Students Force Rhee Out: South Korea's Democratic Dawn
Thousands of South Korean university students took to the streets on April 19, 1960, demanding an end to President Syngman Rhee's authoritarian rule after his Liberal Party blatantly rigged the March 15 presidential election. Police fired on demonstrators in Seoul, killing an estimated 186 people. The violence backfired spectacularly: it galvanized wider public support, and even the Korean military refused to suppress the protests further. Rhee resigned on April 26 and fled to Hawaii, where he lived in exile until his death in 1965. The April Revolution established the short-lived Second Republic under a parliamentary system. It lasted only thirteen months before General Park Chung-hee seized power in a military coup on May 16, 1961.
April 19, 1960
66 years ago
Key Figures & Places
President of South Korea
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President
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South Korea
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Syngman Rhee
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a nationwide pro-democracy protest
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April Revolution
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President of South Korea
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Syngman Rhee
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Seoul
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South Korea
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Hawaii
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Histoire de la Corée du Sud
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What Else Happened on April 19
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