Busan–Masan Uprising
The Busan–Masan Uprising or abbreviated, the Bu-Ma Uprising, was a series of demonstrations and popular uprising against President Park Chung Hee's dictatorial Yushin regime in South Korea. It took place between 16 and 20 October 1979 in Busan and Masan (now a district of Changwon, South Korea). Students from Pusan National University began demonstrations calling for an end to Park's dictatorship. On 17 October the protests grew to include citizens and spread to Masan on 18 and 19 October. It is also called the Busan–Masan Democratic Uprising (Korean: 부마민주항쟁; Hanja: 釜馬民主抗爭) or Busan–Masan Democratization Movement (부마민주화운동; 釜馬民主化運動).
| Busan–Masan Uprising | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Paratroopers entering Masan, October 20 | |||
| Date | October 16–20, 1979 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | Discontent over Park Chung Hee’s Yushin regime. | ||
| Goals | Democratization | ||
| Methods | Demonstrations and civil disobedience | ||
| Resulted in | Protest suppressed | ||
| Parties | |||
| Number | |||
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| Casualties and losses | |||
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President Park Chung Hee declared martial law on 18 October and referred 66 people to military court. On 20 October, Park invoked the Garrison Act. The army was mobilized, and 59 civilians were brought to military court. Six days later, Park was assassinated by his own intelligence chief Kim Jae-gyu, leading to the Seoul Spring and seizure of power by general Chun Doo-hwan the following year.