Exhibition honors German journalist who documented Gwangju Massacre
German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter documents pro-democracy rallies in Gwangju in May 1980 / Korea Times file
Rare photos, video tapes, personal items of Jürgen Hinzpeter on display
A special exhibition honoring the late German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter (1937-2016) will open in Gwangju on Thursday, marking the 10th anniversary of his passing.
Titled "Records Live On — The Blue-Eyed Witness, Hinzpeter's Legacy," the exhibition will run through March 28, 2027, at the former South Jeolla Provincial Office. The event is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Restoration Project Team and the May 18 Memorial Foundation.
Hinzpeter is widely remembered in Korea and abroad as the real-life foreign correspondent portrayed in the hit 2017 feature film "A Taxi Driver." In May 1980, Korea's military dictatorship unleashed a violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in the southwestern city — an uprising now remembered as the Gwangju Massacre.
As martial law authorities surrounded the city, cut off communications and enforced a strict media blackout while troops killed hundreds of innocent citizens, Hinzpeter risked his life to sneak past military checkpoints into the blockaded city. His haunting video footage and photography provided the global community with its first undeniable visual evidence of the atrocities, effectively shattering the regime's official state propaganda.
The upcoming exhibition is organized into three comprehensive sections.
Part 1, titled "Reviving May," details his high-risk journey into Gwangju alongside his original photo albums, broadcast footage, travel expense receipts and reconstructed route maps. Part 2, "Viewing the World," broadens the focus to showcase his lifelong reporting career across various global conflict zones. This section includes a meticulous recreation of his personal workspace featuring his original passport, reporting notebooks, typewriter, video tapes and personal book collection.
Part 3, "Connecting May," examines his enduring journalistic legacy through his personal awards and commemorative materials related to the Hinzpeter International News Awards.
Following the exhibition’s opening ceremony, the 2026 Hinzpeter International News Award ceremony will take place in the conference room of the former provincial office.
Alongside the opening, an academic forum titled "Citizens' Participation, Continuing Democracy" will be held at Jeonil Building 245. Scholars and researchers will gather to discuss the intangible heritage value of the 1980 pro-democracy movement, emphasizing civic solidarity and exploring practical ways to pass these democratic ideals down to future generations, according to the ministry.
"This special exhibition and academic forum will offer a vital opportunity to reflect on the historical power of record-keeping and to shine a renewed light on the democratic values defended by citizens," an official from the restoration team said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.