Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

� Scenes from the uprising in Gwangju in May 1980 and its
suppression by the Korean army.
and was accused afterwards of instigating it. He was
sentenced to death, but, after international pressure, was
later reprieved (he became a democratic President in 1998
and the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2000). In the years
that followed, in the face of government prohibition,
the campaign of the bereaved families generated much
popular support, which culminated in the reinstatement
of democratic elections in 1987. In 1989 the ‘Gwangju Riot’
was officially renamed ‘the May 18th Democratic Uprising’
by the President.
Materials relating to the uprising are divided into three
types. First, there are government documents, including
records of investigations and trials by military judicial
institutes and records of public officials during and after
the incident as well as situation reports and compensationrelated
documents showing the severity of the damage
inflicted on the city. Secondly, there are documents
548 Human rights documentary heritage, 1980
produced at the time of the uprising (newsletters,
declarations, handwritten posters and reporters’
notebooks) that reveal just how urgent and desperate the
situation was. Particularly compelling are the photographs
taken by local residents and by foreign correspondents.
In addition, over 1500 eyewitness accounts have been
compiled and more are still being collected. Finally, there
are documents produced by the National Assembly and the
Supreme Court aimed at restoring the reputation of the
people and discovering the truth about the incidents that
took place under the military government following the
uprising.