Kwangju Massacre Essay

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The Kwangju Massacre, also widely known as the Kwangju Democratic Uprising to those who support the movement played a significant role in the course of democratization of South Korea. This research paper focuses on why the Kwangju Uprising occurred and the role of the United States. Many South Koreans felt that the United States supported President Chun’s military government and outlook the injustice that was taking place in Kwangju. The Kwagju Massacre ended with the army seizing the Province hall once again on May 27th 1980. Even with the defeat, the Kwangju Uprising gave aspiration to the citizen that they are able to bring change in the government policies. Historical Background of the Uprising Korea gained independence from …show more content…

The community was wiling to help each other, from taxi drivers, the citizen themselves, everyone played an important part in the fight for their human rights and also for democracy. Many taxi drivers were onlookers as they traveled through the city. The taxi drivers took the injured to the hospitals but the troopers attacked them. The taxi and bus drivers retorted against the troops by gathering around 200 vehicles and drove it to the military cordons. As the violence continued, the citizen realized that they needed arms for protection. So, they took any arms and vehicle for protection and formed the Citizens’ Amry. The Citizens’ Army self governed the city during the uprising. Out of Kwangju, people were unaware of the violence that taking place. Any report on the kwangju uprising was banned from television, radio and newspaper. This led the citizens of Kwangju to establish their own broadcast media in order to spread the news on the uprising. The death troll of the massacre is still unknown. Although Kwangju Uprising is not known that much in the west, it still holds a key role in the relation between US and South …show more content…

Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 The May 18 Memorial Foundation. The May 18 Memorial Foundation, Aug.-Sept. 1994. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. . Steinberg, David I., and Donald N. Clark. "Review of The Kwangju Uprising: Shadows over the Regime in South Korea." The Journal of Asian Studies 47.3 (1988): 662-63. Print. "Background Notes: South Korea." U.S. Department of State. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. . Chŏng, Sang-yong, and Si-min Yu. Memories of May 1980: A Documentary History of the Kwangju Uprising in Korea. Seoul: Korea Democracy Foundation, 2003. Print. Katsiaficas, George. "Remembering the Kwangju Uprising." Socialism & Democracy. 14.1 (2000): 85-107.

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