Less-known independence activists promoted in ongoing project by actress Song Hye-gyo and professor Seo Kyoung-duk
Kim Hyang-hwa, who led one of the protests against Japanese colonial rule in 1919, has been featured in a multi-language video created in a project led by actress Song Hye-kyo and liberal arts professor Seo Kyoung-duk.
According to Seo's Facebook page, the four-minute video was sponsored by Song and has been released with Korean and English narration. The video shows how Kim and some 30 "gisaengs" — female entertainers of the Joseon Dynasty who performed at banquettes and high-profile bars — participated in the March 1st Movement of the 1919.
The English version of the video can be found on YouTube under the name "Defying the Barriers of Her Time, Crying Out for Independence — Gisaeng Kim Hyang-hwa."
The now-famous nationwide independence movement of 1919 continued throughout March and April of that year. On March 29, Kim persuaded her gisaeng colleagues to conduct a protest, leading to her arrest as a leader of the movement.
Kim was tortured and served six months in prison at the infamous Seodaemun Prison, which also held other prominent Korean independence activists such as Yu Gwan-sun — a student leader in the March 1 Movement. Not much is known about her life after her release later in the year.
In 2009, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Commendation for her role in the independence movement.
Seo, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, is an outspoken activist promoting Korean culture and history overseas. The latest video is the fifth installment in the ongoing project to promote lesser-known female independence activists that fought Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of Korea.
Freedom fighters Jeong Jeong-hwa, Yun Hui-sun, Kim Maria, Park Cha-jung were featured in previous editions of the series.
Song, known for a number of films and dramas including the 2022-23 Netflix hit show "The Glory," has been jointly leading the project. The pair plans to continue creating videos on the lives of more female independence activists, who fought in and out of Korea for their country's freedom.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
