How South Koreans Remember the May 18 Gwangju Uprising: Political Collisions Around Commemorative Practices in the 21st Century

Abstract

Since 1997, South Korea has annually held commemoration ceremonies for the victims of the Gwangju Uprising that unfolded in the capital of South Jeolla Province from May 18 to May 27, 1980. Beginning with peaceful demonstrations of Gwangju citizens against a state of emergency imposed across the country by the military regime of Chung Doo-hwan, the confrontation with the authorities turned into an armed clash with a regular army. Although the Gwangju Uprising was suppressed by the government, it had a huge impact on the further development of the democratization movement, which resulted in a peaceful transition from a military authoritarian regime to a democratic one in 1987. Maintaining the memory of the Gwangju Uprising is considered today a major state task, aimed at the formation of civil society institutions in South Korean society. However, different political groups have unambiguous views on May 18 Democratization Movement. The controversy between conservatives and liberal-progressive groups over the organization of the commemoration ceremonies of the Gwangju Uprising demonstrates different perceptions of the recent past, as well as how maintaining the memory of this past in proper form can influence the formation of national identity. If the political career of modern liberal-progressive politicians began with participation in the movement for democratization in the 1970s–1980s, then the conservatives are more connected with those parties and political forces that ruled in South Korea during the period of military authoritarianism. Revealing the truth about violations of civil rights and freedoms by the previous administrations is regarded by conservatives as a blow to their current reputation that can weaken their political position.