“ Mansei LITTLE MARTYRS OF KOREA PRICE 10 CENTS Published by KOREAN INFORMATION BUREAU 825 WEIGHTMAN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1919 KOREA’S HOPE I r • -.v-^= % ,’ angrily shouted a hundred young voices, ‘you have nothing to do with this ; you are an American. You know nothing about our plans for independence. The Japanese cannot touch you ; you cannot be arrested in our places.’ 8 “ ‘But he must arrest me,’ replied their principal. ‘You must disperse, girls, and the only way is for me to go to prison in your stead.’ “The girls consulted together for a few moments, then one of the number came forward, and facing the principal, said in a clear ringing voice : ‘We will now go back with you, for our mission as girls of Korea has been completed. It was our duty to wake up the men, and as we have been successful, we will now go home with you.’ “Then forming in line, the girls marched back to the Mission School, followed by the Chief of Police, their American principal, and a number of Japanese gendarmes and soldiers.” THE BELOVED EMBLEM OF KOREA “Just as we, the Americans, love the Stars and Stripes and thrill with joy as we see it floating majestically over ‘the land of the free and the home of tlie brave,’ so do the Koreans love the flag of their country, and want to see it float over a free and un- hampered land. Many are the stories telling of their undying love for their flag, and here is one that impressed me very much. “The Korean children have played a very big and important part in the work of displaying their loved flag. Just as the rosy dawn was breaking in the East, these courageous children would hastily arise and go out into the streets to string small Korean flags on the telegraph and telephone poles, and in hundreds of other places throughout the city. The sight of countless small Korean flags fluttering bravely in the cool morning air was a harassing spectacle to the Japanese. It made the little boys laugh with glee at the ridiculous sight of the Japanese gendarmes climb- ing the poles and rushing about to destroy the work of these small patriots. But as each flag was destroyed it was a stab in the heart of the little chap who had strung it up with such loving care. “However, nothing daunted these children, for the next morning just as many flags again appeared. It was an interesting game to the Korean children, and it must be admitted they had a decided advantage over the Japanese police. In one place, a crowd of boys had made a large flag, and had hung it up on the top of a very high wall. Y’hen the Japanese policeman came along and saw it he was very angry and ran for a ladder so he could take it down. In a short time he returned with a ladder, and, placing it against the wall, began climbing to the top, to the amusement of the boys standing on the pavement below. He reached the top, and cut the cord, when lo ! the flag fluttered down into the tiny outstretched arms of the little boys standing below, who eagerly clutched it and ran down the street with their beloved flag. The amazed policeman sat on the top of the ladder and watched the small figures, with their precious burden, disappear from view.” 9 A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK “On March fifth I witnessed another incident of this love of the flag. Probably the largest demonstration of the whole move- ment was held on March fifth. I stood on the corner and watched thousands of young men and women go up and down the streets, holding up their hands and shouting their cry for independence. Their faces, filled with love for their country, were almost spir- itual, and in their eyes burned a desire to free their shackled land. “Suddenly a young man jumped on a jinriksha, and holding the flag of his country high above his head, shouted the cry of his people, ‘Mansei !’ ‘Mansei !’ ‘Mansei !’ The ever-watchful Jap- anese policeman also witnessed this little scene, and made every effort to get the flag. However, as the young man saw him rapidly approaching the group, he folded the flag and passed it to the nearest boy. The policeman was determined not to return empty- handed, so he arrested the young man, minus the flag, and hurried him to prison. “The boy who had received the flag opened it out, and waved it above his head, even as the other Korean had done, and another attempt was made to secure it, but again it was quickly folded and passed back into the crowd. The police tried again and again to secure the flag, but it was always folded and passed back into the crowd. As long as I stood on the corner I saw many who handled the flag arrested and sent to prison, but I never witnessed the capture of the flag.” THE LIBERTY BELL OF THE HERMIT KINGDOM “You are all familiar with the glorious and thrilling story of our own Liberty Bell, but how many know the story of the two little Korean boys, who also rang a Liberty Bell for their inde- pendence ? “On one of the nights when the independence movement was in full force, two young Koreans climbed over the railing sur- rounding the Independence Bell, and rang with all their might the bell that had been silent since Korea’s annexation by Japan. When the first clear notes of the bell struck the quiet evening air, it brought cheer and courage to the hearts of the weary Koreans, and fear to the Japanese gendarmes, who rushed to the bell, won- dering who was tolling it. They were very much amazed to find two children inside of the railing. “ ‘What are you doing?’ demanded one of the gendarmes, in a gruff voice. “ ‘We are ringing the Independence Bell,’ fearlessly answered the boys. ‘Today we declared our independence, and tonight we are ringing the bell so all our people may know it.’ “ ‘Come out of there at once,’ thundered the deep voice of the gendarme. 10 “ ‘W'ait until we finish ringing for our independence, then we will come out,’ brazingly replied one of the youngsters. “The gendarmes, realizing the uselessness of wasting their breath, waited for the boys to finish. So after ringing the bell to their hearts’ content, they delivered themselves to the gend- armes, who took them to the police station, where they were un- doubtedly tortured and beaten.” A BRAVE LITTLE SOLDIER “One of the small boys in the section where I live made a Korean flag and tacked it on the gate of one of the government buildings, writing underneath : “ ‘This gates does not belong to the Governor General ; it belongs to the Independent Government of Korea. Mansei ! Mansei ! Mansei ! \Vritten by Kimm ; age 13 ; house address, 21 Sargic street.’ “This flag and message was like a ray of sunshine to weary Koreans who passed that way and stopped to read the notice of the little Korean boy. “It also caught the eye of the ever-watchful policeman, and he hurried to the scene. After taking the boy’s name and street address, he destroyed every vestige of his work. The police im- mediately went to the boy’s house, but the little fellow had grown very timid after this brave and glorious deed of the night before, and had hidden himself. When he could not be found the police arrested his father in his place and carried him oft to prison. However, when the little boy finally plucked up enough courage to return home and found his father had been arrested, he imme- diately went to the police station, where he gave himself up and demanded his father’s release.” THE SPIRIT OF KOREA “One of the girls in our school came to the principal, and said: ‘I must go home to see my mother on a very important matter.’ “The principal immediately gave her permission to leave, so she packed her belongings and started for home. When she entered her home she greeted her mother, and then with a very determined look on her young face, said, ‘Mother, I have come to see you for a few minutes, as I have decided to give my life for my country, and wanted to see you once more and say good-bye.’ “Her mother was ignorant of the demonstrations taking place all over the country, and asked her daughter for an explanation. The little girl then gave her some of the story she had heard of the independence movement, and then exclaimed, ‘Mother, I must do something for my country ; I must go out and shout for our independence and give my life for our freedom.’ “The mother looked long and lovingly at her little girl, then bowing her head, she accepted the cross, and in a quiet voice said, II ‘My daughter, let us have supper together, then I, too, will go with you, and we will both die for our country.’ ” “Here is another story which also shows the indomitable spirit of the Korean people. There was a young woman being dragged through the streets by a Japanese policeman, who beat her unmercifully eyery time she shouted the battlecry of Korean freedom — ‘Mansei.’ “Finally, after repeated blows, the policeman stopped and looked at her. “ ‘Young woman,’ he said, ‘don’t you know that you are being beaten for yelling Mansei ?’ “ ‘The only thing that is in me is the spirit of Mansei,’ an- swered this pain-racked, but fearless young woman, ‘ajid when- ever you strike me it must come out ; therefore, the more you strike me the more I will yell Mansei ! Mansei ! Mansei.’ ” AN INNOCENT LITTLE CAPTIVE “One little girl was arrested by the Japanese police and taken to the police station. She was brought before the Chief of Police for examination, but before he could question her she began to question him. “ ‘What kind of a place is this?’ she asked timidly. “ ‘This is a police station,’ answered the Chief. “ ‘Oh, is this the place where one comes to make a complaint when one has lost something?’ she asked again. “ ‘Yes,’ answered the Chief, wondering what she was going to say next. “ ‘Why, then I have come to the right place, for I have lost something,’ exclaimed the little maid. “‘What have you lost?’ grumbled the Chief, fast losing his patience. “ ‘I have lost my country, and I want you to find it for me,’ answered this wee girl, her small face aglow with love for her beloved land, and her eyes looking defiantly into the startled ones of the Chief of Police. “What answer did the tiny bit of humanity receive for this? With a snarl the gendarme at her side struck her over the mouth, drawing the blood of an innocent child.” THREE DARING LITTLE PATRIOTS “There was a school of boys in the primary classes, about 400 in number, who went back to their studies in April, after much coercion on the part of the police and others. One morn- ing, when the boys were gathering for their day’s work, one of the older boys got them into a group, and standing in the middle, made the following announcement to his young companions : “ ‘Boys, it is time for us to show our love for our country. We love our country^ and our people as much as our elders, so from today we will no longer study in this school, but will give 12 our hearts and our lives and will work for the independence of Korea.’ “For a moment they gazed at him open-mouthed and wide- eyed, and then the cry of ‘Mansei’ burst from hundreds of young throats. With one accord the entire crowd rushed forward and smashed every window in the room. Of course, the Japanese teach- ers soon had them under control, and each one was questioned sep- arately. Finally it was sifted down to about three little boys, of about thirteen or fourteen years old. These boys would not involve any one else in the demonstration, saying that they had planned and carried out the program themselves. “The boys were sent to the police station, and then word was sent to their parents, informing them of the action that had been taken, and assuring them that the police would be able to frighten the boys into telling the truth. These children were held in prison for twenty-four hours without food, and were then questioned something like this : “ ‘Who started this demonstration? Who told you to do it? Did your fathers plan it for you?’ “ ‘No,’ they cried in chorus. “ ‘Did the merchants in your neighborhood tell you to do it?’ “ ‘No one told us ; we did it all ourselves,’ they replied. “ ‘Oh, T know who instigated you,’ sneered the police. “ ‘No,’ cried the boys, ‘it is right that we should have a free country, and we sympathize with our brothers and our fathers, and we are determined to help with these demonstrations for liberty.’ “These boys were cruelly tortured and beaten and cross- examined time and again, with the same results as before. Finally tl’iC policeman said to one of the boys, ‘Your father has confessed that he instigated this demonstration.’ “The little fellow thought a moment and then replied, ‘Well, if my father told you that he lied. I did it all myself.’ “These boys were sent to prison and kept there for two weeks for no greater crime than merely shouting for the inde- pendence of their beloved land.” HAPPY TO SHED HER BLOOD “One of the High School girls was taken to prison after having been examined by the police in charge. She spent a night and a day in a cell with five or six other prisoners, so crowded they could not sit down, and all that time she had not eaten, nor had she water to bathe her face or hands. At eight o’clock that evening she was called by one of the policemen and taken to another room. The room she was told to enter was in total dark- ness and the girl refused to put a foot inside until a light had been made. As they turned on the light, and she was taken into a little 8 x 16 room, she saw twenty-seven men, with swords and spurs, sitting around. “She had to squat on her feet in the middle of the floor and 13 was questioned until twelve o’clock that night by these brutes. She was asked all kinds of questions, many of them obscene, and each question was accompanied by a curse and spittle on the face. “She did not involve other girls ; simply told that she had shouted ‘Mansei’ because she loved her country. They could not get her to incriminate the missionaries, so after four hours of cross-examination, they took her out of the room and kicked her down the stairs. As she rolled down she bumped her head and a crimson jet of blood spurted from the wound, making a small pool on the landing, where she lay unconscious. Presently she came to her senses, and seeing the blood, she smiled faintly, and said, ‘Thank God, I. too, have shed my blood for my country.’ ’’ THE SUPREME SACRIFICE OF FOUR BROTHERS “There was one old man who had four sons, the oldest not over eighteen years and the youngest twelve. These boys joined with others and marched through the streets carrying the flag of their beloved land and shouting their cry of ‘Mansei.’ The gendarmes gathered these four boys together, and taking them to a nearby wood, demanded that they recant and shout for the Jap- anese Emperor. I'his the four boys refused to do; therefore they were tied together and then bound to a tree, while the gendarmes shot them down like dogs. Not satisfied with this, they piled brushwood about the bodies and set fire to it. “In the meantime the father of the boys heard of what had happened, and rushed to the woods. When the old man found that his sons had been killed and their bodies burned, he turned to the soldiers and begged them to shoot him also, but they only laughed at him derisively, and said, ‘This is what your sons got for deigning to run counter to the Government.’ ’’ THE LITTLE NEWS GIRLS “One of the most valuable services the Korean girls ren- dered to the cause of their freedom was the distribution of printed matter from place to place. The Koreans did not have a printing press, and could not publish a newspaper, but in some way they mimographed a sheet every day. known as the Independence Nezi's, and this was delivered by girls of ten years and over. “The girls hid the papers in their clothing, and went from place to place delivering them to the leaders of the different dis- tricts. In this way the entire movement was carried out without any serious slip-ups. It was worth their lives to be caught with one of these sheets on their persons, and quite often these girls were searched by the police, but this did not frighten the brave little news girls of Korea. The favorite place for hiding these sheets was inside the back of their coats. Many of the girls car- ried them in baskets, but they were soon discovered and the sheets were destroyed, while the girls were arrested. 14 “It is said that over one hundred news girls were arrested during the week of March 5th, and no doubt they met with the same terrible fate their sisters suffered.” THE HUMILIATION OF THE JAPANESE MINISTER OF EDUCATION “Perhaps one of the most interesting events of the many expressions of the Korean children showing their sympathy for the cause of the independence movement, happened in connection with one of the large primary schools in Seoul, with an enroll- ment of over 600 pupils. The boys went back to school in April, after much persuasion and coercion, and reluctantly resumed their work, and later took the final examinations. “A great deal was said about the resumption of the school by the Japanese newspapers, which stated that conditions were becoming normal, and that the Korean children were finally con- quered. Graduation time came, and everything was in readiness for a big display of Japanese pomp. The pupils, the parents and the officers of the Educational Department were all assembled to- gether, and among the invited guests were high Japanese military officers, the Minister of Education and the personal representa- tive of the Governor General. “The first part of the program went off without a hitch, every- thing was wonderful and the officers were bowing and paying each other smiling compliments. There was nothing at the graduation exercises to indicate that such a thing as an independence move- ment was going on in Korea, and no mention was made of the refusal of the children to attend school in March. “The ])rogram was almost finished. There was a return address yet to be made by one of tbe boys, in response to the speeches of the officers of the Educational Department, and then all would be over. In accordance with their pre-arranged plan, one of the graduates, about fourteen years old, made his bow to the officers, and after thanking them for their presence on the occasion, said, ‘We have done all that was required of us, and now there is but one thing more to be done, and that is to give three cheers for the independence of Korea.’ “With that he thrust his hand into his pocket and drew forth the sacred emblem of his country- — the Korean flag. At this signal, six hundred Korean flags flashed into view, while six hun- dred boyish voices took up the cry of ‘Mansei,’ ‘Mansei,’ ‘Mansei.’ -\fter this they marched from the building, tore up the certificates the Japanese authorities had given thent, and threw the pieces of paper into the faces of the Japanese police and others standing about the door. “So the great graduation exercises closed with great success in the eyes of the Koreans, but with unspeakable disgrace for the Japanese.” 15 THE FINE ART OF JAPANESE BRUTALITY “One of our girls in the Pyeng-Yang Mission School obtained a copy of the Declaration of Independence, through some mys- terious channels which were unknown to us foreigners, and went out on the main streets of the city to join the other girls in shout- ing ‘Mansei.’ This girl was known in the school as Maria, rather small for her age, and very frail, but she must have had the heart of a soldier, considering the manner in which this little heroine conducted herself and the courage she displayed on this day. “She climbed partly up a telegraph pole and began to read the Declaration of Independence to the crowd below. A Japanese gendarme immediately appeared and told her to come down from the pole. This the little girl refused to do, and continued her reading. This impudence enraged the Japanese, and, drawing his bayonet, hacked her arm with it. She fell from the pole, with one arm partly amputated. “The soldier tried to snatch the Declaration from the ground where it had fallen from her lifeless hand, but the girl was too quick for him. Reaching out with her left hand she picked it up. Standing on tottering feet, she began to read again in a weak and faltering voice ; and again this brute bayonetted her, this time striking her left arm. And the little heroine, with her precious document, passed into merciful unconsciousness.” This is one of the many sights we foreigners saw, and though our blood boiled, all we could do w'as pray, and say, “Oh, Lord, how long, how long?” These few stories reveal to us the true characteristics of the Korean race. The detractors of Korea, call whatever name they may, use whatever adjective they desire against the Koreans, there is one outstanding fact, that the Korean spirit is unconquerable. A homogenous race of some 20,000,000 souls, united in this one common aim of freedom, willing to give their all, cannot be and shall not be crushed by any one nation or group of nations. Their cause is just, and the world will know it in time. The world may be selfish and cold, but it cannot and will not let such a race of people perish, for the spirit of justice still remains among man- kind. The heroic part these children played in the tragedy, con- vinces us that they have some ability of maintaining order, sys- tem and indomitable courage. No matter what the present con- ditions are, all friends of Korea hope that it will soon be “The Land of Morning Calm,” and will again become the peaceful abode of these people who are taking the leading part in the c.stablishment of the Kingdom of God and the ideals of democ- racy in that part of the world. 16 If you want to help Korea, join the LEAGUE OF THE FRIENDS OF KOREA. This organization has been formed in the different American cities for the pur- pose of extending sympathy and moral support to the Korean people, and to disseminate authentic information con- cerning the Orient, among the American people. Send your application for membership to the Korea Bureau of Information, 825 Weightman Building, Philadelphia. Membership dues, $1.00 per year, or $3.00 with one year’s subscription to the Korea Review, the only monthly English magazine published in America entirely devoted to Korea and Korean matters.