Every year on March 1, South Korea celebrates Independence Movement Day — Samiljol in honor of the declaration of independence from Japanese colonial rule and the official beginning of the passive resistance movement.
In March 1919, the Declaration of Independence was published in Seoul. The declaration was signed by the 33 South Korean patriots who formed the core of the Samil (or March 1st Movement) movement and read out at Pagoda Park (now — Tapgol Park) in Seoul.
A wave of demonstrations swept across Korea, attended by about 2 million Koreans, and demonstrating to the world their desire for sovereignty. The demonstrations were crushed by Japanese police, who allegedly killed about 7,000 people and arrested more.
Although these mass protests against Japanese policies failed, March 1 is currently considered the day the struggle for Korean independence began, and therefore it was declared a public holiday in the country starting in 1949.
Today, in honor of the holiday, on this day a special ceremony to read the Declaration of Independence is held in Tapgol Park in Seoul, where it was first announced to the public in 1919.