Every March 1, Korea pauses to remember. We raise Korea's national flag, the Taegeukgi, recite the 1919 Declaration of Independence and recall the citizens who filled the streets of Seoul and Pyongyang. But commemoration cannot end at ritual. Anniversaries of this magnitude must serve as checkpoints — a moment to ask what the past demands of our present. In 1919, Korea had neither sovereignty nor institutional power. The state was absorbed by imperial rule. Military recourse was impossible and diplomatic leverage was minimal. Yet across cities and villages, Koreans mobilized with astonishing coordination. Without modern communication, students, merchants, farmers, religious leaders and intellectuals converged on a singular objective: independence. The strict social hierarchy of the late Joseon era temporarily dissolved. Regional, religious and generational boundaries softened in the face of a shared national imperative. The March 1 movement did not achieve immediate liberation. The demonstrations were suppressed and independence remained decades away. But its strategic significance l