Lest We Should Forget
By Chris Green
The recent release of a Korean movie, ``May 18,’’ serves as a timely reminder of some things that are easily forgotten as we rush through our modern Korean lives.
This movie recalls the events of May 1980, when the people of the southwestern city of Gwangju rose up against the oppressive rule of the military government led by General Chun Doo-hwan.
Among the events that surrounded May 18 somewhere between two hundred and a few thousand people were shot and killed by soldiers loyal to Chun.
The actions of the heroic people of Gwangju against Chun’s insidious dictatorial rule, though it persisted in a repressive form for more than half a decade, were presumed to have begun the slow death of military dictatorship in South Korea, and set the country on the long road to a functioning democracy.
The Gwangju Uprising, as it is known, really was that important.
This movie thus follows a rich tradition of films which serve as potent reminders that Korea’s history of bloodshed is long, and it does not begin and end with the Korean War. However the most impressive offerings have been made in recent times, under a more liberal artistic regime.
``Shilmido’’ is one example, while ``The President’s Last Bang’’ stirred up a great deal of controversy with its censored attempt to include footage of the funeral of former President Park Chung-hee.
There are many things to be learned from enjoying the back catalogue of Korea’s highly talented directors. First, they serve to remind us that when the Dec. 19 presidential election is completed it will represent only the fifth peaceful transfer of power in South Korean history.
This is a short democratic history, which is impossible to easily comprehend when we look around at the rapid development that continues to occur across the Korean Peninsula, especially in the main cities.
Of course we might also feel a little surprise that Park Geun-hye, daughter of Park Chung-hee, is hoping to win the election! Such is the nature of divided opinion regarding the first President Park’s reign; ``The President’s Last Bang’’ is a great movie, but it isn’t the only view of that part of Korea history that is on offer to us.
Another interesting issue, which is Anti-American sentiment in South Korea, can also be more easily understood after pondering the events of May 18.
Bruce Cumings, a historian and professor at the University of Chicago, made remarks to the BBC on May 18, 2005 (https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4557315.stm).
He said,``The U.S. had been supporting Park Chung-hee since [he took power] in 1961, and it did nothing as Chun Doo-hwan seized power. It was as plain as the nose on anyone's face that the U.S. was supporting Park Chung-hee and then his protege, and it was much more worried about stability and North Korea than it was about democracy in the South.”
Therefore when it is wondered why the forces of the U.S., apparently simple liberators of the South Korea people in 1953, are not popular among younger Koreans then a short look at the lack of bona fide support the people of Gwangju received as they faced the tanks and guns of Chun’s military, can give a deeper insight.
In conclusion, when people of other nations take the big leap into the unknown to understand what Korea represents, and then promptly avoid the wealth of opportunities to understand the Land of the Morning Calm that are available in the DVD room and at the movie theater, it is a really unfortunate situation.
Korea is blessed with a rich history and some fabulously talented directors, not to mention actors and actresses, and to miss witnessing them is to miss out on something truly special.
greenman.the@gmail.com
The writer has an MA in international studies (Asia-Pacific region). He also wrote an MA thesis on the subject of inter-Korean relations under former President Kim Dae-jung’s ``Sunshine Policy.’’