The 40th anniversary of a relatively unknown massacre
Some of the events in our planet's history are indelibly etched in our minds because of an image or images.
That is from April 30, 1975. This is a photo of Vietnamese refugees being evacuated from Saigon as the city fell to what was then known as North Vietnam. The building is often misidentified as the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. In fact, it was the roof of an apartment complex that housed personnel from the United States Agency for International Development.
We all remember this one. One student, never identified, stops a column of tanks advancing on protesters in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 protests there.
But this photo won't jog your memory. It is from May of 1980. It shows South Korean soldiers beating a protester in the city of Gwangju (we knew it as Kwang-Ju when I was stationed there in 1984/85).
To fully understand what transpired, it is necessary to go back to the time a few months before the Gwangju Uprising. On 10/26/1979, South Korea's President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the Director of the KCIA. Less than two months later, a Korean major-general named Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup. On May 17, 1980, President Chun expanded martial-law to the entire nation. The protests in Gwangju began on May 18, 1980 and the uprising lasted through May 27, 1980. Just prior to this, the government arrested and imprisoned 26 dissident politicians. Among them was Kim Dae-Jung, who would go on to a major role many years later.
Chonnam National University in Gwangju was where the uprising began. Students gathered at its gates to protest the closing of the university by the government (Reporter's note: In March of 1985 I was present outside that university's gates when I saw riot police using tear gas to break up a peaceful demonstration. My friend and I were gassed when we got too close, trying to take pictures. My photos of the demonstration and the riot police breaking it up disappeared from the photo lab in the small village outside the gates of the U.S. Air Force Base where I was stationed. When I asked the owner of the lab what had happened to some of my photos and negatives he just shrugged).
By May 21st the demonstrators had seized control of the large city and the military/police forces had withdrawn, setting up a blockade around the city. May 26th found the military ready to retake the city, reinforced by military forces that had been withdrawn from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North Korea and South Korea.
Those forces entered Gwangju on May 27th and soon after had control of the city. How many died? An "official" report from the Chun government placed the death toll at 170. 144 demonstrators, 22 troops and 4 police officers. It should be noted that there are reports that soldiers killed police officers for having the temerity to release demonstrators.
The death toll is probably much higher. Based on average death numbers there were over 2,000 more deaths in Gwangju during this time than was usual. I've talked to survivors who said that hundreds and hundreds were killed. Most estimates place the actual number of dead somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000.
Why is this event relatively unknown? Tomorrow we will examine that question and whether or not the U.S. was involved in the decision to crush this rebellion, even though it began with the killing of unarmed demonstrators.
To fully understand what transpired, it is necessary to go back to the time a few months before the Gwangju Uprising. On 10/26/1979, South Korea's President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the Director of the KCIA. Less than two months later, a Korean major-general named Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup. On May 17, 1980, President Chun expanded martial-law to the entire nation. The protests in Gwangju began on May 18, 1980 and the uprising lasted through May 27, 1980. Just prior to this, the government arrested and imprisoned 26 dissident politicians. Among them was Kim Dae-Jung, who would go on to a major role many years later.
Chonnam National University in Gwangju was where the uprising began. Students gathered at its gates to protest the closing of the university by the government (Reporter's note: In March of 1985 I was present outside that university's gates when I saw riot police using tear gas to break up a peaceful demonstration. My friend and I were gassed when we got too close, trying to take pictures. My photos of the demonstration and the riot police breaking it up disappeared from the photo lab in the small village outside the gates of the U.S. Air Force Base where I was stationed. When I asked the owner of the lab what had happened to some of my photos and negatives he just shrugged).
By May 21st the demonstrators had seized control of the large city and the military/police forces had withdrawn, setting up a blockade around the city. May 26th found the military ready to retake the city, reinforced by military forces that had been withdrawn from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North Korea and South Korea.
Those forces entered Gwangju on May 27th and soon after had control of the city. How many died? An "official" report from the Chun government placed the death toll at 170. 144 demonstrators, 22 troops and 4 police officers. It should be noted that there are reports that soldiers killed police officers for having the temerity to release demonstrators.
The death toll is probably much higher. Based on average death numbers there were over 2,000 more deaths in Gwangju during this time than was usual. I've talked to survivors who said that hundreds and hundreds were killed. Most estimates place the actual number of dead somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000.
Why is this event relatively unknown? Tomorrow we will examine that question and whether or not the U.S. was involved in the decision to crush this rebellion, even though it began with the killing of unarmed demonstrators.
posted by me at 7:05 AM
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