25th Anniversary of
Gwangju People's Uprising
• Speaking Tour of Korean Activists Warmly Greeted
by the American People
• Pro-Reunification Patriotic Organizations
Issue Joint Statement
• Resolution
of the Buffalo, New York, Meeting, May
29, 2005, Celebrating the 25th
Anniversary of the Gwangju People's Uprising
Messages
of Greeting to the Peoples of North America
•
Yu Ki-Hong,
Member of National Assembly, Republic of Korea
• Song Young-Gil, Member of the National Assembly, Republic
of Korea
• Heangbup Sunim, Permanent Chair, Peace Action Buddhist
Solidarity (Gwangju-Chonnam)
• The Ballad of Gwangju
• Gwangju Residents Protest Deployment of Updated Patriot Missiles
Acting Secretary-General of the Korea Truth Commission Yoomi Jeong has reported that the North American speaking tour on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Gwangju People's Uprising have been very successful. She reported that she and the two speakers started in Lincroft, New Jersey and visited Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Raleigh, Atlanta, Chicago and other places. Everywhere, people from all walks of life have welcomed the Korean guests and have participated in the discussions to inform themselves about the Gwangju People's Uprising.
At the time of the Gwangju uprising in May of 1980, the U.S. government under President Jimmy Carter was directly involved in crushing the uprising. The people of Gwangju took over and demanded the end of the U.S.-sponsored military dictatorship of General Chun Doo Hwan. Ms. Jeong said that there has been a lot of disinformation both in south Korea and the U.S. about the extent of U.S. involvement in Gwangju during that time. Participants in the meetings were eager to learn the facts and truth about Gwangju from the two speakers, Mr. Kim Hyo-Seok and Mr. Lee Shin, who were actively involved in the uprising. The meetings have highlighted the legacy of that heroic historical feat of the Korean people to democratize their country and their movement since then to rid the Korean peninsula of the U.S. military occupation, to re-unify their country and secure peace for themselves and the world.
Ms. Jeong also reported that in a number of cities resolutions were passed in support of the Korean people's struggle against U.S. imperialism and for national re-unification as an expression of the fraternal unity of the peoples of Korea and the United States. The resolutions include one passed by the Detroit City Council opposing U.S. trooops in Korea.
Ms. Jeong also expressed excitement about the Tours' visit to Canada. Meetings were held in Windsor, Hamilton, and Toronto and one in Vancouver is still to come. Ms. Jeong said the Tour felt at home in Canada and had a great appreciation for the interest and support expressed and particularly for the efforts made to build the fraternal unity of the people and counter disinformation concerning the Korean people and their struggle for reunification.
Voice of Revolution urges all its readers and supporters to learn about the history and legacy of the Gwangju People's Uprising and the role of the U.S. to block democracy and keep Korea divided. Join in the discussion and participate in strengthening the fraternal unity of the Korean and American peoples, in promoting peace on the Korean peninsula and in conveying our firm unity with the struggle of the Korean people to remove all U.S. troops and weapons from their soil and independently achieve reunification
[TOP]
Pro-Reunification Patriotic Organizations Issue Joint Statement
The Korean Central News Agency reported on May 19 that a gathering of more than 30 pro-reunification patriotic organizations from the north and south of Korea and from overseas made public a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Gwangju People's Uprising, urging the U.S. to stop posing a war threat and demanding the withdrawal of its forces.
Signatories included the National Reconciliation Council, the South Side's Headquarters and the Overseas Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification. The organizations noted that the U.S. forces have ruthlessly trampled on the Korean nation's sovereignty and national rights, keeping south Korea under occupation for 60 years.
In addition, the joint statement declared that: “It is the requirement and wishes of the Koreans to build a reunified country independently and peacefully, free from the U.S. forces. The achievements made in the efforts to achieve the national unity over the last five years since the publication of the June 15 joint declaration clearly indicate that the Koreans desire peace and reunification and if they pool their strength, they can surely build a rich and prosperous reunified country.”
To this end, the following demands were made:
1. That the United States should admit and publicly apologize for approving and orchestrating the bloody crackdown upon the Gwangju resistance fighters who rose up to put an end to the military fascist dictatorship and win democracy, independence and reunification. It must also apologize for supporting the Chun Doo Hwan military dictatorial regime 25 years ago.
2. That the U.S. renounce all the war scenarios on the Korean peninsula, drop its unilateral assertion that the DPRK scrap its nuclear program first before coming out for the six-party talks for achieving peace and improving relations.
3. That the U.S. must retract bellicose remarks that a war might be launched at any moment with no prior consultation and immediately negotiate for denuclearization and disarmament in order to achieve lasting peace in Korea.
4. That the presence of U.S. forces in south Korea is a wanton violation of the Armistice Agreement (AA) and is a source of war. The U.S. should immediately enter into political negotiations aimed at effectuating the pullout of its forces from south Korea and replacing the AA by a lasting peace agreement.
The joint declaration ended by affirming that national reconciliation, cooperation and unity are the immediate tasks to bring peace, independence and reunification by the concerted efforts of all Koreans, and called on them to abide by the three principles of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity, remaining true to the idea of “By our nation itself.”
[TOP]
Resolution of the Buffalo, New York, Meeting, May 29, 2005, Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Gwangju People’s Uprising
On behalf of all the friends of Korea in the Western New York region, those present at the Buffalo, New York meeting celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Gwangju People’s Uprising send our warmest greetings and full support to the people of Gwangju. We salute the valiant struggle represented by the Gwangju People’s Uprising and stand with all Koreans, south and north and overseas, who are together fighting for the peaceful and independent reunification of Korea. We join with you in demanding a full and public apology by the U.S. government for its role in the massacre that occurred in Gwangju in 1980 and for all the U.S. crimes and acts of U.S. aggression against Korea from the 1940’s until today. We demand full reparations now.
The U.S. government at this time is threatening to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on Korea and doing everything to block the just struggle of the Korean people for reunification. It is placing more nuclear weapons in the region and has war plans in place. We vigorously denounce these provocations and war plans of the U.S. government. They do not represent the will of the American people for peace and for relations of equality and mutual respect and benefit with all peoples and countries.
We consider the struggle being waged for reunification by Koreans north and south to be an important contribution to the struggle for peace and democracy today. Taking our stand for peace and reunification, we call on the U.S. government to:
- Remove all U.S. troops and weapons from Korea now
- To act now to disarm all U.S. nuclear weapons and ban the policy of pre-emptive first-strike use of nuclear weapons
- To provide the conditions necessary to resume the six-way talks (between the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea) and work to normalize relations.
[TOP]
Greeting to the Peoples of North America
My name is Yu Ki-Hong, and I am a member of the Korean National Assembly. A close friend of mine informed me of the “25th Anniversary of the Gwangju People's Uprising U.S./Canada Tour” and with great anticipation and joy I am writing this message of greeting and solidarity to the people of the United States and Canada.
Before I was elected to the National Assembly, I gave my youth to the democracy and reunification struggle. I was imprisoned twice and search warrants were issued against me four times. Once I was imprisoned for organizing a demonstration to demand that the truth of the 5/18 Gwangju massacre be revealed to all Koreans and peoples of the world.
For those of us who struggled for democracy, the 1980 Gwangju People's Uprising is an emotionally and politically sensitive event. As you may remember young Korean students and youth held anger and bitterness about the U.S. role in the Gwangju massacre and the feelings fuelled the 1980s anti-U.S. movement in Korea.
Towards the end of the 1980s, we overcame the military dictatorship that was responsible for the massacre, and made a great stride for democracy; however, the U.S. role in the Gwangju massacre remains unclear. I am not here to speak about the rights and wrongs but I believe our past should be a key to our future.
Open and public discussions and analysis on the South Korean-U.S. relations in light of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and subsequent brutal massacre will begin our international community's joint effort to overcome the threats against peace and the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula. Through this, we will build our unity for peace in the Korean peninsula and the world.
I wish the U.S./Canada tour of activists commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Gwangju People's Uprising great success and thank the Canadian and American people who are actively organizing this tour with Korean-Americans and Korean-Canadians. The Gwangju People's Uprising belongs not only to Koreans but also to all humanity. Therefore, I thank those who remember this historical event.
Congratulations to the tour!
[TOP]
Messages of Greetings to the Gwangju Tour
Greetings from Korea! My name is Song Young Gil. I am a Member of the South Korean National Assembly. I congratulate the U.S./CANADA Tour commemorating the 25th Anniversary of 5/18 Gwangju Peoples Uprising. It was a great pleasure to see familiar and respected names of peace activists in North America organizing this historical event.
On May of 1980, I was a senior at Gwangju Daedong High School, which Kim Hyo Seok, my friend and a speaker on this tour, was attending too.
I was studying at the school library on Sunday, May 17, 1980. I was so terrified and enraged when I witnessed college students falling in the streets with blood streaming from their heads after being beaten by troops who used clubs with iron cores. On May 18, I participated, as one of the first high school students, in the demonstration criticizing the military coup and demanding an end to martial law. After that demonstration some courageous high school students joined and participated in the citizen's militia. It was so painful for me not to be able to participate in the militia with people like Kim Hyo Seok.
My guilty conscience — from not participating in the citizen's militia — and my consciousness of the historic debt the Korean people owed to the martyrs of Gwangju made me devote myself to the student and labor movements. The spirit of the Gwangju People's Uprising has enormously influenced my generation's view on the state, our nation and values. This spirit also served as a catalyst for a new stage of Korean democracy. The momentum of the 5/18 Uprising ensured that no more military coups or constitutional crisis could stop the Korean people. The Gwangju People's Uprising was not simply a moment of violent resistance, but a collective movement for peace and constitutional democracy. Even though the military dictatorship denounced Gwangju during the Uprising as a city in extreme anarchy, I experienced that period as one of collective liberation where people trusted and helped each other -- we created a community without any serious crime or even minor personal violence.
Twenty-five years ago, the people of Gwangju expected the United States — which sees itself as a defender of democracy — to come to their assistance. Instead many innocent civilians were killed — after being falsely accused of rioting and because of their isolation, regional resentment, and government control of information. Today, after twenty-five years, the Gwangju People's Uprising is being re-evaluated justly — many of those falsely accused of rioting are now recognized as fighters for democracy. The Mangwoldong Cemetery in Gwangju was made a National Cemetery, and became a holy place where the Presidents of Korea and the Opposition Party leaders and Koreans from all walks of life go to pay their respects.
We are truly thankful for the peace activists in the United States and Canada for organizing the 25th Anniversary of 5/18 Gwangju People's Uprising North American Tour. The “spread of democracy” emphasized by the Bush Administration can be achieved — not through war like in Iraq — but by civil solidarity and sharing the valuable spirit of resistance against oppression.
I would like to convey warmest feelings of friendship to North-American activists persevering in your efforts toward democracy and peace. As a National Assembly Member, I will endeavor to use the spirit of the Gwangju People's Uprising in helping to settle the increasing crisis and possible outbreak of war resulting from the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.
Once again, I want to express my appreciation to those involved in the commemoration of this historical event through the 25th Anniversary of 5/18 Gwangju People's Uprising in Canada and the United States.
May 13, 2005
[TOP]
War is a biggest crime that dehumanizes people and destroys the world ecology. The world will be truly happy and peaceful if the U.S. uses the money for war to feed the starving people in the Third World; people in the world will send respect to the U.S. and its citizens who work tirelessly for peace if and when the people under U.S. occupation can erase the distrust developed from the immoral acts of U.S. troops.
I have heard many U.S. citizens struggle for peace, it is a realization of Zen master's wisdom, “Seek the strength from the comfort of your home.”
I hope violence and deceit disappears from the minds of U.S. leaders. I hope love and truth comes to the world so that we overcome race and nationalism by the works of peace loving U.S. citizens.
Thank you for inviting these young men who work so ceaselessly for peace. I salute your righteous action!
[TOP]
Gwangju Residents Protest Deployment of Updated Patriot Missiles
Members of the Gwnagju Poeple's Uprising tour reported that an estimated 10,000 people rallied in Gwangju recently to protest the deployment of U.S. Patriot missiles. They reported that this is a reflection of the growing movement to remove U.S. troops from Korean soil as an important part of the growing movement for reunification.
The U.S. deployed two upgraded Patriot anti-air missile batteries in the southwestern city of Gwangju in November as part of its $11-billion “force improvement program.” The move drew strong protests from Gwangju residents who are concerned about an expansion of the U.S. military presence in the city.
Some 3,000 protesters scuffled with police after tearing apart barbed-wire barriers while trying to get onto the base of the South Korean Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing in Gwangju where the new U.S. missiles are being deployed, witnesses said. In an attempt to suppress the demonstrators, police increased security around the military base and used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Weekly demonstrations are continuing.
[TOP]
The following song was written to commemorate the heroic people of Gwangju who rose up in May 1980 against the U.S.-installed military dictatorship of Chun Doo Hwan. It was written 30 years after the end of the Korean War (1950-53). It has only recently been re-discovered and efforts are going forward to popularize it in Korea and worldwide.
Your country's land is divided, foreign
troops upon your soil;
Martial law and police powers
keep the traitors in control,
Promises of changes
coming swirl like fog in the morning's sun,
But
when you demand your freedom, the answer is the tyrant's gun.
Chorus:
Like a crack in the
prison wall,
Like the rays of dawn when night is through,
A
defiant cry from the torture cell, Gwangju!
Your workers slave for foreign masters, making
things they cannot own;
Farmers plant the seed of life
but cannot eat what they have grown;
All this wealth could
feed your children but it's owned by U.S. banks;
And
when you demand your birthright, you are met with U.S. tanks.
Thirty years a divided country, thirty years
of fascist rule;
Thirty years of foreign soldiers; seven
days of free Gwangju.
Now the generals fiercely tremble
at your name, a fearful sound;
But it is a battle cry
to workers of the world around!