The Hanshin Education Struggle
Protesting against the government order to close Korean ethnic schools (January 1948), 15,000 people including students, teachers, and parents assembled in a Kobe park near the Hyogo prefectural office. Hundreds of people from this group rushed into the prefectural office and made the governor and officials revoke the order (April 24, 1948). Under orders from General Douglas MacArthur of GHQ, the US military commander of the Kobe area issued a state of emergency.
Robert Eichelberger, Commander General of the Eighth Army, declared that the protest movement was “rioting” and moved to suppress the protest by military force. Around 1,700 people were arrested and 136 were put on military trial.
Koreans in sit-in protest inside the Hyogo prefectural office (April 1948)
Postcards by students addressed to Douglas MacArthur and
Robert Eichelberger, calling for the release of their arrested teachers
(National Archives and Records Administrarion, NARA)