Dr. Sharrocks, one of our mission doctors had brought word from the exiled Syngman Rhee to the Koreans seeking independence advising that “It is imperative that if Korea is to attain independence, the will of the people against the Japanese domination be made known to the outer world”.
The message was given to Kap Sung Lee, a pharmacist at Severance Hospital, the young man who had been Dr. Smith’s language teacher one year in Seoul, 1911-12. Since he thus became a focal point for planning, some of the meetings being at his home, he became one of the chosen 33 who drafted the Declaration of Independence which was read at a meeting of the group of patriots to a large crowd in Pagoda Park at 2 PM, March 1st. This was a propitious time as the body of King Kojang, last ruler, lay in state, poisoned by the Japanese, and the city was full of delegates from all over Korea for the state funeral.
