The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, led by Director Han Soo, will host the sixth "Culture Day × Modern and Contemporary History Colloquium" of 2026 on the 27th at 2 p.m. in Lecture Room 2 on the sixth floor of the museum in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the institution said Thursday. The event will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the June 10 Independence Movement under the theme "Preparation and Development of the June 10 Independence Movement."
At the colloquium, Park Chan-seung, professor emeritus of history at Hanyang University, will spotlight the determination of Kwon O-seol (1897–1930), who printed 50,000 manifestos while evading Japanese colonial surveillance during the June 10 Independence Movement, as well as the actions of students who pulled off the demonstration by drawing Taegeukgi flags through the night, even after the leadership was arrested in the desperate hours just before the uprising.
The lecture will also explore the story behind the creation of the poem "Does Spring Come to Stolen Fields?" by poet Lee Sang-hwa (1901–1943), adding further interest. When Lee wrote the poem in Daegu in May 1926, Kwon O-seol — who had attended Jungang School with him from 1917 to 1918 — was struggling to organize the independence demonstrations in Seoul.
Park emphasized that the June 10 Independence Movement was a national united front in which nationalist and socialist forces joined hands under the banner of "Korean independence." This experience of solidarity later influenced the birth of the Singanhoe.
A question-and-answer session with the audience will follow the keynote presentation. The event is open to anyone without prior registration.
