'The secret of celebrity soldiers' spotlights female independence activists ahead of Liberation Day.
On the 11th episode of KBS2 'The secret of celebrity soldiers,' hidden stories of female independence activists whom we did not get to meet in textbooks are revealed alongside martyr Yu Gwansun.
Broadcaster and lecturer for the Korean History Proficiency Test Seo Kyung-seok and Urban Zakapa vocalist Jo Hyun-ah appear as guests, and the story that begins shows that about 100 years ago women across the country began disappearing without a trace. Suwon's famous gisaeng Kim Hyang-hwa, Im Myeong-ae, the wife of the owner of a charcoal factory in Paju who was pregnant at the time, and even a young student attending a girls' school in Seoul. As those whose only commonality was being "women" disappeared one after another, rampant rumors spread. The program traces the truth behind these mysterious disappearances.
The missing women were found in a hell hidden behind red bricks, namely Seodaemun Prison. It is also revealed that the missing female student was none other than martyr Yu Gwansun.
Despite extreme starvation and torture, the female independence activists did not give up hope. They warmed frozen diapers barehanded in the dead of winter, shared rice mixed with insects, and relied on one another while composing songs in despair to strengthen their commitment to independence.
On March 1, 1920, marking the first anniversary of the March 1st Movement, shouts of "Long live Korean independence" erupted in Cell No. 8 of the women's ward at Seodaemun Prison, but the indoor celebratory movement was followed by brutal torture. Ultimately, martyr Yu Gwansun died in the cold prison just three months before her scheduled release, and alongside the records of female independence activists who were not properly recognized even after liberation, Yu Gwansun's body was cremated with unclaimed remains.
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