광주학생운동의 전국적 양상과 이념

Abstract

The incident caused by the conflict between Korean and Japanese students in Gwangjoo, Jeollanamdo on 3rd and 12th of November, 1929 and the wholesale roundup of Korean students concerned, and the Korean student protest demonstration and struggle clearly showed Japanese race discrimination and the essence of Japanese colonial education. It presented a common slogan of “release of the students of Gwangjoo under restraint” to the students of the whole country. As it was connected with the conditions of a students’ strike including abolition of the Japanese colonial education system and carrying out Korean standard education that rose to the climax in 1927 and 1928, it became a driving force to grow into a nationwide struggle against Japanese colonial rule. After that, activities to sympathize with it spread through the whole country starting from a demonstration in Seoul in early December. A slogan “Down with Japanese imperialism!” was raised at the demonstration in Seoul led by “Joseon Youth Union” and a student secret society “Joseon Students Avant-garde Union” and the demonstration served as a momentum to change its course into a national movement. It spread through the whole country after the opening day of the third school term in 1930 and the slogans like “Hurrah for liberation of the oppressed people!” and “Hurrah for Korea’s independence!” were generalized even at a middle school student demonstration. As the students of high schools, special schools and middle schools actively participated in demonstrations from the middle of January till the end of January, 1930, the demonstrations reached a climax. As the student demonstration of high schools and special schools was restricted in February of the year, it was led by the middle school students. In the spread process of the demonstration to the whole country its appearance was different by the area. The demonstration in Seoul, Gyeongnam, Pyeongan and Hamgyeong province was active. The joint struggle of the people engaged in societies for a social movement and the students was significant in Kyeongnam and Hamkyeong province where community societies like “Youth Union” and branches of Singanhoi(an Anti-Japanese organization) and others worked actively. On the other hand, an independent student demonstration without intervention of outsiders was prominent in Pyeongan province where there were many Christian private schools. As the joint struggle with workers and the peasantry was raised in the manifesto written by the people engaged in the societies for a social movement, its development to a nationwide movement through class solidarity was sought. On the other hand, the contents of the manifesto written by the students chiefly included urging unity and rise based on same racial feelings. The uneven wholesale arrest of the Korean students in Gwangjoo was the case which symbolically showed racism commonly felt by the students at that time. Racism by which all Korean students suffered was a national issue under Japanese colonial rule. It could be solved by liberation. So, as the movement progressed, their claim for “Abolition of the Japanese colonial education system” was naturally connected with the slogans of “National independence” and “National liberation”. Thus Gwangjoo Student Movement was progressing toward the campaign for liberation of the oppressed people going further than a student movement.