Wilson's 14 Points, 1918, San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram Wilson's 5th Point would inspire the Korean resistance, which hoped that the clause detailing the right of self-determination would appeal world powers in sympathizing for Korea
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points: Point 5 and its Impact on Korea
"V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concernedmust have equal weight with the equitable government whose title is to be determined..."
-Article 5, Fourteen Points 1918
With World War I peace negotiations ongoing, President Wilson released 14 points for World Peace, including free trade and open seas. But for Koreans, self-determination, or freedom of sovereignty, stood out.
"But as Korean students and intellectuals... became aware of the Fourteen Points, they saw potential for international intervention to free Korea from Japanese rule..."
-Excerpted from The Making of Modern Korea, by Adrian Buzo [2002]
Using the Fourteen Points as a cornerstone, activists began planning for an independence movement aimed at appealing to world powers for freedom.