Write Your Hero - Lydia, 10 -- Yu Gwan Sun
What is a hero? For many, there are two types of heroes: heroes with superpowers, such as Superman, and the heroes without superpowers, which is an average person. However, I believe that heroes without superpowers can be considered superheroes too. Although an average person doesn’t have the abilities to fly or turn invisible, all of the heroes end up fighting for what they believe in.
My superhero, the martyr Yu Gwan Sun, was an average person and her special powers were bravery and perseverance. Her powers made it possible for her to be a Freedom Fighter who rebelled against the Japanese colonists from 1910 to 1945.
Yu Gwan Sun was born on December 16, 1902, in South Korea into a Christian family. She was a very bright and knowledgeable child growing up and could memorize Bible passages after only hearing them once. When she grew up, she attended Ewha School (presently Ewha Womans University — located in Seoul, Korea) for middle school and high school. In 1918, Yu and her colleagues engaged in March 1st Movement independence rallies to protest Japan’s colonization of Korea. After the Japanese government closed all the Korean schools, Yu returned home to her family, bringing the thirst for national independence with her. To quench her thirst, she went door-to-door with her family, encouraging more people to join them in fighting for Korea’s independence from Japan. Yu and her family organized the Aunae Marketplace Demonstration that was held on April 1st, 1919.
Why did Yu and Yu’s family protest? Firstly, the Japanese had invaded their country and colonized it from 1910 to 1945. The Japanese banned Korean textbooks, Korean names, and the Korean language. If you spoke Korean even with your family, the Japanese would hunt and capture you. Imagine someone barging into your house saying that your name is something you’ve never heard of. They would change a big part of your identity. They even forced the Koreans to show their loyalty to the Japanese Emperor. The Japanese were destroying the Korean culture. This is what Yu fought against.
Three thousand people attended the rally and the Koreans shouted for freedom along with Yu Gwan Sun. They cheered “독립만세!” Which meant, “Hooray! We are independent now!” Then the Japanese started shooting and ended up killing 19 unarmed people. Among those killed were Yu’s parents, Yu Jung-Kwon and Lee So-Jae. Yu complained to the authorities saying that using the military police to stop people from demonstrating peacefully and rallying was wrong and unfair, causing her to be arrested. Because of her actions, the Japanese burned Yu’s home to ashes. Yu’s uncle went to the police to oppose their actions carrying his own dead brother in his arms. Unfortunately, these actions caused her to serve three years in prison. Her parents’ death motivated her to fight even more.
During her imprisonment, she and other prison mates still held peaceful rallies, even in-between prison walls. This caused her to be severely tortured. How she was tortured was unknown, but we do know that it was beyond imaginable. On September 28, 1920, she died because of how painfully she was abused, but even then, Japan would not release her body. They didn’t want the public to see what they had done to her. Eventually, they released the body, because of the threats sent by Lulu Frey and Jeanette Walter, former principals of Yu’s school. They then held a funeral on October 14th, 1919. The death of Yu motivated the other Koreans to fight even more.
Yu had affected people outside of South Korea, even though the country was mostly unknown to an abundance of people in the world. Her peaceful protesting possibly inspired two people’s non-violent work, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, according to the New World Encyclopedia. Her death encouraged more and more to resist the Japanese colonization, and eventually, Korea became a liberated and independent country.
One reason I chose her as my hero was because she was young yet so brave. She saw her parents get killed but that only motivated her. She wouldn’t even stop after being arrested. She was persistent and brave during several events in her life that some kids her age would be petrified. Her age makes her even more heroic.
Yu Gwan Sun not only matters to me but also my family. My parents were both born in South Korea, and if Yu Gwan Sun didn’t fight, I might be living in Korea. Even if I did live in Korea, I may be under Japanese rule. My grandfather was present during the reign of Japan and if Yu Gwan Sun didn’t inspire others, he would’ve never been free from Japan’s colonization and so would’ve my parents and me. Her patriotism has had a tremendous impact on my family’s lives. Yu Gwan Sun is a civic hero in South Korea, but she will always be a superhero in my heart.