May 18th National Cemetery

Written and photographed by Sarah Pittman

It is impossible to overstate the reach of May 18th in the minds of the people of Gwangju. Every child I have ever taught here has it stamped into their memory. The parks and streets of the city are covered in memorials, touchstones, and reminders of the events of those critical days in the summer of 1980. I arrived here with no idea of what had transpired. Before you can begin to research the event, the city tells its story. Your kids in classes tell you about brave students rallying the people. Memorials talk of taxis and buses shielding and ferrying protesters, and of all the groups of people who found in their city the strength and community of a village, working together against all odds.

No story or plaque or statistic reveals the crushing pain of that betrayal as directly as the May 18 National Cemetery. The numbers of the people killed that day are staggering, but this still is not the essence of the memorial. The experience of the site is when you stop to look at a name, and see a face. The face isn’t that of a soldier. It is a high school graduation picture, a smiling housewife, or a handsome businessman. They are the faces of people whose hearts held a sincere desire for democratic freedom, and who were brave enough to lay down their lives to show Korea and the world what they believed. I cannot help but feel that they would be proud to see how they have been remembered, and importantly what their sacrifices helped accomplish for their country and descendants.

The Author
Sarah Pittman is an English teacher with a degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton. She discovered her love for photography while working at Disneyland and has been honing her craft with practice and YouTube videos every since.