The Korean Situation Authentic Accounts of Recent Events by Eye Witnesses PRICE 25 CENTS ■ . >: . - 105 East Twenty-second Street New York City I W The Korean Situation Authentic Accounts of Recent Events by Eye Witnesses PRICE 25 CENTS "LIBRARY OF PRINCETON I | FEB 6 2008 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Issued by The Commission on Relations with the Orient of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America 105 East Twenty-second Street New York City FOREWORD IMPORTANT CABLE MESSAGES Just as this pamphlet was about to go to press the following cable message was received from Hon. T. Hara, Premier of the Japanese Cabinet: “I desire to assure you that the report of abuses committed by agents of the Japanese Government in Korea has been engaging my most serious attention. I am fully prepared to look squarely at actual facts. As I have declared on various occasions, the regime of administration inaugurated in Korea at the time of the annexation, nearly ten years ago, calls for substantial modification to meet the altered conditions of things. Ever since the formation of the present Cabinet in September last, I have been occupied in working out the scheme of needed administrative reforms in Korea. A comprehensive plan of reorganization with this object in view has already been on the tapis. For obvious reasons it has not been possible to proceed at once to its formal adoption in the presence of the disturbances which have unfortunately broken out in various parts of the peninsular. “In view, however, of the recent improvement in the situation, the contemplated reform can now be, in my estimation, safely introduced, and will be carried into effect as soon as the legal requirements of procedure to make them definitive shall have been completed. Announcement of the plan in a more complete form shall be withheld for the present, but I trust that the fixed determination with which my colleagues and I have been endeavoring to promote the lasting welfare of our Korean kinsmen, and to insure a distinct better- ment of conditions in the country will not be misunder- stood or misconstrued.” The foregoing cablegram was received July 10th and came in answer to a cable sent him June 26, 1919, by the Commission on Relations with the Orient, as follows : “Agitation regarding Chosen abuses increasingly serious, endangering goodwill. Cannot withhold facts. 3 Urgently important you publish official statements that abuses have ceased and reasonable administrative re- forms proceeding. Can you cable to this effect? Address Fedcil— Commission Relations Orient, Federal Council Churches. ,, At an earlier date, namely April 20, a cablegram regarding the Korean situation had been sent by Consul General Yada to Viscount Uchida, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. In reply to that cablegram the following message was received by Mr. Yada and handed to this Commission on May 15, 1919: ******* “Premier Hara has for some time past been most deeply concerned in regard to the introduction of reforms into the governmental administration of Chosen. He is now in the misdt of special investigations as to the best methods for the realization of these reforms, which might be seriously interfered with and made more diffi- cult were the press of foreign countries rashly at this time to incite additional excitement. “Therefore you are instructed to explain the situa- tion as above stated to the members of the Federal Council Commission, conveying to them at the same time the appreciation on my part of their cordial and friendly spirit which has prompted them to take action in this present trouble. It is also the desire of the Premier that you should call their attention more especially to the gravity of the whole affair if it is not handled in a proper way, and ask for the continuance of their sane and moderate attitude.” ******* These cable messages indicate the earnestness with which this Commission, the Consul General Yada and the Premier of Japan himself have been acting in response to the appeals that have come from Korea. There is every reason to believe that Premier Hara and his colleagues will exert their fullest power to rectify the wrongs and inaugurate a new era in Korea. WM. I. HAVEN, Chairman, SIDNEY L. GULICK, Secretary. 4 THE JAPAN-KOREAN SITUATION Early in March telegraphic news from Shanghai and Tientsin began to tell of a remarkable uprising for independence in Korea, which, it was alleged, the Japanese Government was suppressing with great brutality. In April letters began to arrive verifying the telegraphic news, and giving considerable detail. These let- ters and reports came through many indirect channels in order to escape a rigid censorship and were addressed to the Secretaries of Foreign Mission Boards having missions in Korea. Copies of letters from missionaries to friends and kindred in America were also forwarded by them to these board secretaries. All appealed for some action in America that would save the Koreans from the brutal and inhuman treatment to which they were being ruthlessly subjected. About the middle of April the first person who came direct from Korea, bringing personal knowledge of the situation, and arriving in New York, was Rev. A. E. Armstrong, Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. He had spent ten months in the Far East, visiting the stations of his board in China, Manchuria, Korea and Japan, and was on the point of sailing from Yokohama for America when he received a wire urging an immediate revisit to Korea. He reached Seoul March 16, was there for three days in consulta- tion with various parties, getting full and accurate information. On reaching New York he at once consulted Dr. Arthur J. Brown, Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of the United States, Dr. Frank Mason North, Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States, and Dr. Wil- liam I. Haven, Secretary of the American Bible Society. The subject matter to be dealt with was of such a nature that they thought it could best be handled by the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America rather than by the Mission Boards. A meeting was therefore called of the Commission on Rela- tions with the Orient of the Federal Council of Churches on April 16th. Since that date the Commission has held a dozen 5 meetings in connection with this question, not only to study it, but also to take such action as might seem wise. To two of the meetings a group of important Japanese in New York City were invited. Urgent and full cablegrams were promptly sent to Japan by some of these Japanese friends. The Commission sought by these quiet and friendly methods to exert influences that would secure real results. It deemed it only fair and just to take up the matter first with the Japanese before giving to the daily press the rapidly accumulat- ing material from Korea. This has been done. The Commission now feels that the time has come when the full and accurate information in its possession should be made available for the public. The documents printed in the following pages the Commis- sion believes to be thoroughly reliable. More than thirty American and British individuals in Korea have shared in their preparation. Some of the documents are carefully prepared re- ports by committees ; some are personal letters ; some are signed affidavits of eyewitnesses. If all the material in hand were published a volume of about 1,000 pages would result. One of the reports covers 114 closely packed pages. In these days of excitement and political turmoil in many lands we must accept with caution extreme statements that are not capable of proof. Many exaggerations have been circulated. The facts described in the following pages speak for themselves. The Commission gives this material to the public for two principal reasons. First, because it wishes that every possible influence may be brought to bear for the protection of Koreans from inhuman treatment and injustice. Second, because there is need of a sound and enlightened public opinion here in Amer- ica, a public opinion that will strengthen the progressive, anti- militaristic forces in Japan in their efforts to secure justice and fair dealing in Korea. The Commission wishes to state with utmost clearness that as a Commission it is not concerning itself with the political questions involved in the Korean Independence Movement. Whether or not Korea should be granted political independence is not a question upon which it is called to express judgment. The Commission is, however, concerned with all right-minded men that brutality, torture, inhuman treatment, religious persecu- 6 tion, and massacres shall cease everywhere. The evidence of the wide prevalence of such deeds in Korea has become convincing. In dealing with this situation, there is need of an accuratelv informed and just public opinion, able in its criticism of Japan to discriminate between the reactionary and militaristic forces on the one hand and those that are liberal and progressive on the other hand. Wholesome and fair criticism will recognize the disaster that has come upon the whole world through the spirit and prac- tice of militarism. Japan, too, has been caught in its meshes. But in Japan, too, as in other lands, there is a liberal anti-militaristic movement, led by humane and progressive men who, we believe, share the distress of mind which their friends in America feel over what is being done in Korea. The present Cabinet, having as Premier the first “Com- moner” who has risen to that high post of responsibility, though liberal itself, is the heir of the disastrous militaristic policies and methods of preceding cabinets. There is good ground for belief that even before the uprising it was earnestly grappling with the problem of administrative reform in Korea. The turmoil has halted its program. Its political foes, moreover, bureaucratic and militaristic, are many and strong and are watching for any oppor- tunity for causing the downfall of the cabinet Americans should give the strongest possible moral support to the progressive and anti-militaristic movements in that land. This we can do, especially in this instance, as just indicated above, not by wholesale condemnation of the Japanese Government and people, but by distinguishing between the reactionary, autocratic forces that have too largely dominated her policies and leaders in the past and the new liberal policies and leaders that are now coming to the fore. Hope for Korea, and indeed for China and the whole world lies in the overthrow of militarism in Japan, as in every land, and in the firm establishment of civil liberty and popular rights for every section of the population. WILLIAM I. HAVEN, Chairman, SIDNEY L. GULICK, Secretary, Commission on Relations with the Orient of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. 7 Exhibit I THE DISTURBANCES IN KOREA By March 21, 1919. Korea at the present time would be a fertile field for another Bryce investigating commission. Because the stirrings of the present age have reached Korea and have roused her people to demand freedom, the Japanese military system has since the first of March exhibited all the characteristics of the Prussian machine which was recently smashed in Europe. Many of the atrocities perpetrated in Belgium have been du- plicated in Korea. According to one newspaper six thousand Koreans are now in jails and prisons, and this is probably below the actual number. The movement for more freedom is country- wide ; its propagandists include Christians, members of the reformed native cult, the Chuntokyo, and Buddhists. Students of government schools are equally involved with those of Mis- sion schools. And in the name of “law and order” countless offenses against humanity are daily being committed. The Japanese Colonial System Japan established a protectorate over Korea in 1908, and in 1910 formally annexed the country. Prior to the annexation the administrative system was chaotic. By stern enforcement the Japanese have introduced quiet and order, have commenced to exploit the natural resources of the country, set up a judiciary, developed the beginning of an educational system, improved com- munications, and cultivated hygiene. There is no denying the fact that many reforms have been brought about under Japanese auspices. But the methods employed in governing Korea have not won the hearts of the people. The genius of the Japanese people is attracted by systems which are autocratic. Their police system is German to the core ; and in their colonial government they have taken the Prussian rather than the British method as their model. The sword is the emblem of authority. Not only is it carried by the military, gendarmerie and police, but by the civilian members of the civil service. Every male school 8 teacher wears a sword ; in fact, almost every one who holds a government office carries a sword as the symbol of his authority. To bolster up the militaristic system a vast system of espionage exists. Consequently there is no freedom of as- sembly, no free speech, no freedom of the press. And there is no right of petition of grievances with immunity from arrest. Needless to say, there is no participation in self-government. In the law courts it is alleged that a Korean has no chance in a suit with a Japanese. Habeas corpus is unknown. The state has a right to keep a prisoner for two weeks or more before producing him in open court, and if it desires by means of secur- ing extensions of ten days ad lib. need not produce a prisoner in practice until it desires to do so. The prisoner is not allowed to consult a lawyer or to see l)is friends. Torture is freely applied, and a man is considered guilty until proved innocent. Neither is the Korean permitted to enjoy many offices of emolu- ment under the government. There are some Korean police and gendarmes, but there are very few Koreans in other depart- ments of the civil service. Korea is a paradise for the Japanese job-hunter. Efforts have been made by government officials to deprave the youth of Korea. Commercialized prostitution is flourishing and is extending from the capital to the country parts. A manifesto describing the grievances of the people has been issued by the independence committee. Another grievance which strikes deeply to the heart of the Korean is the deter- mination of the Japanese to drive out the use of the Korean language from the schools. The proclamation which provides that Japanese is to be the sole language of instruction comes into force in 1920. The lesson of Poland and other countries seems to be lost upon the Japanese. Then there seems to be an organized attempt to deprive the Koreans in the southern part of Korea — which is the warmer portion — of their land and to force them to emigrate to Manchuria. Pressure is put upon the Korean landholder or tenant to sell, usually at a disad- vantageous price, and he and his family go North to make a new home. Japanese settlers replace the Korean. This policy is fostered by a semi-official company called the Oriental De- velopment Company, which receives valuable concessions from the government. A veteran missionary summed up the 'situation trenchantly the other day in these words : “This that builds 9 railways, constructs roads, promotes education, understands hygiene, is none the less German.” Japanese Reform Tendencies In a word, the whole system of government throughout the Japanese Empire reflects the German system in this— that the civil arm of the government is dominated by the military. Last September, the bureaucratic ministry of Count Terauchi fell, and was succeeded by that of Mr. Hara. The new ministry was acclaimed by the Japanese press as the first democratic government that Japan has had, and from its acts it would seem to deserve the title. Shortly after the Diet opened, one of the new ministers replied to a question enquiring what would be the colonial policy of the new ministry, that the government realized that they could not continue to rule the colonies by Imperial ordinances, but that new methods were under con- sideration. The minister could not say when they would go into effect. Later press references seemed to reveal an inner struggle in the government, the civil element apparently wish- ing to replace the military government of Korea by a civilian administration, and the militarists opposing any such transforma- tion. At the present moment the militarist element is vociferat- ing in the daily press that it is impossible for Japan to ratify the action of its delegates at the Peace Conference in regard to the abolition of conscription. This by the way : On March 1st, a monster popular demonstration took place in Tokyo,, demanding manhood suffrage ; and the Hara ministry a few days, later introduced an electoral reform bill which has passed the; popular house, greatly extending the franchise. It would appear therefore that democracy is slowly gaining in the heart of the Empire, and that there were hopes for a brighter day for the colonies from that end. The Genesis of the Korean Independence Movement Meanwhile a series of happenings combined to precipitate a crisis in Korea. The first of these was the Peace Confer- ence and the dissemination of the doctrine of self-determination of races. The following story was told to a representative group of missionaries by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the 10 Government General of Chosen. He stated that the government had information that a Korean had interviewed President Wil- son before he had left for Paris, and asked the President if he would bring up the question of Korea at the Conference. The President replied, it is alleged, that the Conference could only deal with countries which were affected by the war, and that the question of a country at peace as Korea was could not be properly raised. The interviewer then asked whether if it could be unmistakably shown that the Koreans were dissatisfied would the case of Korea then be discussed at the Peace Conference? To which the President is reported to have said that in that case he would not say that it could not be. According to informa- tion from other sources it seems that this is quite a likely story. There are many Koreans in the Western States, in Hawaii, Siberia and China, and throughout all the centres of Korean population the movement for independence rapidly spread. The proceedings of the Peace Conference formed another link in the chain of events. The League of Nations, the Gospel of the right of small nations to self-determination, the reviving of oppressed nations set free by the war, all fired the imagination of the educated Koreans. Then an event nearer home occurred to bring out national feeling. On January 20th the ex-Emperor of Korea died just on the eve of the marriage of his son to a Japanese princess. It was officially reported that the ex-Emperor’s death was due to apoplexy. But rumors got into circulation that his death was due either to suicide or poisoning. It was claimed that he had refused to sign a paper which stated that the Koreans were contented under Japanese rule and was made away with because lie had refused to do so. It has been officially denied that any such paper was ever presented to the ex-ruler. The news of the ex-Emperor’s death was suppressed for a time. Arrangements were made for the funeral. The Diet at Tokyo adjourned out of respect, after voting 100,000 yen towards the funeral expenses. The consort of the ex-Emperor who had been assassinated in 1894 was buried not far out of the East Gate of Seoul. It had been decided that the king should be buried about seventeen miles from the city, and in accordance with Korean custom it was necessary to bury the queen by his side. Consequently the body of the queen was 11 disinterred, and on February 12th the reburial ceremonies were begun and carried through with great pomp, all of the expenses being borne by the Koreans. These events brought back to the Koreans in a poignant way the remembrance of their national humiliation. March 3rd was set for the date of the ex-Emperor’s funeral, and it had been arranged that the ceremonies inside the city should be Japanese and outside the city Korean. Needless to say, the arrangements for the Japanese part of the ceremony were not made with the hearty concurrence of the Koreans. Demonstrations Begin The atmosphere was becoming tense. Evidently the au- thorities had an inkling that something was brewing, for the principals of schools were called before the Prefect at the City Hall, and told to warn their students not to be led away by the actions of the Korean students in Japan. It should be stated here that during February the Korean students who were attend- ing the various colleges in Japan had started a movement for the self-determination of Korea, and many had been imprisoned. On Saturday, March 1st, notices were posted on the streets of Seoul that public gatherings would be held at Pagoda Park, and printed proclamations of independence signed by thirty- three men were distributed. Shortly after noon a large num- ber of the signers of this manifesto met at a Korean hotel and telephoned to the authorities that they had declared the inde- pendence of the country, announcing where they were. The authorities thereupon sent and arrested them. The police pub- lished in the newspapers that they had surrounded the ring- leaders in an eating house as they were drinking success to their plot. Meanwhile the people, including many students, had gath- ered at the park, and from there started to parade some of the principal streets. They walked along in an orderly way, with hands held aloft, calling their national cry of “Mansei,” which means “ten thousand years.” In front of public buildings such as police headquarters and the various Consulates they would stop and take off their hats and wave them, uttering their cry of “Mansei.” At the Consulates they sent in letters and their proclamation manifesto. No single act of violence was done. At one point mounted gendarmes charged the crowd and inflicted some sabre cuts. The police were arresting as many as they could, and all that evening and on the following day, Sunday, men were being arrested at their homes on suspicion of having been connected with the demonstration. Of the thirty^three signers fifteen were members of the native cult, the Chuntokyo ; fifteen were Christians and three were Buddhists. Of the Chris- tians the majority were ministers of the various city churches, many of them college trained men ; one was a Y. M. C. A. secre- tary, another was connected with the Severance Hospital. Since that day arrests have been made daily, until at present there is scarcely a city church which has not its minister locked up. On Sunday, March 2nd, no demonstrations occurred in Seoul. The following day was the day of the ex-king’s funeral. The schools had been allocated definite places along the line of march for the Japanese ceremonies. Not one of the higher schools, government, private or mission, was represented by any but the members of the faculties. The students cut the ceremony dead. The funeral was a military spectacle. The first section, which consisted of naval and military detachments, took eighteen minutes to pass a given point. The second section, which took in the Shinto priests, the bier, and the governmental representa- tives and functionaries, was not so large, and the third section was a line of troops and sailors almost as long as the first. The following day was quiet in Seoul, the Korean ceremonies taking place outside the city. These two days were school holidays. The next day, March 5th, not a single student in the higher schools was in his place, and rumors began to come to the heads of schools that there would be no more students until the country had secured its independence. Since that time, nearly a month ago, not a higher school has been able to open. On Wednesday, March 5th, at the stroke of nine in the morning, commotion was heard on the main street in front of the railway station. Young men were swarming out of the stores and alleys and making toward the railway station, calling out their national cry. In a remarkably brief time, a man in a rickisha started up the street toward the South Gate, sur- rounded by the throng, Who with uplifted arms, carrying red bands, ran through the gate and into the old city toward the palace. This demonstration was composed almost entirely of 13 students, and as it proceeded was joined by high school girls. The police apparently had been taken by surprise, for the demon- strators had run about half a mile before they were opposed. In the large open space in front of the palace, the police were drawn up and charged the crowd with sabres. Many wounds were inflicted. No respect was shown to sex, girls being handled roughly and beaten. Hundreds of arrests were made, including a number of the school girls. No violence was attempted by the students. Their object apparently was merely to demonstrate, and they considered it an honor to be arrested for their country. Nearly all of the student nurses at Severance Hospital rushed out when the crowd passed by the street. They were carrying bandages and were prepared to do Red Cross work if required. Fifteen were arrested and were held in the police station until afternoon. They were questioned closely as to whether the heads of their institutions (the missionaries) had ordered them out. The younger high school girls who were taken did not fare so well. Most were kept in custody, and more will be told of their sufferings in the jails later. Various other demonstrations occurred. The street railway employees struck for several days as a protest. The Korean shopkeepers put up their shutters, and have kept their stores closed for over three weeks. The literati prepared a petition sending it to the office of the Governor General by the hands of a Christian preacher and a non-Christian. At the office of the Governor they were told that such documents should be received at the police department. To the police they accordingly went, and were immediately arrested. It should be noted that the independence manifesto and the petition of the literati are both couched in stately phraseology and breathe a spirit of charity toward those who have inflicted on the Korean nation a mental “reign of terror.” (Later another petition was prepared by men who had been ennobled by the Japanese after the annexation, one of these men being the man who in 1866 had petitioned the Korean ruler to conclude a treaty with Japan and open Korea to the West. This man being over eighty years of age and too weak to rise from his bed was not arrested, but all his male relatives were taken into custody and a cordon of soldiers posted about his house. The other was immediately arrested. Both are viscounts.) 14 Demonstrations Outside the Capital Synchronizing with the outbreaks at Seoul, demonstrations of a similar nature occurred at the leading centers throughout the country. Again, they were orderly. But the minions of the law at the outside centers, where there were fewer foreign eyes to see what took place, behaved in many places with the utmost ferocity. The crowds were fired on and deaths occurred. Two cases of gunshot wounds were sent in from a point in the North to Severance Hospital.' At Pyengyang, a large center, foreign observers report that the crowds were attacked by the members of the fire brigade who were armed with their hooks which are used to pull the burning thatch off the houses. Many ugly wounds were inflicted. Five men died in a hospital from gunshot wounds, but the authorities are reported to have issued orders that the deaths must not be reported as due to that cause. In the North the authorities seem to have decided to penalize the Christian population, and churches have been wan- tonly destroyed. In many cases the police have questioned demonstrators and have arrested only those who admitted being Christians. An attempt was made to get twenty-four wealthy Koreans to sign a statement which said that the thirty-three signers were low-class people. They refused to do so, and pres- sure was brought to bear on them for several days before the attempt was given up. It should be said here, to make this point clear, that wealthy men are compelled to submit to periodical police audits of their private finances. There is no halfway government in Korea. In Hamheung, a point on the East Coast, where the Cana- dian Presbyterians have a Mission Station, scenes similar to those at Pyengyang were enacted. The fire brigade and coolies armed with clubs perpetrated outrages on the people. An eye- witness statement by Rev. is in our possession. Here the authorities refused to let those injured be treated in the Mis- sion Hospital. Mr. had occasion to go to the police station during the demonstrations and saw in a tent the fire brigade, with their hooked poles in hand, and coolies armed with clubs, waiting for the signal to leave the police compound to attack the crowd. The conclusion is irresistible that these men were under the orders of the police. An attempt was made 15 by the chief of police to intimidate the foreigners by saying that their lives were in danger from the non-Christians, but refused to be bluffed, and told the chief that he would be held responsible for any harm that befell the foreigners. It is not possible at this time to record in detail all of the uprisings in various places. These are fair samples of what occurred throughout the country. The truth will eventually come out as to what has happened in places where no foreigners were present to record what has transpired. In the official press reports, particularly those which came out in the early stages, the missionaries were openly accused as being the instigators of the movement, and capital was made out of the fact that so many Christians were concerned in it. Every effort was made to minimize the part played by other sections of the population. The police reporters played up the Christian schools and glossed over the facts in regard to the participation of the government school students and the Buddhists. At the demand of the American' Consul, official statements have since appeared that the government discredits the stories of missionary instigation, but the police reports and vernacular press still continue to print them. Police Atrocities Beating and torture are the cardinal principles of police methods in Korea. When making arrests, usually the victim is cuffed and kicked by several policemen. In the demonstra- tion of March 5th, a student noticed that the girl he was en- gaged to was being attacked by several policemen. He went to her rescue, and was at once set upon by several police- men and severely beaten. He was a>rrested and has not yet been released, having now been in custody about three weeks. Instances are not infrequent where Japanese in civilian clothes have arrested demonstrators in the presence of the police and have treated them shamefully. Stories of this kind come from Pyengyang and other points as well as Seoul. From released prisoners stories of cruelty and torture are now pouring out. One student was asked to tell who the lead- ers were, and his finger nails were pushed back from the skin to assist his memory. Still another prisoner had his finger tips 10 burned for the same purpose. Still another was put in an up- right press, which operated with a screw from the back. When the screw is turned, the four sides contract, and while the pressure becomes stronger, the questioning is carried on — a way of squeezing out information. After being subjected to this tor- ture, the same man had a strong cord tied around the middle finger of his right hand; the cord was then passed through a hook in the ceiling, and his body was pulled up until he was resting on the tips of his toes. He became insensible during the process, and when he awoke found himself lying down while a' salve was being applied to his wounds. He left the jail with a swollen hand, which had to be lanced immediately. The girls fared even worse. For the first few days atter being arrested they were confined in the several police stations. As far as can be ascertained, no matrons were on duty in those jails. Of course, the girls were not allowed to communicate with relatives or friends. The main facts in the story of one released girl are as follows : A few hours after being arrested she was brought before an officer, questioned and beaten by him on the face, shoulders and legs. The following day the same process was repeated before a second officer. The third day she was taken before a third officer, who called her by vile names, and insinuated that she and the other girl prisoners were pregnant. “You can cut us open and see,” she retorted. He then said that the Bible taught that sinless people were naked (some coarse references to Adam and Eve being intended) and ordered her to disrobe. She cried, and he did not press his demand. She was again beaten, and the fourth day before still another officer she was questioned and beaten again. One of her ordeals was to kneel down on the floor and hold a heavy board at arms’ length for an hour. If her arm trembled she was beaten again. The girls were always accompanied to the toilet under guard. On the fifth day she was removed to the West Gate prison. She and two other girls were summoned to an officer’s desk. She was told to wait outside while her two companions went in. A little later she saw them pass out stark naked, with hair down their backs, holding their clothes in a bundle before them. She was then called in and found two Japanese matrons present with the officer. After being ques- tioned by the officer, she was ordered by the matrons to take 17 off her clothes. After resisting for a time, and being threat- ened, she did so. Her hair had first been taken down by the matrons. There was no apparent purpose in this request except to humiliate her. After standing several minutes disrobed, she was told to follow one of the matrons. She wrapped her skirt around her, and carrying the rest of her clothes, walked through the hall to a cell, where she found two other girls. On the way thither she passed several male employees of the prison. The following day she was taken out by a matron and taken to a room where a very youthful Japanese doctor was waiting. Again she was ordered to disrobe for a physical examination. After a long altercation she was allowed to retain one garment. The doctor tapped her chest, asked no questions whatever about her health, and she was in due course taken back to her cell. Several days later a gold-braided official came into her cell, asked her to remove her waist, examined her back and chest, and left the cell. Shortly after this she and a few other girls were released. They were handed over to relatives or school principals who had been notified to be in attendance. They were constantly guarded by matrons while in the cells, were not allowed to talk, had to remain in a very irksome squat- ting position all day, and were beaten if they changed their posi- tion. They were allowed fifteen minutes open-air walking daily after breakfast. ^ When stories of torture and cruelty to prisoners became current among the missionary community, the Seoul Press ran a couple of editorial articles pointing out that the Koreans were “atrocious liars ,, and that the stories of cruelties had been investigated and that the prison authorities assured them that no tortures were taking place. When a missionary showed this article to a Japanese, he naively replied that it was intended to mean that there had been no tortures since they had been sent to a certain prison. Another foreigner discussed the edi- torial with the editor of the paper, who replied that he knew there were cruelties, but that in making that statement he was “speaking officially.” Indignities to Missionaries The mission body has not escaped uninjured. At Pyengyang, two ladies were prodded with rifle butts as they walked along 18 the street. Two male missionaries were arrested there while trying to protect by their presence only a body of native women whom the police were trying to arrest. After being marched through the streets guarded by soldiers after a stay of a few minutes in the police station, they were released. One of these men was the Rev. Stacy L. Roberts and the other the Rev. E. W. Thwing of Peking, whose work in anti-opium movements has made him an international figure. In Southern Korea two lady members of the Australian Presbyterian Mission were arrested and subsequently released. On March 20th the Rev. John Thomas, a missionary of the Oriental Missionary Society, was attacked by soldiers at Kokei, and severely beaten. When he produced his British passport, it was thrown on the ground and stamped on, as was also a preaching permit which had been given him by the authorities. All of these cases involved con- sular action, which was promptly taken. At Syenchun the homes of the missionaries were searched shortly after the demon- strations began. On March 17th, a body of police, led by a procurator, came to the Severance Union Medical College, placed guards at all the gates and at intervals through the compound, and searched the various buildings of the institution. As already mentioned in connection with the Hamheung incidents, the au- thorities have tried to get rid of their responsibilities for the protection of foreigners. Rumor has it that a certain Consul was asked to warn his nationals to keep off the street as they could not guarantee to protect them, and the Consul is said to have replied that he would issue no such warning and would hold the authorities responsible in case any of his nationals were molested. Two or three days ago the leading newspaper in the capital in an inspired editorial invited the missionaries to confer with the authorities as to the best means of bringing the troubles to a close, and the suggestions of the missionary body have been invited by some representative Japanese. That is the status of the matter at this moment. On Saturday, March 22nd, another street demonstration took place at Seoul. It was quickly headed off and a number of arrests made. On the following Sunday evening demonstra- tions broke out simultaneously in several different parts of the city. At the East Gate bayonets were freely used and many were wounded. There are persistent reports that a number 19 of deaths occurred. The city is being patrolled by soldiers and is virtually under martial law. It has been so since March 1st. What the outcome will be it is too early to prophesy at this stage. Whether the Koreans will weaken in their stand for complete independence or pursue their policy of passive resistance until the end, or whether they will accept a program of fundamental reforms, cannot be foretold. The revelation of the organizing ability shown in the movement thus far is the surprise and admiration of all who know the Koreans: it is a veritable renaissance. There are many Japanese who realize that their methods of colonial administration have failed to achieve their end, and who are sincerely desirous of bringing about a happier condition. Japan’s system has been wrong: it was a German colonial policy, not a British one; it has been an effort to exploit a people and benefit them at the same time. It has been an effort to impose “culture” against the desires of a people with a culture of its own. In the meantime, whatever the outcome, publicity will help both Korea and Japan in their ascent to a higher plane of civilization. Exhibit II A GENERAL SURVEY OF SITUATION IN KOREA By a Committee April 7th 1919. It may be well to give you a general resume of the situa- tion. For some time past the Japanese authorities had planned to marry the young Korean prince, called the Heir to Prince Yi, to a Japanese princess, the marriage to be a symbol of the amalgamation of the two peoples. The date had been set for January 25th, and preparations made, when on January 22nd the father of the prince, the ex-Emperor, died under very peculiar circumstances. This of course postponed the marriage, and from that time on it was evident to all that the Koreans were becom- ing agitated in mind. Also the Peace Conference was deliberat- ing in Paris and the principle of “self-determination of nations” evidently appealed to Koreans as applicable to their country. Koreans living outside of Korea, in China, Hawaii and America, had also been looking for some opportunity to accomplish something for the liberation of their country, and were evidently 20 , in touch with leaders in Korea. How all these streams of influ- ence acted upon each other we do not know precisely, but their interaction resulted in a demonstration which first broke out on March 1st, two days before the date set for the funeral of the ex-Emperor. Thirty-three representative men from all parts of the coun- try drew up and signed a declaration which they printed by the thousands. Fifteen of these men were leaders of the “Chun Do Kyo” (The Heavenly Way Association), which perpetuates the “Tonk Hak” and “111 Chin Whei” movements, which were prominent in the years immediately preceding and during the Japanese occupation and annexation of Korea. Fifteen others were Christians, and included some of our most prominent pas- tors, such as Kil Sun Chu of Pyengyang and Yang Chun Paik of Syenchun. The other three were said to be Buddhists. The head of the Chun Do Kyo signed first and Pastor Kil second. On March 1st these thirty-three men met in Seoul, sent one of their number to one of the parks of the city to read the declaration of independence to an assembled crowd of people, after which all the signers surrendered themselves to the police. On the same day and at the same hour similar demonstrations were held in seven or eight other cities of Korea. At these demonstrations it was stated that the participants, although Christians or members of the Chun Do Kyo or Buddhists, as the case might be, were acting wholly as individuals. It was fur- ther stated that the movement was to be one of passive resist- ance, no property was to be destroyed and no Japanese or others injured in any way. This character of the demonstration has been consistently maintained up to the present time except as qualified by statements below, police reports to the contrary notwithstanding. After the reading of the declaration of inde- pendence, Korean flags were given out to the demonstrators, who stood up, waving them and shouting “Hurrah (Mansay) for Korean independence !” In Seoul thousands of people had gathered for the funeral of the late ex-Emperor, and on this day surged up the main streets in dense crowds, shouting for independence but other- wise conducting themselves in an orderly manner. In Pyeng- yang and other cities, also, as far as foreigners have witnessed the demonstrations, although thousands of people joined in the 21 demonstrations, no rioting occurred. The next day, Sunday, was quiet although Church services were forbidden in some cities ; but on Monday the third similar demonstrations were held in many places but not in Seoul, because there the Koreans wished to have nothing mar the funeral ceremonies in honor of the ex-Emperor. The movement was so secretly organized