Yeongnam Maninso Appeal Road: Hanji’s Legacy in Seoul

On the 11th, the center of downtown Seoul was immersed in unusual silence. Unlike other rallies full of loudspeakers and slogans, in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin at Gwanghwamun, only Yeongnam Confucian scholars and citizens in hanbok and a more than 100m long petition made of traditional Andong Hanji remained quietly. ‘Sangso’, a form of public debate during the Joseon Dynasty that was neither a rally nor a protest, walked through the city center again after 142 years.

The event held on this day was the ‘8th Yeongnam Maninso Bonso (奉疏) Event’. Yeongnam Confucian scholars and citizens, centered around Andong, visited Seoul to deliver an appeal to the government requesting that 20 independence activists be re-evaluated and their ratings upgraded. The appeal contained the signatures of over 11,000 Korean citizens from all over the country. The names continued in one line without distinction between top and bottom. It is a symbol that no one’s will is greater or ahead, but that all wills are gathered with equal weight.

◆Bongso started in Andong… “Gather our will and head to Seoul”
The banquet that day was not an event that started suddenly in Seoul. On the same day, at 7:30 a.m., the first funeral ceremony of the 8th Yeongnam Maninso was held solemnly in front of Andong City Hall. The Yeongnam Maninso Executive Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Executive Committee), the Andong Youth Confucian Association, and local Confucian scholars held an appeal ceremony in Andong early in the morning, and then moved to Seoul carrying the ‘will of all people’.

The protest in Andong was a symbolic procedure that made it clear that this protest was not a regional demand, but a public opinion that started from the region and was directed to the nation.

The Executive Committee explained, “Andong is the starting point and spiritual root of Yeongnam Maninso,” and “we agreed that the appeal must begin here.”

◆The ‘tradition of public opinion’ moved again after 142 years
Maninso is a group appeal that institutionally embodies the public opinion of the Confucian society of the Joseon Dynasty under the principle that ‘the will of all people is the will of the world.’ Starting with the petition for the identity of Crown Prince Sado in 1792, it continued seven times until the late Joseon Dynasty, but disappeared into history after 1884. This tradition was recognized for its international value by being listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Heritage list in the Asia-Pacific region in 2018.

The 8th Yeongnam Maninso is an example of reviving this tradition of public debate through today’s citizen participation method. Since it was proposed in Andong in November last year, signatures have been collected from all over the country for about 100 days, garnering the support of more than 10,000 citizens. In that it chose to ask questions rather than commemorate, this Maninso is evaluated as a present-tense public discussion rather than a reenactment of the past.

The core demand of this Maninso is a full re-evaluation of the awards given to the 20 independence activists. The Executive Committee points out that the current decoration system was hastily organized during the military government in 1962 due to a lack of historical information and political environment, and that no structural review was conducted despite accumulated research results. The degrees of honor given to Seokju Lee Sang-ryong, who served as the first Minister of State in the Provisional Government, and Ilsong Kim Dong-sam, a key leader of the Manchurian armed struggle, are cited as a representative issue of fairness.

◆”One name, one meaning”
In his greeting, Ryu Mok-ki, advisor to Poongsan Holdings, who served as the head of the petition (a symbolic figure representing the purpose of the appeal), said in his greeting, “Standing here as a citizen of an independent and free Republic of Korea, my gratitude to our ancestors who took the lead in the independence movement grows even more.”

He emphasized, “This year’s 10,000-person petition contains the names of more than 11,000 citizens, and the names are all written in one line. This is proof that not whose will is greater or whose voice is more advanced, but that all wills are gathered with equal weight.”

He continued, “We chose to stand proudly in front of history rather than postpone it like we did in the past,” and added, “Although it is late, I hope that even now it will be a starting point for correcting history.”

Sang-eup-rye, a traditional rite, was also held at the event. Descendants of Kim Sang-ok, Lee Sang-ryong, Lee Yuk-sa, and Kim Dong-sam participated in this process of paying respects to the families of the independence activists. After the voice actor read the entire appeal, the appeal was sealed and placed at the head of the petition procession.

◆100-meter Sangsomun Gate across downtown Seoul
The petition brought out by the delegation was made of traditional Andong Hanji (traditional Korean paper) that was over 100 meters long. Citizens and tourists stopped to watch the scene as petitions requesting reevaluation of the independence activist’s exploits and filled with citizen signatures moved along the walls of Gwanghwamun and Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was a moment when the determination of the Confucian students who headed to Hanyang with the 99m petition was reproduced in today’s civic language.

Cho Jae-seong, president of the Andong Youth Judo Association, said at the scene, “There is no reason to raise your voice because it is an appeal, not a rally.” He added, “The quiet walking of this road itself is the will of Yeongnam Confucianism and citizens, and silence is also a message.” In fact, on this day, the ceremony was held in a calm atmosphere until the end, without applause or slogans.

◆Historical challenges that the country must answer
Executive Chairman Hwang Man-ki said, “This year’s Maninso is not an event to commemorate the past, but a public action to question the irrationality of the present and set standards for the future.” He emphasized, “The issue of honoring independence activists is not a problem of a specific family or region, but a historical task for which the nation must take responsibility.”

He said, “Given that this problem has not been resolved even now, when sufficient research results and materials have been accumulated, further postponement is an avoidance of responsibility for history,” and added, “We will not stop publicizing and recording until everyone’s will contained in the 100-meter appeal is properly answered.”

The petition was concluded after completing delivery procedures near the Blue House. Instead of applauding, the participants settled down in silence. All that remained on the Korean paper were names and signatures, but the questions asked by citizens living 81 years after liberation remained for a long time on the road that crossed downtown Seoul that day.