Korean Independence Declaration Read Publicly; Mass Protests Spread Across Peninsula

On March 1, 1919, thirty-three Korean religious and cultural leaders publicly read a Declaration of Independence in Seoul, triggering protests across the peninsula. Inspired by Woodrow Wilson's principle of national self-determination, an estimated two million Koreans participated in over 1,500 demonstrations across 211 of 218 county administrations. Japanese colonial authorities suppressed the protests: approximately 7,500 killed and 46,000 arrested. Independence was not achieved, but Japan shifted from direct military rule to a more permissive administrative policy. The Korean Provisional Government was subsequently established in Shanghai.