The 1979 Busan–Masan Uprising refers to a series of anti-government protests that took place in Busan and Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, from October 16 to 20, 1979, during the final days of President Park Chung-hee’s Yushin regime.
Following an incident in which workers from YH Trading Company staged a sit-in at the headquarters of the opposition New Democratic Party, the government suspended Kim Young-sam from his position as party leader and subsequently expelled him from the National Assembly. In response, all 66 lawmakers belonging to the New Democratic Party submitted their resignations.
Amid growing political tensions, a pro-democracy declaration was distributed in Busan, Kim Young-sam’s political stronghold, on October 15, and anti-government demonstrations began on October 17. Protesters, including university students and citizens from various corner of the society, took to the streets demanding the overthrow of the Yushin regime and attacked major government institutions.
On October 18, the demonstrations spread to Masan and Changwon. In response, the Park Chung-hee declared martial law in Busan and imposed emergency security measures in Masan to suppress the uprising.
However, internal disagreements over how to respond to the uprising intensified, ultimately contributing to the October 26 Incident, in which President Park Chung-hee was assassinated. His death brought the Yushin regime to an end.
Posted by Freewhale98
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My comment.
I think Park Chung-hee’s sudden assassination by his KCIA was not only good for the country but also his legacy. Park Chung-hee was going insane in his later years after his wife got killed. his state-led industrialization project was in urgent need of reforms as foreign debts piled up and inflation was out of control. The working condition was horrendous and workers are rising against the regime. In this moment of crisis, he was acting like a typical tin-pot dictator, developing nuclear weapons and planning massacres to crack down on dissidents.
His sudden death made those evil plans not realized and he legacy is only the developmentalist state not brutal massacres. The title of butcher went to Chun Doo-Hwan instead and he is still hated and unable to find a place to be buried after he died in a toilet.
P.S. Chun’s family blamed his death on COVID vaccines. Losers engaging in anti-vac stuff. A typical behavior of modern far-right.