'65th Anniversary 2·28 Minju Movement Commemoration Ceremony' Held in Daegu on the 28th

The First Student Democratization Movement After Liberation
The Origin of the April 19 Revolution

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced on the 27th that it will hold the ‘65th Anniversary of the February 28 Democratic Movement Commemoration Ceremony’ at the Daegu Culture and Arts Center in Dalseo-gu, Daegu on the 28th. Under the theme ‘The First Step Toward Spring,’ approximately 700 people, including participants and bereaved families of the February 28 Democratic Movement, key government officials, representatives from various sectors, and future generations, will attend the ceremony.

The February 28 Democratic Movement was the first student democratization movement after liberation. It was a voluntary and democratic student resistance movement initiated by high school students in the Daegu area who protested against the Sunday school attendance order issued to disrupt the campaign of the opposition party’s vice-presidential candidate ahead of the election, amid a time when the people’s lives were collapsing due to government corruption and incompetence.

Moreover, the February 28 Democratic Movement, which spread nationwide with the support of students and citizens, led to the great outcomes of the Daejeon March 8 Democratic Uprising, the Masan March 15 Uprising, and the April 19 Revolution. It is regarded as the origin of the democratic movement in the Republic of Korea led by teenage students. Since being designated as a national memorial day in 2018, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has organized commemorative events annually.

Kang Jeong-ae, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, stated, “The students’ determination to resist injustice 65 years ago was the spring that set the Republic of Korea’s democracy on the right path,” and added, “I hope this commemoration will be a precious opportunity to once again reflect on and inherit the spirit of February 28, which was the powerful first step in the journey of democracy.”