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In May 1980, the most tragic and ugly incident in the modern history of Korea unfolded in Gwangju. A conspiracy by the new military authorities to overtake the existing regime began with a coup on December 12, 1979 and ended with the stifling of the Gwangju democratization movement in May 1980. At this incident, precious lives of Gwangju's citizens were taken during an operation by the martial army staged inside the Provincial Government Office of South Jeolla Province. Some military servicemen deeply involved in politics, who sought to fill the power vacuum following the death of President Park Chung Hee, seized the opportunity to grab hold of power through an indiscriminate military operation (code name: Operation Loyalty) against the citizens of Gwangju.
And so came the establishment of the "Fifth Republic." Those who founded the Fifth Republic, however, did not secure an eternal victory, nor did the citizens of Gwangju meet with eternal defeat.
Some form of harm was inflicted on a total of 3,872 persons (as of May 10, 1999) including 166 deaths (including 12 bodies claimed by no one), 64 missing and 3,642 arrested. These are the official statistics. Those illegally detained during the investigation period surpassed 3,000; it is beyond estimates as to how many cases of ruthless detention occurred during the protest period.
Through the 1980s, it has been verified that the Gwangju democratization movement was a victory, not a defeat in history; that the lives taken in Gwangju were not meaningless sacrifices, but that the victims were heroes. At the time, the Gwangju democratization movement was a struggle that ended in defeat, but with the passage of time and through the defeat, it emerged as an engine for generating anti-dictatorship sentiment and fueling the democratization movement of the 1980s.
Before the May 18 movement was designated a struggle by the masses, it had to go through a lot of upheaval.
At the time, the government declared the May 18 movement as the "Gwangju incident," "revolt," "civil war that took place by impure powers aiming for the overturn of the nation", etc. and the citizens of Gwangju were forced to live in silence, as if they had committed a crime. Following the democratization struggle of May 1987, the essence of the May 18 movement gradually became known to the Korean people. With the inauguration of the Sixth Republic in 1988, it was designated as the "Gwangju democratization movement" in the name of national harmony.
Through hearings on Gwangju during the 13th National Assembly, which was led by an opposition party majority, the actual status of excessive oppression exerted by the airborne unit, and the conspiracy by the new military authorities to seize power were broadcast on national television, revealing to the world the ten desperate and gruesome days for the people of Gwangju.
The government's stance on the Gwangju democratization movement, which began with the inauguration of a non-military government, was stated in a May 13 interview of then-president Kim Young-sam, who assessed that "the bloodshed of Gwangju in May 1980 became the basis of democracy in this nation and that sacrifice was made for democracy." He articulated the justification of the Gwangju democratization movement by saying, "Today's government is a democratic government standing on the extension rod of the Gwangju democratization movement."
In addition, the "correcting history" movement that followed the May 13 interview of President Kim caused the new military authorities, who had trampled ruthlessly upon Gwangju in May 1980, to fall to "judgment by history, law and justice" and led to the enactment of the Special Act on May 18 Movement. It has also contributed a great deal to healing the wounds inflicted on the Korean people and the Gwangju citizens by "the history of the past."
However, the final verdict handed down by the Supreme Court at that time - that the movement was a civil war - is still in effect, and until it is overruled by retrial, the Gwangju struggle remains a civil war under judicial law and its participants are still considered rioters.
To this day, the truth behind the May 18 Gwangju democratization movement has not been fully disclosed. It is still unclear why the number of airborne fighting units were increased in Gwangju following measures to expand emergency martial law. It is also unclear who acted as the leader of the airborne unit committed to Gwangju, who gave the order to open fire at Gwangju citizens, what role the United States played at the time, and precisely how many people were killed in Gwangju.
Even today, when the former leaders of the new military authorities fall under "stern judgment of history and law" in the name of the people, finding the truth behind the Gwangju movement remains a great historic task that our generation must solve.
To designate the historic coordinates of the Gwangju democratization movement, its historical significance must first be established based on a clear investigation into the truth behind the movement. Several evaluations of varying perspectives exist today regarding the historical significance of the Gwangju democratization movement. They can be summarized as follows.
First, the Gwangju democratization movement became the turning point for the inheritance and development of a tradition of a people's struggle, which has continued through history. The Gwangju democratization movement carried out a resistance against a military regime that had established an oppressive system in denial of the April 19 democratization movement and that seized power through military coup on May 16, 1961. During the process, the tradition of independence and democracy expressed during the people's struggle was passed down, and further developed.
Second, the Gwangju democratization movement is significant in that it confirmed that people are the driving force of history for they appear at the cutting edge of history. Throughout the 1980s, the democratization movement saw significant progress in sectors of workers, farmers, the poverty class, students, religion, culture and arts, intellectuals and members of the opposition party. Such growth in the democratization movement was possible because people became aware of their position and the tasks that lay ahead during the process of reflecting on and succeeding the Gwangju democratization movement.
Third, unlike the history of the West, our history has the tendency to not recognize armed resistance against authorities. However, the Gwangju democratization movement is significant in that the justification for the right of resistance, which is a natural right of humans, and the legitimacy of armed struggle, were sanctioned as a means of resistance for the first time in Korea. The Gwangju democratization movement, which was degraded to "violent acts by armed rioters," was later officially recognized as the "Gwangju democratization movement" on the government level. The rights of the people that have yet to be officially recognized for the 1894 Peasant War and the struggles by the civilian troops in 1895, 1905 and 1907 have finally been recognized through the Gwangju democratization movement.
Fourth, the Gwangju democratization movement became the turning point for denying the legitimacy and morality of the regime under the oppressive command of Chun Doo-hwan, which succeeded the military-authoritarian regime known as the Yushin system. The Gwangju movement played a decisive role in eventually bringing down that system. By mobilizing various intelligence sources, the regime of President Chun Doo-hwan exercised suppressive control over the nation, but was met with waves of resistance from Gwangju every May, and eventually was quashed. In this regard, the Gwangju democratization movement was the driving force of the people's democracy movement of the 1980s. And by serving as a precedent in deposing an immoral regime, it also served as the basis for mobilizing the national consensus to bring down the "Fifth Republic."
The Gwangju democratization movement must not be put aside as a painful setback at one point in time, but must take firm root as a new starting point promising the progression of our modern history. The people's yearning for democratization after 1980 clearly shows what we should leave behind from our history and what kind of awareness of the past we should hand down to our children.
Supervised by(Contact) : May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising Enhancement Division(+82-62-613-3672)
In May 1980, the most tragic and ugly incident in the modern history of Korea unfolded in Gwangju. A conspiracy by the new military authorities to overtake the existing regime began with a coup on December 12, 1979 and ended with the stifling of the Gwangju democratization movement in May 1980. At this incident, precious lives of Gwangju's citizens were taken during an operation by the martial army staged inside the Provincial Government Office of South Jeolla Province. Some military servicemen deeply involved in politics, who sought to fill the power vacuum following the death of President Park Chung Hee, seized the opportunity to grab hold of power through an indiscriminate military operation (code name: Operation Loyalty) against the citizens of Gwangju. 
Before the May 18 movement was designated a struggle by the masses, it had to go through a lot of upheaval.
To designate the historic coordinates of the Gwangju democratization movement, its historical significance must first be established based on a clear investigation into the truth behind the movement. Several evaluations of varying perspectives exist today regarding the historical significance of the Gwangju democratization movement. They can be summarized as follows. 
