HILD 12 wk4 discussion post
What do you think prompted so many Koreans into direct action against Japanese colonial rule? How much of it do you think was the language of the March 1, 1919 Declaration of Independence, and how much were other factors that Shin mentions? Answer this question by thinking about what might prompt you into actions at some moments and not at others. Have you ever felt compelled to act in ways that surprised you?
After numerous accounts of exploitation and imperial colonialism of Korea by Japan over a course of almost a decade, many Koreans directed action against Japanese colonial rule, such as nationwide protests that “included more than 10 percent of Korea’s roughly 20 million people” (Shin 1). Factors of these uprising and revolts may be because of the exploitation of treaties that gave Japan rule over Korea from the Russo-Japanese war. These circumstances were used by companies such as Taki Seihi, which is mentioned in Professor Matsumura’s lecture. Land in Korea were stolen by the Japanese as profit for their own country, and this led the Korean workers in a cycle of disposable workforce with dehumanizing conditions. These exploited Korean workers who experienced the work conditions were probably a main reason of the action against Japanese colonial rule, which is indirectly mentioned in the March 1, 1919 Declaration of Independence. The declaration discusses that the outcome of the treaty led to “oppressive coercion, discriminatory injustice, and fabrication of statistical data”, which may be tied to the opressed Korean workers under these Japanese companies(“Declaration of Independence” 2). This also brings in a new factor of how Japanese colonial rule releases false information about the oppressed Koreas, which in turn led to the directed action. An example would be how there were false data considering death tolls on Japanese officials burning Korean protesters (Shin 1). However, these two factors alone were most likely not all of why the Koreans decided to direct action towards this colonial rule, so other factors have to be taken account of why this happened.
Personally, it is interesting to think how there are factors that affect what actions I take and what actions I do not take. In my opinion, it is difficult to focus on one particular factor that make me decide on actions, as there are so many different factors that affect my actions. However, one main factor may be the relation the subject of the action has to myself, as if there is less relation and affect that the action causes on me, I would tend to not take the action in those moments. This can maybe describe how racism and other problems still linger, as some people refrain from action since they think that these problems do not affect them enough for them to take action. However, there are some instances where I take an action that surprises me. Some may be from instinct, but these actions are difficult to determine the factors that made me do it, which I believe that there was a factor that I am not aware about that caused me to act.
