The Anti-Japanese Movement in Wando Isand during 1910~1945

Abstract

The Anti-Japanese movement in Wando Island was stimulated by the March First Movement in 1919. Hearing about the Movement, primary school students in Wando made plans for a demonstration. It was failed however, because the plan was soon caught by Japanese police and the students were arrested. After the March First Movement, the cultural movement which was aimed to cultivate wisdom, virtue, and body spreaded all over the country. Since the movement was appealing to the youths, young people in Wando also organized Wando Association of Youth. But there was nothing special in their activities. Meanwhile, young socialists were emerged in Wando as well and Byung-Kyu Kim was their leader. They became to dominate the organization and renamed it Wando Association of Proletariat Youth. In 1924, Union of Wand Labours and Peasants was organized by young socialists.<BR> In 1927, Korean representative nationalists and socialists organized Shin' ganhoe(New Korea Society) as a united front organization in Seoul. Nationalists and socialists in Wando County established a branch of the organization. But then, some of the leaders who lived in Soando Island were arrested by Japanese police and hence Wando branch was no longer able to be active.<BR> In 1928, Young-Hyun Kim attempted to organize the cooperative society in Wando, but he could not succeed. So, instead, he opened a store for the residents. Japanese police arrested him under the pretext of boycott movement against Japanese goods. In 1931, Byung-Kyu Kim, who had been arrested before with his colleagues of Shin'ganhoe, and his friends were arrested again because of his lecture for the members of Shinwoohoe, a group of the residents who support a night school in the village. In 1933, Dong-yun Hwang and his colleagues who lived in other counties attempted to organize the red peasant union in secret. Although they were successful in making some cells in a few villages in Gunoe Myun, they were arrested by Japanese police before completing the union organization.<BR> In conclusion, the nationalist movement and the socialist movement in Wando Isalnd was not as much active as in the other counties. It could be because Wando became an independent county about twenty years before these social movements began. There might have been not enough people who could exert social influence. Moreover, Wando County was composed of many islands, which would make even more difficult for Wando Island to play a central role for the independence movement.