Yoo Gwan-Soon! We are so familiar with her name but we have little knowledge or even wrong information about her life. We look into the records and controversial issues related to her and follow her life and memory.

It shows the records of Kwon Ae-ra’s life full of ups and downs and her engagement in the independent movement. One of the leaders of the March 1st Independence Movement, she was imprisoned in cell no. 8 of Seodaemun Prison together with Yoo Gwan-Soon. The records introduce you to her courageous life as an independent activist who never stopped fighting against the Japanese colonial rule, its male-oriented stereotypes, and its dictatorial government.

It was Kim Maria that had secretly brought the Feb. 8th Declaration of Independence into Korea and had spread the news of the Declaration of Independence. Having served as the president of the Women’s Patriotic Association, she was one of the representative female independent activists with astounding will and determination. She had been arrested by the Japanese imperialist police in 1919 and developed a serious illness because of cruel torture. Even after she was released on sick bail, she went on exile to Shanghai, China while the Japanese police were negligent in surveillance. Then she became a member of the Provisional Assembly in Shanghai. The collection tells us the courageous and indomitable life she had in the midst of hardship and ordeal.

The collection tells us a story of a female independent activist who staged the first high-altitude protest in 1931. She climbed Eulmildae, a pavilion in Pyongyang, to mount the protest against unlawful pay cut. Both she and her husband engaged in the independent movement and she was also a member of a secret independent organization. You can take a closer look at the hidden background story of how she had climbed the pavilion of Eulmildae and her fierce independent fight against the Japanese colonial rule.

Known as Kim Won-Bong’s wife, Park Cha-Jeong was also one of the female independent activists. She went on exile to Shanghai, China while the Japanese police were negligent in surveillance of her who had been on sick bail. She worked as a staff member of the Geunwoo Society; she planned the female protest of the Gwangju Student Independent Movement. After she had gone on exile, she was in charge of the female group of Uiyeoldan (an Armed Organization of the Independent Movement; 의열단) and the National Revolutionary Party. Serving as the chief of female fighters of the Joseon Volunteer Army, she actively engaged in propaganda activities at the front during the Sino-Japanese War. The records illustrate her life and death.

Kim Myeong-Shi was a representative female socialist independent activist. She was a member of the Goryeo Communist Youth Alliance. Having studied in Moscow, she returned to Korea and she had to serve time in prison for her engagement in a secret independent organization. Released from the prison, she went to China to join the Eighth Route Army(팔로군) and engaged in armed resistance to Japan. Later she joined the Joseon Volunteer Army which made the anti-Japan armed struggle around the coastal areas and then she returned to Korea with a reputation as a ‘female general’ for her active performance as an independent fighter. Unfortunately, she encountered mysterious death in October 1949. The collection helps you follow her life and tragic death.

Joining the March 1st Independence Movement, Jeong Chil-Seong discovered a new path in life. Famous for her excellent Gayageum performance, she was a geisha-turned female independent activist after she had studied the theory of the emancipation of women and socialism. The collection including her own story shows her free spirit and fierce anti-Japan struggle as a key figure of the GeunWoo Society.

Leading the female organizations in the 1920s, Park Won-Hee was a female activist and opposed the ideology of a good wife and wise mother. As a socialist, she formed and spread secret independent organizations in and out of Korea. She, as a wife, cared for her sick husband who had lost his health due to the Japanese torture, and she, as a mother, also took care of her sick daughter. Full of talent, passion, and goodwill, she stood out in the feminine movement. The records follow her short but flaming 31-year-long life.

Although Cho Shin-Seong belatedly acquired new learning and decided to join the education field, she was a pioneer in female education. As the principal of Pyongyang Jin-Myeong Female School (평양진명여학교) in the 1910s, she showed her extraordinary talent for school management. But she decided to resign from the principal position which was considered socially stable and well thought of and she joined the anti-Japan independent movement in her 40s. She took young people and created a resistant organization secretly armed with handguns and dynamites. The records show her exemplary life as both an active independent fighter and a pioneer in female education and enlightenment activities.