Citizens Who Dropped Out of School Participating in 5·18 to Receive 'Honorary Diplomas'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Citizens who participated in the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and had their studies interrupted at the time will receive 'honorary diplomas' after 40 years.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education on the 22nd, during the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980, students as members of the citizen army participated in various activities such as blood donation, nursing, handling the deceased, and propaganda activities, resulting in many students not completing their studies.

The Office of Education secured a list of 247 student participants (from 56 schools) recorded on the May 18 Student Memorial Tower (completed in 2005) and conducted a full survey from December last year targeting the respective schools regarding graduation status, academic records, and whether honorary diplomas were awarded.

Through this survey, it was confirmed that among the 247 individuals, 175 students had officially received diplomas, and 15 students had subsequently been awarded honorary diplomas.

Excluding those who discontinued studies before May 18, 1980, or whose status could not be confirmed due to reasons such as transfer, a list of 32 first-phase candidates (from 20 schools) to receive honorary diplomas this year was compiled.

Based on the survey results, the Office of Education plans to proceed with awarding honorary diplomas in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement, following verification procedures with organizations related to May 18 democratic merit recipients and consultations with the respective schools.

Superintendent Jang Huiguk stated, “Many students participated in the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980, and remembering and commemorating this is the most effective historical education and democratic citizenship education considering the students’ perspective.” He added, “Our Office of Education will continuously implement various educational programs to remember and commemorate the May 18 student participants, including awarding honorary diplomas.”

Meanwhile, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education published an oral history collection titled ‘May, Remembering Youth’ in 2015, documenting students who sacrificed their lives during the May 18 Democratization Movement. Since 2016, it has also promoted memorial projects for 18 victims across 15 schools in the region.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.