Gwangju Uprising

The Gwangju Democratization Movement was a series of student-led protests in South Korea. These events took place in the city of Gwangju during May 1980. The movement was a response to the military coup led by Chun Doo-hwan. This coup resulted in the installation of a military dictatorship. Chun Doo-hwan implemented martial law across the entire country. Martial law is a system where the military takes control of government functions. Under this rule, the government closed universities and banned political activities. The press was also heavily suppressed to control information.

The political instability began after the assassination of President Park Chung Hee in 1979. His 18-year rule ended abruptly, creating a power vacuum. Chun Doo-hwan, who led the Defense Security Command, seized control of the military. He used a coup d'état to take power in December 1979. By March 1980, students and professors began forming unions to demand democratization. They fought for human rights, labor rights, and free elections. On May 15, 1980, about 100,000 protesters demonstrated at Seoul Station. This large event pressured the government to consider their many demands.

On May 17, Chun Doo-hwan forced the Cabinet to extend martial law nationwide. The military began arresting opposition leaders, including Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. The government also closed all universities to prevent further protests. In Gwangju, the provincial capital of South Jeolla Province, tensions were very high. The Jeolla region had a history of political dissent and activism. It had also faced economic neglect compared to the Gyeongsang Province. This background made Gwangju a central location for the pro-democracy movement.

The uprising officially began on the morning of May 18, 1980. About 200 students gathered at the gates of Chonnam National University. They were protesting the closure of their school. Paratroopers from the Republic of Korea Special Warfare Command arrived to stop them. These soldiers used extreme violence, including clubs and bayonets, against students and bystanders. The first known fatality was a 29-year-old deaf man named Kim Gyeong-cheol. This brutal suppression caused the number of protesters to grow rapidly. By May 20, more than 10,000 people were participating in the demonstrations.

As the violence escalated, different groups of citizens joined the fight. On May 20, hundreds of taxi drivers led a parade of vehicles to the Provincial Office. They did this to show support for the protesters. The military responded by firing tear gas and beating the drivers. In response to the army's actions, some citizens formed civilian militias. They raided police stations and armories to obtain M1 rifles and carbines. These militias managed to take control of large sections of the city. They even used light machine guns to force the army to retreat from downtown.

The military eventually responded with a massive blockade of Gwangju. They cut off all communication and blocked all routes into the city. Reinforcements arrived from several different military divisions and brigades. During this period, the military committed many atrocities against the citizens. On May 23, soldiers fired at a bus, killing 15 of its 18 passengers. On May 24, two teenage boys were killed while attempting to swim across a reservoir. The military also suffered losses during the chaos. In one instance, two different units mistakenly fired at each other, killing 13 soldiers.

The scale of the loss of life remains a subject of study. While the government originally claimed 165 people died, modern scholars provide different figures. Current estimates suggest between 600 and 2,300 victims were killed in the massacre. In the years following the uprising, investigations confirmed the military's actions. In 1997, May 18 was established as a national day of commemoration. A national cemetery was also created for the victims. In 2011, the Gwangju Uprising documents were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.