May 18 in Gwangju
A quarter of a century on, Koreans are remembering one of the ugliest episodes in their history.
In May 1980, hundreds of civilians were massacred by soldiers in the south-western city of
Kwangju after rising up against military rule.
Although it was brutally put down, the Kwangju Uprising is now seen by many as a pivotal moment in the South Korean struggle for democracy in the long period of dictatorship following the Korean war.
And some contend the uprising had important ramifications which are still being felt now, both inside
Korea and beyond its borders.
There is a sombre monument and museum dedicated to the massacre in
Kwangju , and the anniversary of the beginning of the siege on 18 May is now a public holiday in
Korea .
The
Kwangju Uprising lit the fuse of the dynamite stick of democracy.
- Hwang Sok-yong
Korean novelist and former dissident
Read more: http://518solidarity.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html
