Large-Scale Honors for Independence Patriots from Yangsan... Commemorating the 106th Anniversary of the March 1st Movement

Large-scale Honors for Independence Activists in Yangsan
Unrecognized Activists Finally Acknowledged After 92 Years
Yangsan City and Memorial Association Lead Efforts to Discover Independence Heroes

Yangsan City in Gyeongnam announced that a large-scale selection of honors for independence activists from Yangsan on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the March 1st Movement has been made by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

106th Anniversary of the March 1st Movement Government Commendation (Yangsan) Recipient. Provided by Yangsan City

This honor is a meaningful achievement recognizing the contributions to the independence movement of about 10 activists who had not been acknowledged until now in relation to the 1932 Yangsan Peasant Union members' attack on the Yangsan Police Station. They were awarded the Order of Patriotism (1 person), the National Foundation Medal (1 person), and the Presidential Citation (8 people).

The Yangsan Police Station attack incident was the largest event in the anti-Japanese independence movement history of the Yangsan region. It occurred in March 1932 during the tenant dispute struggle of the Yangsan Peasant Union members. When the police arrested the union leaders at the Yangsan Police Station, a protest movement was launched to release them. During this protest, one person died, about 90 were arrested, around 70 were granted suspended prosecution, and about 20 were tried in court.

Yangsan City has supported the holding of academic conferences to reexamine the independence movement history of the Yangsan region through the Yangsan Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Memorial Association since 2019 to discover independence activists. From 2025, the city plans to allocate new budgets to further devote efforts to discovering unrecognized independence activists.

The fact that many independence activists from the Yangsan region could receive honors like in this case is also a result of Yangsan City’s annual support for independence-related academic conferences through the Yangsan Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Memorial Association (Chairman Park Jeong-su).

Mayor Na Dong-yeon said, “The large-scale honors for independence activists from Yangsan are a pride of Yangsan City and a meaningful event that all citizens of Yangsan should rejoice in. I deeply thank Gyeongnam Province, the Gyeongnam Liberation Association, and the Yangsan Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Memorial Association for their active efforts and interest in discovering unrecognized activists, and we will continue to strive to discover unrecognized independence activists.”

Park Jeong-su, Chairman of the Yangsan Anti-Japanese Independence Movement Memorial Association, said, “We appreciate Yangsan City’s active support and will continue to take the lead in discovering unrecognized activists in cooperation with Yangsan City.”