news from korea, so I don't have to email everyone: Gwangju

My next stop was Gwangju, the site of the "Gwangju Democratization Movement" of 1980. At the time there was a military dictatorship in place and initially students gathered to protest the closing of the university. The military was called in and killed indiscriminately, children, elderly, disabled, protesters and bystanders alike. The first casualty was a deaf man who was attempting to pass through. Citizens raided an armory and for some time controlled the city, but were eventually defeated. The dead were loaded into garbage trucks and buried in unmarked graves. The protesters were labeled as communists by the government, but since then they have become heroes of democracy. I visited the cemetery where the victims were reburied.

I had conflicting emotions throughout. On the hand the place represented anger towards and remembrance of the violence of totalitarian rule. On the other hand the place represented a glorification of righteous rebellion and violence toward such rule, which made me equally sorrowful. If this had taken place in America, Hollywood would have long since jumped on this story. These statues look like they could be representing the American revolution.

Looks like a dangerous communist?

Most of the graves have photos with them, then there's this room where all the photos are on display. You can see a number of children on the walls. This room got me particularly choked up.

Elsewhere in the park were various reliefs representing Korean righteous rebellions throughout history. The last relief is different, in that it shows a future peaceful reunification with North Korea. The juxtaposition really muddied my understanding of what 'peace' actually means here.