March 1st School

[Anchor Lead]

When the Korean provisional government was based in Shanghai, China, an elementary and a middle public school were founded there to educate young Koreans. The middle school, called March 1st Middle School, has remained relatively unknown until recently. KBS brings you this report from the building that used to house the school.

[Pkg]

An elementary and middle school were established in Shanghai at the time when the Korean provisional government was based in the city during the Japanese colonial rule. Although there are records about the elementary school, little had been known about the March 1 Middle School, including its location. KBS has discovered the first clue about the school... in the documents of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time, the Japanese reported to their government the purpose of the school's founding, the number of students attending it and teachers' names. The documents also contain the detailed address of the school building - it was located in the Shanghai French Concession. KBS has found an old three-story building that used to be a school in the 1920s and 30s. An old map says that this area was occupied by another school named Geonmyeong Sohak. The daughter of the school principal still lives in the building.

[Soundbite] Daughter of School Principal : "When my parents first came here, this school was called Geonmyeong Sohak. So it was probably after 1930."

The March 1 Middle School, which was located in the same neighborhood, was closed down in the early or mid-1930s due to financial difficulty. Soon afterwards, another school attended by more than 100 students opened in its place. The possibility is high that the students from the March 1 Middle School were transferred to the new school.