May 18th National Cemetery (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...
: 국립5·18민주묘지;
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
: 國立5·18民主墓地) is a cemetery for those who participated in the
Gwangju Uprising
The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (M ...
. Built by the government of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
in 1997, it is located in
Gwangju. Every May, on the anniversary of the uprising, it is common for citizens to visit the cemetery to honor the dead.
History
The
Gwangju Uprising
The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (M ...
, also known as May 18 Democratic Uprising, was a democratic movement in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
directed against the
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...
government, which violently suppressed Gwangju citizens. Under the
Kim Young-sam
Kim Young-sam (; or ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998.
From 1961, he spent almost 30 years as one of the leaders of t ...
administration, there was a movement to make May 18th National Cemetery a democratic shrine.
The previous May 18th Cemetery, or the "Mangweol-dong Cemetery" (구묘역), was the former burial site of those who died during the May 18th Democratic Uprising and the proceeding democratic movement. Some of those interred there for 17 years were delivered to the cemetery in garbage trucks.
Due to the cemetery's reputation as a Mangweol-dong, a "holy ground for democracy", the military had plans to destroy the graveyard.
Those plans never came to fruition.
Following the democratization of Korea, a plan to create a National Cemetery was announced in 1993, giving rise to the New National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising. Construction began in November 1994 and the new cemetery was opened in May 1997.
Bodies from the Mangweol-dong Cemetery were exhumed and re-interred in the new location, while the old cemetery was restored to its former state.
The new cemetery was promoted to the status of a national cemetery by presidential decree by
Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
on July 27, 2002, and renamed the National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising on January 30, 2006.
[ An annual commemoration is held each May, in which people pay their respect to those who died at both the old and new cemeteries.]
Taryn Assaf observed that The two cemeteries came to represent two different aspects of the uprising: the new, designed to represent a commemoration of past sacrifices and the old marked by the symbolism of a continuing struggle. Interesting to note is the suggestion evident in the process of naming. Equating 'new' with 'official' and 'old' with 'unofficial' serve to influence popular conception of the significance of the different actors involved in the uprising, their place in history, their ideologies and their legacies.
Burials
* Burial capacity: 784[
* Number of burial sites: 482]
Notable burials
Old Cemetery (구묘역, 舊墓域)
* ; Born in Jangseong County
Jangseong County (''Jangseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Jangseong is in the southern region of the Korean peninsula and Gwangju and Naju is the nearest city from Jangseong. In South Jeolla, it near the northern bor ...
, educated at Chosun University
Chosun University () is one of the oldest private universities in South Korea. Its campus is situated in Gwangju metropolitan city, in southwestern South Korea. Around 33,000 students are enrolled.
Academics
Undergraduate courses are offered ...
. He died during the Gwangju Uprising, although the exact circumstances of his death are not known.
* Lee Han-yeol; Born in Hwasun County
Hwasun County (화순군; ''Hwasun-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Symbol
* County Flower : Wild Chrysanthemum
* County Tree : Zelkova Tree
* County Bird : Dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves a ...
, Jeonlanamdo in 1966. Democratic movement activist. Fatally wounded during June 10th Democracy Movement demonstration in front of Yonsei University, his death sparked further protests.
* ; Student activist who died in 1991 during the demonstration against military dictatorship.
* ; Student leader and activist from the Chonnam University.
New cemetery (신묘역, 新墓域)
* and ; Militia spokespeople during the Gwangju Uprising.
Monuments and memorials
May 18th Memorial Monument
The Memorial Monument consists of two parallel pillars tall, based on a traditional Korean "flagpole" design (dang-gan-ji-ju).[ This monument represents the concepts of new life, survival, and seeds of hope.] Near the center point of the pillars is an ovular sculpture, representing "resurrection". To the right and left of the monument are two bronze sculptures called "Grassroots Resistance of May".
Memorial Hall
The Memorial Hall allows visitors to view and interactively experience the events of the May 18th Democratic Uprising. The exhibition includes a historical record of the Uprising, tributes to victims, a virtual tour of important landmarks in the democratic movement, and facilities for educational presentations.
Portrait Enshrinement Tower
This building is designed in the form of a dolmen, a traditional tomb dating to the prehistoric period. Portraits of those who are buried in the May 18th National Cemetery are enshrined on the walls of this building.[
]
Seungmoru
A two-story exhibition space with facilities for viewing video footage of the Gwangju Uprising.[
]
Hill of Democracy
A memorial hill planted with "Trees of Democracy" representing "the will of all Korean people to commemorate the noble sacrifice" of Uprising participants.[
]
Gates
Several memorial gates stand on the grounds. At the entrance is the Gate of Democracy, which contains a visitor guestbook
A guestbook (also guest book, visitor log, visitors' book, visitors' album) is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge a visit to a site, physical or web-based, and leave details such as their name, postal or electronic addres ...
. The Gate Cherishing the Memory of the Deceased stands approximately three stories high. The Gateway to History contains historic photographs and video documentaries.[
]
Art
Numerous statues honor Uprising victims and express hope for peace and justice, including the Bronze Statue of Armed Resistance and the Statue of a Peaceful and Prosperous World. A series of relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
sculptures titled "Seven Scenes From History" depicts the history of resistance to oppression in Korea.[
]
See also
* History of Korea
* April Revolution
The April Revolution ( ko, 4.19 혁명), also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960 which led to Rhee's resigna ...
* June Democratic Uprising
The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987. The demonstrations force ...
References
Further reading
*
{{commons category , May 18th National Cemetery of Gwangju
Gwangju Uprising
Cemeteries in South Korea
Buildings and structures in Gwangju
National cemeteries
Monuments and memorials in South Korea
1997 establishments in South Korea