Walking Through May with AR... Gwangju Expands 5·18 Smart Tour

AR Experience at 30 Historical Sites
Expanded Use in School Classes and Events
Enhanced Stamp Tour and Tourism Integration

As the 46th anniversary of the 5·18 Democratic Movement approaches, Gwangju Metropolitan City has launched an initiative to expand experiential historical content, allowing citizens to walk through and remember the meaningful locations of May in their daily lives. At the center of this effort is the activation of the '5·18 Democratic Movement Smart Tour App,' which enables users to visit historical sites and encounter scenes from that era through augmented reality using just a smartphone.

On March 30, Gwangju City announced plans to promote and expand the use of the '5·18 Democratic Movement Smart Tour App,' which was developed to enable citizens to personally visit major historical sites related to the 5·18 Democratic Movement and experience their historical significance.

5.18 Democratization Movement Smart Tour App. Provided by Gwangju City

This app is a mobile service that allows visitors to major 5·18 historical sites to experience the intense historical moments of the time in a multidimensional way through augmented reality (AR) technology using their smartphones. The app was developed by the local content company Witches Co., Ltd. in 2022 with a national budget of approximately 280 million won, and has been in operation since 2023.

The app contains information on 30 sites related to the 5·18 Democratic Movement, including the main gate of Chonnam National University, Gwangju Station Square, the former intercity bus terminal area, the site of Nokdu Bookstore, Gwangju Christian Hospital, the Hungry Bridge, the former house of the late lawyer Hong Namsun, and the area near Junam Village. When users arrive at these sites, they can access audio guides automatically provided by the app, as well as augmented reality-based storytelling and 3D building reconstruction technology to view what the sites looked like at the time.

In addition to five themed courses—Torch, Sacrifice, Square, Passion, and Soul—the app also offers the 'Boy's Path' course, which follows the settings of the novel "Human Acts" by author Han Kang.

To further invigorate the app, Gwangju City plans to post promotional materials on the city's, district offices', and affiliated organizations' websites, and expand connections with 5·18-related events and educational programs. The city also encourages the use of the app in school history classes and field trips by cooperating with the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.

Additionally, the city will enhance the stamp tour feature and link the app with local tourism information to improve convenience for out-of-town visitors. The app can be downloaded by searching for '5·18 Democratic Movement Smart Tour' on Google Play Store and the App Store.

Park Yongbeom, Director of Gwangju City's 5·18 Democratic Affairs Division, stated, "We hope that citizens will be able to experience the sites of May even more vividly through the 5·18 Democratic Movement Smart Tour App," adding, "We will continue to expand experiential educational content in cooperation with relevant organizations so that the spirit of 5·18 can be naturally passed down to future generations."

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