This year is the 53rd anniversary of the April 19 Revolution Day in Korea. That event has been noted as one of the most important events in the modern history of Korea. The revolution was a movement which showed the power of the people. I will introduce the events and historical significance of the revolution to honor its spirit.
The revolution occurred on April 19th, 1960. The main causes were social, economic, and political factors. Both the social and economic factors began with the Korean War. Cities were destroyed and there was a lack of lifestyle renewal. After the war, Syng-man Rhee came to power and there was a lot of collusion between politics and business, leading to corruption. Also Rhee’s dictatorship became more repressive. And most of the key industries were destroyed at that time so vital commodities were very deficient. In those circumstances, the gap between the rich and the poor was increasing, so the Rhee government had lost public trust. The crisis grew into a revolution.
The revolution started decisively with the rigged election held on March 15th of the same year. People accused Rhee of fixing the election, and student-led demonstrations opposing his reelection turned into violent riots. Those demonstrations expanded into the 4.19 revolution.
This gives us the reason why we should protect our freedom. Also it reminds us that it is better that we now live under democracy. In contrast, North Korea still governs their people with totalitarianism and the people live in suffering because of it. If there is another movement which threatens our safety in some future time, we will defeat it again, in the spirit of 4.19.

Park Ji-min  applemaro@changwon.ac.kr

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