First Public Reveal of the Scene After the 5·18 Jeonnam Provincial Government Office Suppression

Special Exhibition of Norman Soff Donated Materials at Former Jeonnam Provincial Office Until July 31

May 27, 1980 (Tuesday), Plaza in front of Jeonnam Provincial Office

Photographs of the May 18 Democratic Uprising donated by Norman Soff (74), a former Asia Wall Street Journal reporter, will be publicly exhibited in Korea for the first time.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Former Jeonnam Provincial Government Building Restoration Task Force announced on the 6th that a "Norman Soff Donation Special Exhibition" will be held on the 2nd floor of the annex of the former Jeonnam Provincial Government Building until July 31. Over 200 rare items, including photographs taken by Soff from May 23 to 27, 1980, as well as his camera and press pass, will be displayed.

May 26, 1980 (Monday) 'March of Death'

Soff worked as a reporter for the Asia Wall Street Journal in Tokyo and Seoul from 1977 to 1982. On May 27, 1980, around 7:30 a.m., when the martial law troops suppressed the Jeonnam Provincial Government Building and allowed press coverage, he was the first to enter and take photographs. The photos vividly capture not only scenes that allow inference of the situation at the time but also the interior and exterior of the former Jeonnam Provincial Government Building, protests at Mokpo Station Plaza in Jeonnam, the death march in Gwangju's Nongseong-dong, and the street march of the Citizens' Rally to Defend Democracy.

May 24, 1980 (Saturday), Mokpo Station Plaza

Soff stated, "The May 18 Democratic Uprising is part of the long and arduous struggle toward democratization in the Republic of Korea," adding, "I hope the younger generation learns about how much difficulty the previous generation endured to establish free elections and nurture democracy, and sincerely appreciates it."

Friday, May 23, 1980, inside Jeonnam Provincial Office

Photos of the deceased following the suppression of the Jeonnam Provincial Government Building will be displayed in a separate isolated space with the consent of the bereaved families. An official explained, "Videos showing the locations of the deceased, their names, and scenes of the movement of the bodies will be produced and screened in a special video room."

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