On October 30, 1929, there was an incident in which several Japanese male students pulled the hair of two Korean female students on a school train in Gwangju. The female student’s cousin who saw the incident tried to tell them not to do it, but one of the Japanese student responded rudely instead, by saying, “What is this, Chosenjin?(*A derogative word for Koreans by the Japanese people)”. This subsequently turned into a group fight among the students. The Koreans were angry at the consequent biased actions of the Japanese police. This led in the end, to several schools deciding to close down on their own which in turn became the trigger for the anti-Japanese movement led by the students. It expanded nationwide, and the number of participants became the largest since the March First Independence Movement. This is due to the closure of schools as well as corporate closures.

To commemorate this event, November 3rd was designated as the Gwangju Student Anti-Japanese Movement Day and Student Day. Most Korean people remember the March First Independence Movement, but are not very interested in other anti-Japanese movements. Like the Korean Independence Movement of 1919, the Gwangju Student Anti-Japanese Movement was also an event in which the national independence movement was spread nationwide under the leadership of students. The Students’ Day is a day to commemorate the students who struggled to raise their voices of resistance in a situation where everyone was being oppressed. We really should try to remember not only March First Independence Movement, but also Students’ Day.