Korean Declaration of Independence

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The Korean Declaration of Independence (Korean: 3·1독립선언서; lit. March 1st Declaration of Independence) is the statement adopted by the 33 Korean representatives meeting at Taehwagwan, the restaurant located in what is now Insa-dong, Jongno District, Seoul on March 1, 1919, four months after the end of World War I, which announced that Korea would no longer tolerate Japanese rule.

As reported by the New York Times in 1919, "Korea has proclaimed its independence. What was formerly the Hermit Kingdom, in this, the 4,232 year of its existence, declares through a document signed by thirty-three citizens the liberty of the Korean People"^[1]

This was the beginning of the March First Movement, which was violently suppressed by Japanese authorities, as well as the cornerstone of the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government one month later. Nearly thirty years later, Korea's true independence came after the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II.