The Gwangju Uprising
Citizens of Gwangju rise against a new military junta; paratroopers crush them, killing hundreds.
- Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising — Linda S. Lewis, University of Hawai'i Press (2002)
- Asia's Unknown Uprisings, Volume 1: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century — George Katsiaficas, PM Press (2012)
- The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History — Don Oberdorfer and Robert Carlin, Basic Books (2014)
After Park Chung-hee’s assassination, hopes for democracy rose in the “Seoul Spring”. But General Chun Doo-hwan seized control of the army in December 1979 and on 17 May 1980 extended martial law and arrested opposition leaders, including Kim Dae-jung, whose home region was the south-west.
- Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising — Linda S. Lewis, University of Hawai'i Press (2002)
- The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History — Don Oberdorfer and Robert Carlin, Basic Books (2014)
In Gwangju, students protested the next day, and special forces paratroopers attacked them and bystanders with clubs and bayonets. Outraged citizens joined in, seized weapons and drove the troops out of the city, which ran itself for several days through citizens’ committees. On 27 May the army retook Gwangju. Official tallies of the civilians killed range from about 150 to about 200, with dozens more missing; many in Gwangju believe the real toll was higher.
- Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising — Linda S. Lewis, University of Hawai'i Press (2002)
- Asia's Unknown Uprisings, Volume 1: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century — George Katsiaficas, PM Press (2012)
A heroic citizens' uprising for democracy, brutally suppressed by Chun Doo-hwan's soldiers, whose leaders were later convicted. The state formally recognises it as a democratisation movement.
- Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising — Linda S. Lewis, University of Hawai'i Press (2002)
- Asia's Unknown Uprisings, Volume 1: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century — George Katsiaficas, PM Press (2012)
At the time, Chun's regime called it a riot stirred up by communists and impure elements. That account has been thoroughly discredited, but echoes of it survive on the political fringe.
- Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising — Linda S. Lewis, University of Hawai'i Press (2002)
Why it matters today
Gwangju is the sacred wound of South Korean democracy. The 18 May anniversary is a national day of commemoration, and attitudes to Gwangju still divide progressives and some on the far right, who have spread conspiracy theories about North Korean involvement. Many Koreans also ask why the United States, which held operational command of Korean forces, did not stop the killing.