(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ji-heon = The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced on the 14th that a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the March 15 Uprising will be held at the National March 15 Democratic Cemetery in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the 15th.
About 600 people, including those who contributed to the uprising, their families, and students from participating schools, will attend the ceremony.
The March 15 Uprising took place on March 15, 1960, when the citizens and students of Masan opposed fraudulent presidential and vice-presidential elections.
During protests on the day of the uprising and from April 11 to 13 and 24 to 27, 12 people died, and two succumbed to injuries while being treated, with more than 200 others injured. It’s regarded as the first bloody democratic movement, serving as a direct catalyst for the April 19 Revolution that year.
The March 15 Uprising was designated a national memorial day in 2010, with events organized by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs since 2011.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated that it will connect the memorial days of the February 28 Democratic Movement, March 8 Democratic Uprising, March 15 Uprising, and April 19 Revolution into “a single journey toward liberal democracy” to deliver a continuous message.
This year’s ceremony, themed “Walking in the Radiant Spring Sunshine,” will begin with a performance by the Yangsan Boys and Girls Choir. Following this, a journalist from Kyungnam University’s broadcasting station, the successor of Haein College, which participated in the March 15 Uprising, will present a video report on the uprising.