The May 18 Gwangju democratic uprising

Demonstrators gather in central Gwangju
Demonstrators gather in central Gwangju

A detailed account of the May 18 popular uprising in Gwangju, South Korea, against the dictatorship's declaration of martial law and for workers' rights in 1980.

Submitted by Steven. on November 2, 2016

The text is by the official May 18 History Compilation Committee of Gwangju, and so has an overall liberal, social democratic bent (albeit one which acknowledges the legitimacy of armed resistance) but it does contain lots of useful factual information about the uprising.

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Dan Radnika

7 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Dan Radnika on January 5, 2017

It's also worth taking a look at the novel which is a fictionalised account of some of the Gwangju events: "Human Acts" by Han Kang.

Again, it's rather liberal. It's mostly focused on how horrible the mass murder and torture carried out by the state was - which I don't doubt! - rather than the nature of the uprising itself.

Steven.

7 years 2 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Steven. on January 5, 2017

Dan Radnika

It's also worth taking a look at the novel which is a fictionalised account of some of the Gwangju events: "Human Acts" by Han Kang.

Again, it's rather liberal. It's mostly focused on how horrible the mass murder and torture carried out by the state was - which I don't doubt! - rather than the nature of the uprising itself.

that's true, but the book is absolutely amazing. My favourite chapter is from the perspective of a prisoner, and in it he also describes the mood of the people on the streets, which was really powerful stuff

wojtek

3 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by wojtek on May 18, 2020

Gwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age
Lee Jae-eui

A translation of a written account of the 1980 uprising:
http://eng.518.org/mod/board/boardDownload.php?fileIdx=583&PID=0401&SEQ=13