#ryu gwansun

[arytha]

[The great constellations hear your voice flowing through the stars.]

I didn’t hesitate to call one constellation. “I want the Nation’s Independence Activist.”

In the long history of invasions on the Korean peninsula, there were a myriad of people who received the title of independence activist. Among them, there was only one person with the modifier of Nation’s Independence Activist.

It was because all the other constellations of the Korean Peninsula gave her this modifier.

[The constellation ‘Nation’s Independence Activist’ has responded to your call.]

{Tl: Nation's Independence Activist is most likely Ryu Gwansun, an advocate for Korea's independence from Japan's colonization who was active in 1919. She was arrested and then tortured to death for instigating and organizing independence movements even after her imprisonment. She was 17-18 when killed.}

A calm and clear energy penetrated my mind and the constellation’s image surfaced. She wore black mourning clothes and a white skirt. A girl who was too young to climb to the throne of a constellation.

I opened my mouth but the constellation shook her head. It was as if there was no need to say thank you. I nodded. If Japan had Ito then South Korea had this constellation.

“What? Who is his sponsor?”

The confused Japanese incarnations yelled. However, there were no signs of abnormalities from me and the Japanese regained their spirit.

[The stigma ‘Declaration of Independence Lv. 1’ has excluded the energy of Colonization.]

man that addition is Mine i spent quite a while trying to figure out who this constellation was at the time and her story is quite depressing. And impactful. I really wish I knew more about Korean history.... Here's a wiki link.

[diioonysus]

history | powerful women | korea

[dailydoseofkorea]

March 1st Movement- Ryu Gwansun (유관순)

During the March 1st Movement, Ryu Gwansun is the most remembered person. She was one of the few girls that attended high school. She was 16 when the March 1st Movement begun and although the school did not allow them to participate, Ryu Gwansun and her fellow classmates climbed over the fence and participated. 1919 March 10th, the students were given a break due to the protests and Ryu Gwansun went back to her hometown and spread the news before leading a protest herself.

While she was protesting, she saw with her very own eyes, both her parents being shot dead by the Japanese police. Note that she was a 16 year old girl. She was later arrested and was sentenced was to 5 years in jail. April 1919, her sentence was shortened to 1 year and 6 months in celebration of the Japanese Prince’s marriage anniversary.

During the 1 year and 6 months she spent in jail, she was tortured and put in a cell you had to literally squeeze yourself into. Her ears and nose were cut off, she was assaulted, and she had to endure torture methods not even fully grown men could endure. Even during the torture, she chanted 대한독립만세 which roughly translates to Hurrah Korean Independence. 2 days before her release, she passed away at the age of 17.

[cokun]

220301 code_kunst ig post

19190301

(T/N: The March 1st Movement was "a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan, and protesting forced assimilation into the Japanese way of life." It was a protest against Japan’s inhumane, horrifically violent oppression of the Korean people and Japan’s attempt at erasure of an entire culture and race.

“As the processions continued to grow, the Japanese local and military police could not control the crowds. The panicked Japanese officials called in military forces to quell the crowds, including the naval forces. As the public protests continued to grow, the suppression turned to violence, resulting in Japanese massacres of Koreans and other atrocities.

“Approximately 2,000,000 Koreans had participated in the more than 1,500 demonstrations, and several thousand Korean people were massacred by the Japanese police force and army. From March 1 to April 11, Japanese officials reported 553 people killed, and more than 12,000 arrested. They said that 8 policemen and military were killed, and 158 wounded. As punishment, some of the arrested demonstrators were executed in public.

“Even as Japan suppressed the protestors, an independence activist named Ryu Gwansun continued to show her demonstration of independence by waving the Korean flag and organizing independence declarations. She was arrested and tortured to death by Japanese police. Now often called ‘Big Sister Ryu Gwansun’, she is considered a national heroine in Korea.

“The March 1st Movement is commemorated annually by Koreans to pay respect to those that died, fought and protested for the Korean independence movement and to celebrate Korean independence.

“Seoul Metropolitan Government stated the March 1st movement as ‘the catalyst movement of democracy and the republic for Korean people.’” (source)

Despite atrocities committed by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea, they have the gall to paint themselves as heroes when teaching their history to posterity. They have given half-assed apologies and immediately acted in ways that subvert those apologies. They have never atoned, nor even attempted to atone for their crimes. The pain of Japanese oppression is compounded by Japan’s continued attempts at historical revision and claims to aspects of Korean culture and achievements. The violence on Korea persists to this day, and it is largely unknown to the rest of the world. Please take a moment to educate yourselves, to mourn the lives lost during the horrific era of Japanese colonization, to remember how Koreans were systematically tortured, murdered, violently silenced and oppressed, without a shred of humanity or decency. Please also take a moment to celebrate Korea’s success at protecting and taking back their culture, their country, their people.)

[ladyhistorypod]

Episode 13: Only the Good Die Young

Sources:

Ryu Gwansun

History Channel

Internet Archive

Wikisource

Korea(.)net

Further reading/viewing: Pantheon, Memories of Cell No. 8 (YouTube), A Resistance Trailer (YouTube)

Brittany Murphy

Investigation Discovery

ET Canada (YouTube)

Biography, Brittany Murphy: The Mysterious Circumstances Surrounding Her Untimely Death

Rotten Tomatoes, 11 surprising things you probably didn’t know about ‘Clueless’

Buzzfeed

CNN

Alice Ball

Biography

National Geographic

Oxford Museum of Natural History

ScholarSpace University of Hawaii Manoa

Chemistry World

Click below for a full transcript of the episode!

Alana: So the title of this episode is Only the Good Die Young, right? Haley: Yeah. Alana: And I know it's a song. But that's not even true, because people are complicated, first of all, and all dichotomies are false dichotomies, even that one, because there are some true dichotomies. And goddammit that's a Hank Green quote. Lexi: Yet another episode where the Greens slipped in. Alana: Because I love one man and his brother. [INTRO MUSIC] Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History; the good, the bad, and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. I'm not quite with Lexi. Lexi, what's the worst part about doing this on Zoom? Lexi: Dang. The worst part about doing this on Zoom is if I wanted to make cocktails and give them to you guys I would have to mail them and then the ice would melt so that would really suck. Alana: Also almost here is Haley. Haley, what's the best part about doing this on Zoom? Haley: Seeing your lovely faces. We spent like three, four years together just seeing each other every single day and that was the worst part about going to grad school was I didn't have you guys. Alana: And I'm Alana and I haven't spent this much time in a closet since 2014. Haley, laughing: Oh, shit. Lexi: That's good I love that. That adds a little light. Alana: A little levity. Oh my god Haley’s losing it. Lexi: A brief warning about the following story. This story includes police brutality and torture. If these subjects are uncomfortable for you, please skip to the next story. Archival Audio: Arirang Lexi: You just heard the song Arirang, an approximately six hundred year old folk song which is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. During the fight for Korean independence, protesters sang the song as a symbol of Korean spirit. We will tell the story of one of those protesters today; Ryu Gwansun, listener suggested by my sorority sister Kate. Shout out to Kate. My sister from George Mason. I love her and she suggested this lady and it was a really good suggestion. Alana: Wait it's– it's another Korean lady. Lexi: Yes. Alana: Which is the language that you studied in school. Lexi: Yes so it all comes back. And I actually had heard of Ryu Gwansun before, so I was excited to dive deeper into that story and share it with other people because every Korean teacher I ever had brought her up at some point. And if you take Korean history in a college setting, one of the days will be about her, inevitably. So every year in Korea, the people celebrate Independence Movement Day on March 1, and Koreans call this day Sam-il, which literally means three one. This annual event commemorates the protests that took place on March 1, 1919, a large resistance of Japan's military rule of the Korean people. For some context, in 1910 Japan annexed Korea without the consent of Korean leadership. Japan's rule in Korea sought to assimilate Koreans to Japanese culture. It would take a whole episode to explain this entire story and how the U. S. is involved in a whole bunch of other things, but for our purposes it is important to understand that this was like overall a really bad time for the Korean people. Korean culture was restricted, Japanese individuals moved into their land, and violent military rule by the Japanese became the norm in the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, Koreans were forcibly removed from the peninsula and taken Japan to work as forced laborers. So, as you can imagine, there was a lot of resistance to the Japanese in early 20th century Korea. One act of resistance was a protest that occurred on March 1, 1919, Sam-il. On that day, thirty three activists gathered in Seoul and read aloud the Korean Declaration of Independence, which begins “We herewith proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people. This we proclaim to all the nations of the world in witness of human equality. This we proclaim to our descendents so that they may enjoy in perpetuity their inherent right to nationhood.” Obviously that was said Korean, translated to English for our listeners. This moment was just the spark that began a fire of resistance with communities across the peninsula beginning to protest the Japanese occupation. One protester was Gwansun, who had represented this moment in history for generations of Koreans and today serves as the main symbol of the March 1st movement. Gwansun was born in modern day South Korea, but of course at this time Korea was still one unified nation, so that doesn't really matter, but she was born in a province that's now modern South Korea. She was born on November 17, 1902 so happy birthday to her two days ago when this episode airs. Her father was a reform-minded Methodist and an enlightenment thinker. And in 1918, Gwansun was admitted on scholarship to the Ewha Girls’ School. It's a school that still exists today and has a long list of famous graduates. It is not to be confused with Ewha University, which is a prominent women's university in Seoul, but it is in Seoul and it is Ewha’s girls school so I can understand why people mix them up. The school, along with many others in the country, had become a hub for young activists to learn and discuss the Japanese occupation. Together, they dreamed of Korean independence, so it was very much a young people's movement, and they protested actively cheering “long live Korean independence!” Japan, noticing the schools were becoming organizing hubs for young activists, shut them down. So, Gwansun was sent back to her hometown where she continued to rally support for Korean independence among her community. The school closures were catalysts for national unity among the Korean people and ignited a wave of new activism. So everyone was like “they closed our schools, let's all get together and really start to protest.” So Gwansun recruited people to participate in protests with her on March 1, 1919. The protests would take place at the Aunae– I might be saying that one wrong, I couldn’t find in Hangul, only in English so I'm reading the Romanized version not the Hangul which is why I'm pronouncing it really badly– the Aunae Market. And soon Japanese police forces arrived and began to shoot the Korean protesters who were unarmed. And the police killed nineteen people, including both of Gwansun's parents. The police arrested many of the protesters, including sixteen year old Gwansun. In custody, Gwansun was offered a deal; if she pled guilty and outed her fellow activists who organized the event, the Japanese police would lighten her sentence. When Gwansun refused to out her co-conspirators, the Japanese police tortured her. Despite being beaten, she still resisted giving up any information, thus maintaining her role in the fight against Japanese oppression and violence. Many other women who fought for independence were imprisoned with Gwansun at Seodaemun prison. One year later, on March 1, 1920, women in the women's walk of Seodaemun prison began to chant “long live Korean independence.” The chant spread across the prison. One of these young women was Gwansun. I actually got the chance to visit this prison when I was in South Korea in 2018, highly recommend going there it's now a dedicated history museum with exhibit materials in English, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and a couple other languages. And I got to see cell number eight in the women's branch which is where Gwansun was imprisoned, and it's now dedicated in her honor and it’s set up as an exhibit for her. They had really immersive exhibits to explain her story so it was a very moving experience. After the chant, Gwansun was transferred to solitary confinement. Just two days before the end of her sentence on September 28, 1920 at the age of just seventeen, she died in prison from injuries sustained during torture. Never abandoning her beliefs, she continued to advocate in prison, writing in her diary “Japan will fall. Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain doesn't compare to the pain of losing my nation. My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country." It would be another twenty five years until Korea gained independence, with Japan being defeated in World War II. Gwansun has been remembered in popular media, including in Korean films and books, and the trailer for one such film that just came out last year will be on our show notes in the tumblr, it's called “Resistance” in English, it looks really cool. I haven't had a chance to watch the whole film yet but I watched all the trailers that are on YouTube because I was just so captivated. The young actress who plays her seems really really talented so I will be watching the whole thing. Join me in watching it at some point, definitely check it out. And Gwansun is seen as a martyr for the Korean independence movement. She is still honored by Korean people to this day. A shrine was erected to her in home city. It's a really cute statue of her holding up a flag and protesting. And many scholars refer to her as Korea's Joan of Arc, but I don’t like when we compare women to each other. I really think Gwansun is Korea’s Gwansun. She is a woman who died far too young, fighting for what she believed in, and we deserve to remember her in that way. Haley: I love your note on not comparing women to women because… Lexi: It bugs the shit out of me. I just… Like, why does she have to be compared to particularly a white woman, white Christian woman. But why does she have to be compared to anyone else? She did something incredible for her people. Maybe Joan of Arc is France’s Ryu Gwansun. Archival Audio: Before you lies the most glamorous city on Earth. Hollywood, California. A city where men and women skyrocket to fame or crash to oblivion.

Haley: I'll be talking about Brittany Murphy, and with this a brief warning of death, poisoning, murder, and eating disorders. I really struggled with picking a lady today because it was either someone who recently died, which I felt very awkward talking about, or a very small child, which I just, again, mental health needed a break. However, I recently watched Clueless and there is a new ID Mystery or Investigation Discovery coming out so drum roll I had to pick Brittany Murphy. And a lot of me in remembering my deep dive of her life when she died in 2009 and she's one of the first celebrities I remember as a– like a death, like they're dying being reported, and me as a young child having that connection being like “I know who that is I've watched her movies, I've seen her, I had a connection. Also I believe it was around the time my grandfather died, so I kinda– it's been very strange. Whenever someone significant in my life has died another celebrity that had a significant impact in my life also dies around then, so that also had an impression on me. So we all know her as Tai Frasier from the 1995 classic Clueless. However, her big break actually came from becoming a regular on the sitcom Drexell's Class at age fourteen, and honestly it was no surprise that she became such a huge star because around age eight she was begging her mom to start acting, and by age twelve her mom was like “you know what, sure. Let's do this thing. We'll see what happens.” And almost immediately she was booked for gigs, and it was like gig after gig. Back to Clueless. As if - heh - I were gonna just not talk about that movie. Brittany’s character Tai is a new student who's described as hopelessly klutzy and who gets pulled under the wing of popular socialite, Cher, and once she gets that classic makeover, her popularity skyrockets. And yes, this is the movie where the main character starts dating her ex stepbrother who's Paul Rudd. Utter classic. I believe it's still on Netflix. Do yourself a favor and watch it. Alana: It’s based on Emma… Haley: Yes, yes. Alana: And at the end of Emma, Emma starts dating her brother-in-law, so… Haley: So along with the movie being absolutely iconic, it's over twenty five years old so we get a lot of like the fun facts or the tidbits being released. And honestly, not many reference Brittany Murphy. I was really surprised by that. A lot of them of course are on like Cher, being the main character, but a lot on like the director, creator and the costume designer. But for Brittany Murphy I was like oh my gosh I just have all these fun facts in my brain that I just remember from her In Memoriam reel but I couldn't find like the evidence to back it up. But my two favorite were the insult that Tai and Cher like were arguing and Tai goes “you’re a virgin who can’t drive.” Alana: Way harsh, Tai. Haley: Chef’s kiss line. Well, Brittany Murphy was actually the virgin who couldn't drive, which I thought was hysterical. And at the time I watched Clueless I was also a virgin who couldn't drive, so I don't realize like why that was an insult like yeah, what? Alana: I still can't drive. Haley: Like do you not have a license or you’re just a bad driver? Because I’m a shitty driver but I have like– Alana: Oh, my license expires in January. Haley: Oh, okay. Also the scene where she gets hit in the head with like a clog in that like house party, it was a little bit of movie magic if you will because they did the scene with like a prop and it just looked really really fake so when they went in post they superimposed a shoe or whatever like hit her, I believe it was a clog, so the movie would look more realistic. And now I really want to rewatch the movie to see if I like they got it just right with the editing. Now doing a one eighty to her death. As I said, Investigation Discovery has a new episode documentary. In the show notes, I’ve linked it, it’s free. It calls it like episode one or something and I believe it's like forty minutes long, so it's something you can do while you're building a bookshelf, cooking dinner, trying to fall asleep; that's how I watched it, please don't read into that. And the episode documentary is not necessarily on her death that she died, but investigating it as not actually an accident from the perspective of her father really spearheading this. So her father, before he died in 2019, was like “I need to investigate this more,” did a bunch of interviews on how he believes that there is a little more to the story about his daughter Brittany Murphy dying at the age of thirty two. And a lot of my notes come from the documentary or commentary from it and I'm doing a warning in addition to my previous trigger warning that there are a lot of nine one one calls and as Investigation Discovery does, it covers the tragic story without holding anything back. So if that might be a little too much, you'll have a snippet here today. A very abbreviated version, if you will. So her official death from like LA county or like the coroner there in 2010 was said to be a combination of iron deficiency, anemia, pneumonia, and a combination of prescription drugs- like heavy doses of cold medication. But originally, the report was written as a heart attack, and I believe that one of the coroners told news outlets that her death appeared natural. I just want to pause and say a thirty two year old should not have like a natural death if it was ruled as a heart attack. And even kind of with the like documentary, I was having a hard time with like which coroner said what. Maybe that was just me watching this after my stressful life just being my stressful life with work and school. I really want to watch it with you guys too. There are also rumors that she had a drug problem and an eating disorder which could have contributed to her death, but when I was reading like some news outlets and it was like the really crappy tabloids it was like “she died of an eating disorder” and like no or like if she didn't have an eating disorder she would've lived. And there was nothing to say that she did or did not have an eating disorder per se, like at that time. I couldn't find any credible sources from 2009/2010 that she did have an eating disorder. All I could find was like “Brittany Murphy is looking really skinny” and that that’s… as a person– I’ll go out and say it– who has struggled with like eating disorders in the past, I will never say this person had an eating disorder, this person didn’t. I could not find Brittany Murphy coming out and saying that she had an eating disorder. This is all speculation. Even if it comes from a doctor, even if it comes from her dad, speculation. I’m not a doctor. Before her death, both Brittany and her husband Simon Monjack believed that they were being watched by the US government, and Brittany was reportedly a witness to Julia Davis, the Homeland Security employee who called out some of the problems within the organization. So that was kind of like a part that I– people are like “oh she could’ve been murdered, taken out by the government.” And I really didn't know where to put this note in, because it was kind of like she was saying it before she died as well, and she was, I think, a little paranoid from this. Also before her death, Simon and her mother were both sick in Puerto Rico. Brittany was filming The Caller, they went along for a vacay and things just turned nasty. You get sick, that's also like just like a common thing… getting sick on vacations. However, she was reportedly fired on like the first day and some kind of like pointed to her husband causing a nuisance on set for being like drunk and such. So things are just like being very weird. Like a lot of first like the government coming in thinking that she was being followed or watched and now being on a film set and her husband causing a huge disturbance. And sometimes still while on this island, like I said Simon and her mother got sick, so much so that on the flight home, Brittany had to give her husband CPR. And someone, I believe it was Simon claimed he was having a mild heart attack. So again we have this heart attack cause of illness coming back. So of course we get to the part where Brittany now gets a little cold, and it isn't just a little cold. She gets laryngitis. Apparently she got her second period in a month, hence the anemia. A lot of list of just the dominoes hitting the fan of she was essentially sick for six weeks, which takes a toll on any body, regardless of if you were healthy before or not. And she even had a doctor's appointment for the Monday after she died and I believe she died like on a Friday night at home. So fast forward a few months to now her husband dies, of like similar causes. And this was also sketchy because not only did he die like in the same room, same bed, his death was also ruled as quote “severe anemia and acute pneumonia.” So now like bells should be ringing off like what the fuck what the fuck, this is just a few months after her. And another weird part was that there was like an alleged scandal that he also had a relationship with her mother. Things are not adding up. Just to like wrap this whole thing up, like her father said in one of his last interviews he just didn't feel right. This didn’t sit well, and he continuously made allegations against other family members, and he just really wanted to get closure on her death. And that's basically where it ends– where it’s we don't know, we just now have all this new information and people like Investigation Discovery documentary episode are just trying to put it together. Alana: That's a heavy one. Archival Audio: From the Middle Ages, down to modern times, the magic of chemistry has fascinated mankind. Alana: So I don't have a content warning for this one aside from like she died when she was young and that's hard to talk about. Alice Augusta Ball was born on July 24, making her a Leo, 1892 in Seattle, Washington. I'm gonna make that my thing that I just note the star signs of my ladies. Both of Alice's parents and her grandfather were photographers, which meant that because of like photographic technology in the late 19th century Alice grew up around the chemicals that were used for developing photographs at the time. In 1902, when Alice was ten, they all moved to Honolulu, hoping that the change in climate might alleviate her grandfather's arthritis and other medical conditions. Alice's grandfather died two years later and the family moved back to Seattle where Alice graduated high school in 1910 with stellar, amazing, incredible, top of her class grades. She earned a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry in just two years and then a degree in chemistry in four years, both from the University of Washington. She went back to Hawaii to get her master's degree in chemistry from the University of Hawaii which was then called College of Hawaii. She was the first woman and the first Black woman to get a master's degree from the university of Hawaii. She graduated in 1915 and then that fall she became head of the chemistry department. Her thesis was about isolating the active ingredients in kava root for medical purposes, and this is why Dr Harry Hollmann, an assistant surgeon at the local hospital, sought her help. At the time, the best treatment for Hansen's disease, A. K. A. leprosy, was a pill or an ointment made from chaulmoogra oil, which was derived from the seeds of a tropical evergreen tree called the chaulmoogra. So isolating these active ingredients in plants would be an excellent skill to have if you were to research further on chaulmoogra oil and cures slash treatments for Hansen's disease. She juggled teaching and research as a twenty something. And the time management skills of this woman, that within a year she had created a water soluble solution of chaulmoogra oil which meant it could be administered directly into the bloodstream and be much more effective. It. Worked. The practice for people who had been diagnosed with Hanson's or leprosy was to group them together and isolate the group. This is where you get the phrase leper colony. One of my sources called this treatment only partially effective, but holy shit! Because of Alice, those people got to go home to their families. So I don't– partially effective? No. I hate you. I don't hate you, thank you for writing something that I could read for free, but come on. Alice died December t31 1916 at the age of twenty four, after a lab accident while she was teaching gave her chlorine poisoning because lab ventilation wasn't required yet. Her work was stolen. And this you'll see when we talk about– when I talk about Rosalind Franklin in January that stolen work of women in STEM is kind of a theme for me. Arthur Dean, the college president who took over her work after she died, but basically all he did was publish it, only mentioned her name once in the publication and started calling it the Dean Method. Luckily, Dr Hollmann was like “um. No ma’am.” and actively started calling it the Ball Method, and that's the name that stuck. And this method was used until the 1940s, so for twenty years, until sulfone drugs came onto the scene, and they work better or something. I… As previously mentioned, I am not a doctor. Just a little bit about her legacy, as of 2000, February 29 is officially Alice Ball day in Hawaii which… February 29? Really? The twenty ninth? A date that doesn't really exist? Come on. The University of Hawaii Manoa also offers the Alice Augusta Ball scholarship for students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, or microbiology. They also have a little plaque for her on their chaulmoogra tree, which is just small but I think it's cute. But Alice's work basically cured leprosy. And was just like– people weren't contagious and could go back to living with their families and living their lives and just being people. And then this is one of those things like in a general sense that I'm like, how many great, incredible, fantastic, smart, brilliant minds are we stifling due to systematic oppression? because Alice was so amazing and smart and was able to accomplish all of these things as a Black woman and overcame like– every single source that I read was like this was so strange for a woman, for a Black person, for a Black woman to be doing. So like, larger than anything that she personally could have done, which I think if she had survived this poisoning or if there were… if ventilation was a thing in labs, could she have found the vaccine for leprosy? That I don’t know whether or not we have. I can't really tell. They were working on it at one point according to one of my articles, that was in 2018 and it was promising so it might be done by now. But like what are we as a society missing out on by making life so difficult for anyone who isn’t a cisgender straight white man. Like all of these amazing… Lexi: Snaps. Snaps to that. Alana: Thank you. I'm very frustrated by systematic oppression these days. It's like Covid, systematic oppression, how systematic oppression is making Covid worse in places… Lexi: There's gonna be a Black woman in the White House. Alana: There’s gonna be a Black woman in the White House. Lexi: Just to make you feel a little better. Alana: I do feel better about that. Haley: It makes me so happy. Alana: I do like that. And then her husband is the first Jew in the White House. Haley: Really? Alana: Yeah. Haley: I really wish like we could've called him like the First Doug, because I feel like that's awesome. Yeah, the First Doug. Lexi: Second. Second, because it’s a VP’s spouse. It’s the Second. Alana: Yeah, Second Doug. Lexi: A Doug that really went up the ranks. Alana: I think the vibe that is going to end up happening is First Gentleman– Second Gentleman because that’s what they do for governors. Haley: But like I want Second Doug and then like forever it just be Doug. Lexi: Oh, it becomes Doug, even after. Haley: Yeah. Alana: I like that. Lexi: Kinda love it, it's like oh the Doug. Alana: I'm not a fan of Second Dude, I don't care for that I think that's like… Lexi: Yeah I don't like that. We need like a Spouse of President. No like a SOP. Alana: SOP! Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter and Instagram at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on ladyhistorypod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review, or tell your friends, and if you don't like the show, keep it to yourself. Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, GarageBand, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us, next time on Lady History. Haley: Next week on Lady History, it's our U. S. Thanksgiving episode, and we’re doing a deep dive into Native slash Indigenous peoples’ history. [OUTRO MUSIC] Haley: Are raccoons like ducks where you can just like pick one up off the street? Lexi: That’s not true for ducks, we talked about this. You can’t steal wild animals.

[rillensora]

I was tagged by @ice-creamforbreakfast to:

Post your lock screen, home screen and most recent song you’ve listened to. Then tag others.

My home screen is just one of the default backgrounds that shipped with my iPhone. In general, I don’t like to have a personalized image for my home screen, because I feel the app icons just cover it up anyway. The last song I listened to is “Green Bird”, from Cowboy Bebop.

However, what I really wanted to talk about (since it’s timely at the moment) is my lock screen, which I’ve had since last April. As you may be able to tell even without the benefit of any context, it’s quite a politically charged piece of art, and I have selected it as my home screen for precisely this reason.

I don’t often talk about politics on Tumblr, and still less about specifically Korean politics. But since today is an important national holiday, and since recent developments have been bringing these issues to the fore for a lot of Koreans including myself, I thought talking about this image would be a good chance to shine a light on the political history behind our current situation that people from other countries are often not aware of.

I know the prompt asks that I tag people, but as the rest of this post gets rather political, and I don’t want to risk dragging people unwillingly into that, I’ll skip that part of the exercise this time.

(Like I ever really tag anyone in these things.)

Lengthier explanation below the jump for those who actually want the politics:

For the past four months, my phone home screen has been a piece of art commissioned by the South Korean government to commemorate the 100th-year anniversary of the March 1st Movements. At the center top of the composition is depicted Ryu Gwansun, who was one of the main organizers of the protests that day. She was martyred by the Japanese colonial government, and subsequently, both she and the date of the events that led to her capture and execution became an ongoing symbol of resistance and Korean identity.

Due to the significance of her role, she is given a focal position in this painting, but she is not the only figure shown. Behind her are ranged the common people who joined her in the protests on that day in 1919 (many of whom shared her fate or worse).

Before her, the foreground is mainly occupied by figures who are instantly recognizable from major Korean leftist / grassroots resistance movements that established themselves during the years after independence, all the way up to the present day:

The April revolution was spearheaded by students (who are recognizable by their retro school uniforms and rather unflattering haircuts.) The movement arose in protest of the elections by which Syngman Rhee ⁠— an autocrat who was “president” only in name ⁠— attempted to illegally consolidate his power, and ended with his removal from power and the installation of a democratically elected president (who sadly did not last long in that position).

The resistance against Park Chung-Hee’s dictatorship in the 1970s was also driven in part by university students, many of whom were imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured, and killed for their “dissident” beliefs. However, for the first time, the leftist movement incorporated vast numbers of laborers and factory workers, most of whom had had few opportunities for education, and who were becoming increasingly exploited and marginalized under Park’s economic policies. The young man depicted holding the book reading “Labor Law” (Hangul: 노동법, Hanja: 勞動法) is most likely a homage to Jeon Tae-il, a young labor rights activist (who himself was a laborer coming from an impoverished background) who self-immolated as an act of protest against the government’s failure to enforce even the labor rights laws that were already on the books.

Resistance expanded among an increasingly more educated social class during the 80s, incorporating urban professionals, intellectuals, and during the final days of the resistance, ordinary citizens from all walks of life, including housewives, shopkeepers, and the elderly. Growing unrest and particularly anger over new revelations of the imprisonment, torture, and murder of dissidents and vulnerable groups, culminated in the June Democratic Uprisings that directly led to the fall of Chun Doo-hwan, our last military dictator, and transition into a liberal democratic government in 1988.

This is not to say that Korean politics after 1988 has been free from turmoil: transition into a democracy was only the beginning of a very long and arduous process that continues to this day, and indeed Korean leftists have always been very aware that the fight against inequality and injustice is an ongoing one. This is why the figure of the young girl, in a modern school uniform, is placed at the very front and center of the composition: the struggle will one day be hers.

Today is another important day commemorating a key event in modern Korean history August 15th, the armistice of World War II. (Most Western sources have the date as August 14th, but because of time zones, it’s the 15th for us.) Since it was the moment that marked the end of a brutal colonial regime, and the moment at which freedom and the possibility of self-determination was most tantalizingly within the grasp of ordinary Koreans, it’s obviously a date of high significance, and a national holiday here in Korea.

But here’s the thing: most Korean historians do not count the beginning of Korean nationhood from this date, nor from the same date in 1948 that marks the founding of the modern Korean government. Instead, it is the 1st of March 1919 that we count as the date of the founding of the Korean nation, that day when the Korean Resistance made its first stand against colonial rule, and the day when the people stood with them.

On the other hand, Korean right wingers vastly prefer the 1945 or 1948 date, because it places the foundation of Korean statehood within the framework of liberation by an external foreign power, and therefore is a convenient line of rhetoric by which they may erase the actions of the wartime provisional Korean government, the resistance forces that fought for Korean independence, and most importantly, the Korean people who supported these movements.

To whom I say: Never again.

[arcticdementor]

Between this thread and the trans one discussing fleeing the country, a theme is indeed emerging. This week Korea is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the independence movement against Japanese occupation. Stories abound of freedom fighters who gave up their lives on suicide missions to assassinate Japanese officials, protestors who went into the street knowing they could be shot (many were) or imprisoned and tortured. I saw a movie the other day telling the story of a young girl, Ryu Gwansun, who was tortured to death in prison for continually fomenting the independence movement and refusing to cooperate with the Japanese. She was 17 years old when she died. For those of you in America confronted with this stuff, the question has been raised here and in the other thread: how far are you willing to go? It may be just a thought experiment for now, but a useful one nonetheless. There were people who were just like you, who were willing to cut off their fingers to show their commitment to the cause, to leave behind wives and young children and go to certain death for their beliefs. They were either strong enough or desperate enough; which one hardly matters. One of the reasons Jordan Peterson has risen so far is because he was willing to go to prison for his belief. They said no no you would just need to pay a fine. He said he wouldn’t pay a fine. The next step wasn’t articulated by the Left, because it got very real, and people generally don’t like staring state violence in the face. The rubber would hit the road, and Peterson said he would rather go to prison than have his own conscience soiled by the government SJWs. I for one believed him. That kind of commitment carries a certain weight; just like the early Christian martyrs. I’ll admit that it is probably a little easier to give up what you have when you have already lost almost everything. Ryu Gwansun’s parents had been killed in the protests just before she was arrested. Her country was already under occupation. She didn’t have a comfortable job with a big house in the American suburbs and holidays abroad and a generous pension plan to lose. I get it. But it is worth imagining what you will do if things become more desperate. Because it will likely be an incremental process, where the milestones are not easy to spot as you pass them. Democrats openly supporting infanticide has been one of the rare, obvious ones. But others will pass by unnoticed, and suddenly you will have the same choice as Jordan Peterson: is it complicity or prison? It was the same choice for Ryu Gwansun. She could’ve walked free. But if she had the country of Korea might’ve disappeared forever. Impossible to know for sure. Anyway, the stories of those kind of people really make you think.

“Seoulite”

[giny-us]

A museum and former prison in Seodaemun-gu, Seodaemun Prison History Hall was built at the start of 1907. Activists for Korean independence were held there during the time of Japanese colonialism. Additionally, there was a facility just for women and young girls. Kim Koo was detained in 1911 and also in 1919 Ryu Gwansun became a part of the prisoners as well. Following the March 1st Movement, the number of prisoners dramatically surged in 1919. More than 40,000 people were imprisoned here and over 400 died. The area became a part of Seodaemun Independence Park and was consecrated as the Seodaemun Prison History Hall in 1992. Seven of the original fifteen structures that make up the jail complex have been conserved as historical landmarks. The History Hall continues to serve as a memorial for all those held captive during the Japanese colonial era. Entrance fee: 1,500 KRW Address: Address : 120-080 (101, Hyeonjeo-dong) Uijuro 247, Seodaemun-gu Seoul, Korea Website: https://www.sscmc.or.kr/foreign/eng/information.asp Opened every day besides Monday from 9:30 until 18:00. #MOFA #UnboxingKorea #KoreaAllimi #언박싱코리아 #대한민국알리미 #UniqueKorea #SpecialExperience #한국 #서울 #픽스타그램 #맞팔 #인스타데일리 #인스타 #일상 #daily #dailypic #instapic #dailygram #instalike #korea #independenceday #independencemovement #독립운동 #sodaemunprison #서대문형무소역사관 #박물관 #서대문형무소 #prison #koreahistory #museum (at Seodaemun Prison History Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChZHqMdvfhH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[suechoiart]

Internship Week 5

// history of space: remembrance and erasure 

It’s difficult to remember and it’s difficult to remember collectively. Experiences that you yourself live through, with others, stays and the group interaction(s) can keep them alive. But how do we -- are we obligated to -- pass on that experience?

To start my research on some Civil Rights strands of landscapes in Nashville, I registered for a tour of the Civil Rights section at the Nashville Public Library. I contacted Tasneem (in picture) and Elliott at NPL and they generously spent their Friday morning with me. 

NPL is the only public institution (public library?) that has a Civil Rights section. The guided tour of it is free. Any group of any size can request a tour. I sat in the Civil Rights room with ten psychology interns that were about to be put in rotation. Fittingly, Tasneem told us that the current ‘tour’ focused on feelings and emotions. (“What (how) does the Civil Rights section invite you to feel?”)

Below: some thoughtful exploration about using space to communicate important memories and a rant without much resolution

What I felt in the Civil Rights section was pride and dignity. The pictures displayed on the entablature in the rooms showed Nashville protesters without fear or shame. The white classical structures in the room added to that elevation. In this photo of the first school day of desegregation -- They had done nothing wrong. It reminded me of the way many martyrs and activists from Korean history are introduced. In the face of oppression and subjugation - many victims stood tall, knowing that they have done wrong. (Picture is 18-year old Ryu Gwansun, who, after repeated torture from the Japanese, died in cell protesting for Korean Independence....Her face is swollen from all the beatings--a true martyr and hero for independence)

One method of celebrating heroes and virtues is to create spaces of memory and communication. For someone (like me) who has not lived through that era nor those subjugated experiences, resources like the Civil Rights Room and various museums related to Korean history and liberty can pass on the message throughout generations. A space that intentionally In addition to heavy subjects like basic human rights and freedom, just the memory and significance of a physical space (a place) can be remembered ... Or just erased.

My rather deep thoughtful exploration of spaces this week was interrupted by ‘The Gulch’ in Nashville. In short, The Gulch used to be an important space for rail and industrial commerce. The extinction of trains in the 1950s and onward made it into an urban brownfield. Today it is *the* premier mixed-used urban neighborhood in Nashville - and absolutely nothing about it is attributed to its geographic history! Is this okay? Is this not? Should we be happy for urban revitalization? No residents were kicked and no residences were razed (as far as I know -- it was an industrial space full of warehouses) 

(Gulch picture from Old Town Trolley Tours)

Related, maybe not... A lot of the Civil Rights movement happened right outside of the Nashville Public Library. A couple of the businesses that still exist today (Walgreen’s!) was the featured site of sit-ins. Recently, one of those places was rebirthed! One of the restaurants that students had their sit-in, Woolworth’s, is revived from the dead. Restaurant owner Tom Morales presents it as an act of remembrance, of honoring the very location that was an important part of Nashville’s Civil Rights movement: 

“The history of Nashville is rich and diverse and should be preserved, yet every day we hear about another building being torn down to make room for something new,” said Tom Morales, owner and CEO of TomKats Hospitality. “The Woolworth building needed to be saved, and we are honored to be part of the next chapter of its history. Woolworth on 5th brings a unique vibe to the downtown scene – a welcome table of home grown flavors, old school sounds, and classic dance moves – and we are excited to share it with the city we love.” [from official website] 

(This picture is mine)

There is no longer a Dollar General in that location, but now a restored 20th-century restaurant that screams nostalgia greets downtown visitors. I’ve not visited the venue yet, so my judgment should be reserved... But I can’t help but feel that the virtues and history are monetized. But is that okay? Is it better than the Dollar General that occupied that space without any tribute to the history? Is a 20th-century themed, activism flavored, 15-dollar lunch plate, big band playing restaurant better? ... 

(Picture from Eater) 

[annhallow87]

Ryu Gwansun (16 de diciembre de 1902 – 28 de septiembre de 1920), también conocida como Yu Gwansun o Yoo Kwan-soon, fue una activista coreana que lideró el Movimiento Primero de Marzo contra la ocupación japonesa de Corea en Chungcheong del Sur y que se transformó en el símbolo de la lucha de Corea por su independencia. Gwansun creció en la provincia de Chungcheong. Tuvo como maestra a Alice Sharp, una misionera occidental que le recomendó estudiar en la actual Universidad de Mujeres Ewha, en Seúl. En 1919, siendo Gwansun estudiante en la universidad, presenció los comienzos del Movimiento Primero de Marzo, -también conocido como Movmiento Samil- uno de los primeros movimientos de resistencia pacífica del pueblo coreano contra la ocupación japonesa. Ryu Gwansun se unió en una manifestación en Seúl el 5 de marzo. Después de esa manifestación, la Universidad de Mujeres Ewha fue cerrada temporalmente por el Gobernador general de Corea. Tras el cierre de la universidad, Gwansun volvió a su hogar en Jiryeong-ri (actualmente Yongdu-ri) y se involucró más activamente en el movimiento de proprotestas. Junto con otros activistas, organizó una manifestación convocando a pueblos vecinos como Yeongi, Chungju, Cheonan y Jincheon y que tuvo lugar el primer día lunar de marzo de 1919 en el mercado de Awunae a las 9 de la mañana. Se manifestaron alrededor de 3 mil personas, gritando "¡Larga vida a la independencia de Corea!" ("대한독립만세"). La policía japonesa los dispersó alrededor de las 13 horas y Ryu Gwansun fue arrestada junto a otros manifestantes. Sus padres fallecieron al ser alcanzados por los disparos de la policía japonesa. Durante el arresto, Gwansun rechazó la propuesta de admitir su crimen y cooperar con la investigación a fin de obtener una pena menor. Sufrió torturas pero no reveló los nombres de quienes organizaron la manifestación. Primero estuvo detenida en la estación de la policía militar japonesa de Cheonan, pero al poco tiempo la transfirieron a la estación de policía de Gongju donde fue a juicio, en la corte local de esa ciudad el 9 de mayo. Gwansun fue sentenciada a 5años de cárcel. #Cultivate👩‍🏫 #MenteSana🧠 #EstarBienconAnnHw #ImpulsateAEmprender https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIgIT2BsZbg7MEkI7XnVBwCkGDcFLK_swwNDQ0/?igshid=zww0i78x6o1k

[bigshinygold]

🇰🇷유관순 Ryu Gwansun 한번 그려봤습니다🇰🇷

During the Sam-Il Movement that took place in ChungCheong, SK, Gwansun was one of many peaceful protesters against Japanese occupation. She was jailed and tortured with many other SK female inmates. I recommend watching the movie "A Resistance" that goes in-depth on her story.

[omg-lucio]

Mugshot del activista independentista coreano Ryu Gwansun, tras su arresto por las autoridades coloniales japonesas en Corea tras el Movimiento del 1 de marzo contra el dominio colonial japonés de Corea - 1919

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryu_Gwansun

[dailydoseofkorea]

Ryu Gwansun

The next post in the March 1st Movement (3.1 운동) mini series is about Ryu Gwansun (유관순). I know history can be boring but the next post is a post that is really important in Korean history. Ryu Gwansun (유관순) is one of the very few female historical figures. The next post is about her during the March 1st Movement, during which she was only 16.The next post will tell you everything you need to know about her! I would be so thankful if you guys could read the next post and like, reblog or comment on it! And if you enjoyed the post or found it helpful, also don’t forget to like, reblog and comment because that’s the only way I know that it was a good post :)

The post on Ryu Gwansun will be posted 2pm Tuesday UTC/GMT!

6am PST

[kazino]

thinking abt that one time my dad told me i was distantly related to ryu gwansun so i looked her up and started sobbing

[jinsers16]

Happy international women’s day! 👑 Here is a gallery for the women of many firsts 😍 1. Yuna Kim, record-breaking figure skater ❄️ 2. Yi So-yeon, astronaut 👩🏻‍🚀 3. Park Kyung-won, aviator 👩🏻‍✈️ 4. Lee Tai-young, lawyer 👩🏻‍⚖️ 5. Queen Seondeok of Silla, KWEEN 👸🏻 6. Sin Saimdang, artist 👩🏻‍🎨 7. Sandra Oh, KWEEN 👩🏻‍⚕️ 8. Ryu Gwansun, organizer of 삼일 운동 (Korean Independence Movement) 🇰🇷 9. Thousands of women who were victims of sexual slavery who have still yet to receive apologies or acknowledgment🙏🏻 10. women of my life ❤️ https://www.instagram.com/jinlee716/p/BuxuFP8H3IF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ayojdan3jd6l

[forwardintomemory]

Martin Luther King Jr. and Korean in 1919

<Selma>. (1:11:00 – 1:17:00) People are crossing Alabama River in silence and in peace. They look determined and brave. However, the brutality awaits the peaceful marchers. At the opposite side of the bridge, armed troopers stand. The troopers do not give the marchers any chance to make a word. They seem to be no less than impatient. They start to beat the people with baton. They whip the unarmed. They shoot the gun. It is broadcast nationwide through CBS channel. All the marchers want is justice – for the black.

This scene from <Selma> looks like what happened on March 1st 1919 in Korea. People called for the independence of Korea from Japanese colony. They announced the declaration of independence and organized the movement. The principle was non-violence. They promised themselves not to use any force. They rushed out into the street and shout out “Man-se!” holding a flag called ‘Tae-geuk-gi.’It was spread nationwide. However, when they walked on, Japanese police suppressed them brutally. People got killed or injured. The parents of Ryu Gwansun were shot at the movement. All they wanted is justice – for Korean.

“Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”

- Martin Luther King Jr., Letter From Birmingham Jail

Just like what Martin Luther King Jr. says, injustice of one place is interrelated to the one of another place. It does not happen only in a place, but anywhere. March 1st movement in Korea in the early 20th century also recognized this fact. That’s why people outside Korea dedicated themselves to Korean independence. Patriotism did contribute to the movement. However, if they sat idly by in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Philadelphia, and were not concerned about what happened in Korea, nothing happened and nothing changed.

Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Koreans did not know each other, they clearly shared same value and spirit. The non-retaliation and non-violence connected them each other. They recognized the mutual influence and moved on despite all the obstacles. They walked on for peace and justice in different age and country.

 ​