Gwangju City News

Reprinted with permission from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall Photographs courtesy of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall

Gwangju City Pays Respects to the May 18 Fallen

On May 11, about 80 city officials, city councilors, and heads of affiliated organizations, including Mayor Lee Yong Sup participated in cemetery visits. “In the wake of the designation of May 18 as a local holiday, we will enhance the will and spirit of the souls of all the fallen heroes who died protecting democracy in their hometown.” The Gwangju Metropolitan City delegation visited the May 18 National Cemetery and the original 5.18 Cemetery in Mangwol-dong ahead of the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement.

More than 80 people participated in the joint visit with Mayor Lee Yong Sup, including Gwangju City Council Chairman Kim Dong-chan, city officials, city council members, heads of construction companies, industrial complexes, investment and funding organizations, the chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, and other May 18 organizations (bereaved families, the wounded, and those formerly imprisoned). with flowers and incense burning, salutes, and a silent tribute. Then, the delegation visited the second cemetery to pay tribute to the May 18 patriots and democratic martyrs buried there. In particular on that day, to comfort the souls of the deceased, chrysanthemum flowers were placed on all the graves at the May 18 National Cemetery and 5.18 Cemetery in Mangwol-dong.

Mayor Lee Yong Sup stated, “When May arrives in Gwangju, the pain of countless citizens holding their tears in their hearts grows,” adding, “I hope that all Gwangju citizens will stop their daily routines for a day on May 18, which was designated as a local public holiday, and remember the pain and the sacrifice of our city’s martyrs.”

“Today, the full committee of the May 18 Democratic Movement Fact-Finding Committee gathers as well as the former Jeonil Building 245, which will be reopened after four years and four months,” the mayor added. “We will do our best to make this 40th anniversary a gathering of the citizens’ will and determination to find out the truth about May 18 and then nationalizing and globalizing it.”

Remembrances of May 18 Bring Tears to Citizenry from Seoul to Jeju

The first May 18 special exhibition was held in Seoul under the title “When That Day in May Returns.” The opening ceremony was held on May 12 with displays of materials from 1980, including the World Heritage May 18 archival record.

On May 19, a special exhibition was opened on Jeju Island under the theme “May 18th Nationalization and Globalization Movement.” At the opening, Mayor Lee Yong Sup said, “It is an important opportunity to take a step closer to the truth of May 18.”

Another special exhibition which was held for the first time by state agencies to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement opened in Seoul. This exhibition is of an event that spans the entire country from Gwanghwa-mun to Jeju, while Gwangju Metropolitan City is promoting the nationalization and globalization of the May 18 Movement in celebration of its 40th anniversary, aiming to be a great help in identifying the truth behind the incident in May of 1980.

On May 12 at the Seoul Museum of History, a ceremony for the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement was held under the title of “When That Day in May Returns,” which was attended by Gwangju’s Mayor Lee Yong Sup, Director of the National Archives Lee So-yeon, Director of the Korean History Museum Joo Jin-oh, Seoul Superintendent of Education Jo Heeyeon, Superintendent of Gwangju City Jang Hui-guk, Chairman of the Center for Korean Studies Ahn Byeongwook, and President of the National Institute of Korean Studies Byung-wook Ahn.

The special exhibition was co-hosted by state agencies including the National Archives and the Korean Museum of History, and regional organizations such as the 5.18 Archives, the May 18 Memorial Foundation, and the 5.18 Research Institute of Chonnam National University.

Mayor Lee speaks at the opening of the Special Exhibition Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of May 18.

by citizens, and various physical materials that had been exhibited only at the 5.18 Archives, were displayed for the first time in Seoul. The materials are being displayed in the exhibition halls, corridors, and yards on the 1st and 3rd floors of the Korean History Museum; admission is free.

The special exhibition in Jeju marking the 40th anniversary of May 18 was opened on April 19 at the Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation, and a special opening ceremony was held at the May 18 Archives on the 27th.

The special exhibitions are meant to serve as an opportunity to accurately disclose the truth of the May 18 Democratic Movement, as 40 years have passed since then, but still many people do not know the truth or accept distorted information.

The exhibition included records of the May 18 Democratization Movement, which became a listing in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme in 2011, as well as materials displayed in the permanent exhibition room of the May 18 Archives and other originals that have been collected over time.

The exhibition was divided into four areas: • Government records kept by the National Archives. • Situation logs, passbooks, military uniforms, and boots of martial law troops, and crowd-control batons supplied by the Ministry of National Defense and Gwangju Dong-gu Office. • Japanese printmaker Taiko Tomiyama’s May 18 work produced in 1980. • Documents and materials made by citizens at the time. hope that the tears of the citizens of Gwangju at the time could be shared so that the history of Gwangju can be properly recognized.”

Joo Jin-oh, Director of the Korean History Museum, said, “May 18 is part of the history of Gwangju and the history of the Republic of Korea, and its spirit must be acknowledged around the world. Through this Seoul exhibition, I

Mayor Lee Yong Sup said, “May 18 is not just part of the history of Gwangju but a proud history that people all over the world should inherit and develop together. It is a milestone in democracy, human rights, and peace.” He emphasized, “This special exhibition is co-hosted by the National Archives of Korea and the Korean History Museum and is an important opportunity for the nationalization and globalization of May 18.”

“History has potency when it is remembered and recorded correctly,” he continued. “I hope it will serve as an opportunity for Seoul citizens to take a step closer to the truth of May 18 through the records of those who experienced, witnessed, and tried to tell the truth of May forty years ago, and the records of martial law forces and the government that suppressed them.”