Gwangju Talks May 2015
Written and interviewed by Ki Su-yeon, Kim Ji-heon, and Lee So-eun
How have human rights developed in Gwangju? Are people aware of advances?
Lee Gi-hyuk (Male/19/High school student)
When I took a bus to go to school, the bus was filled to capacity. The bus stopped at a station, and a grandmother got on the bus. At that very instant, two passengers gave place to her. Most of students think they are well aware of human rights, but it is not true. I think that a human right is kind of an abstract concept, so Gwangju promotes human rights by holding fun events for students. I think all Korean schools should adopt human rights courses because students lack understanding.
Cheon Ji-hu (Female/21/University student)
I think the rate of developing in human rights is not very high these days. The reason is that human rights are closely related to welfare, and Korea’s welfare system has many problems. Teach students about human rights in schools.
Citizens can establish a human rights organization supported by Gwangju city and participate in a campaign to promote human rights.
Han Sea-byeol (Male/25/University student)
Human rights in South Korea have developed because of the people who have dedicated their life to make a fair society. A lot of unknown people fought against injustice, and their sacrifice became the base of the democracy we are trying to achieve now. On May 18, 1980, Gwangju citizens stood up for what was right and fought against the military dictatorship. More than 500 people died at the hand of Korean soldiers that fired on them. However, the blood made people desire democracy, and they have changed the country into current form little by little. I think Gwangju citizens have to solve the problem about their own history first. Even though May 18 was the great movement for democracy, people outside Gwangju didn’t know much about it and often misunderstood it as a riot because when the incident happened, government controlled the media and justified their violation by saying Gwangju citizens were traitors that tried to connect with North Korea. It is Gwangju’s duty to let other people know the truth and make them change their minds. Because not only were they victims, they are also the ones who know the real history. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Even if some problems are not directly related to me, if it is harming people, I have to be concerned about it. For instance, I’m not one of the Sewol Ferry victims, but I will support them to change the law so it won’t happen again. I’m just an individual so maybe my support is not good enough. However, there are lots of individuals like me who can choose to defend justice, and it will make a bigger change of our society one day.
Ji Sang-woo (Male/17/High school student)
Gwangju has a long history with the human rights movement and a high standard of human rights education. However, it seems that the actual level of awareness about human rights among citizens is not that high. Even though Gwangju is called as a city of human rights, the average citizen does not think much about it. To preserve and improve the value of human rights, the education of future generations should be put first. While most students sit behind their desk for most of their time, they are delivered text-oriented lectures without opportunity to experience and sympathize with people. The shift from rote learning to field study is the key to encourage students to think more about human rights. I believe the most official and effective ways to claim one’s right is political participation. I will learn about the rights we have and the ways to participate in the politics in order to teach citizens how to protect their rights and contribute to society.
Kim Ji-won (Female/17/High school student)
I think human rights for social minorities in Gwangju is still insufficient. Nowadays, there are growing numbers of students who come from different national backgrounds—so-called the “multicultural family.” Even though the government is promoting their immigration and adaptation, there is still discrimination toward them. Also, the public facilities are inconvenient for disabled people. They find it hard to use mass transportation, which makes their social participation difficult. It is important to raise awareness about human rights among all people. To do that, an education program should be offered. Also, civic facilities should be upgraded for the convenience of the disabled. I’d like to participate in human rights activities to learn more about it. And I want to ask for financial support from the government
Lee Ga-yeong (Female/30/High school teacher)
I think human rights in Gwangju have developed a lot over the years. People can have long hair, stay at a bar late at night, or read political books without worries to be taken to the police station, which they couldn’t do a few decades ago. Now we have basic human rights. The next step is to claim the right to be happy. Because of the long working hours, many workers find it difficult to balance their work and personal life. We sometimes feel there is not enough time to spend with our family. Although government is regulating the work-week, in some cases, it is easily violated. I don’t know how to make companies obey the regulations. Maybe I could learn more about the labor law. But I’m afraid of standing out. People would think of me as irresponsible or say I’m acting odd. Because of the rigid hierarchy in the workplace, I cannot express my opinion freely. Maybe the first step to promote human rights would be to make more equal working environments in order to encourage workers to state their opinion.