The Washington Conference was held in Washington D.C. from 12 November, 1921 through 6 February, 1922 at the suggestion of U.S. President, Warren G- Harding. Nine countries including Japan, Great Britain, France, Italy，and China as well as the U.S. attended the conference and discussed various issues which had been posed in East Asia and Pacific areas since World War I. As the result, a new international order, often called, the 'Washington Treaty System', was formed in these areas. Korean nationalists showed an extreme interest in the conference. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (PGRK) at Shanghai m China and the Korean Commission (KС) which had come into operation in U.S. made two plans. The first one was a large-scale demonstration similar to the March First Movement，secretly connected with some nationalist groups in Seoul. Secondly, they intended to send the Korean Mission’ to the conference and introduce the Korean Problem. However all their efforts ended in failure. A domestic demonstration could not occur due to the strict control of the Japanese Government. Also the U.S. did not allow ’the Korean Mission to participate in the conference, saying "Korea has no international standing, and we have had no diplomatic intercourse with that country since 190). The Washington Conference had a serious effect on the progress of the Korean independence movement. The KС and PGRK became depressed and internally divided. At home Socialism had spread and some nationalists tried to move toward ‘autonomy’ through compromise with Japan. The Nationalists who opposed to this movement in Korea sought solidarity with Socialists.