March 1

Today is March 1st Day in Korea.  That's the title of the holiday.  The first place I noticed it was in my cell phone.  All the Korean holidays are automatically programmed into my cell phone calendar.  At first I thought it was just telling me that the new month began since it said March 1st, but then I noticed it was highlighted like the rest of my Korean holidays.  The next place I noticed it was on the streets.  For the last week, Korean flags have been flying everywhere.  It's been fun to walk down our street and see 20 or more flags lining the sidewalks.  I was curious what this holiday was, so I asked my friend Kiho.

It all started in the early 1900s when the peninsula was occupied by Japan.  The Japanese were quite brutal to the Koreans, much like most invading countries are.  They required all Koreans to give up their Korean names and take Japanese ones.  They destroyed many religious and cultural sites.  (I talked about this in my post about the Seoul Fortress Wall.)  They outlawed the Korean flag and language.  One lady, Yu Gwan-Sun, organized a freedom march where Koreans peacefully protested the Japanese occupation on March 1, 1919.  Her parents were killed on the spot, and she was imprisoned.  She eventually died in prison from horrible treatment at the age of 19.  Her efforts today, and those of the thousands of people who marched for freedom with her, are remembered every March 1.

I love how every country has someone in history like Yu Gwan-Sun.  Some who was willing to give everything for the cause of freedom.  It reminds me how precious freedom is and how I sometimes take it for granted.  Just a few miles north of here live thousands of people who can't even own a cell phone or speak from the heart for fear of being tortured or killed.  I take my freedom for granted all too often.  Today, even though this is a Korean holiday, I'm grateful to be reminded how blessed I am to be an American citizen and have the freedoms I enjoy.