April Revolution Research Articles

혁명과 저항권에 관한 소고 - 헌법전문의 개정과 관련하여

This article identifies the legal characteristics of historical events after the March 1st Movement, such as the Jeju 4·3 incident, the Daegu 10·1 incident, the Yeosu·Suncheon 10·19 incident, and the Buma Democratic Uprising, the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and the June 10th Uprising, and suggests the direction of the revision of the full text of the constitution. I think the March 1st Movement should be called a revolution, not a movement, because it has several characteristics that are different from many existing domestic uprisings. During the independence revolution of the United States, the US Declaration of Independence signed by 33 representatives did not separately specify the right to revolution and resistance, but only the right to resistance. During the war of independence against Japanese imperialism, Korea followed the example of the United States, the world's first civil revolution, and signed the Declaration of Independence. Second, the Jeju April 3rd Incident, the Daegu October 1st Incident, and the Yeosu/Suncheon October 19 incident correspond to insurrection or uprising, not rebellion or riot. The focus should be on the slaughter of civilians by public power. Constitutional theory would correspond to the exercise of the right to resist illegal power. Third, April 19 overturned the regime and instilled the spirit of democracy in Korean citizens. April 19 was the first victory of Korean democracy and was a revolution of great political significance in that it was the first direct power in modern history. So political scientists point out that if August 15 liberation was the 'first liberation', the April Revolution was the 'second liberation'. However, legally, it is more appropriate to understand the legal nature of April 19 as the exercise of the people's right to resist Syngman Rhee's illegal power rather than a revolution for active purposes such as socio-economic system transformation. It is true that language is familiar with the expression April 19 Revolution, but apart from appreciating its meaning politically, it is considered unreasonable to view it as a revolution legally. The full text of the constitution has never been described as the April 19 Revolution in our constitutional history. Fourth, I think it is correct to view the legal nature of the Buma Democratic Uprising, the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and the June 10 Uprising as the exercise of the people's right to resist illegal power. There is a need to revise the full text of the constitution to clarify the national identity and the values the state should aim for. Whether to add new constitutional facts and present new constitutional values in a future-oriented manner should be decided after much discussion. The fact that the repetition of the May 18 distortion can be fundamentally solved is the full text of the May 18 Constitution, and I think one way is to push for amendments even if the ruling and opposition parties have formed a consensus. However, it is a problem that including the democratization movements after April 19 in the full text of the constitution, such as the Buma Democratic Uprising, the June 10 Uprising, and the candlelight protests, may harm the simplicity of the specialist. Gwangju, where the May 18th Movement took place, is the parent of all democratization movements that have taken place since 1980.

The Cold War History of Wheat Flour in South Korea, 1945–1960: the Discourse of Corruption and the April Revolution of 1960

ABSTRACT One way that the United States conducted the Cold War was through its surplus food programmes (Public Law 480), which fed the hungry and supported anticommunist regimes. Consequently, South Koreans consumed over fourteen times more wheat flour by 1960 than during the preceding Japanese colonial period. This study presents a nuanced exploration of 1950s South Korea, using wheat flour — a central commodity in US aid — as a focal point to unravel complex political dynamics. It challenges the traditional binary narrative of authoritarianism versus liberalism, demonstrating how the Rhee regime’s promotion of wheat flour consumption reflected multifaceted strategies of corruption. This article underscores the unintended consequences of US aid, highlighting the intricate interactions between foreign assistance and local political, economic and social forces. By analysing the local responses to wheat flour distribution, it reveals how US aid, while aimed at bolstering anticommunism, inadvertently facilitated corruption and influenced public sentiment.

Uma Perspetiva Histórica sobre a Revolução de 25 de Abril de 1974

This article aims to carry out a comparative analysis between the Revolution of April 25, 1974, and its two predecessor revolutions in Contemporary Portugal (1910 and 1820). The objective is to understand the relative importance of each revolution, identify the common traits among them, and distinguish the unique characteristics that individualize them. Additionally, this study seeks to detect the legacies these revolutionary phenomena have left on Portuguese society.

The April Revolution and the Sense of Place in Medical Space: Focusing on Major Hospitals in Downtown Seoul.

This article focuses on the medical activities conducted by major hospitals in downtown Seoul during the April Revolution in 1960, examining their experiential context and significance. The influx of guns and bullets into Korean society following the liberation in 1945 intertwined with the political and social conflicts of the period, resulting in numerous assassinations, crimes, and terrorism. Gunshot wounds were traumas that became a part of the everyday life of Koreans, as well as scars which reflected their historical contexts. At the same time, the frequent occurrence of gunshot wounds led to the development of medical capacities to treat them. The Korean surgical academia expanded its technical foundation with experiences during and after the Korean War. This progress was particularly noticeable in areas closely related to gunshot wounds, such as craniotomy, thoracotomy, vascular anastomosis, debridement, anesthesia, and blood transfusion. Major hospitals in downtown Seoul served as medical spaces where these experimental and technical foundations were concentrated, allowing them to minimize the death toll despite the massive gunfire by the National Police in April 1960. Thus, the aftermath of the epidemic of gunshots resulted in a rather paradoxical outcome. This development became a resource for doctors and nurses, who added their revolutionary implications in reconstructing the experience of April 1960 in their various memoirs and reports. While memoirs reorganized general medical activities, portraying injured patients as participants in the revolution, reports provided forensic descriptions and interpretations of the deaths, giving authority to the main narrative of the revolution. As the interpretations and significance based on historical contexts gained prominence, major hospitals in downtown Seoul also developed a sense of place closely associated with the revolution.

On the 50 th anniversary of the Portuguese Revolution of April 25 1974

In 2024, the Portuguese people, and with them the entire democratic and progressive world, celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ‘Carnation Revolution’, the first and to date only social revolution in western Europe after the second world war. In its rising phase between 1974 and 1976, the Portuguese revolution implemented profound antimonopoly, anti-imperialist and even anti-capitalist transformations that radically changed the country’s economic structures and the living conditions of the Portuguese people. Its central goal was to achieve liberation from fascist rule and an end to colonial wars. This it achieved. But it was also an ‘unfinished revolution’ in terms of its wider goals of social transformation. The Portuguese revolution left deep imprints of achievements, experiences and values. These remain the basis of the Portuguese Communist Party’s current programme for an advanced democracy, a programme that the party proposes to the Portuguese people and that is an integral part of the socialist Portugal of the future.

The Conservative Turn in Memory Policies of the the Republic of Korea

The subject of the study is public disagreements on certain issues of Korean history. The study aims to determine the theoretical principles underlying the memory policies of the conservative government of Yun Seokyeol. On the example of the controversy over the transfer of the bust of the Korean independence movement fighter Hong Beomdo and the restoration of the legacy of Syngman Rhee, the author shows what arguments conservatives and progressives make to defend their position, what tools and techniques they use to establish a certain interpretation of history as the dominant one. The reason for the dispute about the legacy of the fighters for Korean independence, who belonged to the left wing of the national liberation movement, was the decision of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea to move the bust of Hong Beomdo, installed in front of the Military Academy, to another place. This decision caused protests from progressive political parties and public organizations, which accused the Yun Seokyeol’s government of an anti-communist approach and disdain for independence fighters. The dispute over Hong Beomdo’s bust also showed that there is no unity among conservatives on this issue. The government of Yun Seokyeol, largely, proceeds in its memory policies from the theoretical approach of the “new right,” the far-right group of the South Korean conservatives, which diminish the importance of anti-Japanese resistance, especially the left wing, in restoring Korean state sovereignty. At the same time, the “new right” proponents highly appreciates the role of the first President Syngman Rhee in the establishment of the Republic of Korea, ensuring its security and prosperity. The conservative government supports public initiatives to restore the positive image of Syngman Rhee, who resigned as a result of the 1960 April Revolution. Progressives have an extremely negative attitude towards conservative’s attempts to revive the legacy of Syngman Rhee, who was guilty of the presidential election fraud and political repressions.

Passado e presente em 2014 As disputas públicas das memórias da ditadura e da redemocratização no Brasil e em Portugal

Abstract Despite notable progress in studies on transitional justice, insufficient attention has been directed toward the disputes on the matter that unfold within the press in the different countries that are faced with dictatorial pasts and conflictual political transitions. Similarly, the extensive body of work on democratization processes in Portugal and Brazil shows a remarkable absence of comparative studies contrasting these two cases. This article aims to address these gaps through a comparative analysis of public disputes over memories of the transition that took place in the Portuguese and Brazilian press. We have chosen to examine the pivotal year of 2014, a historical moment marked by heightened political crises in both countries, coinciding with the commemoration of the forty-year anniversary of the April Revolution and the fifty-year anniversary of the civil-military coup of 1964. By analysing prominent media outlets during that “hot” year (Público, Diário de Notícias, and Expresso in Portugal; Folha de São Paulo, O Globo, and O Estado de São Paulo in Brazil), we seek to elucidate the role the press played in memory disputes, especially by endorsing certain narratives about the dictatorships and the redemocratization processes in these two countries.

양민 학살 사건에 대한 4월혁명 직후 언론 보도의 양상과 특징

This study shows how the press, after the April Revolution(1960), reported the massacres that had been occurred before/after the Korean War(1950-1953) and explains its characteristics. For these purposes, newspaper articles from the central/the local were analyzed as main materials and their perspectives were grasped from the editorials.
 The press covered the stories of the massacres from recording the testimony of the bereaved(victims) and revealed more such cases in various places. From mid-May to early June 1960, these articles were plastered on the pages of major daily newspapers. Thus, massacres emerged as a political and social issue after the April Revolution. The press produced a variety of discourse analyzing them. On the premise of their illegality, the media made legitimate claims such as finding truth, punishing the perpetrators, and compensating the victims. The press also specifically explored these alternatives.

Organization and activities of the youth student movements in progressive forces in Jeollanam-do area during the April Revolution

Organization and activities of the youth student movements in progressive forces in Jeollanam-do area during the April Revolution

The April Revolution and the Discovery of Child Citizenship

During the April Revolution 0f 1960 in Korea, children impressively showed that they were members of the current society and could be the subject of political action. The children’s demonstrations at Soosong Elementary School are the most well-known example, but it is worth remembering that many street boys who were considered only objects of relief and management in society at the time, that is, street orphans whose names and affiliations are unknown, street children, shoe shiners, and newspaper sellers were also participating. The serious and furious expressions of the children protesters brought cracks to the images of ‘children of the new country’ and ‘good children’, which had been strengthened since liberation. Children’s demonstrations showed that for children who are socially disadvantaged to participate in the public square, the solidarity of fellow citizens as well as the children’s voluntary and active motivation to participate was an essential condition. Children are the beings that make us look back on the closedness of the modern citizen concept based on rational and autonomous individuals.

4월 혁명 이후 최루탄 도입과 그 성격

Since the April Revolution, police have faced strong urge to reform and purge. Urging of police reform and purge were concentrated on the intelligence police which were the main players of various evils during the Rhee Syngman regime, but were also raised against the police firing upon the protesting people during the April Revolution. However, the Chang Myon government tried to strengthen the police''s riot control ability to counter the unification movement with the United States from November 1960. The U.S. was deeply intervened in the police''s riot control training and the introduction of riot control equipment. In the process, tear gas was procured and riot control training using tear gas was promoted. The U.S. public safety advisors'' perception of tear gas was behind this process. Most of the public safety advisors in Korea have been veterans of police-related jobs for a long time in the United States since the 1930s. In the 1930s, the police reform movement emerged in the United States, and the modern police system was established, and in the process, a method of riot control using tear gas instead of live ammunition was widely used. Since then, tear gas has begun to use commonly in riot control as a “humanitarian” weapon that can suppress protests without bloodshed. The public safety advisors recommended the so-called “modernization” of riot control, which calls for the introduction of “humanitarian” methods using tear gas. In this process, the main weapon of police''s riot control has been turned into tear gas.

Source Studies and Historiography of the Economic Situation of the Azerbaijan SSR (1920-1927)

The first half of the 1920s is an extremely interesting and at the same time complex and contradictory period in the history of Azerbaijan. During this period, the April Revolution, which determined the historical fate of our people for the next 70 years of the 20th century, took place, our country lost its state independence, and radical changes began in all spheres of social-political, socio-economic, cultural and spiritual life. During the writing of the article, rich source archival materials were used, first of all, the State Archive of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Archive of Political Documents of the Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Scientific Archive of the History Institute named after A. A. Bakikhanov of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. The problem of the economic situation of the Azerbaijan SSR is one of the problems that the researchers of the relevant period paid special attention to, both in the historiography of the Soviet era and in the historiography of the Motherland during the years of independence. During the writing of the historiography section of the studied problem, the works of those researchers were widely used.

EXPLORING THE FAULTLINES IN KYRGYZSTAN'S POST 2010 PREMIER-PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

At independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan inherited the former Soviet Union's distinct 'semi-presidential' system combining a robust president, a weak parliament, and a meek prime minister. Its governance then was categorized as a 'president-parliamentary' system under Shugart and Carey's typology. However, Kyrgyzstan's 2010 'April Revolution' paved the way for a new 'premier-presidential' system intended to elevate the status of the prime minister and parliament and thereby diffuse power among rival political elites. This 'premier-presidential' system turned out to be a short-lived experiment: the 2020 'October Uprising' resulted in a turn to a system of 'strong presidentialism'. This study aims to present an analysis of the fissures in the 'premier-presidential' system of 2010-2020 which eventually contributed to its downfall. It argues that the downfall of the premier-presidential system was primarily caused by two sets of factors, structural and contingent, working in tandem.

The Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Education and Consciousness in the Wanderings of the Way. Education and Citizenship: Paulo Freire, the Grail Movement and Public Policies in Portugal (1970/1974)

This is a dialogue walked along the paths of Paulo Freire, having as its thread the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, woven to compose our process of formation, research and sharing. Our “gentification” starts from our ground (Brazil) in webs and experiences involving teaching, research and knowledge production, where the people speak the word and write their life, in a process that intertwines with our narrative of a militant and apprehensive educator, in the Brazil and Portugal, composing our mandala life with the Grail Movement and its relationship with Freire, on the path of Education and Citizenship before the April Revolution (1970/1974). Our biography is composed in the meetings and learning, interconnecting the process of our journey where Paulo Freire is a reference and north, being methodological support and inspiration in training processes in Public School and in spaces within the Social Movement. Composing the “viable unprecedented”, we walk in a question methodology, registered in the life stories told by protagonists who develop an educational process, paths and encounters with Freire here and there, “gentifications”, “weavings”, wanderings, encounters with sociomuseology and the wanderings that allow meetings and sharing in Brasil and Portugal. Key words: Education; Citizenship; Awareness; GRAAL ; Sociomuseology

On the History of the Entry of Soviet Troops into Afghanistan. Commentary

The author analyzes in detail the circumstances of the April Revolution in Afghanistan, believing that it was a coup carried out by revolutionary-minded officers of the Afghan army in spring 1987, which predetermined the subsequent entry of Soviet troops in 1979. This event, as the author argues, was completely unexpected not only for the Soviet leadership, but also for the USSR Embassy in Kabul. Relations between the USSR and former Afghan leadership were quite successful. Neither the USSR embassy nor Soviet advisers in various state structures provided assistance to the rebels. However, the course proclaimed by the new leaders of Afghanistan, N.-M. Taraki and Amin towards building socialism, demonstrative orientation towards the USSR, and reliance on its support in combating political opponents turned the Soviet Union into a forced ally of the government led by the PDPA. D.B. Ryurikov explores the gradual escalation of the Soviet–American conflict. In his opinion, a mixture of truthful information and seemingly plausible “bogus stories” from various sources, which led Soviet decision-making bodies to military intervention, assessed the situation and its prospects as very difficult, which led to the entry of a limited Soviet army contingent into Afghanistan.

In the Southern Half of Our Republic: Cross-Border Writing and Performance in 1960s North Korea

AbstractThis article offers a revisionist perspective on the relationship between 1960s North and South Korean literature by showing how writers in the North engaged with and creatively rewrote works from the South. Contextualizing such practices within a longer history of cross-border reading in the North, the article highlights how North Korean poetry and drama from the immediate aftermath of South Korea's April Revolution of 1960 took up South Korean literature's image of the volcano and reimagined it as a symbol of North-South dialogue. The article then turns to Kim Myŏngsu's Mother of the South (1965), showing how the play rewrites the South Korean novelist An Tongnim's short story “Hope” (1963) in such a way as to engineer a convergence with a line of literary representations then being produced in the North about its own colonial-era “revolutionary heritage.” Finally, the article suggests that this convergence ended up reshaping such visions of North Korea's own revolutionary past and the figure of the militant mother that emerged within them.

Songs of the Multitude: The April Revolution, the 6.3 Uprising, and South Korea's Protest Music of the 1960s

The decade of the 1960s is remembered for worldwide political upheavals, with South Korea's April Revolution of 1960 being one early episode. Protesters of the April Revolution appropriated a variety of songs, including the national anthem, Korean War songs, school songs, and children's songs. But these appropriated protest songs have received scant scholarly attention. Four years later in 1964, college students launched a protest movement known as the 6.3 Uprising to stop the military government's implementation of a deeply unpopular normalization treaty with Japan. The movement added a few original songs to the protest music repertoire, but they have since fallen into obscurity. Protest music scholarship in South Korea has largely overlooked the legacy of the 1960s, favoring more polished musical interventions by the pre-Korean War leftist movement and the People's Song Movement of the 1980s. This paper examines the forgotten protest songs of the 1960s from daily newspaper archives and other sources. Recognizing the multitude who pushed forward the April Revolution, I argue that South Korea's protest songs—"people's songs" or minjung kayo—are best understood as songs of the multitude.

Residential Landscapes Sponsored by Companhia União Fabril (CUF) in Barreiro (1945-1972). Promotion of Multi-Family Working-Class Housing in Post-WWII Portugal

This article deals with the promotion of housing for the working class in Portugal after World War II. The starting point of the research is the strategies followed by Companhia União Fabril (CUF) — a major Portuguese chemical company — between 1945 and 1972 in Barreiro, a town on the southern bank of the Tagus River, where the company had been gradually establishing its main factory grounds since the beginning of the twentieth century. The article argues that the publication of Law no. 2092 of April 9th 1958, which called upon welfare institutions to provide answers to the housing problem, was a fundamental step in the transformation of the Portuguese urban, suburban and rural environment, with massive consequences that historiography has yet to fully address.The article identifies the workers’ neighborhoods built by the company on factory grounds (1908-1946), comparing them to those that were later built on suburban farms (1951-1956), destined not only for the traditional working class, but also a growing middle-class that was emerging among the company’s staff. It then describes the operations that were carried out after the publication of the aforementioned law, between 1958 and 1967, and its repercussions up until the eve of the 1974 April Revolution. This law is essentially seen as positive, and had significant results in fighting the housing shortage issues of the time. However, we argue that it also shifted the housing provision responsibilities from private actors — in this case CUF — to public ones, leading to a fragmented urban landscape where the changes over the course of history — in terms of legislation, urban planning, architecture and social fabric — can be witnessed firsthand.

Iran’s position regarding the afghan military conflict in 1978-1979

The author considers the position of Iran regarding the Afghan armed conflict (1978-1979) before the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan, as well as the consistent evolution of this position and the involvement of Iran in internal Afghan events. The author relies mainly on documentary sources, but also attracts scientific works in Russian and English (including the works of Iranian authors). According to the author, the analysis and study of Irans position on Afghanistan and the evolution of this position deserve a separate article because, firstly, the religious factor began to especially influence Irans foreign policy after the events of the Islamic Revolution of 1979; secondly, for the two years chosen for consideration in an article in Iran, the political regime has radically changed, and it is useful to consider the transformation of Irans foreign policy from the reign of the shah to the theocratic regime. In the first part of the article, the author analyzes the position of the Shah of the Iranian regime regarding the April Revolution of 1979 and the political changes that took place in Afghanistan after the revolution. The second part is devoted to the policy of Iran with respect to Afghanistan in 1979, and in this part the author argues that the Herat rebellion, which took place in March 1979, became the main trigger for transforming Irans attitude towards Afghanistan from a wait-and-see attitude to active involvement. The author also notes, that Irans policy towards Afghanistan in 1978-1979 developed sequentially, despite the radical transformation of power in Iran itself during this period.

The Portuguese Hub of Companies in 1973 – Discussing the Corporate Concentration in the Portuguese Economy on the Eve of the April Revolution

The network of Portuguese companies in 1973 has been identified as a relevant element for understanding the economic structure of the country in the decade of 1970–1980. This network had been formed before 1974, during the dictatorship, but it remained after the Carnation Revolution. In spite of such research, this network has not yet been properly analysed, especially through adequate tools from network analysis. This work will detail this network, the different scores of centrality of each company, and their modular structures; it will also discuss estimates from exponential random graph models to identify significant attributes that explain the discovered flows of investment. This work will also detail the processes of vertical integration as well as the specificities of the identified oligopolies.