Democracy Trail – Illuminating the Past, Connecting to a Bright Future

Written by Cami Ismanova.

History has always been the subject that has fascinated me the most. You can imagine my interest rising when I discovered that I had actually gotten accepted to the university with a tragically great historical heritage. Three years ago, when I saw the Gwangju campus of Chonnam National University for the first time, I could not even think that such a peaceful, green place had ever lost hundreds of young lives. As a brand-new spring semester begins, I would like to shed light once again on the May 18 Gwangju democratization movement so that both the local and international community can pay respect, by reading this article, to those who fought for the democracy that we enjoy in Korea nowadays.

The May 18 Democratic Uprising is the name of the popular pro-democracy movement that occurred during May 18–27 of 1980, in Gwangju, South Korea. It was caused by several events: the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung-hee, the December 12 coup d’etat and Chun Doo-hwan’s authoritarian rule, and the May 17 imposition of martial law, as well as social and political dissatisfaction in the Jeolla provinces. The Uprising started with protest marches that surged into later armed rebellion. Official records suggest that the Uprising left approximately 606 people died, among them many students of Chonnam National University.
In 2018, Chonnam University decided to create the Democracy Trail Project. “Going Together Happily” was the winning design among the six finalists in the bidding competition. The design connects three roads: Justice Road, Human Rights Road, and Peace Road. In total, the Trail includes a dozen commemorative spaces and stretches out over five kilometers. Construction on the project began with a ceremonial kickoff in December of last year so that it could be completed before this year’s 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

The goal of constructing Democracy Trail on the Yongbong-dong campus is to create a space where students, regardless of their nationality, background, and differences, could unite into powerfully unique democratic communities.

THE AUTHOR

Cami Ismanova is a student at Chonnam National University majoring in economics. She loves writing, listening to jazz, reading non-fiction books, and traveling around. She can be found on Instagram @camidisman