Historical Context

The 1980 Gwangju Uprising & Massacre

This video was created by a YouTuber who lives in South Korea and is interested in the country's history. This video is a little long, but it does provide excellent information about the cause of the uprising and the protests themselves, and explains the massacre by the military and its leader. Additionally, the host takes you around famous sites, such as the provincial building and fountain where protestors stood together, buildings where citizens were shot by helicopters and paratroopers (where bullet holes still remain), the hall where the murdered corpses of protestors were brought, and the prison were citizens were tortured. Some of these sites are in Kang's novel! If you only watch one video about what happened in Gwangju, it should be this.

Looking for a fuller picture of what happened in the Gwangju Democratisation Movement? Look no further than this very informative and concise video which provides all of the key details. 

Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan only died in 2021. In 2019, he was attended court cases after his 1996 trial for military crimes. Korea Now cover what happened in Gwangju and his rise to power in this video, as well as his final years.

How much did the US know about Gwangju? Well, it turns out quite a lot. In fact, they gave the go-ahead based on knowingly falsified reports from the South Korean military, fearing similar protests and the rise of Communism from North Korea.

In the Movies...

A Taxi Driver (2017) is a South Korean movie which depicts the Gwangju Uprising and Massacre. It is based on the true story of the German reporter Jürgen Hinzpeter and his taxi driver Kim Sa Bok. I enjoyed this film, and its portrayal of scenes in Gwangju were very powerful; however, the movie does change some of the facts (like the fact that Mr. Kim and Hinzpeter knew each other before traveling to Gwangju, or the sensationalised escape which was, in reality, much simpler).