The Gwangju Uprising [reupload, more info + colourised pictures]

CHILD WARNING EFFORTPOST The Gwangju Uprising [reupload, more info + colourised pictures]

>Background Story:

Choi Kyu-ha

On October 26, 1979, there was an assassination attempt on the current ruling dictator Park Chung-hee in South Korea. Prime Minister Choi Kyu-ha then took over from him. Despite this, South Korea was still under army rule when Major General Chun Doo-hwan took over as head of KCIA on December 12, 1979, thereby assuming full control.

But there was so much resistance against him that on May 15, 1980, almost 100,000 students took to the streets of Seoul and demonstrated. They demanded the resignation of Choi and Chun, a change to martial law, and the immediate abolition of the Yushin Constitution. A vote in parliament was supposed to take place on May 20, 1980, to talk and discuss the current situation, but unfortunately this never happened.

Chun Doo-hwan

On May 17, 1980, Major General Chun Doo-hwan declared a state of emergency and tightened martial law, which he simultaneously extended to the entire country. All universities were closed, all national assemblies and political activities were banned, and 26 politicians were arrested.

In December 1979, during the Chun uprising, the USA was calm and neutral, even though the US government had the authority to give orders to the Korean army and could have prevented worse things from happening. In addition, the USA did not actually want Park Chung-hee to be in power, but they did not want to help South Korea become a democratic country.

But the second uprising and thus the rise of Major General Chun was completely supported and endorsed by the USA. Without the USA, Chun would not have been able to give orders to the army. But the USA was not the only country that helped Major General Chun, Japan also helped with information and the army. Both were also involved during the massacre.

>18. May 1980 - 27. May 1980:

Kim Dae-jung

18 May:

After the arrest of politician Kim Dae-jung was announced, over 600 students from a university in Gwangju gathered in the morning and demonstrated in the streets. They demanded the lifting of the state of emergency and the immediate release of Kim Dae-jung. The students were quickly supported by residents of the city who went on a sit-down strike.

Soon the peaceful demonstration was disrupted by the military, who tried to force people to leave. Some of the protesters then threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers to fight back. This only made the whole situation uncontrollable even faster and the military then became very brutal. They did not care who was in front of them, it was as if the soldiers were losing all their humanity, they were so violent.

19 May:

An even larger demonstration took place in the city, made up of people from all walks of life. In addition, bus and taxi drivers drove through the streets in a long, slow line, honking their horns to weaken the military. Nevertheless, there were increased conflicts between the military and the people. The soldiers used tear gas, batons and bayonets. Some of the demonstrators again threw stones and Molotov cocktails in defense.

20 May:

In the evening, around 100,000 people from the city of Gwangju were in front of the city's government building. In addition, almost 10 buses and over 200 taxis were on the main road to show their protest. Unfortunately, the whole situation escalated during the night when the demonstrators started setting cars on fire and moving threateningly towards the military. The soldiers had no other option than to use their weapons and shoot. Some ministers in Seoul resigned from the government at this time as a sign of protest.

21 May:

Many people were angry with the military and their actions of the last few days. So they started robbing the police and the military and armed themselves. The inhabitants of the city of Gwangju formed a real army and occupied a radio station, a few government buildings and equipped vehicles with weapons. So that day over 200,000 inhabitants faced the military and fought for their rights and freedom.

The government then organised buses to get hold of new weapons. They had to stop the uprising. When it calmed down around midday, as the people were celebrating Buddha's birthday with singing, the military attacked them. Soldiers shot at the crowd at random and injured over 500 people. But the demonstrators were stronger and had the city under their control again by the evening.

22 May:

Now there were demonstrations and conflicts in over 20 other cities.

23 May:

US General Wickham asked South Korea for support with his army.

24 May:

The inhabitants of the city of Gwangju stated that Gwangju had now been liberated by them.

25 May:

The military erected a kind of border around the centre of the city of Gwangju.

26. May:

The Gwangju City Citizens' Committee began negotiations with some military officers.

May 27:

In the early hours of the morning, an army of over 20,000 soldiers, paratroopers and tanks stormed the city to put an end to the uprising. Unfortunately, this ended in a major bloodbath.

>Aftermath:

The students from South Korea, who made up the majority of the protesters, are very attached to their country and therefore do not agree with the Americanization of the country. For this reason, they were always under observation by the police and the secret service.

The majority of the country's Catholics also lived in Gwangju at the time, and their role model was Kim Dae-jung, who had many conflicts with the government. This brought together the most diverse people and created perfect unity in this situation.

Major General Chun Doo-hwan was appointed president in February 1981 after Choi Kyu-ha resigned the previous year. Chun remained in office until 1988, during which time the results were processed and calm returned.

Kim Dae-jung became president in 1998 and remained in office until 2003.

During the days of the massacre, almost 3,500 people lost their lives. Today, the victims can be visited at the May 18th National Cemetery.