Rewriting Rebellion and Mapping Memory in South Korea: The (Re)presentation of the 1980 Kwangju Uprising through Mangwol-dong Cemetery

Abstract

In May 1980, one of the most tragic events in the history of modern South Korea took place. This was the violent repression of civilian demonstrations in the south-western city of Kwangju, during which over 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded and tortured by the South Korean government of General Chun Doo Hwan. Now, over 20 years later, the uprising has taken on a new national significance and legitimacy and is being (re)interpreted as the major catalyst for democratic reform in South Korea. The recent 'official' reinterpretation of the uprising has meant that it has become the subject of extensive memorialisation by the Korean state. This paper looks at the process by which the Kwangju Uprising has become reinterpreted, memorialised and subsequently contested in the late 1990s in Kwangju city through a number of 'sites of memory' (memorial sites), including Mangwol-dong Cemetery, where the victims of the uprising are buried.