A painting depicting the uprising against Japanese colonialism on March 1, 1919, also known as Sam-il.
SAM-IL
Sam-il (which translates to “three-one”) Jeol is a prominent holiday in Korea. It represents the day that Koreans rose up against their Japanese oppressors at Pagoda Park in Seoul on March 1, 1919. An outcry for Korean independence was proclaimed by thousands in the face of the intolerable aggression and oppression by the Japanese colonialists who had annexed Korea in 1910 on this day, but in response, the Japanese police and military forces killed and injured thousands of protestors.
The proceedings of World War I had stimulated a group of Korean leaders to initiate their own independence decree, both at home and abroad. Among the Korean leaders abroad, Syngman Rhee (who would become the first elected president of South Korea), then residing in the United States, planned to go to Paris in 1918 to make an appeal for independence. But his trip never took place because France and America deemed the campaign in Europe more crucial.
Ultimately, however, Japanese officials responded by loosening its rein on Korea for most of the 1920s, a decade now renowned for its noteworthy economic, social and intellectual developments.
SAM GAE TANG (Ginseng chicken soup)
As we are in the midst of the cold and flu season, Korean food could possibly be the supreme choice among all remedies. Samgae tang is a meal consisting of sweet rice, dried jujube, garlic, chestnuts, black pepper and fresh ginseng roots, which are stuffed inside a young chicken (it is believed that chickens 5 to 7 months old have the highest nutritional value). The chicken is tied up with strings and then boiled with these active ingredients.
In Korea, samgae tang has been enjoyed for centuries as an invigorating meal in the summer and winter months. Therefore, your local Korean restaurant could also be your best pharmacy.
-Rick Phillips
