[Subs] The 5.18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, where only the victims of 'Kokkomu' remain... "Gwangju in May that should never be forgotten"

Enlarging an image

Gwangju on that day in May, which should never be forgotten.

On the 19th, SBS 'The Story of Biting the Tail' (hereinafter 'Kkokomu'), lit up the 5.18 Gwangju Democratization Movement with the subtitle 'Don't Forget Me - When May Comes'.

On May 19, 1980, Gil-ja, an ordinary housewife, received a phone call from her son Jae-hak, a first-year high school student.

It's a friend's house, but he says he can't go home because he's scared and asks him to come pick him up.

At this, Gilja went to pick up his son in tabi feet, and on the street, Gilja was greatly surprised to see soldiers with guns.

He hurried back home with his son to avoid the soldiers who felt alive.

And that afternoon, the shocking news came.

It is said that a 29-year-old young man named Kim Kyung-cheol was killed by the soldiers.

In particular, he was shocked when it was found that he died after being assaulted by soldiers.

On the way to a meal with his co-workers, Mr. Kyung-cheol was beaten and beaten by soldiers.

But he was deaf and couldn't make any protests.

And there were many more people who suffered like Mr. Kyung-cheol.

It is said that Korean soldiers indiscriminately assaulted Korean people on the street in broad daylight.

And those who witnessed it at the time called it 'human hunting'.

This case is the 5.18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.

5.18 A few months ago, the 10.6 incident occurred.

With the death of President Park Chung-hee, soldiers took control of the country.

And the new military, led by Chun Doo-hwan, took over the real power due to the 12.12 Incident.

This led to protests across the country.

The university district was at the center of it, and the university district called for Chun Doo-hwan's resignation and the abolition of martial law.

However, the new military government expanded martial law under the pretext of a possible North Korean invasion.

As a result, many of the military units, which were supposed to be heading to the forefront, went to university districts, and all citizens stopped their political activities.

In the end, the demonstration went into a lull, but the heat did not subside in Gwangju Bay.

On May 18, an airborne unit was deployed to Gwangju to suppress the protest.

The protests resulted in bloody casualties.

And the citizens of Gwangju reacted even more strongly to this act, and tens of thousands of people of all ages ran out into the streets.

The protests were fierce, but the press was also suppressed, making Gwangju even more isolated.

Meanwhile, a bloody battle broke out between the martial law forces and civilians, and on May 21, the martial law forces indiscriminately massacred citizens with hundreds of bullets.

The martial law forces opened fire not only at the protesters but also at simple passersby.

At least 50 people died that day.

Why did the martial law army do that?

Choi Byung-moon, who was a paratrooper at the time.

Regarding the time, he said, "Now, back in the day, we were really bad. We did stupid things, but I didn't know at the time."

Regarding the indiscriminate massacre of citizens, he said, "I called it a Gwangju riot. They all perceived it as a mob just like the red gang," he said.

In fact, three months before entering Gwangju, the paratroopers provided mental training.

The superiors instilled in the troops that the demonstrators were gangsters and enemies, and the so-called loyalty training was also conducted separately.

The Chungjeong training was a training to hit people with a baton.

He trained intensively how to hit where and how to subdue them with one shot.

It was Chun Doo-hwan and Shin Gunbu who made this tragedy.

However, it was the citizens and the soldiers who actually fought.

The young Amons were seeing each other's blood.

Citizens, who could no longer stand still, resisted with force to force Gwangju to come.

Citizens gave enthusiastic applause to the militia and cheered with one heart.

And each of you went to the hospital to donate blood for the wounded.

They were fighting each other in their own way.

Geum-sook, who was on the bus to find her missing brother, was attacked by martial law forces.

The martial law forces opened fire on the bus indiscriminately.

Of the 18 people on the bus at the time, all but Geum-sook died.

On the ninth day after the martial law forces were deployed, the martial law forces began their final suppression operation, even mobilizing tanks.

In response, the militia formed a representative and attempted to negotiate with the martial law army.

The conditions the citizens put forward were the withdrawal of troops, an apology for the suppression of violence, and the release of the citizens.

In response, the martial law forces did not accept any request, telling them to throw away their weapons and disperse them all as the last warning.

The militia remained at the provincial government and prepared for the end.

And the militia leadership asked the younger juniors, "You, too, must survive and remember this and testify."

As a result, some of them escaped the wiretapping, and some remained.

The 200 remaining finalists prepared their own end.

At 3:50 a.m., a broadcast came from the rooftop of the provincial government office.

One citizen said, "Citizens of Gwangju, the martial law forces are attacking. Everyone come out to the provincial government and save the citizens and students. My beloved brothers and sisters are being shot and killed by the martial law forces. Gwangju citizens, we will defend Gwangju until the end. Please do not forget our brothers and sisters."

At 4 o'clock in the morning, gunshots rang out throughout the provincial office.

The one-sided martial law attack continued for nearly an hour, and the citizens collapsed one by one.

There was also a student in it.

Her mother, who lost her 16-year-old son, said that she wanted to see her son even in her dreams, but she never saw her in her dreams, she cried, she cried.

17 civilians were killed and more than 100 arrested.

And the next day, the martial law forces celebrated their suppression of the wiretapping and lied plainly that no one died during the operation.

But not all martial law soldiers were happy.

Only the leaders of the new military unit were greatly delighted, and Chun Doo-hwan was at the center of it.

The new military unit accused Kim Dae-jung of conspiracy to revolt.

It is said that a riot in Gwangju was initiated by the North Koreans.

And he sentenced him to death.

In September 1980, Chun Doo-hwan took office as president.

And the people were not agitated.

Most of the people believed that the gangsters started the riot.

5.18 became a taboo word in the media, and when mentioned, he was arrested for spreading rumors.

In Gwangju, it was added.

Surviving families or victims could not gather for the memorial service, and they were constantly monitored.

But no matter how hard you try, the truth will always come out.

In the summer of 1987, a diplomatic bag arrived from Germany.

Father Jang Yong-ju said that he should not shy away from the truth he had seen, heard and known, and he felt it was his job to make it known.

It took 7 years for Father Jang Yong-ju to bring the video from foreign media reports that contained vivid records of that day to Korea while he was in Germany.

Fortunately, with the help of the German government, it was successfully brought in, and the priest copied about a thousand video tapes in an underground closet for two days and sent them to churches across the country.

In that way, the horrors of Gwangju became known to the world little by little, and it was even screened at the National Assembly.

And the hearings in 1988 were soft.

At the hearing attended by the new military headquarters, they were consistent with excuses and ignorance.

It is true that there was firing, but no one gave an order, and it was claimed that it was in self-defense because it was a free firing for the soldiers to protect themselves.

And Chun Doo-hwan called the Gwangju Democratization Movement a riot, and he turned away from what he had done.

However, the people did not give up and raised their voices, and in the end, the 5.18 Special Act was enacted and a trial was held for the person responsible.

The result was the execution of Chun Doo-hwan.

However, after two years of his imprisonment, he was given a special pardon in the name of national unity.

And he never had a single apology and atonement for him until his death in 2021.

The bereaved family watching this had no choice but to be angry at Chun Doo-hwan, who died without an apology until the end.

In May 1980, 274 innocent citizens were killed and 3,700 injured in Gwangju.

The martial law forces killed 23 people and wounded 115 people.

In addition, there were more than 400 missing persons reported at the time.

Of those, only 78 were officially recognized as victims.

As for the remaining missing persons, only rumors abound.

And 40 years have passed, and the Gwangju democratization movement has not ended.

In response, the mother of the student at school begged to not forget May 18 until the very end.

She also caught the eye when she asked at the end of the broadcast to make a courageous confession to anyone who even knew about the whereabouts of the missing people. 

(SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jung)