7-1-2. 학생단 조직과 3·1운동 주도 세력 [명순구, "자유·정의·진리의 여정"/보성전문학교와 독립운동: 암흑기의 불빛/I. 보전 학생 독립운동의 태동]

Boseong College and the March First Movement

The video explains how Boseong College (Bojeon) students helped organize and lead the student movement associated with the March First Movement of 1919, despite Japanese colonial restrictions on the school.

Colonial restrictions and the school’s position

After Japan annexed Korea, colonial authorities tightened their control over education through regulations introduced in 1911 and 1915. Boseong was not recognized as a professional school and was reclassified as a private law and commercial school. Its students also lost the right to wear the square caps associated with professional-school students and instead wore the round caps prescribed for secondary-school students.

The lecture presents these restrictions as part of the broader reason Boseong students and administrators opposed Japanese colonial rule.

Building a student organization

On January 6, 1919, students and graduates from several Seoul-area schools—including Boseong, Yonsei, and Gyeongseong Medical College—met at a Chinese restaurant.

At a second meeting on January 27, around ten students discussed organizing a demonstration. Boseong graduate Ju Ik proposed the plan, supported by Kang Gi-deok and others. They cited the international principle of national self-determination, although some participants felt the action was premature. These meetings laid the groundwork for a student organization intended to lead an independence movement.

On February 20, student representatives met at Seungdong Church and chose leaders from several schools. They also appointed successors in case representatives were arrested or forced to flee. After Cheondogyo and Christian leaders proposed cooperating with the students, the student organization decided on February 25 to suspend its separate protest plan and join the wider movement organized by religious and national leaders.

Student action and the spread of protest

The March First Movement began on March 1, 1919, as a nationwide demonstration against Japanese rule.

On March 4, student representatives reviewed plans for a further demonstration and selected Kang Gi-deok of Boseong and Kim Won-byeok of Yonsei as leading organizers. The following day, students led a demonstration toward Namdaemun Station.

Boseong students also returned to their hometowns and helped organize local protests. For example, Kim Chil-yong helped lead a demonstration in Galmal-myeon, Cheorwon County, in coordination with teacher Shin Seong-gi.

Repression and its impact on Boseong

The authorities’ response damaged the school and its associated institutions. The lecture describes arrests affecting Boseong’s leadership, including principal Yu Ik-seon and Cheondogyo leader Son Byeong-hui.

Lee Jong-il, who was involved in printing and distributing leaflets, was sentenced to three years in prison. Students, including Kang Gi-deok, were arrested or expelled. Bang Jeong-won, who distributed the Declaration of Independence, also had to leave the school.

The school’s annual number of graduates fell from around 30 to 11 in 1920, illustrating the movement’s effects on the institution.

Boseong’s wider contribution

The lecture emphasizes that Boseong’s role went beyond participation in demonstrations. Its students and graduates contributed to:

• Organizing the student movement and developing protest plans.
• Drafting and distributing independence-related materials and supporting underground publishing.
• Defending March First Movement leaders in court.
• Joining activities connected with the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai and other independence organizations.

Speakers and sources featured

• Speaker: A single narrator or lecturer; the subtitles do not identify the speaker by name.
• Other speakers or interviewees: None are identifiable in the subtitles.
• Historical figures discussed: Ju Ik, Kang Gi-deok, Kim Won-byeok, Han Wi-geon, Park Gwi-do, Yu Ik-seon, Son Byeong-hui, Lee Jong-il, Bang Jeong-won, Kim Chil-yong, Shin Seong-gi, Heo Heon, Jeong Gu-chang, Park Seung-bin, and Nam Young-hoon, among others. Some names may be imperfectly rendered in the auto-generated subtitles.