유관순

유관순 (Yu Kwan Sun) is one of the most famous patriots in Korea, and since today was her birthday I figured it would be fitting to come out of hibernation and make a post! Greta thanks for your concern about me, HAHA! Yes, Duke losing a second time to Carolina was a little tough to take, but it's comforting to know that they'll be playing the ACC Championship game in a few hours as Carolina takes the bus back to Chapel Hell, losers! HA!

So...back to Yu Kwan Sun...(I hope you all aren't burned out on my weekly Korean history lessons) she was a patriot during the Japanese Occupation of Korea (1910-1945). She was born just outside of Cheonan (where I live) and so she is especially famous around this area. Most Korean cities have little icons and so she is Cheonan's icon, and also there is a little cartoon type statue of her in town as well. Anyway, she was born on March 15, 1904 in Cheonan. Last weekend I went to Seodaemun Prison where she was held and eventually murdered by the Japanese, and also to her birthplace here in Cheonan.

She was attending Ewa Women's University in Seoul in 1919 when she helped to organize the Samil (Sam is 3 Il is 1) Movement on March 1, 1919. People gathered in the Aori Marketplace and shouted "대한 독립 만세" or Daehan Dokrip Manse, which translates to "Long live Korean Independence!" Of course the Japanese police came and broke up the crowd and she was arrested. She was tried and sentenced to 7 years in prison at Seodaemun. After only about one year of being there she was tortured and murdered by the Japanese. The saddest and most shocking part to me was that she was only 16 years old. Hard to imagine that the Japanese could be so cruel to anyone much less a 16 year old girl. The prison was interesting but quite sad of course. The Japanese tortured and murdered many of the prisoners, and they were held in very small cells sometimes with as many as 30 people packed into an area about 10'X10'. Many of the times they said the cells were so packed that the prisoners couldn't sleep because there was no where to lie down. I was a little disappointed that the facade of the prison is undergoing some construction so I couldn't really get any good pictures of the outside. They used the tunnel after they would murder the people they would drag them out through the tunnel to a cemetery right outside and bury the prisoners so that the citizens of Seoul wouldn't know they were killing prisoners.

I also went to her birthplace...it was such a pretty day. There is a burial site for her, but according to what I've read her body isn't there, and in fact her body was lost during the Korean War...so it's more of just a memorial. It was a nice hike to the top of the mountain where there is a monument for her.

Sorry for such a sad post...

HA!

I'm doing well...springtime is almost here, I saw on Yahoo! today that it's supposed to be up to 60 degrees on Wednesday, which is a welcome site for me. I'm so sick of winter, and ready to get back out and enjoy the outdoors. My friend told me there is a Cherry Blossom festival usually around the 1st or 2nd weekend of April, so I'm planning to go there with her, and hopefully I can get some pretty pics. She said there are so many blossoms that it looks like snow!

Hard to believe I've been in Korea almost 9 months already...the time has gone so fast looking back. I've had a great time here, and this has been a great experience.

As I said...hopefully my next post will be more uplifting. I just like history so much because there are so many things you can learn from the past, and hopefully help make the future better. I think knowing the history of Korea has helped me love the people even more too...just knowing all the struggles they have overcome.

Have a great week, and GO DUKE!