2016: Der 19. April 1960 - The April Revolution

The April Revolution: 19.04.1960
Abdankung Präsident Syngman Rhee (nach 12 Jahren)
Der studentische Protest war von der Korea-Universität ausgegangen, dem sich Studenten anderer universität anschlossen. Am Ende das Tages gab es über 120 Tote. Zum Nachfolger wurde im Aug. 1960 YUN Po-Sun gewählt.

Tim Shorrock, amerikansicher Journalist, schreibt dazu:
The 4·19 Revolution reinstated the basic principle of democracy sadly after so much sacrifice that the sovereignty shall reside in the people and all state authority shall emanate from the people.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 4·19 Revolution. It could be taken as a mere history, but we were able to confirm how important the people power was in building democracy with the candlelight vigil in 2016. Certainly we have a long way to go. With the 60th anniversary of the hard-earned revolution, why don’t we think about what the so-called everyday democracy would look like and practice our own democracy in our life.

Shorrock, Sohn eines amerikanischen Missionars, war damals in Seoul. 2016 erinnert er sich an die damaligen Ereignisse und stellte den folgenden Bericht zusammen.

South Korea’s First Revolution
Through the eyes of an American boy in Seoul
4-19

"In 1960, I was living in Seoul, where my father was working for a religious organization that distributed relief aid in postwar South Korea. During the presidential elections of March 1960, I had observed truckloads of people being driven to the polls to vote for the right-wing pro-US dictator, Syngman Rhee. I was not surprised in late March when I began reading of protests throughout the country against what many Koreans said was a rigged election.

On April 19, the anger and fury against Rhee and his police state burst into the streets, when thousands of students and ordinary citizens launched massive demonstrations against the government. That night, my father, who worked in an office downtown, was trapped in his building for hours as police shot into the crowds, killing dozens. For the next few days, my American missionary school near Yonsei University was closed, and I began tracking the daily events. Every day I would cut out relevant stories from the newspapers, some of them – to my utter astonishment – censored and scratched out by the military. ...."

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