부산광역시

After Korea’s liberation, the National Preparatory Committee and the National Police Force worked to address the challenges facing Busan through autonomous efforts.
During the U.S. military administration, Busan faced rapid population growth, food shortages, rising prices, and widespread unemployment.
With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the National Assembly, the President, and the government relocated to Busan, where military facilities, embassies, UN agencies, and schools also took root. Busan became a central hub for administration, politics, and postwar reconstruction, drawing in both people and resources. The procession to Busan, the safest refuge from the war, seemed endless. Vacant lots and hillsides near old city center were filled with refugee tents; water was scarce, and fires were frequent.
To survive, people did whatever they could to make a living and kept learning, never losing hope. During this time, Busan became a city of both survival and hope for all.

Busan grew into an industrial city as factories and companies were attracted by its favorable location as a port of entry, which supported population growth and the inflow of aid supplies during the Korean War and after liberation. The city experienced rapid growth in the 1960s, driven by the government’s five-year economic development plan and its promotion to municipal status. Labor-intensive industries like textiles, metals, chemicals, and rubber expanded rapidly, while the textile, plywood, and footwear sectors continued steady growth throughout the 1970s.
In the 1970s, with the expansion of passenger and cargo transportation networks and the development of port facilities through the Busan Port Development Project, Busan emerged as a key gateway for imports and exports in Korea. Busan’s population grew rapidly as people from rural areas migrated to the city in search of work.
These urban workers were employed in manufacturing, fisheries, logistics, and other sectors, contributing to Busan’s industrialization as a key export hub. Behind the rapid industrialization and growth lay numerous challenges, including overcrowded housing, transportation issues, environmental pollution, and poor working conditions with inadequate treatment of workers.

The fervor for democracy among the people of Busan was ignited by the April 19 Revolution, a mass protest against the dictatorship and electoral fraud of the Rhee Syngman regime.
In October 1979, Busan citizens launched the Bu-Ma Democratic Protests, which played a pivotal role in challenging and ultimately dismantling the authoritarian Yushin Constitution.
The spirit of resistance sparked by the Bu-Ma Democratic Protests took root in the May 18 Democratic Uprising of 1980 and ultimately culminated in the June Democracy Movement of 1987, a pivotal moment in South Korea’s path to democratization. After 1987, the democratization movement in Busan laid the groundwork for robust civic activism throughout the 1990s, greatly influencing the democratic development of the local community. With the institutionalization of democracy after 1987, civic movements advocating for meaningful democratic participation within civil society gained significant momentum.