Can Schools Be Hijacked?: Secondary-School Life on the Eve of South Korea’s April Revolution (1960)

The April Revolution was a defining moment in early South Korean history. High school students played a crucial role throughout the two-month chain of protests (28 February – 26 April 1960) that culminated in the ouster of the country’s first president, Syngman Rhee. This presentation will examine middle and high school civics curricula and student organizations designed by Ministry of Education ideologues after the Korean War (1950-53). These two components of post-war school life equipped South Korean youths with important ideational and organizational resources for the anti-government student protests of 1960.