6 out of 10 Citizens "Know about the 3·15 Uprising"

Six out of ten citizens responded that they are aware of the March 15 Uprising. However, more than half said they did not know about the fact-finding investigation of the March 15 Uprising being conducted by the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs (Truth and Reconciliation Commission).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the 'March 15 Uprising Awareness Survey' conducted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the 27th, 63.2% of 3,150 adults responded that they know about the March 15 Uprising. Among the respondents, 9.7% said they 'know very well,' and 53.5% said they 'somewhat know.' By age group, those aged 60 and over (75.9%) had the highest awareness, and by region, Gyeongnam (76.8%) had the highest awareness.

However, regarding the national memorial day for the March 15 Uprising, 60.2% of the public responded that they had 'only heard the name.' Additionally, 52.2% said they 'do not know well' about the National March 15 Democratic Cemetery, indicating low awareness of related historical sites.

The public perceived the contribution of the March 15 Uprising to democratization as relatively high. Among respondents, 93.5% said it 'contributed to Korean democratization,' 94.1% said it 'contributed to the April 19 Revolution,' and 86.5% said it 'contributed to the advancement of human rights in Korea.'

The public pointed out the need for promotion and education about the democratization movement. More than half of the respondents, 83.2%, said they are 'interested' in the history of the democratization movement, but only 52.4% responded regarding their own level of historical awareness. When asked about the need for civic education and promotion to inherit and participate in the democratization movement, 73.6% said they were 'interested.' Furthermore, 89.1% responded that there is a need for civic education and promotional efforts.

More than half of the respondents were unaware that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is conducting a fact-finding investigation of the March 15 Uprising. Awareness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was 64.6%, but only 46.4% were aware of the fact-finding investigation of the March 15 Uprising.

Regarding future tasks related to the fact-finding investigation of the March 15 Uprising, 55.9% said 're-examination and fact-finding of the March 15 Uprising,' 28.1% said 'restoration of victims' honor and honoring participants,' 8.9% said 'support for commemorative projects and facilities for March 15,' and 6.5% said 'support for education and cultural arts projects' are necessary. As government tasks, the priorities were pointed out as 'fact-finding and revealing the truth (45.8%)', 'restoration of victims' honor, compensation, and healing (26.1%)', and 'creation of commemorative projects and facilities for March 15 (12.9%)'.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated, "Based on the results of this survey, we will closely cooperate with related organizations of the March 15 Uprising, local governments, and education offices," and added, "We will do our best to uncover the truth and restore the honor of participants."

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been conducting the fact-finding investigation of the March 15 Uprising since January last year, in accordance with the enforcement decree of the March 15 Uprising Act. The first investigation was decided on April 12 last year. This survey was conducted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission through Southern Post. It was conducted online over 10 days starting from the 27th of last month, targeting 3,150 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, using a structured questionnaire. The confidence level is 95%, and the sampling error is ±1.75%p.