The Gwangju Uprising of May 1980 is credited with igniting the spark for democracy in South Korea. After an assassination and military coup in December 1979, civil unrest was widespread, especially on college campuses. In Gwangju the following May, students planned a nonviolent protest against the military dictatorship. It responded with violence, opening fire, beating and killing hundreds to thousands of Gwangju residents (reports on the number of casualties vary).

In an effort to teach young Koreans living outside their ancestral home about the nation’s history of struggle for democracy, the May 18 Memorial Foundation (www.518.org) sponsors an annual 10-day trip to South Korea. The Exploration Program of Democratic Scenes for Second Generation Overseas brings together approximately 20 young adults from all over the globe for an educational and poignant tour of South Korea.

Last July, 17 mostly second-generation Koreans from the United States, Japan, Germany and Australia visited the historic sites of demonstrations, such as the Myeongdong Cathedral and Jeonnam University, in Gwangju, as part of the May 18 Memorial Foundation’s tour. They also met parents of students who perished during the clash and learned about other rebellions in Korea’s history, such as the Donghak farmer’s uprising of 1862.

Among the 17 were three Korean Americans from Los Angeles: David Roh, Rhey Lee and Grace Chee.

Finding Out The Truth About The Smurfs
> By David Roh

According to fellow May 18 tour participant Kelvin Park, who spent the bulk of his childhood in Korea, "The Smurfs" was taken off the air and temporarily banned because it was deemed communist propaganda. One year he was merrily sharing in the Smurfin’ adventures of the tiny commune and the next year they had disappeared. Gone, without a trace. All he had left were apocryphal memories and the remnants of vague, slightly disturbing notions of a budding attraction to Smurfette.

Tour members listen to a guide at the May 18 Cemetery, where those who perished during the uprising are buried under the mounds.

Such was the censoring power of the Korean government, and it was not shy about exercising it. While the Smurf anecdote may not stand up to scrutiny, it wouldn’t be a great shock if it turned out to be true. The Korean government has a long and ignoble history of censoring the press and spreading disinformation and propaganda.

The Chun Doo Hwan dictatorship was no exception. On May 18, 1980, the city of Gwangju exploded into a furious demonstration against the oppressive regime. Years of systematic repression by Chun’s predecessor, Park Chung Hee, had bestowed upon Chun years of resentment and frustration by the disenfranchised. What started out as a student protest soon sparked into a wild conflagration that spread rapidly throughout Gwangju. With South Korea under martial law, Chun ordered the military to suppress the protestors and tightened control of the press.

Instead of the truth disseminating to the rest of South Korea, the citizens of Gwangju stared incredulously as newspaper headlines grossly misrepresented the facts. Surrounded by bloody, bullet-riddled bodies of students, innocent bystanders and dissenters, they watched in disbelief as the local MBC News station broadcasted government propaganda that glossed over the uprising. Furious, protestors burned the MBC station to a crisp.