History Will Shine The Way Forward!

This year marks the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju People's Uprising. The history of the uprising against the violence and oppression of the Chun Doo-hwan military dictatorship to protect democracy still resonates with us 42 years later. The International Strategy Center also held a Korean modern history seminar to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju People’s Uprising and traveled to Gwangju. While studying the history of the uprising, we could learn that the rights we enjoy today were not given, but earned by the struggle of the people.

Unlike 1980, there is no dictatorship now, and the army’s guns do not aim at people. But we still have a lot of challenges left in front of us. The full truth about the May 18 Gwangju People’s  Uprising is not over, and the fight against the forces trying to regress the values of democracy that the Gwangju people were willing to protect with their lives is not over yet. Elsewhere in the world, there are countries where military dictatorships use violence against the people and the threat of war becomes a daily thing, even the lives are lost on the battlefield. We have a task ahead of us to make a difference through the struggle of the people against these violence and oppression, and in the solidarity of the people of each country.

The International Strategy Center will contemplate, find, and act on what we can do together domestically and internationally remembering the legacy of the May 18 Gwangju People’s Uprising, which marks its 42nd anniversary. Please join us on the road!

English translation by Song, Dae-Han (Networking Team)

For May, we invited Park Kyeong-seok of Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination to talk about the recent subway protests and South Korea’s 20 year disabled people’s movement for disability rights. 

“About a hundred disabled people tried to get on a subway at 7 AM, and it created an uproar. Because we were holding up the rush hour commute, all manner of insults were hurled at us and the police even tried to block us and there were even instances of violence. If we’d simply gotten on in the afternoon, there wouldn’t have been any problem. But, getting on during rush hour flipped Korean society upside down. We witnessed how when a disabled person died while taking public transportation alongside non-disabled people, society carried on. But, when disabled people tried to get on public transportation during rush-hour, society flipped upside down. So, mustering the courage to flip Korean society upside down, we decided to get on the subway everyday during rush-hour.” 

May 18th Gwangju People’s Uprising:

The Fight for Democracy

To commemorate the 42nd anniversary of May 18th Gwangju People's Uprising, the ISC went on a Gwangju historical trip on the 14th and 15th of May. It was to remember those who fought for democracy and continue the history and think about what we can do today.