The 5.18 Gwangju Uprising — After 44 years, the “memory struggle” still continues —

By Park Yeonju

“Young students must survive. You guys have to tell others exactly what you witnessed today. Be witnesses to history of how we fought and died.” These are the words that Yoon Sang-won, a spokesman for the “Citizens’ Army,” delivered to the high school students and female students involved in the uprising on the night of the May 26, just hours before the martial law forces re-entered Gwangju for their final assault. The numerous “historical witnesses” who protected Gwangju in May 1980 and the “Gwangju spirit” that was passed down contributed greatly to the democratization of Korea. And they are still spreading “memory struggle”* to uncover the truths about the May 18 Gwangju Uprising.

On May 18, 1980, Gwangju citizens waged a fierce battle against the brutal martial law forces in the name of democracy. They did not stop, even though gunshots rang out – even though there was ruthless violence, bloodshed, and death. These protesting Gwangju citizens placed great value on democracy, which was needed to remove the shackles of authoritarianism and regain power from Chun Doo-hwan. But, despite the fierce struggle mounted by Gwangju citizens, the 10-day uprising in 1980 eventually resulted in the frustration of democratization along with an increase in Chun Doo-hwan’s power.

However, there is a significant implication of the Gwangju Uprising in the Korean democratization movement. The immediate failure experienced in 1980 did not remain a failure in history. Korea was able to walk the path to democratization in 1987 because the preceding historic struggle of the Gwangju Uprising (aka the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement) served as its impetus. The Uprising also played a major role in the consolidation of democracy.

“Democratic transition” refers to the process of the collapse of authoritarian political order and the creation of a democratic system that regulates political behavior. However, the road to democracy has been a long and difficult one in Korean history. A person who has tasted power has never let go of it easily. Those who ostensibly represented the people carried out oppression and focused only on maintaining power, increasing complaints from the people. There was no way to easily break the very strong hold of authoritarianism, and there was not enough organizing power to unite citizens of the different tiers of society. As a result, both the April 19 Revolution in 1960 and the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980 faced a wall of frustration.

However, starting with the Gwangju Uprising, the frustration became a conduit for success. The “memory struggle” developed by citizens after the Gwangju Uprising was the key. “Memory,” as we know it, refers to an image, information, and emotions associated with it. Kim Yong-cheol and Cho Yeongho (2022) proposed that “memory politics” is not just about these abstract concepts but also contributes to the formation of new historical perceptions or identities, leading to changes in political resistance and attitudes. They also proposed that, based on the tragedy and fear that occurred in the Gwangju Uprising, this can be divided into “original memory struggle,” which keeps state violence in check, and “interpretive memory struggle,” which questions and challenges world views, such as anti-communism, being anti-North Korea, and being pro-US that were taken for granted in Korean society.

Shouting for democracy during the Gwangju Uprising and the horrendous violence of the martial law forces resulted in great sacrifice. It created great pain, but I think remembering it and continuing the struggle became a solid foundation for the transition to democratization. No one came to protect the citizenry from the tyrannical martial law forces. Gwangju citizens were left to their own devices. The embers of the memories of those ten days of lone struggle against state violence could not be extinguish. Those memories ignited in other people the courage to escape from under the iron grip of authoritarianism and gave the people the power to unite under the ideology of freedom and democracy. In this way, the “original memory struggle” played a huge role in uniting the citizenry and forming a strong foundation for democracy.

“At that time, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Gleysteen met with Foreign Minister Park Dong-jin on May 22, 1980, and said the U.S. supported the new military’s bloody repression operation and would do its best to support the South Korean military’s efforts to prevent the spread of the situation” (Jang, 2002). That’s right, the U.S. actually condoned the May 18 situation. Substantial evidence of allowing military intervention has been confirmed in secret documents; it is clear that the United States was a bystander.

However, the people of Gwangju were not aware of this at the time (1980), and anti-American sentiment spread rapidly after it was revealed that the U.S. had been on the sidelines. As a result, more and more people left the pro-American order, which had previously been consistently emphasized in Korean society, and questions and criticism arose about the ideology of anti-communism and being anti-North Korea. Therefore, the people realized that maintaining only a pro-American stance under the influence of the U.S. was not the only answer, and shifted their focus to creating a worldview that could replace it. This interpretive memory struggle developed the power to resist the existing order and resulted in the inability of the US and military units to act hastily during the June Struggle for Democracy in 1987.

The U.S. had no choice but to take into account the anti-American sentiment. The fact that the U.S. had gone along with the movement of martial law forces in 1980 was enough to draw the ire of the people, and the U.S. also expected their position in Korea to diminish if the anger persisted. As the potential benefits that they could derive from Korea could also be diminished, they adopted an attitude diametrically opposite to that in May 1980.

The emergency measure of June 19, 1987, was for Chun Doo-hwan to again dispatch the military. In response, the U.S. firmly opposed this, warning that military intervention into civic affairs would lead to a recurrence of the Gwangju Uprising. In addition, many within the military also expressed their opposition to the military dispatch order directed by Chun. The reason was that the military’s status had already been degraded during the Gwangju Uprising, and using suppressive force in a larger democratic movement than that of May 18 was an onerous choice as well as one that would undoubtedly lead to another decline in the status of the military in the eyes of the people.

From Chun’s point of view, he could not rule out the risk of a coup if he ignored the strong opposition of the military. As a result, he announced the June 29 Declaration, placing Roh Tae-woo at the forefront, and Korea finally succeeded in a semblance of the implementation of democratization. Korean democratization was eventually achieved due to the struggles and sacrifices of the Gwangju Uprising of 1980.

The martial law forces of 1980 did not value life, and they inflicted ruthless violence on Gwangju citizens. And Chun Doo-hwan, reigned over it all. Martial law forces were violently swinging clubs and shooting rifles. Taking the lives of democratic fighters, they considered themselves successful. But the citizens did not succumb to their violence. They remembered the fear, kept it in mind, and developed the power to change the social order that had been instilled in the past. Thanks to the memory struggle that has continued, the people of the nation have increasingly united together – unlike at the time of the Gwangju Uprising – and created a situation where the president and the military have no choice but to care about the wishes of the people.

Although it was a short struggle for 10 days, the continued memory struggle has properly and firmly established the meaning of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in history. Chun Doo-hwan’s military circle defined May 18 as a “riot” and demonized the May 18 victims and fighters as “impure elements.” However, the power organized through the memory struggle allowed the May 18 democratization movement to be remembered as an “uprising.” Even after Chun stepped down from the presidency, no one took responsibility for the Gwangju citizens who were victimized by the brutality of the military amid the prosecutor’s logic that a successful coup could not be punished! However, thanks to the memory struggle spearheaded by Gwangju citizens, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were eventually punished in 1995 through the enactment of a special law on the May 18 Democratic Movement during the Kim Young-sam administration. The memory struggle showed that even a successful coup can eventually have its perpetrators face justice.

The memory struggle also affected the production of films and dramas related to the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, allowing many people to remember the historic movement for democratization. For example, May 18, which was released in 2007, is a movie with the motif of Yoon Sang-won, a leader of the May 18 Democratization Movement. This movie allowed him, who made his final stand at the Jeollanam-do Provincial Office, to be remembered in the hearts of many. And the movie 26 Years, released in 2012, is a story about the second generation victims of May 18. The movie Taxi Driver, which focused on Kim Sabok, a taxi driver who drove to Gwangju Jurgen Hintzpenter, the German foreign correspondent who revealed the horrors of the Gwangju Uprising to the world. The film attracted 10 million viewers and shared the truth of Gwangju’s May. Thanks to those who have kept alive the memory of May 18, we can let many people know the truth of that memory through a wide variety of channels.

Still, the memory struggle is not over. At the time of the uprising, the Jeonil Building was hit with 245 bullets from helicopter gunfire. It has now been preserved as a building informing the people of its May 18 history. The May 18 Democratization Movement Archives have vivid photos and videos from the time of the uprising. Currently, a restoration project is underway for the former Jeollanam-do Provincial Office building to revive the spirit of May 18. In addition, many people are still trying to find out exactly who first ordered the use of gunfire on that fateful day. We will continue to remember. We will continue our memory struggle to discover the truths of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising that have yet to be revealed in order to make May a warmer month in Gwangju. May 18, 1980 – I shall never forget all those who sacrificed themselves for the protection of Gwangju for succeeding generations, for the seeding of democracy in the Republic of Korea.

* The expression “memory struggle” is from Kim and Cho (2022).

References

Kim, Y., & Cho, Y. (2022). The 5/18 Memory Struggle and Koreans’ Political Attitudes: Focusing on Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Democracy, Anti-Communism, North Korea, and the U.S.A. The May 18 Institute of Democracy and Human Rights.

Jang, D. (2002, May 23). U.S. May 18 Genocide accomplice – May 18 Civil Court Is Opened. Unification News.

The Author

Park Yeonju is an undergraduate at Chonnam National University, majoring in political science and diplomacy as well as Chinese language and literature. She was born and raised in Gwangju and wants to promote the colorfulness of the city that she has been a part of for so long. She also wants to deliver various voices of the world. It is her dream to become a true journalist by inheriting the spirit of May 18.