![[100 Years Ago Today] October 3, 1925 – Autumn Resistance in Colonial Seoul](https://thekoreantoday.com/hwaseongosan/wp-content/uploads/sites/185/2025/10/featured-image-120.png "[100 Years Ago Today] October 3, 1925 – Autumn Resistance in Colonial Seoul")
100 YEARS AGO TODAY
“As you wind down your day, reflect on a century of history”
Published at 10:10 PM KSTAs darkness falls across the Pacific tonight, we remember those who gathered in shadows 100 years ago—Korean independence fighters who risked everything for a freedom they might never see.
As night falls across the Pacific on Saturday, October 3, 1925, we look back to Gyeongseong (today’s Seoul), where autumn harvest brought not celebration but rising tensions. The Bosingak bell had rung at 10:10 that morning, marking another day under the watchful eyes of Japanese police—and another night when Korean families would whisper their true names in the darkness.
📰 Korea Under Japanese Rule – A Day’s End
Evening Reflection: As another day ended in colonial Korea, families gathered in secret to preserve their culture. Children who were forced to speak Japanese at school heard Korean lullabies at bedtime. Resistance lived in these quiet moments of defiance.
Today’s Headlines in Review
As families gathered for evening meals, they discussed the day’s events:
• 204 tenant farmer disputes this year—resistance disguised as labor conflicts
• Chosun Ilbo newspaper still suspended—26 days of enforced silence
• Lee Jong-am reportedly collecting funds—every donation an act of treason
• Night schools secretly teaching Korean—tomorrow’s lessons prepared in darkness
🏛️ Official Records – Day’s End
What the colonial government accomplished today:
• More Korean history erased for the Compilation Committee
• More Korean names changed to Japanese
• More surveillance orders for suspected independence supporters
• Another day of the Chosen Shrine construction—forced emperor worship
✊ Evening Acts of Resistance
As darkness provided cover:
• Secret meetings held in basements after curfew
• Underground schools prepared Korean lessons for tomorrow
• Independence funds collected under moonlight
• Traditional songs sung in whispers behind closed doors
💰 A Day’s Wages and Evening Costs (1925)
🌏 East Asia After Dark
🇨🇳 China – Night Planning
In Shanghai’s French Concession tonight, the Korean Provisional Government meets in secret. They count the donations from people like Lee Jong-am—every won a bullet for freedom. Without these night collections, the government-in-exile collapses.
🇯🇵 Japan – Empire’s Evening
In Tokyo tonight, militarists plot expansion while Emperor Taisho’s health fails. The brief Taisho Democracy fades as military hardliners gain power—bad news for Korea’s hope of softer policies.
🇷🇺 Soviet Union & Manchuria
Korean communists gather in Vladivostok’s shadows. In Manchuria, independence fighters find refuge with Chinese warlords. Tonight, they plan tomorrow’s infiltrations into Korea.
 |
[Image: Evening scene in Seoul on October 3, 1925 – Oil lamps lighting Namdaemun Market as vendors close shops, Japanese patrols beginning night watch]
🌍 The World in 1925 – As Day Ends
🇺🇸 America – The Roaring Night
Jazz clubs opening for Saturday night • Speakeasies hidden from Prohibition agents • F. Scott Fitzgerald writing by lamplight • While Americans dance, Koreans hide to speak their language
🇪🇺 Europe – Uneasy Evening
Berlin cabarets mask economic anxiety • Mussolini’s blackshirts patrol Rome • London theaters play while empire trembles • Peace treaties written in daylight, broken after dark
🔄 Colonial Parallels: Korea’s Night, World’s Story
🇮🇳 British India
Gandhi’s evening prayers for freedom
Hindi whispered after English lessons
Both nations dream of independence
Both wake to foreign rule
🇮🇪 Ireland (Free at Last)
Just won freedom in 1922
Gaelic taught openly at night
Korea watches, takes notes
If Ireland can, why not us?
🇵🇭 Philippines
Under US rule since 1898
Tagalog suppressed for English
Night schools teach resistance
Same colonial playbook
🇹🇼 Taiwan
Also under Japan (1895)
Different treatment than Korea
Less resistance at night
More collaboration by day
👤 Person of the Day – An Evening Portrait
Meet Lee Jong-am, Age Unknown – As His Day Ends
Tonight, somewhere in Gyeongbuk Province, Lee Jong-am counts the day’s collection. Each donation carefully recorded in code—Japanese police could raid at any moment. Today he collected 15 won from a widow who sold her last chicken. 30 won from farmers who pooled their harvest money. Every coin represents someone’s sacrifice, someone’s hope. By candlelight, he prepares to move to the next village before dawn. The money must reach Shanghai, where the Provisional Government waits. If caught, torture and death are certain. But tonight, like every night, he chooses resistance over safety.
“They can take our names, our language, even our lives. But as long as one Korean remembers who we are, as long as one won reaches our government in exile, Korea lives.”
As night falls, thousands like Lee work in shadows, keeping independence dreams alive…
🏮 Understanding Evening Life in 1925 Seoul
🌅 Evening Rituals
Curfew bells at 9 PM sharp
Japanese patrols begin rounds
Korean lessons taught in whispers
Traditional songs become lullabies
🌙 Night Labor
Women sewing by oil lamp: 30 sen/night
Underground newspaper printing
Secret fund collection meetings
Planning tomorrow’s resistance
🎭 Hidden Night Culture
Korean schools in basements
Traditional music behind closed doors
Independence meetings in darkness
History preserved by candlelight
 |
[Image: Century comparison – Same Seoul location at night in 1925 vs 2025 – From oil lamps and curfews to neon lights and 24-hour city]
🔄 A Century Later: From Silent Nights to Global Spotlight
| Aspect | 1925 Evening | 2025 Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Korean whispered after dark | Korean taught worldwide online |
| Culture | Hidden in basements | K-dramas streaming globally |
| Night Life | 9 PM curfews, patrols | Seoul never sleeps |
| Global Status | Invisible colony | Cultural superpower |
💡 Tonight’s Reflection
As you end your day, remember that 100 years ago, Korean families ended theirs in fear and hope. The K-pop songs you stream tonight, the Korean dramas you watch before bed— they exist because those who whispered Korean in the dark never gave up their language. Every BTS concert, every Oscar for Parasite, every Korean lesson on Duolingo represents the victory of those who refused to let their culture die. From enforced silence to global voice, from hidden nights to spotlight nights—this is what resistance achieves across a century.
Tomorrow Evening’s Story
Tomorrow evening at 10:10 PM
October 4, 1925
“While the world sleeps, history continues…
Tomorrow evening, another story of resistance in the shadows…”
Yesterday Evening’s Story
October 2, 1925
10:10 PM
Tomorrow Evening’s Story
October 4, 1925
The Korean Today – Evening Edition
global@thekoreantoday.com
Bringing you forgotten stories from Korea’s colonial past
Every evening at 10:10 PM KST
A moment to reflect on history as your day ends
© 2025 The Korean Today. All rights reserved.
This evening edition is based on verified historical records and primary sources.
End your day with history. Tomorrow evening at 10:10 PM.
<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>