Koreans". Japanese authorities searched the residences of foreigners, reportedly without warrant . According to an August 15 article in

16129-545: Was violently suppressed, and freedom of speech and press were tightly controlled. Japanese colonial policies mandated that Koreans send increasingly significant portions of their economic output to Japan, for what was seen as inadequate compensation. This caused a significant decline in the quality of life for many farmers and laborers, who began publicly protesting their treatment. In 1916, there were 6 strikes with 362 participants. In 1917, there were 8 strikes with 1,128, and by 1918 there were 50 strikes with 4,442. Historians of

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