Henry Chung, A Man Worthy of Remembrance in History
March 1st Movement

The March 1st Movement was a nationwide independence movement by the Korean people on March 1st, 1919 in opposition to Japan’s oppressive colonial policies. Following Japan’s forced annexation in 1910, the Koreans lost their nation and resisted Japan’s colonial rule, pursuing independence and freedom with a sense of national identity. Also called the March 1st Manse Movement or the March 1st Revolution, it began in earnest in March and rapidly spread across the country.

Japan arrested numerous Koreans both within and without Korea in the process of suppressing the March 1st Movement, and tortured and butchered and razed Korean settlements and buildings such as churches. Japan even brought Japanese firefighters and civilians to commit atrocities against Koreans. The nonviolent Manse movement of the Koreans stands in stark contrast to the brutality of the Japanese.

At the time, the Korean peninsula was thoroughly blockaded by the Japanese and it was almost impossible for news of the tragic situation facing the Koreans and the Manse Movement to spread to the outside world. However, the March 1st Movement quickly became known throughout the world through foreigners such as Frank W. Schofield and Albert W. Taylor. Although Korea was unable to receive independence right away in the new global order as reorganized through the Paris Peace Conference after the First World War, the Korean March 1st Manse Movement left a lasting impression on the international society.

The Forgotten Individual, Henry Chung De Yong, 1890-1985

How was Korea’s March 1st Movement, which had a great impact on the independence movements of small and weak peoples around the world, recorded, revealed to the outside world, and its key points organized? Of course, the contributions of foreign missionaries, reporters, and residents in Korea were absolute.

Then how did the Koreans who actually cried “Manse” and directly suffered from all sorts of atrocious acts contribute? The Koreans also did all they could to reveal their plight and the Manse Movement to the world, telling of their horrible situation to missionaries and sending letters. Their efforts were insufficient to receive the attention of the international society, unlike the writings and testimonies of foreigners, yet the efforts of the Koreans themselves to tell Korea’s situation were no less energetic.

In such a situation, Henry Chung, who would become the second Korean to ever receive a doctorate from an American university, organized and analyzed the information about the March 1st Manse Movement and submitted it as his doctoral thesis. Starting from an introduction of Korea’s history and geography, he prepared eighteen chapters analyzing preexisting material and organizing the cause, progress, and result of the March 1st Manse Movement. He included various materials such as verdicts from Japanese courts and Japanese yearbooks in the appendix for a more compelling thesis. It is difficult to find any other Korean record on the March 1st Movement, which is written in English and is as logical and comprehensive.

Henry Chung was born in South Pyeongan province on February 28, 1890 and experienced the 20th century Korean history during his life before dying in 1985. He lived a long life of 95 years, but unfortunately almost nothing is known about his childhood and activities after Korea’s liberation. The two people who had a great influence on young Henry in his 10s and 20s was Park Yong-man and his uncle, Park Chang-hyun. It was also through their aid that Henry was able to start studying at the private Simu School, originally established as an affiliated school of the Sangdong Youth’s Association in Suncheon, South Pyeongan province.

Henry left Korea at the age of 14 in 1904 to “learn new sciences and develop my homeland’s civilization.” Challenged by the shock of Western civilization as it slammed into Korea, Henry persuaded his parents and family and, despite his young age, settled in L.A. at the age of 15 in 1905, after passing through Hawaii and San Francisco. De Yong was added to his name as he entered the U.S. and Mrs. Sherman of the Korean (Gospel) Evangelization Hall in L.A. gave him the English name Henry. Mrs. Henry allowed him to pay cheap rent and learn Christianity in English, and introduced him to a ‘schoolboy’ job where he did odd jobs for another household to earn money.

However, Henry was not yet familiar with American culture and English and had some difficulties, before heading to Nebraska in April 1906 with Park Yong-man and Park Chang-hyun. That September he enrolled in the fourth grade of elementary school in the city of Kearney and adapted to American society while displaying exceptional ability in learning English and giving speeches. Afterwards, Henry received a bachelor and master’s in political science at the Nebraska State University. Furthermore, he received a doctorate in political science from the American University in Washington D.C., and the book we translated here was his doctoral thesis. Even though he was a Korean, Henry’s outstanding language skills and persuasiveness enabled him to appeal in English to the American and Western world for Korea’s will for independence and Japan’s aggressive atrocities. Later he was an assistant professor at the Northwestern University in Illinois.

Compared to Park Yong-man or Rhee Syngman, Henry may be categorized as a second-generation independence activist, but his importance places him on their level among the ranks of the most important independence activists. Despite his young age, he played a central role in the Korean Boy Soldier School started by Park Yong-man in Nebraska, and completed the three-year program with Yoo Il-han in 1911. In 1919 he was chosen as one of the three representatives for Korea to participate in the Paris Peace Conference by the Korean National Association. He was a member of the Shanghai Provisional Government’s Korean Commission to America and Europe, and from February 25, 1919 to 1921, sided with Rhee Syngman during the petition for mandatory rule dispute, then a major topic at the Provisional Government.

Yet his activities aside from his life in Nebraska and his exploits following the March 1st Movement have hitherto remained concealed. He is recorded in the oral records edited by Sonia Shinn, but this is a project beyond our research at this time. (Sunwoo, edited by Sonia Shinn, Korea Kaleidoscope: Oral Histories 1, Early Korean Pioneers in USA 1903-1905(Davis, CA: Korean Oral History Project, 1982). Korea was liberated in 1945. The Korean government gave Henry, who dedicated his youth, the Order of Merit of National Foundation, Independence Medal in 1962 and he ended his eventful life on June 30, 1985.

The Case of Korea

This book was written on the foundation of Henry’s 1921 doctoral thesis. It showcases the academic ability of Henry, who studied political science. Henry’s book is important for two reasons. First, after receiving academic training in the U.S. in the field of political science through his doctoral program, Henry presented a considerably sophisticated academic analysis of Korea’s situation at the time and Japanese plundering. Second, this is a rare document in which one of the oppressed Koreans revealed the specifics of Korea’s situation and Japanese atrocities to the wider world. Until now there have been almost no cases in which a Korean presented graphic material on the March 1st Movement overseas, much less in English. U.S. Senator Shelden Spencer, who wrote the foreword, agreed on this point.

“The history of this book is illuminating and thrilling. It is well worth the thoughtful consideration of all Americans. It deserves and demands attention.”

Already on March 20, 1919, Henry Chung wrote “Korea’s Appeal” in The New York Times, emphasizing Japan’s atrocities and Korea’s ability to operate an independent government. In May 1919, he contributed the “Korea Today-A Korean View of Japan’s Colonial Policies” to ASIA (Vol. 19:5, May. 1919). Furthermore he published The Oriental Policy of the United States (New York, Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1919), covering Japan’s international propaganda tactics. Published in 1921 at the end of this process, The Case of Korea drew not a small amount of interest from Americans and at least two experts reviewed Henry’s work (Stanford University’s Payson J. Treat, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 15.4(Nov. 1921), pp.612-613.; Charles C. Tansill, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 37(2)(Sep. 1922), p.542.).

Henry Chung also left several other works.

Korean Treaties (H. S, NICHOLS. INC., 1919)
The Russians Came to Korea (Korean Pacific Press, 1947)
Korea and the United States through War and Peace, 1943-1960(Seoul: Yonsei University Press, Institute for Modern Korean Studies Historical Materials Series; no.4, 2000)

A Korean translation was started with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Veterans and Patriots Affairs in order that firsthand materials related to the independence movement might be discovered and presented to the public in 2019, the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Movement. Along with project, we decided to republish The Case of Korea in English.

We hope that through this book, the life and patriotic efforts of Henry Chung, a man long forgotten whom we absolutely must remember, will be newly presented to the modern people. We expect that the efforts of this man, who a century ago left his homeland for foreign lands to pursue an academic and practical independence struggle will now resonate with the consciences and lives of many people.

December 2019
Kim Jae-hyun, President of KIATS