Jeamni massacre

In 1919, two million Koreans organized peaceful protests against Japanese occupation in the March 1st Movement.[2] In retaliation, Japanese authorities sent troops to violently suppress the demonstrations.

On April 15, in the village of Jeamri, Japanese soldiers herded 29 residents, including children, into a Methodist church before firing at the building.[3][1][4] Afterwards, the soldiers committed arson by lighting the church on fire and killing any surviving victims; they also set fire to nearby civilian homes.[5] Canadian doctor Frank Schofield heard news of the event and immediately visited the scene. Schofield then wrote a report titled "The Massacre of Chai-Amm-Ni" and published it in The Shanghai Gazette on May 27, 1919.[6][7]

The Japanese lieutenant responsible was disciplined, but a group of senior officers decided to attribute the incident to resistance by local people.[4]

In his diary, Japanese commander Taro Utsunomiya wrote that the incident would hurt the reputation of the Japanese Empire and acknowledged that the Japanese soldiers committed murder and arson.[3] Utsunomiya's diary revealed that Japanese colonial authorities met and decided to cover up the incident.[8]

In 2019, a group of 17 Japanese Christians visited the site of the massacre and apologized for the incident on behalf of Japan.[9]