Autumn Uprising of 1946

The Autumn Uprising of 1946 (hangul: 대구 10·1 사건; hanja: 大邱 10·1 事件) in Korea was a peasant uprising throughout the southern provinces of Korea against the policies of the United States Army Military Government in Korea headed by General John R. Hodge and in favor of restoration of power to the people's committees that made up the People's Republic of Korea. The uprising also called as Daegu Riot or Daegu Resistance Movement.[1] Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Korea chooses the neutral name of the Daegu October Incident.[1]

The uprising started on September 1946 in Busan and eventually spread to Seoul, Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Chungcheongnam-do, and Jeollanam-do and ended in mid-November. Further demands expressed during the uprising were for better working conditions, higher wages, the right to organize, and the release of political prisoners.

On October 1, 1946, thousands of workers gathered the Daegu Station in order to protest against the U.S.[2] They stoned the police and yelled out “Kill the police!” In response to the raid, police shot and killed Hwang Mal-yong, a factory worker.[2] On October 2, the leftists brought the four corpses of patients who had died from Cholera from Daegu medical university hospital, then they yelled the dead bodies were victimized by policemen at the Daegu station.[2] The leftists quickly assembled laborers.[2] Korean Communist Party rioters broke into 22 police stations and civil offices located in North Gyeongsang Province.[2]

According to the conditions the United States Military Government responded in different ways, including mobilizing strikebreakers, the police, right-wing youth groups, sending in U.S. troops and tanks, and declaring martial law, and succeeded in putting down the uprising. The uprising resulted in killing of 38 policemen, 163 civil workers, and 73 civilians.[2] Some analysts say that the uprising, which was in part a reaction to the October elections for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly, organized by the United States Military Government, is a better indicator of public opinion than the election itself.[3]

The defeat of the uprising is considered to be a turning point in establishing political control over Korea as the people's committees and the National Council of Korean Labor Unions were weakened in the suppression.[4][5] To the Americans, the Autumn Harvest Rebellion added new urgency to the effort to find some formula for unifying the two occupation zones of Korea under an elected government.[6]

In 2010, Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its findings, there were 60 victims to whose families it suggested the government should provide compensation, and there were around 7,500 other people who suffered at the incident.[1] Some victims were arrested and tortured, then police and extreme right wing groups damaged or confiscated their homes and property.[1] The families of the victims had to endure the shame of being viewed as criminals.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "[Editorial] We must properly understand and define the 1946 Daegu uprising". Hankyoreh. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Special Project - Having an Accurate Understanding of Korea's Modern History". Pyungkangcheil Church. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  3. ↑ Hart-Landsberg, Martin (1998). Korea: Division, Reunification, & U.S. Foreign Policy. Monthly Review Press. pp. 75–77.
  4. ↑ Haggard, Stephan (1990). Pathways From The Periphery: The Politics Of Growth In The Newly Industrializing Countries. Cornell University Press. p. 53.
  5. ↑ Deyo, Frederic C. (1987). The Political economy of the new Asian industrialism. Cornell University Press. p. 172.
  6. ↑ William, Stueck (2009). The Korean War in World History. University Press of Kentucky. p. 32. ISBN 0813136954.
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