Masan

Masan was a former capital city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The city is located in the coastal region along the Masan Bay (마산만, Masan-man), approximately 35 km away from Busan westward. It was known for a textile industry, and now Hite Brewery is one of its major local business. Since 2010, two neighbor cities and Masan have been united into Changwon .

During the control of the Mongolians, the town was known as Happo (合浦). Therefore, the old and still frequently used name for Masan-man is Happo-man.

October 1274 After Korean officials encouraged Kublai Khan - head of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty - in 1265 that Japan would be easily subdued, the Koryo Korean state built over 300 large ships to aid an invasion of Japan. With over 20,000 Mongol troops as well as 5,000 Korean, the allied armies departed Masan on board 900 ships on October 2 of 1274 in an attempt to conquer Japan that eventually failed.

May 1, 1899 - The port of Masan was opened with pressure from Japan. Among the initial trading goods were salt, fish, cotton and other goods.

March 15, 1960 - A protest against electoral corruption was spearheaded by the Democratic Party in Masan. Approximately 1000 residents attended the demonstration, which took place at 19:30 in front of the Democratic Party Headquarters in Masan. The protest sparked violent clashes between demonstrators and police officers in which several students were killed. To restore order, authorities blacked out Masan and General Carter B. Magruder eventually dispatched US Marines to quell the unrest.

April 12, 1960 - The body of Kim Ju-yul was discovered in Masan Harbor. Kim - still dressed in his uniform from Masan Commercial High School - had disappeared in the March 15 clashes. Authorities claimed that he had drowned, but many Masan residents did not believe this explanation and forced their way into the hospital where Kim's body was stored. At the hospital, they discovered that grenade fragments behind his eyes had actually killed him. In the following days, mass demonstrations broke out involving as many as 40,000 residents throughout the characteristically politically left-leaning city. During renewed clashes with police, police opened fire and killed several protesters. Once again, the US military was called in to help restore order. At this point, public anger with the government had grown to new highs and rebellion against the Rhee government mushroomed around the country. Authorities subsequently declared martial law.

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