The background of this research was the Mansae Independence Movement occurred in a valley of Donghaegol in Deokgwa-myun, Namwon-si, Jeollabuk-do in April 3, 1919. The Donghaegol Mansae Movement was closely connected to the previous and the following three movements, and yet it was the representative case among the series of independence movements occurred in the area of Namwon area in 1919 under the Japanese occupation.
It was 78 years later that a commemorating movement started in order to build a monument celebrating the event of 1919 in the local community of Donghaegol, the county of Deokgwa in 1997.
It is said that a person''s life is characterized by the particular historical circumstances he faces. His life is not just personal but is something political and historical. Therefore, the individual and the historical circumstances should not be considered separately, but part of the whole.
Local communities which were based on agriculture have been drastically reduced in the process of central government-driven industrializing policies started in the 1960''s. The rural exodus phenomenon which peaked in the 1970''s has continued for several decades. As a result, local communities in rural areas lost their motivation for production and vitality so that they were on the verge of downfall.
Under the economic and social crisis, however, the local community of Deokgwa attempted to move forward to find their own cultural identities. The community members showed activeness in the commemoration of Donghaegol Manse Independence Movement. Even though local communities look passive and subordinative to the central government by being positioned as sub-units, on closer inspection, I would say, they are active and independent in their own rights.
Based on these circumstances, a committee from the local community was formed to celebrate the Mansae Independence Movement. The committee had 207 meetings to make decisions about everything from initial idea, committee formation, fund raising, land purchase to the whole construction process. It continued to the unveiling ceremony and lasted for 815 days or 28 months. And then the committee was deactivated.

On the basis of the dairy of Hwang Jusung, my father, I have collected data from various resources including interviews with those who were involved in the commemorating movement. With the data this study has focused on the three points. Firstly, the study has analyzed the background and the procedure of building a monument as a symbol of overcoming the difficulties the local community faced. Secondly, the study has reviewed the political interactions between the local community and the parties involved in the whole process, and analyzed the community dynamics and its subjectivity. Lastly, the study has reviewed the effects on the local community for the last 14 years since the monument was built.
The local community and the committee added intrinsic value to the symbolic meaning by changing it to a sanctuary from a memorial park when deciding the official title. They also successfully secured self-identity by extending the spatial concept of the Mansae Movement to the whole Namwon area from its sub area, Deokgwa-myun, finally making Deokgwa-myun as the genesis of Mansae Movement. In addition, the local community could accumulate meaningful political achievements while resolving various issues during the process, which became a valuable asset to the local community.

Some of the issues included: interacting with the political community regarding the securing of government aid, resolving conflicts with the experts about the planning, designing and construction of the whole process, and interacting with the descendants of the independence fighters regarding the selection of the people of merit inscribed on the monument.

The local community has not only experienced delight and joy because of the monument, which was unveiled on March 1, 1999, but boosted pride coming from their accomplishments. They have also succeeded in drawing external interest in this area.