92 Gwangju May 18th Records, Including Photos and Videos, Revealed to the Public

Ninety-two photos and videos documenting the events of May 1980 in Gwangju will be made public. The 5·18 Democracy Movement Archives announced on the 30th that it is holding a special exhibition titled 'Gwangju May 18th: City Identity and Democracy,' in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Administration, to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the 5·18 Democracy Movement. This exhibition, a reconfigured version of a similar exhibition held in Paris last year, focuses on revisiting the spirit of democracy and the solidarity demonstrated by Gwangju citizens in May 1980, through photographic and video records. Through this exhibition, the aim is to highlight the 5·18 Democracy Movement as a crucial turning point in the development of Korean democracy and to share with citizens the meaning of Gwangju's historical records for us today.

A total of 92 photos and 6 videos are featured in the exhibition, with approximately 80 of these being documentary photographs inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The exhibition includes works by domestic photojournalists who covered the scene at the time, such as Na Gyeong-taek, Lee Chang-seong, and Shin Bok-jin, as well as materials from international journalists like Patrick Chauvel, François Roisin, Norman Thorpe, and Robin Moyer. Videos, including those by Jürgen Hinzpeter, are also included to convey the situation in Gwangju at that time.

The exhibition is structured into seven sections, following the progression of the May 18th events. 'Protests' covers the democratic aspirations that spread nationwide after 1979, while 'Suppression' details the violence and citizen resistance that followed the deployment of martial law troops. The 'Resistance' section highlights urgent scenes such as vehicle protests and mass firing, and 'Solidarity' captures the spirit of community through actions like sharing rice balls and blood donations. 'Massacre' addresses the atrocities of state violence and the army's re-entry, and 'Mourning' shows the process of commemorating victims and passing down their memory. The final section, 'Photographers,' spotlights the efforts of domestic and international reporters who risked danger to document the truth.

Kim Ho-gyun, Director of the 5·18 Democracy Movement Archives, stated, "This exhibition was planned to re-examine the meaning of democracy today through the records of solidarity and sacrifice shown by the citizens of Gwangju in May 1980." He added, "We hope this will be an opportunity for visitors to reflect on the historical value contained in Gwangju's records and the universal meaning of democracy." The exhibition will be held from May 1st to August 16th in the special exhibition hall on the 3rd floor of the 5·18 Democracy Movement Archives.