Picture of the Day: The Original Korean Independence Declaration
A researcher displays the original manuscript of the Paris Petition for Independence, known as “Pari Jangseo” in Korean, during a media showcase at the National Museum of Korean Literature in Seoul on Feb. 25, 2026. The petition comprising 2,674 Chinese characters refers to a historic appeal for Korean independence that a group of Confucian scholars submitted to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference following the popular movement on March 1 the same year that protested for independence from Japan. (Yonhap)
There was a great little web boutique company called marchFIRST in honor of those 1919 protestors. In spite of positive aspirations, it didn’t go well for them, either.
Kinda brings up a memory of those “March or Die” or “Beau Geste” movies about doomed non-French soldiers fighting for France in the Sahara.
Paris is an interesting choice of locations to declare a refusal to surrender.