Rewriting Rebellion and Mapping Memory in South Korea: The (Re)presentation of the 1980 Kwangju Uprising through Mangwol-dong Cemetery

Abstract

In May 1980, one of the most tragic events in the history of modern South Korea took place. This was the violent repression of civilian demonstrations in the south-western city of Kwangju, during which over 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded and tortured by the South Korean government of General Chun Doo Hwan. Now, over 20 years later, the uprising has taken on a new national signi cance and legitimacy and is being (re)interpreted as the major catalyst for democratic reform in South Korea. The recent 'of cial' reinterpretation of the uprising has meant that it has become the subject of extensive memorialisation by the Korean state. This paper looks at the process by which the Kwangju Uprising has become reinterpreted, memorialised and subsequently contested in the late 1990s in Kwangju city through a number of 'sites of memory' (memorial sites), including Mangwol-dong Cemetery, where the victims of the uprising are buried.

Debates around Cultural Re-imaging and Culture-led Urban Regeneration: The Politics of two Festivals in Gwangju and Glasgow

“…Gwangju's image has long been associated with its political history (Lee, 2007;Shin, 2004;Yea, 2002). The city has experienced a lengthy history of regional marginalisation and hostility toward national government interference, with the defining event being the 18 May democratic uprising that took place in 1980.…”

The role of stakeholder collaboration in culture-led urban regeneration: A case study of the Gwangju project, Korea

“…Regarding perspectives on the Korean governments' reasons driving the Gwangju project, just over half of the interviewees (KMCST1, KMCST2, KMCST3, CULTREG3, ICACC, RES1, RES2, RES3, RES5, NATASS), notably from the public sector, claimed that, taking account of the politics of balanced regional developments, it was regarded as the biggest national project for culture-led urban regeneration. When explaining why central government had selected Gwangju as a reasonable place to create the HCAC, the majority of the respondents (KMCST1, KMCST3, ICACC, RES1, RES2, RES3, RES4, RES6 and NATASS), excluding any representative of the Municipal Government involved in Culture-led urban regeneration, maintained that Gwangju has the characteristics of democratization and human rights due to the Gwangju Students' movement for the independence and the May 18 Democratic Uprising in 1980 (Yea, 2002), as well as current cultural activities in Gwangju such as Gwangju Biennale.…”

The Staging of Contested Servicescapes

“…National identities in “official stages” are produced through formally sanctioned discourses or ways of constructing meaning, wherein history is selectively used to articulate and communicate idealized narratives of the nation (Ateljevic and Doorne 2002; Goulding and Domic 2009; Park 2013; Sarmento 2009; Wight 2016) infused with moral meanings according to the needs of the present (Till 2003). Language is important in the discursive construction of “official stages” and, in the hands of the state, can be a powerful tool in crafting ideological narratives, inventing national myths, and reinforcing national identities (Stokowski 2002; Yea 2002; Zhang, Decosta, and McKercher 2015).…”