The September 1946 Korean general strike was a nationwide strike led by the

Communist Party of Korea The Communist Party of Korea () was a communist party in Korea. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Governor-General of Korea had banned communist and socialist parties under the Peace Preservation Law (see History of Ko ...

in which more than 250,000 workers participated. It was fuelled by a growing independence movement after the imposition of the

United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the Southern half of the Korean Peninsula from 8 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political and eco ...

(USAMGIK). Although the strike's events were studied by the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

from 2005 to 2010, they remain disputed. It is thought to have begun with a strike of railway workers in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

on September 23, 1946. Led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, other unions joined the strike the following day; this led to the October 1 Daegu Uprising.

Background

After the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern half, and the U.S. administered the southern half. In 1948, the occupation zones became sovereign states. A

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

was established in the north under the leadership of

Kim Il Sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

, and a capitalist state was established in the south under the

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

leadership of

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

. Both governments claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all Korea, and neither accepted the 38th-parallel border as permanent.

Pak Hon-yong Pak Hon-yong (; 28 May 1900 – 18 December 1955) was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher, communist activist and one of the main leaders of the Korean communist movement during Japan's colonial rule (1910–1945). His nick ...

, the leader of the

, announced the five principles of a joint venture on June 23, 1946. Pak argued against the confiscation and re-distribution of land, and demanded the immediate transfer of government functions from the USAMGIK to the People's Committee. This was rejected by the military government. Although many Koreans wanted independence, the USAMGIK considered anyone opposing its control to be a Communist sympathizer. On September 6, 1946, the USAMGIK closed three progressive newspapers which it viewed as left-leaning (the ''People's Daily'', the ''Hyundai Ilbo'' and the ''

JoongAng Ilbo ''The JoongAng'', formally known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'', is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also publ ...

''), and arrested about 10 newspaper executives. The U.S. military police ordered the arrest of the

leadership, including Lee Ju-ha, Lee Kang-guk and

(who had been hiding in Seoul for several weeks and planned to defect to the north in a hearse).

Railway strike

The Communist Party of Korea became more aggressive by insisting on a strategy of "new tactics": instigating a public struggle, and launching a general strike. The strike was controlled by the National Council of Korean Workers. The council's first strike began on September 23, by over 7,000 railway workers in

. About 40,000 railway workers soon participated in the railway strike, and it quickly spread across the country. Between 250,000 and 300,000 workers struck in all industrial sectors, including metals and chemicals. The general strike began with demands such as rice rationing, wage increases, opposition to dismissal, freedom of the labor movement, and the liberation of democratic figures. Fifteen thousand students from middle and vocational schools in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

also took to the streets on September 27, demanding the abolition of colonial education. Some South Korean defense forces (now the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

) and maritime security forces (now the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...

) joined the strike, and in

dozens of members of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

in the U.S. military in Korea called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The sixth meeting of the Central Committee of the

Provisional People's Committee of North Korea The Provisional People's Committee of North Korea was the provisional government of North Korea. The committee was established on 8 February 1946 in response for the need of the Soviet Civil Administration and the communists to have centralizatio ...

adopted a declaration affirming the strike's legitimacy and supporting striking workers in the south, but the committee did not condone violent struggle.

USAMGIK response

The USAMGIK sent more than 2,000 armed officers to Seoul Railroad, the center of the general strike, on September 30. About 1,000 protestors, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (the present-day

Federation of Korean Trade Unions The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) is a national trade union center in South Korea formed in 1960. It represents the company union tendency of the South Korean labour movement, as opposed to the more militant Korean Confederation of T ...

), the Korean People's Office and the National Assembly Press, also joined the eight-hour street battle led by

Kim Du-han Kim Du-han (May 15, 1918 – November 21, 1972), also spelled Kim Doo-han, was a South Korean mobster, anti-communist activist, politician and the son of Kim Chwa-chin. His pen name ('' ho'') was Uisong. He was notorious for right-wing terrori ...

. Three people were killed, and hundreds were injured. 서중석 지음 한국현대민족운동연구(역비한국학연구총서 1) 1997년 3월 1일 454p 역사비평사

Daegu Uprising

An October 1 protest by strikers in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

was fired on by police, and one railway worker was killed. Thousands of protestors (including students) carried his body through the city streets the following day, despite police attempts to halt them. The strike then evolved into the broader Autumn Uprising, during which dozens were killed, thousands were arrested, and

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was imposed.

References

{{Reflist 1946 Korean_general_strike 1946 in South Korea

Background

Railway strike

USAMGIK response

Daegu Uprising

See also

References