The 1924 광주고보야구사건 and the Kwangju Students' Independence Movement.

November 3rd is the anniversary of the Kwangju Students' Independence Movement (광주학생항일운동), an that is said to have been set in motion in 1929 when students were apprehended for fighting with Japanese schoolchildren on a train from Naju to Gwangju.

Last November, while looking for information related to this, I came across some captivating pictures out of Gwangju's Jeil High School, a reenactment of what I'll translate as the Gwangju High School Baseball Incident (광주보고야구사건, after 광주고등보통학교, the former name of 광주제일고등학교).



No English-language information exists to give background, though November 1, 2009 Newsis articles briefly summarize:

'광주고보 야구사건'은 일제강점기 시절인 1924년 6월 중순 두 팀이 광주고보 운동장에서 친선경기를 벌이던 중 심판 판정에 불만을 품은 일본팀 단장이 광주고보 투수를 폭행하자 선수들과 학생, 시민 등 400여명이 경기장으로 뛰어들어 항거했던 사건이다.

According to a lengthier article, a June 1924 baseball game between the Gwangju high school and a Japanese student all-star team ended with a play at the plate and a 1-0 upset, leading to a brawl at the mound among the teams and their fans. The nine Gwangju athletes were arrested and imprisoned for three months, a game and an outcome that would remain influential five years later.

Newsis photographers were on hand last year for a reenactment to coincide with the anniversary of the 1929 uprising.