This collection is composed of four types of collections: handwritten records on the origination and development of the National Debt Redemption Movement, handwritten records on the expansion and spread of the National Debt Redemption Movement, records on the National Debt Redemption Movement by the Japanese government (Residency-General and the Japanese Governor-General of Korea), and the press records of newspapers and magazines that reported on the National Debt Redemption Movement state of affairs.
There are 12 handwritten records on the origination and development of the National Debt Redemption Movement. These include the opening speech and prospectus, which explain the aim and goal of the Movement, and were drafted to urge people to join the National Debt Redemption Movement. The opening speech and prospectus are recorded on Korean paper in Chinese characters or in a style incorporating both Hangul(Korean characters) and Chinese characters. The contents of these records are generally directed towards “resolving the national crisis by repaying a national debt of 13 million won via a donation movement, such as stopping smoking, in one’s duty as a citizen.”
There are 77 handwritten records on the expansion and spread of the National Debt Redemption Movement, which include inter-regional and intra-regional circular letters between the main agents of the Movement, regulations on the operation of National Debt Redemption Center, letters between individuals and groups, lists of donors by region, which show who participated and how much each donated, and the receipts for donations. These records reflect the detailed process in which the National Debt Redemption Movement expanded and spread across the nation. There are 122 records compiled by the Japanese government on the National Debt Redemption Movement, including reports received by the Residency-General and the Japanese Governor-General of Korea from related institutions on the state of the National Debt Redemption Movement, as well as government directives on the matter. Through these records, Japanese attempts to sabotage the National Debt Redemption Movement can be identified.
There are 2,264 press records, including items related to the National Debt Redemption Movement in seven newspapers, such as the Daehan Maeil Shinboand Hwangsung Shinmun, and three magazines, such as Daehan Jaganghwe Wolbo(Monthly Journal of the Korean Self-Strengthening Scciety), all of which were published domestically and overseas in the early 1900s. The press materials report the substance of the opening speech and prospectus, which urge people to participate in the National Debt Redemption Movement, editorials and advertisements, articles on regional or personal circumstances around the National Debt Redemption Movement process, articles on events that occurred in the process of fundraising, and records that identify participants and the amounts they donated.