YMCAKOREA

Declaration on the Centennial Anniversary of the March 1 Movement

Today, on the Centennial Anniversary of the March 1 Movement, we, ever determined to make this country — a country reclaimed by our ancestors through blood — a more just, more democratic nation and, further, to create a happier life for us, our future generations and the humanity, declare that —
Today one hundred years ago, people of Chosun had arisen peacefully against the oppressive Imperial Japan. They faced the guns and blades of the Imperial Japan, to the last person, to the last minute, only to gain the perfect happiness for generations down in place of the tortuous, harrowing inheritance. When stomped by the boots of Imperialism, they guarded themselves against hate and aggression. Our rise for independence, they said, is not to destroy others, but to enjoy the equal rights of all nations not only for ourselves but for humanity in its entirety.

The March 1 Movement is a torch of the independence of the nation and self-determination of the people, a lighthouse that shines toward the liberty and equality for all, happiness for humanity and world peace. In the darkest times, in the roughest storms that challenged our people for the last 100 years, this light enlightened us, and pointed forward to our future. When the ethnic extermination program of the Imperial Japan threatened our fate, when our younger generation were forced to a war of invasion, suffered and died in places thousands of miles away, the light of the March 1 Movement encouraged us back to our feet.

The delight of independence, however, was soon flooded by the global cold war, which teared the South from the North. The dream for the wholesome independence now faced, again, an intervention from outside, the wall of ideological struggle. Not the least responsible were we. We conflicted, confronted each other according to the demarcations set by the foreign powers, even warred against each other. Following sixty years witnessed the truce that never stabilized itself, and the ceaseless confrontation and antagonism between the South and the North, making the Korean Peninsula the powder keg of the world, full of arms and armaments of the neighboring powers. The system of separation of the North and the South blocked the free development of the people, and threatened the liberty, safety and happiness of every citizens. Of which we are ashamed, regretful.

Note, however, that we never fell at the history’s dead end, never despaired for want of wisdom. We followed the light of the March 1 Movement, torched by our ancestors, stubbornly trudged forward, and opened closed doors in the end. From the ashes of war, we pulled up an economic progress that the whole world noticed. Out of the despotism and dictatorship, we nurtured this country to be a respected democracy. The history of our democratic uprisings evinces it: April 19, May 18, June 10, and the glorious Candle Revolution. Bricks of the rusted walls of separation and division are being lifted, little by little, by every single hand of the 80 million people. The winter of discontent now covering Korean Peninsula is made glorious summer of Peace, Prosperity and Unification, by us.

Let us not forget; let us remember: Those fighters that staked their necks against the Colonialism. Let us remember and not forget: All those spirits who withered to protect this land, to cultivate the free, equal, and happy lives on this land. All those ordinary people who not only lived, however painfully, through a prolonged era of Colonialism and Division, of castrated sovereign and government, but built Korea of today: our grandmothers and grandfathers, our mothers and fathers, our sisters and brothers. Let us not forget but remember: All those Koreans who were forced to leave the country at every juncture of history, to Europe, China, Russia, America, Japan, to every corner of the Five Seas and Six Continents, only to suffer, once again, unfairness and unequal treatment there. But also: All those who came to us, built their family here, and lived with us together, as our peer citizens and neighbors.

Now, let us build a sovereignty for all of them. Let us build on this land protected and cared for by ordinary people a country of free and just sovereignty. Let us eradicate those deeply rooted abuse of power and corruption. Let us correct the government that does not know how to serve citizens, the politics that distort the will of the people. Let us blossom dynamic, citizen-centered democracy where, based on the participation and self-government of citizens, differences are respected and where varied ideas and opinions flow freely among citizens. Let us create a society where every citizen is dignified and happy. Let us throw away discrimination and hate, sexual or otherwise, and usher in a world of substantive equality for all. Let us cure the distorted economy to guarantee fair opportunities and rights to labor for all participants. Let us ensure that nobody fails, that everybody enjoys healthy, safe and equal lives. Let us preserve our ecological system that suffered from uninhibited exploitation and pursuit of profit. And, let us devise a social and economic structure that is sustainable in all respects.

Now, let us usher in a new era of peace for all. Let us end the war and stop all military hostilities. Let us end the age of division. Let us turn this land into a launchpad for perpetual peace, without nuclear weapons or threats. Let us open the road of exchange and cooperation that has hitherto been blocked, and let us build in Korean Peninsula a community, a partnership for life. Let us squeeze all our wisdom and strength to build a road to peace, prosperity and unification. Let us straighten the distorted history of Colonialism. Let us democratically establish the sovereignty and self-determination of nations. Let us ensure no spectre of militarism and power politics infiltrate this country by renewing the order of peace and coexistence in Korea and East Asia. Let us be the peace ourselves to light the hope of coexistence for the global community. Let us grow this country to a truly independent sovereign of democracy, welfare, culture and peace. Let us collaborate across the border to establish an international society of humanitarianism and justice. Let us create, out of our globe, the garden of the peace, the rich community of life where humanity coexists in harmony with all other living things.

We propose to the government and civil society of Japan: We do not want our relationship be trapped by the unfortunate, dark past but march forward. This will happen only when Japan first recognizes and repents wholeheartedly the wrongdoings of its Imperialist past. Particularly, the Government of Japan must officially recognize the national violence and human rights violations inflicted upon sex slaves and forced laborers of the Japanese military, and take responsible measures. The peace regime of Korea and the Peace Constitution of Japan are two critical pillars of the peace and coexistence in East Asia. Let us hold our hands to build the groundwork for our 100 year-old dream of Peace for the East.

We plead to neighboring countries and the international community: For the last 60 years, the people of the Korean Peninsula has persisted under volatile, divided conditions. No more war shall inflict the peninsula. We oppose any use of force that takes its people under hostage. We desperately desire to build a permanent system of peace in the Korean Peninsula and to achieve a complete denuclearization, only through conversation and negotiation. The North-America Negotiation as well as any and all bilateral, multilateral negotiations shall be firmly rooted in the genuine, honest desire to negate any antagonism and to march forward to a new era of coexistence. We plead to the international community: Let us now give peace a chance. Let us prove together to the whole humanity that not distrust and antagonism but understanding and respect is a key to resolving deep rooted, festering conflicts.

80 million people of Korea! Free men of the world! The era of humanism and justice that we have hitherto dreamed of has yet to come. Elevated civilization and connectedness of the world have failed to eradicate oppression, discrimination, dispute and poverty. Weapons of mass destruction and destructive armaments that can annihilate humanity and civilization have only increased. Advanced science and technology somehow resulted in a new class of oppression and poverty. Unchecked developments sicken Mother Earth. The desire of humanity for a better world, however, persists in the face of all those regresses and despairs, overcoming innumerable sacrifices and deaths. The will of humanity to usher in a world where anyone can enjoy the innate rights of humanity, where nobody is discriminated or excluded but everybody leads safe and happy life, where lives are lived peacefully in harmony with Mother Nature, has never failed to open new possibilities.

Now, the Korean Peninsula is at the gates of a new era. We take big leaps over the age of division and confrontation, to the vision of peaceful Korea and East Asia without any arms, without nuclear weapons and without war, to the world of freedom and happiness for all. We cannot be intimidated; we cannot be pushed aside as the century-old dream of building a country for all, of opening the era of peace in the East Asia and happiness for all humanity, for the world without oppression pushes us forward. The March 1 Movement is the lamplight that enlightens our road ahead. Let us march toward the bright future together. Rejoicing. Gladly.

March 1, 2019

Participants of All-citizen Convention for the Centennial Anniversary of the March 1 Movement

※ Drafted by the Drafting Committee after Hearing Opinions Raised at the Convention of 100 Person Round Table