Busan–Masan Uprising

Busan–Masan Uprising
Paratroopers entering Masan, October 20
DateOctober 16–20, 1979
Location
Busan, Masan, South Korea
Caused byDiscontent over Park Chung Hee's Yushin regime.
GoalsDemocratization
MethodsDemonstrations and civil disobedience
ResultProtest suppressed
Parties

Busan and Masan citizenry

  • Protesters
Number
8,000 protesters
Casualties and losses
1,058 arrested

The Busan–Masan Uprising or abbreviated, the Bu-Ma Uprising, was a series of demonstrations and popular uprising against President Park Chung Hee's dictatorial Yushin regime in South Korea. It took place between 16 and 20 October 1979 in Busan and Masan (now a district of Changwon, South Korea). Students from Pusan National University began demonstrations calling for an end to Park's dictatorship, following the regime's controversial decision to expel New Democratic Party chairman Kim Young-sam from the national assembly.

On 17 October the protests grew to include citizens and spread to Masan on 18 and 19 October.[1] It is also called the Busan–Masan Democratic Uprising (Korean: 부마민주항쟁; Hanja: 釜馬民主抗爭) or Busan–Masan Democratization Movement (부마민주화운동; 釜馬民主化運動).[2]

Park declared martial law on 18 October and referred 66 people to military court.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] On 20 October, Park invoked the Garrison Act. The army was mobilized, and 59 civilians were summoned to military court.[11] Six days later, Park was assassinated by his own intelligence chief Kim Jae-gyu, leading to the Seoul Spring and seizure of power by general Chun Doo-hwan the following year.[12]

Background

The 1978 National Assembly election was held in December and was influenced by the government. Nevertheless, the ruling Republican Party was defeated by the New Democratic Party.

In August 1979, female workers of the YH Trading Company (YH무역주식회사) performed a sit-in at the headquarters of the New Democratic Party. Leader of the New Democratic Party Kim Young-sam conducted an interview with the New York Times stating that the U.S. government stop financial aid towards Park's Administration and thus end support for a 'minority dictatorial regime'.[13] In response to this interview, the ruling Republican Party expelled Kim Young-sam[14] from the National Assembly, leading to the resignation of all opposition party members from the National Assembly.[15]

Progress

The protest's history is as follows:[16]

  • 3 May 1979 - A national convention of New Democratic Party occurred, the moderate party representative Yi Cheol-seung defected, Kim Young-sam was elected.
  • 11 August 1979 - A sit in held by YH Trading Company workers at the New Democratic Party Headquarters violently suppressed by riot police resulted in the death of one female worker. Kim Young-sam arrested.
  • 4 October 1979 - The ruling Republicans expelled Kim Young-sam from the National Assembly.
  • 15 October 1979 - 'Declaration of Democratic Struggle' released students of Pusan National University[17]
  • 16 October 1979 - Busan–Masan Uprising occurred.
  • 17 October 1979 - Chungmu police substation, the Korea Broadcasting System, and the Busan tax office were destroyed. Police vehicles were burned and damaged.
  • 18 October 1979 - The government declared martial law in Busan at 12:00  am. The military arrested 1,058 people, 87 of whom went on to face trial. Airborne troops deployed in Busan and in Masan .[18]
  • 20 October 1979 - Governments invoke the Garrison Act at Masan.
  • 26 October 1979 - President Park Chung Hee was assassinated
  • 28 November 1979 - The martial court sentenced 20 participants to 2 to 5 years on charges of riot, arson, and violation of martial law proclamation. The charges for the 67 other people were withdrawn and subsequently released.[18]

Influence

This incident incited conflict inside the government, which led in turn to the Yushin regime's premature demise that had been sustained by an emergency measure. After President Park Chung Hee's assassination, martial law was declared and expanded nationwide by Chun Doo-hwan, then Security Commander, after which he became Martial Law Commander. As Martial Law Commander, Chun inaugurated himself as President and dissolved the National Assembly. After these events, then acting President Choi Kyu-hah resigned.[19] The Chun Doo-hwan administration was also known as the Fifth Republic of Korea.

The protest influenced other democratization movements including Seoul Spring, Gwangju Uprising and the June Democracy Movement.[20]

Aftermath

Democracy Park was built in 1999, and a monument was erected to honor the participants of the protests.[21]

In 2013 the Bill on the Restoration of Honor and Compensation for Persons Involved in the Buma Democratic Uprising was passed to promote the impact that this protest had on Korea's democratization. Additionally, this bill stated there will be efforts to compensate victims of the protests. Some of the provisions of this bill include, right to Petition for Retrial, 'Determination of Disability Grades for Injured Persons Among Those Involved', monetary compensation towards bereaved families and other relevant parties, restoration of honor of persons involved. [22]

In September 2020, one student of Pusan National University at the time of the protests filed a claim for damages against the Republic of Korea government after being arrested and held in a holding cell for 10 days. On 7 October 2022, Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-kwon of the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the Republic of Korea government pay 25 Million Won in damages to the plaintiff.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 부마민주항쟁이란?(What is Busan–Masan Uprising?). 부마민주항쟁 진상규명 및 관련자 명예회복 심의위원회 (Busan–Masan Uprising truth ascertainment · compensation committee) (in Korean). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ↑ 부마민주항쟁(釜馬民主抗爭). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "MARTIAL LAW IS SET IN SOUTH KOREA CITY AFTER STUDENT RIOT". The New York Times. 18 October 1979. ISSN 0362-4331.
  4. ↑ services, From news (20 October 1979). "South Korean Students Continue Political Riots". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  5. ↑ TIME (29 October 1979). "SOUTH KOREA: Riots and Rights". TIME.
  6. ↑ Stokes, Henry Scott (19 October 1979). "Troops Guard Pusan After Protest and Riot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  7. ↑ Stokes, Henry Scott (20 October 1979). "Korean Students Extend Protests Against Regime". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  8. ↑ Times, Henry Scott Stokes; Special to The New York (21 October 1979). "SEOUL ORDERS ARMY TO MAINTAIN ORDER IN TWO MORE CITIES". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Stokes, Henry Scott (21 October 1979). "Seeds of South Korean Protest Were Sown by New Prosperity". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  10. ↑ Yi, Pyŏng-chʻŏn (2006). Developmental Dictatorship and the Park Chung-hee Era: The Shaping of Modernity in the Republic of Korea. Homa & Sekey Books. p. 236. ISBN 9781931907286. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  11. ↑ Times, Henry Scott Stokes; Special to The New York (23 October 1979). "Reporter's Notebook: Toll From Korea Rioting Shrouded". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Times, Henry Scott Stokes Special to The New York (27 October 1979). "He Ran South Korea, Down to Last Detail". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  13. ↑ 신호철. "고 김영삼 전 대통령의 1979년 뉴욕타임스 인터뷰 전문". NewsPeppermint (in Korean). Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  14. ↑ 의원직 제명당한 김영삼(Kim Young-sam issue of the remarks expulsion on a parliamentary seat in detention). Yonhap News Agency (Yeonhap News). 22 November 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  15. ↑ Times, Henry Scott Stokes; Special to The New York (14 October 1979). "Pressure on South Korean Chief Grows as 70 Assemblymen Quit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "(Busan–Masan Uprising) 부마민주항쟁 [釜馬民主抗爭]". Doopedia. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Declaration of Democratic Struggle". National Archives of Korea.
  18. 1 2 Chung, Joo-Shin (8 March 2018). "The Truth about October Buma Uprising and Historical Reflection: Comparative Analysis of the Busan Uprising and Masan Uprising" (PDF). Korea Science. 2 (1): 15–37.
  19. ↑ "전두환 보안사령관의 신군부 집권과정". KBS 뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  20. ↑ [역사이야기] 단 한번도 왕의 목을 치지 못한…. Han Hong-gu (한홍구), 《단 한번도 왕의 목을 치지 못한…》. 14 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015.
  21. ↑ 부산 민주공원 (Busan Democratic Park). www.demopark.or.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Bill on the Restoration of Honor and Compensation, etc., for Persons Involved in the Buma Democratic Uprising (Alternative Bill) (Chairperson of the Safety and Administration Committee)". National Assembly Bill Information. 7 May 2013.
  23. ↑ 이용경 (24 October 2022). ""[판결] '긴급조치 9호' 판례 변경 전합 이후 부마민주항쟁 피해자 1심 첫 국가배상 판결"". Law Times.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.