Gwangju, South Korea: Slice Me | Rating: 4.5 #pizza #gwangju https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=35.14974729999999%2C126.9236273&query_place_id=ChIJt6IMaZCMcTURgS-3OcJPuBc

@koreapro or perhaps they'll turn over the guys who walked around after the #gwangju #massacre looking for wounded to finish off with pistol shots to the head. Like 19 year old Kim Jong-Yeon.

https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1092181.html

Today in Labor History May 18, 1991: 200,000-400,000 people protested against the South Korean government on the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising. 100,000 demonstrated in Gwangju. Parts of Seoul were completely paralyzed. Protesters were demanding the resignation of former President Roh Tae Woo. In Seoul, Lee Jon Soon set herself on fire and screamed “Down with Roh Tae Woo,” with her clothes in flames. And a labor activist committed protest suicide by jumping from a roof. Bands of students battled the cops with stones and firebombs.

The demonstrations were part of a wave of protests that began on April 26, after riot cops clubbed a college student to death. During the weeks of demonstrations, five other protesters set themselves on fire. Four of them died. Lee’s death was the eighth since the protests began.

Roh Tae-woo was a former general. He was part of a secret military group that supported the coup that brought on the Chun dictatorship. He also helped in the violent suppression of the Gwangju Uprising. In 1987, Chun named Roh as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Justice Party, essentially handing him the presidency. This triggered a wave of pro-democracy protests. In response, Roh promised reforms and narrowly won the election as the country’s first “cleanly” elected president.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #students #union #korea #PoliceBrutality #PoliceMurder #police #acab #gwangju #uprising

Today in Labor History May 18, 1980: Koreans rose up in Gwangju against the repressive U.S.-supported government. The uprising lasted from May 18 to May 27. According to official reports, 165 civilians were killed and 3,515 were injured in the uprising. 37 soldiers and 4 cops were killed and 253 were injured. Another 14 soldiers died from “friendly” fire. However, Gwangju’s death records for May of 1980 were 2,300 above normal. Many believe the actual death toll from the uprising is closer to 2,000. In addition to the casualties from the uprising, nearly 1,400 people were arrested and 7 were given death sentences. 12 were sentenced to life in prison.

The background for the uprising is complex. However, the country had been living under the 18-year dictatorship of Park Chun-hee, who was assassinated on October 26, 1979. A series of pro-democracy demonstrations developed in the wake of his death. But on December 12, Chun Doo-hwan led a military coup in order to quell the protests. He did not officially take over as “president” until after the Gwangju Uprising. But he was acting as the de facto ruler and the country was still under martial law from the coup.

In March, protests picked up again. People wanted democratization, human rights, minimum wage increases, freedom of the press, and an end to martial law. On May 15, 100,000 people demonstrated at Seoul Station. Chun Doo-hwan responded by extending martial law to the entire nation, closing the universities, banning all political activities and further curtailing the press. Furthermore, he dispatched troops throughout the country to suppress any potential demonstrations.

On May 18, students demonstrated at Chonnam University in defiance of its closing. At first, there were only 30 paratroopers and hundreds of students. They started to clash. By afternoon, at least 2,000 people had joined the protest. The government sent in hundreds of troops. Soldiers started to club demonstrators and onlookers. They attacked with bayonets and raped people, and they beat a deaf man to death. Outraged, the number of protesters swelled to over 10,000. Street battles continued for days, climaxing on May 21, when soldiers fired into a crowd of protesters. In response, citizens took up arms by robbing local armories and police stations, arming themselves with M1 rifles and carbines. By afternoon, there were bloody gunfights between ad hoc civilian militias and the army. By 5:30, the citizens militias had obtained two machine guns and used them, forcing the army to retreat.

The troops retreated to the suburbs to await reinforcements. However, they also blocked all routes and communications leading into and out of the city. Meanwhile, inside of Liberated Gwangju, the Citizens’ Settlement Committee negotiated with the army, demanding the release of arrested citizens, compensation for the victims, and a prohibition of retaliation in exchange for disarming themselves. The army demanded immediate surrender and some in the committee were willing to give it to them. But those who wanted to resist until their demands were met took control of the committee.

On May 27, at 4 am, troops from five divisions moved on the protesters and defeated the civilian militias within 90 minutes.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #students #unions #korea #dictatorship #gwangju #massacre #uprising

If such an investigation were to take place it would have to look in to the US embassy, the US state department and the whitehouse.

Jimmy Carter, General Wickham, Ambassador Gleysteen, and leading figures in the US defence and policy establishment would have to be investigated.

Not to mention many leading figures in the US Imperial Army in Korea (ROKA).

#korea #gwangju #democracy

In rare instances when the liberal press in western countries report on the topic in depth, it's usually pearl clutching around censorship (of massacre denialists).

Never calls for thorough criminal investigations with the power to impose prison sentences.

Not a single murderer is in prison. Those who yet live are all at large in korea and the united states.

#korea #gwangju #democracy

NYT article reproduced in asian press to avoid paywall:

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/historical-distortions-test-south-koreas-commitment-to-free-speech-7411472/

Right wing politics in korea is rife with gwangju massacre denialism:

#korea #gwangju #democracy

https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190220000684

#korea 12 years ago. president yoon was defending the US-backed military dictator who orchestrated the massacre (which had been approved by president Carter).

Even as yoon was forced to apologized, he mocked the korean people.

#gwangju #democracy

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20211110003200315

#korea #gwangju #democracy

Investigations reveal the units, under the command of US 4-star general John Adams Wickham, carried on after the massacre finishing off the wounded and disposing of their bodies.

https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1092181.html

@koreatimescokr RT by @JessiePang0125: Imprisoned Hong Kong #activist wins #Gwangju Prize for #HumanRights https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2023/05/135_350250.html https://nitter.hongkongers.net/koreatimescokr/status/1653580133289295876#m

A Taxi Driver (2017)

In 1980, a foreign journalist hires a down-on-his-luck #taxidriver to take him to #Gwangju, South Korea. They soon arrive to find a city under siege by student protesters and the military. #GwangjuUprising

> #Carter’s envoy in South Korea, #WilliamGleysteen, had given advance approval to his plans to use military force against the students and workers swarming the streets in the spring of 1980..#ThePentagon and the #StateDepartment were well aware that #KoreanSpecialForces, trained to fight behind the lines in #NorthKorea, were being deployed to #Gwangju and other cities as planning for the #May18 coup proceeded.. a betrayal of the Korean people..a decision to support the military security forces.

> The idea of the “#GwangjuCommune” is so popular that the city also gave an honorary citizenship to #GeorgeKatsiaficas, an American academic who has written two books about the impact of #Gwangju on #AsianSocialMovements... The Kwangju Democratization Movement went down as an inspiring moment for human freedom and dignity not only in Korea’s national history but also in the world’s.

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/kwangju-uprising-and-american-hypocrisy-one-reporters-quest-truth-and-justice-korea/
#TimShorrock #GwangjuUprising #GwangjuRebellion

> .. the last voices of the city’s rebels had been stilled on May 27, 1980, by a #KoreanArmy division dispatched from the #DMZ marking the border with #NorthKorea. They were sent with the approval of the US commander of the #USKorea Joint Command, Gen. #JohnWickham.
That decision, made at the highest levels of the US government, forever stained the relationship between the United States and the South. For the people of #Gwangju.. it was a deep betrayal that they’ve never forgotten.

@kripfeifer thanks!

if you search #gwangju tag you'll find it's not only history. Victims are still dealing with blame and stigma.

Chun Doo-Hwan recently died a free man, very wealthy. I've seen his huge estate and mansion in seoul, left to his kids, the proceeds of his crimes.

#Biden carefully timed his 2022 visit to Korea to avoid being here on the 5/18 anniversary.

It would mean a great deal to Carter's victims if a US president would make even the slightest gesture of recognition.

#korea #jimmycarter #gwangju

David Dollinger, the only US citizen present with the gwangju citizens during the massacre was forced to resign from a thing called "the peace corps" for speaking up about what he saw...

#korea #jimmycarter #gwangju ibid

Korean woman, apoplectic with grief over the slaughter of a loved one.

#korea #jimmycarter #gwangju ibid

"Gwangju’s hopes for US assistance were raised when people in the city heard reports that a US aircraft carrier had been deployed to Korean waters."

However, "The Carter administration had already decided their fate [annihilation] in the meeting on May 22. "

#korea #jimmycarter #gwangju ibid

“The citizens of Gwangju felt completely betrayed by the US government and believed that US statements about human rights only extended to the right kind of people and not to them.”

#korea #jimmycarter #gwangju ibid

"For three days, Chun’s paratroopers had used boots, clubs, bayonets, and even flamethrowers to terrorize the city, filling the morgues with the dead and overwhelming the hospitals with bodies ripped apart by the violence. Angered and shocked beyond measure, the people, led at first by young students and joined by taxi drivers, bus drivers, shopkeepers, gangsters, and prostitutes, fought back with vehicles and their own handmade weapons."