"Kyemon" was founded in 1957 in Yangon by journalist U Thaung during Myanmar's brief experiment with parliamentary democracy and free media between 1948 and 1962. The daily was the best selling newspaper at that time, with a circulation of 90,000. After seizing power in March 1962, the military government of Gen. Ne Win cracked down on media, and nationalized all the daily newspapers, including Kyemon, in 1964. (U Thaung's open criticism of Gen. Ne Win earned him a prison sentence for him in 1964.)