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 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 Korea), s ...

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula from 9 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political a ...

(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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

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 ac ...

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

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

, 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 democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

leadership of

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), 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 Provisiona ...

. 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), courtesy name Togyong (), was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher, communist activist and one of the main leaders of the Communist Party of Korea, Korean communist movement ...

, 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'', formerly 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 pu ...

''), 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 Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and vocational schools in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

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; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

) and maritime security forces (now the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations. The South ...

) joined the strike, and in

dozens of members of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

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

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. 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 centraliza ...

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 Tr ...

), the Korean People's Office and the National Assembly Press, also joined the eight-hour street battle led by Kim Du-han. 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 (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

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 replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was imposed.

References

{{Reflist 1946 Korean_general_strike 1946 in South Korea Labour disputes in South Korea Kim Du-han Labour disputes and strikes in the aftermath of World War II 1946 labor disputes and strikes

Background

Railway strike

USAMGIK response

Daegu Uprising

See also

References