Frank William Schofield (15 March 1889 – 16 April 1970) was a British-born Canadian veterinarian, missionary, and Korean independence activist.

In 1919, he became one of the only foreigners informed in advance of the March First Movement protests, now considered a seminal event in Korean history.

Schofield photographed and documented the protests, and spread news of their violent suppression to the international press.

His work is now considered historically significant, with his photos now displayed in textbooks and museums in South Korea.

Schofield returned to his alma mater, Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), where he would lecture and research until his retirement in 1955.

He was then invited to return to South Korea by its president Syngman Rhee, and was made a professor at the veterinary college of Seoul National University.

He continued being politically active; he publicly criticized the military dictatorships of Rhee and Park Chung Hee and advocated for a number of reforms in Korea.

[3] During his schooling, Schofield experienced not only financial difficulties, but also suffered from the disease polio,[3] which left one of each of his legs and arms paralyzed.

[2][5] During his lectures, he reportedly occasionally made comments such as "no nation in the world can retain their colonies forever".

[4][5] One of his students, Yi Gap-seong (이갑성),[4] gave him copies of the declaration and asked him to distribute them amongst his colleagues at the medical school and to foreign governments.

His photos are now considered historically significant; they were republished in international newspapers,[4] referred to by foreign governments when conducting investigations into the protests,[1][5] and now appear in Korean museums and textbooks.

He would claim the arrested person was his "maid" or "houseboy", and demand they be released lest the British Consulate become involved.

[4] On 15 April, amidst an intense Japanese raid on the vicinity of Suwon and Anseong that left hundreds of homes burnt down and dozens dead, the Jeamni massacre occurred.

An article was published in the colonial government–backed English-language newspaper The Seoul Press that favorably described conditions in Seodaemun Prison as like those in a health resort.

He also penned response articles to their statements, in which he mocked their efforts to cover up or downplay the protests, and described the violence that Japanese authorities had perpetrated.

He met with Prime Minister Hara Takashi and other prominent Japanese politicians, advocated for further autonomy for Korea, and asked them to take action to stop the violent suppression of the protests.

It would have been a much wiser policy to have granted Ireland her demands earlier, and in so doing have retained the friendship of Ireland.The colonial government reportedly began attempting to pressure Schofield into leaving Korea.

His appeal was debated for several years; the church feared that his political activism would damage their relationship with Japan, and was also experiencing financial difficulties.

Legault and Prescott argue that Schofield himself ultimately declined to return to Korea, in consideration of his wife's health.

[2] Schofield published on the etiology and pathology of moldy sweet clover poisoning, which contributed to the discovery of the anticoagulant warfarin.

[3] Hayes claimed that warfarin was later given to Schofield in 1958, after he experienced a heart attack, and that he possibly benefitted from his own research.

He wrote articles that criticized Rhee's interference in democratic processes and restrictions on freedom of speech.

[1] The administration's pressures on him ended after the 1960 April Revolution protests against Rhee, which Schofield described as "the triumph of righteousness, courage and freedom over tyranny, corruption, brutality" and likened to the spirit of the March First Movement.

[4][1] After the May 16 coup, during which Park Chung Hee established a military dictatorship over South Korea, Schofield initially expressed optimism that the regime could combat corruption in the country.

[1] Whilst traveling abroad in 1969, Schofield experienced issues with cardiac asthma, and his health declined.

[4] He has been described as an instrumental figure in the March First Movement, and dubbed "the 34th man", in reference to the 33 signers of the Korean Declaration of Independence.

He donated a significant amount of his own money and belongings to others; he reportedly lived in a small rented house during his time at OVC, and often lacked funds to travel.

[3] Chung Un-chan, Prime Minister of South Korea from 2009 to 2010, later recalled that Schofield paid for his tuition expenses and served as a mentor to him.

He encouraged me to spend my life working to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.The main hall of the Canadian Embassy in Korea's chancery is reportedly dedicated to Schofield.