This Week in China's History | The Longling Manse Movement March

March 13, 1919

In the several years of this column, it has occasionally touched on important episodes to do with China’s history that took place outside its borders. These have included overseas Chinese communities, such as the 1740 Batavia Massacre or the tragically similar 1871 Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre; China’s actions abroad, like the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, or events outside of China’s borders that impacted China’s future, like the sailing of the Empress of China and the start of U.S.-China trade. This week, though, might be the first instance describing events that took place within China but were primarily focused on the history of another country, in this case Korea.

Japan’s occupation of Korea began in the 1890s, when Japan defeated Qing China in war that was largely about influence over Korea. Another war — this time against Russia — solidified Japan’s position in 1905, and in 1910 Japan formalized the arrangement, making Korea a Japanese colony. For the next several years, a series of laws went into effect, each one aimed at appropriating Korean resources — land, timber, fish — for Japanese use and profit. More than that, Japanese policies sought to erase Korean culture altogether. The December 2019 issue of Korean Quarterly records the views of a Japanese official at the time, who noted (being clear that this was his personal opinion, not official policy) that “if you ask me as an individual what is to be the outcome of our policy I can only see one end…. The Korean people will be absorbed in the Japanese. They will talk our language, live our life, and be an integral part of us…. We will teach them our language, establish our institutions and make them one with us.”

Resistance, needless to say, was widespread. Two events in the winter of 1918-19 galvanized the movement against the occupation. The first was American President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” speech, celebrating national self-determination and railing against the evils of colonialism. Many have questioned Wilson’s commitment to self-determination, and certainly — given his record at home — he was an unabashed racist. The idea that he supported democratic principles without regard to race was questionable, at best, but his rhetoric took hold around the world, including in Korea, where nationalists (many of whom were Christian and saw the United States as an ally) seized on Wilson’s supposed anti-colonialism for inspiration.

The second was the death of the former Korean emperor, who had been deposed by the Japanese and had worked for Korean independence during the preceding decade. Gojong had lived his last years under house arrest and had several times tried to escape to China, without success. Foul play was suspected in his death, with rumors