| Partof: | the March 1st Movement and the Korean independence movement |
| Place: | Longjing, Jilin, Republic of China |
| Injuries: | At least 30 |
| Fatalities: | 17 or 19 |
The Longjing Manse Movement occurred on March 13, 1919 in what is now Longjing, Jilin, Republic of China. During this event, unarmed Korean peaceful protestors were fired on by Chinese soldiers under warlord Zhang Zuolin, which caused 17 or 19 deaths and around 30 injuries. This incident was one among various March 1st Movement protests by the Korean diaspora.
Estimates from eyewitnesses place the number of protestors to be around 20,000 to 30,000. This would represent around 10% of the total population of Jiandao ("Gando" in Korean) at the time. The protest was the first of its kind for Koreans in Jiandao, and is remembered for its role in bolstering the independence movement and inspiring similar subsequent protests there.
See also: March 1st Movement and Korean independence movement. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea. On March 1, 1919, a nationwide protest against Japanese rule was held in Korea, in what has been dubbed the March 1st Movement. The protests were violently suppressed by Japan. Protests were also held by the Korean diaspora, such as those in Ussuriysk and in Shinhanchon, Vladivostok.[1]
The Korean community in the north Jiandao region learned of the protests on March 7.[2] The organization Korean Liberation Celebration Society was founded, and organized a protest. Local schools played a significant role in the organization. On March 13, the protest was held. Some people reportedly traveled from dozens of li away to join the protest, with some leaving the day before for the journey. Estimates vary on how many people were present, but some put it at around 20,000 to 30,000. The total population of Jiandao was around 250,000 to 300,000. At noon, the protest formally began with a reading of the Korean Declaration of Independence. A contemporary person wrote of this in their diary:
After the ceremony, the crowd began marching and distributing flyers and waving Korean flags. The protest walked to the Japanese consulate building in Longjing.
The Japanese consulate pressured Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin to send soldiers to suppress the protest. Soldiers were deployed under the command of Meng Fude, who ended up giving the command to open fire on the protestors. After the volley of shots, 13 protestors were immediately killed, and over 30 were injured. They were rushed over to a local hospital, and but four died there. By the end of the day, 17 or 19 total were dead.
On the 17th, a funeral was held for the dead, whom were hailed as martyrs, on a hill 10 li south of Longjing. Reportedly around 5,000 people were in attendance. From the 13th until the beginning of April, 47 protests were held in north Jiandao, with tens of thousands in attendance total. By mid-May, the number reached 54.
Reportedly, the Japanese consulate would later send people to monitor who would visit the graves, which caused fear of backlash and slowed visits to them. Knowledge of the location of the grave significantly dwindled over time. In 1989, the location was rediscovered and documented based on interviews of contemporaries. It was determined to be a part of a collective graveyard on a hill 10 li southeast of Longjing. In April 1990, an organization was launched to maintain the restoration and memorialization of the graves. Since 1991, a memorial ceremony for the dead has been held each year on March 13th. In the 2000s, a larger plot of land was purchased elsewhere for the graves, which were relocated. A hundred trees were planted around them. The graves have nearby space to host an audience of 200.
The place the protest was first planned is now part of a kindergarten. A stone memorial now stands there.[3] [4]