Gwangju Nam-gu Community Holds 'May 1980' Close to Heart

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Residents of Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and the public sector are commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising by honoring the Mangwol-dong Memorial, sharing rice balls, and holding a film festival to deeply reflect on the life of the Gwangju community in May 1980.

According to Nam-gu on the 28th, over two days on May 3 and 4, 94 district office officials, including 38 newly appointed public servants born in the mid to late 1990s, will visit the Mangwol-dong National May 18 Democratic Cemetery.

This is to inherit the noble spirit of the May 1980 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for democracy and to build a better community based on the spirit of sharing and dedication of Gwangju.

They plan to offer flowers to the May martyrs who bloomed again as flowers of peace and then tour the cemetery area to pay tribute.

Along with this, district office officials plan to carry out cleanup activities around the May 18 historic sites within the district throughout May.

The local May 18 historic sites include three places: Gwangju Christian Hospital, which devotedly treated the wounded in May 1980; the massacre site of civilians between Gwangju and Mokpo, where many lives were lost due to mistaken and aimed shootings by martial law troops; and Gwangju Park, the site where the citizen army was organized.

In the local community, an event will be held where future generations who did not experience May 1980 in Gwangju and those who witnessed the horrors of Gwangju come together to remind the preciousness of the spirit of democracy.

Residents of Songhwa Village in Nodae-dong have decided to hold a ‘Our Neighborhood May 18’ event at the playground of Humansia Complex 4 on May 14.

About 100 village residents are expected to attend.

They will share rice balls symbolizing May 1980 Gwangju and watch a film that popularly expresses Gwangju’s painful history, reflecting on the meaning of the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

In addition, officials from Gwangju Christian Hospital, the center of the May 1980 uprising, are understood to plan to hold blood donation drives, photo exhibitions, and May 18 reexamination seminars with Gwangju citizens to share the values of democracy, peace, and human rights.

A Nam-gu official stated, “We will commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, which marked a significant milestone in the history of democracy in the Republic of Korea, and further inherit and develop the spirit of Bitgoeul Gwangju.”

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