People wave Korean flags outside the former Seodaemun Prison in Seoul in honor of the independence movement against the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea, March 1. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, together with guests, rings a bell at Bosingak Pavilion in Seoul, Friday, during an event to commemorate the March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's 1910-45 occupation of Korea. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol waves a Korean flag while singing a song during an event commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's 1910-45 occupation of Korea. Yonhap

People march on a road in Gwangju, south of Seoul, in a reenactment of the March 1 Independence Movement, which started in 1919 against Japan's 1919-45 occupation of Korea. Yonhap

A descendent of independence activist Jeong Jae-yong, at the podium, reads out the Declaration of Independence during a commemorative event in Seoul on Friday. The screen on the left shows an image of Jeong generated with the help of artificial intelligence. Yonhap

People wave Korean flags outside the former Seodaemun Prison in Seoul in honor of the independence movement against the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea, March 1. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul