Tour of U.S. set to honor Korea's Gwangju uprising

On April 24, Workers World managing editor Monica Moorehead interviewed Yoomi Jeong, deputy secretary-general of the Korea Truth Commission, regarding the 25th anniversary of the Gwangju (Kwangju) People’s Uprising in South Korea and an upcoming U.S. tour commemorating this historic event.

Yoomi Jeong

Workers World: In May 1980 the Gwangju uprising occurred in South Korea, a significant event that people here have little knowledge of. Could you inform our readers about this uprising and its background?

Yoomi Jeong: In 1979, a civilian government was installed after the assassination of Gen. Park Chung Hee, who had ruled with an iron fist for two decades. However, a coup d’etat led by Gen. Chun Doo-hwan toppled this interim government and declared martial law on May 17, 1980, to suppress demonstrations around the country that opposed his coup d’etat.

On May 18, at the Chonnam National University in Gwangju, the armed forces responded violently, using bayonets and tear gas against innocent students who protested the closing down of their campus and Chun’s coup. After the incident, students and citizens of Gwangju rallied downtown and held an even larger demon stration, which was met by indiscriminate gunfire from the military.

The military’s brutal crackdown on students and citizens brought rage from the people. By May 21, some 300,000 people joined the protest against Chun’s power. Weapons depots and police stations were captured by civilian militias. The citizens’ army was formed to beat back the armed forces.

With all routes leading in and out of the city blocked by the military, the city effectively became a commune and a citizens’ committee was formed to maintain order and negotiate with the government. Order was well-maintained, but negotiations failed. On May 27, special forces and army troops from five divisions were inserted and initiated a massacre resulting in thousands of casualties.

During the course of Chun’s dictatorship, government officials claimed the uprising was a communist rebellion. But after the Korean people ended military rule in 1987, the uprising received proper recognition as an effort to restore democracy against dictatorship. The government made a formal apology for the massacre and a national cemetery was established for the martyrs.

The two former South Korean Pre si dents, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, stood trial on charges of treason, mutiny and corruption in 1996. Chun was sentenced to death and Roh to 22-and-a-half years in prison. They received clemency a few years later.

WW: What is the connection between this uprising and what is happening today on the Korean peninsula?

YJ: Throughout the Gwangju Peoples’ Uprising, the South Korean people learned about the other side of the U.S. Most South Koreans, including progressives, at that time had a favorable view of the U.S., especially on Jimmy Carter’s incorporation of “human rights” in its foreign policy. South Koreans believed that the U.S. might exert its influence in the SK military dictatorship to lessen the government’s oppression against its own people.

However, through declassified White House documents from around the time of Gwangju People’s Uprising, we learned that in order to contain “communist instigated citizen rebels in Gwangju,” which was a completely false assumption, the U.S. considered dispatching its troops to quell the uprising.

Again what we are most worried about is that in order to accomplish its agenda, pushed by a certain spectrum of the U.S. political establishment, the U.S. will use whatever means necessary to accomplish its goal—even if it is based on a wrong premise or sinister ideology.

We think the U.S. agenda in Korea is totally against the will of the Korean people and that is what we want to relate to the U.S. and Canadian peace movements—to end Washington’s aggressive policy against the Korean people.

WW: There will be a U.S. tour in May with some of the participants of the Gwangju People’s Uprising. What are some of the political goals of the tour?

YJ: In addition to remembering the historic legacy of the Gwangju People’s Uprising against the South Korean military dictatorship and its impact on the present development of the civilian society, we plan to discuss the current nuclear crisis and the prospect of peace on the Korean peninsula.

Under the Bush administration, the neo- cons’ objective on North Korea has been one of a regime change. In his State of the Union address on Jan. 29, 2002, Bush called North Korea, along with Iran, Iraq and Syria the “axis of evil,” accusing these countries as “regimes that sponsor terror.”

In its 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the Bush administration listed North Korea and several other nations as targets for its preemptive use of nuclear weapons, claiming contravening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the U.S. is a member of.

Instead of bilateral diplomatic negotiations to resolve over 50 years of confrontation in the Korean peninsula—the 1953 armistice agreement is still intact!— and despite North Korea’s numerous initiatives to conclude it with a peace treaty, the Bush administration chose to deal with the situation with its typical “bullying” tactic. Most recently, Condoleezza Rice at her Senate confirmation hearing called North Korea an “outpost of tyranny.”

All Koreans in the north and south are worried that to accomplish the U.S. agenda in East Asia—namely, to streng then and continue its military presence via rearmament and reorganization of its military to contain China’s rise—North Korea will be used as a scapegoat and an excuse to increase U.S. defense spending, especially on so-called missile defense.

Over 3 million civilians were killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War and we cannot allow another war.

We hope to address these critical issues surrounding the Korean peninsula and forge international support and solidarity to stop the Bush war drive against the Korean people.

WW: Can you provide more details of the tour?

YJ: The tour was initiated by Korean American activists who saw the political importance of commemorating and celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Gwangju People’s Uprising. Soon it was joined by U.S. and Canadian peace and justice movements, academics, civil and grassroots organizations.

The International Action Center, Korea Truth Commission and many other nation al and local anti-war/for-peace groups endorsed the tour and they are organizing the speaking tour on behalf of Gwangju activists and for all Korean people. We are grateful and inspired by this generous international solidarity. Tour information and other resources can be found on www.koreatruth.org.