Yoon Sang-won and Gwangju May 18 Uprising

By Kim Jin-hyun

We will leave no honors, no love, no fame.

We promised to keep working on, long as we shall live

streams and mountains remember though the years pass by . . . . .

This song titled "Marching for our Beloved" was written by Baek Gi-wan, and translated by Robert Grotjohn. It was made in memory of Sang-won and Park Gi-sun' marriage. It also became a symbolic song for the May 18 Gwangju Uprising.

Yoon was killed by martial law forces, working as one of leaders during the uprising. Meanwhile, Park passed away because of poisonous gas, while teaching factory workers at night around poor villages in Gwangju in 1978.

On May 18, 1980, students of Chonnam University, shouting "Show a scenario for democratic government. Soldiers controlled by political commanders, return to your army post," protested against soldiers equipped with bayonet-mounted guns and clubs at the entrance of the campus. The students were ruthlessly attacked.

Three days later, hundreds of thousands of citizens and students protested against the soldiers around the office of South Jeolla Province, shouting "Chun Doo-whan, chief of the martial forces, apologize for the atrocities. Make a plan for a democratic government." Without warning, they fired indiscriminately at the citizens, regardless of onlookers, women and the elderly.

Angry citizens, capturing arms around the region, confronted the soldiers. After retreating from around the office, the soldiers built battle stations around the border of Gwangju and shot anyone crossing the line, blocking every road linking the city. As a result, from May 22-26, numerous citizens in Gwangju were killed trying to escape or enter the city.

The city was in complete panic. While staying in my room for five days as a college student, the firing of gunships forced me to live in horror. My neighbors' wailing was constant. One day, while participating at a funeral service, I heard a doctor's soliloquy that citizens being shot by Korean soldiers was disgraceful for our country.

Media outlets hadn't reported what was happening in Gwangju. Resentful citizens burnt down public institutions such as the television networks and tax offices. Thus, Sang-won and his friends, after organizing a control tower, made leaflets describing the misery caused by the soldiers and dropped them around the city. Citizens believed the news, kept order and shared food with each other.

On May 23, Sang-won and his colleagues visited the office controlled by the armed citizens and suggested a new alternative for fighting. He was treated as a real leader. Sang-won guarded the office with them. Not long after, his colleagues suggested an unconditional surrender, but he sternly rejected the idea. He believed the soldiers were simply being controlled by unjust commanders.

When he heard that the martial forces would attack the office, he said, "Anyone who wishes to surrender may put his arms here and go back home." He ordered high school students to leave the office and become witnesses of history. He said goodbye at dawn on May 27. His was 31 years old.

The uprising in Gwangju consisted of citizens struggling against the soldiers because they objected to the establishment of a democratic government. In order to maintain power, many citizens of Gwangju were killed relentlessly.

The citizens sacrificed their lives to achieve a democratic life. Sang-won also expressed his will using his life, because he had recognized the citizens' spirit. Therefore, May 18 symbolizes the flame of the democratic spirit. It stays alive in our minds forever.

The writer is an English teacher at Yeosu School in South Jeolla Province. His email address is shinykim60@hanmail.net.