My dad was a high schooler in Gwangju at the time. He told me that he went to a park where the resistance was handing out firearms so that he could join the force. Lucky for me, the distributor sent him away because he was too young. My dad passed when I was a wee little lad so I don’t have a lot of memories with him, but when I imagine my dad as this dumb kid willing to face the fear of violence for his community, it makes me smile. I hope I inherited his courage.
@@pastortt4167 My friend, I can ostensibly tell you have a strong opinion on this topic with which I cannot agree at the moment. Frankly, I am not confident in persuading you on a RU-vid comment debate because I’ve seen how internet debates usually end up being; it becomes a series of ad hominem against each other that are aimed to establish a facade of intellectual dominance rather than an honest discourse. I sense that any argument based on my education from South Korean school on the topic or historical records would be dismissed as biased due to my personal connection to the subject matter. That can be a fair criticism in the right context but it nevertheless signifies that I may not be a suitable person with whom you would like to engage in this conversation if your purpose is to seek truth in an unbiased way and spreading that truth. So I respectfully suggest that you look for more appropriate domain for this kind of conversation. I apologize for my rejection of discourse but I believe it would be fruitless here. If you do find a willing unbiased listener, I would suggest you phrase your argument as accommodating as possible due to how sensitive the topic can get. It is not a matter of being polite per se but rather a strategic move to have the opposition respect and listen to what you have to say. I don’t really see anything outrageously provocative in the form of your statements so I’m sure you’ll manage. Lastly, in case you are a troll, I only wish to tell you that there are better ways to get people’s attention that are healthy for both you and other folks. It is a natural desire to seek attention because we are social creatures. I truly wish you best of luck in arranging your life that helps you escape misery and achieve contentment in life. You have a good day. :)
I agree with you. If we could hear the voices of the elders worldwide perhaps we would have less animosity on the earth and perhaps a better chance of harmony. Wars are all too often started by the lies, arrogance and insecurities of our worldleaders. Just take a look at Boris Johnson. He is very bad for UK because he's a greedy, lazy, arrogant, dishonest horrible guy and a rotten liar
It is always good when a reporter interviews people who actually lived during that time. Not just people who only learned about this person thru word of mouth or the internet.
@@chrispoop , right. But that is a different form of media. To understand a book, you have to read it in its entirety. In this case, you asked a direct question to a number of people and get a straightforward answer in a span of a few minutes.
13:26 the gentleman spoke about this very logically and straightforward. So many people try to find good things for dictators or corrupted politicians by their so called contributions while neglected the bigger negative impact and trauma they've caused on the people. And its always the poorest people the worse victims
Why do bad things happen to good people? As hard as it is to acknowledge, we must remember that there are no “good” people, in the absolute sense of the word. All of us are tainted by and infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). As Jesus said, “No one is good-except God alone” (Luke 18:19). All of us feel the effects of sin in one way or another. Sometimes it’s our own personal sin; other times, it’s the sins of others. We live in a fallen world, and we experience the effects of the fall. One of those effects is injustice and seemingly senseless suffering.
In the sincerity of the guy who said "that he died and natural death, this makes me question if their is a god" also the guy who lost 3 of his brothers to it... this struck a cord with me. I was not aware that this had happened and you have my condolences.
this happened years prior to Tiananmen square and has parallels though it was widely covered up by the chun administration, it took much effort for one german journalist to get into the besieged city of gwangju with the help of a local korean taxi driver using backroads. there is a korean movie very good call "Taxi Driver" about it. unlike Tiananmen square, where many foreign journalists were in Beijing and the city was not in lockdown as it was the capital, so many reportings were made and captured on film of the atrocities.
You should check out the Korean movie "A Taxi Driver". It's based on a true story about how a foreigner was able to sneak his way into Gwangju to film the atrocities that were taking place.
I just finished the Kdrama The Youth of May. It was about the Gwangju Uprising. I was very surprised to learn how recent that history is. Thank you for giving me more insights to those events.
@@jfarmerswatermelon6061 Thank you. I just found out that it tells the story of a brave taxi driver who managed to get a German journalist into the locked down city of Gwangju during the uprising for democracy. He was able to report the story, leading to the truth of the massacre being exposed to people outside Gwangju and the world. I will watch it!
@@jessicamm I'm a student.. I have completed a six months English speaking course ... But I don't have friends for English practice. Can we practice English ?
This is why Koreans are against the kdrama "Snowdrop" from being released. It was already explained by many people in the video, but to add, the people of Gwangju were framed as communists and North Korean spies and were tortured, raped, killed, and buried where to this day some families of the victims still have not found their remains. If you've ever seen the drama "Youth of May" or seen the news concerning what's going on in Myanmar right now, you'd probably be able to imagine how terrifying the situation was at the time more clearly. There are many problems with Snowdrop. First of all, they tried to use the name of an *an actual protestor at the time who was tortured along with her husband* for the name of the *female lead* who is to get into a *romantic relationship with a North Korean spy.* What's even more disgusting, is that the second male lead is going to be one of the military officers that were detaining the uprising. It's not because mainland Koreans are jealous that your pretty bias Jisoo is going to be acting, it's not because people are mindlessly hating on the blackpink member, this is an issue far more serious than that. What's so disgusting about this is that because the producers know that the idea stated above would mostly be, and currently is what others think about this issue, and mainland Koreans would have no power over this if the international fans try to *protect their Jisoo and her drama.* So, they decided to collaborate with Disney+. When the synopsis of the drama was first released, people petitioned for this drama to be canceled and according to some sources, the bereaved family members had tried to file a lawsuit against it, but it was unsuccessful for since there hasn't been any episodes out yet, the government has decided to let it air and then check if there's anything wrong or too historically inaccurate with what is shown in the episode, which is complete bogus because the synopsis and character descriptions which JTBC had uploaded recently already says it all.
Thank you for this insight not everyone has this mind👏 i really hate how it come far that the so called fans still don't get the importance of such a historic disaster. Not everything is about your bias/fave actor etc. I also think the writers could have done just a nk spy sk girl story in the 90s or whatever without using a horryfing thing and twisting the history. I really feel for the victims and the families.
@@misskirimi6866 ..so recently, I've heard the news that both ignorant Korean and international fans have been shaming and mocking the most renowned victims of the time online and even tried to cancel a victim's memorial. Some have been attacking and telling a person who's parents and acquaintances were tortured (some killed) to "shut up, Jisoo hater." This shows that no one has the right to say the drama isn't distorting history and Koreans are just "overreacting."
During Chun Doo-Hwan's brutal South Korea dictatorship, anyone who had any opposing views, wanted improvements in government policy, or sought social and political change were labeled "Communists" and tortured for weeks before being brutally executed. Their families would be publicly shamed and often arrested as well. He was heavily supported by the USA and especially the Reagan administration, who viewed his brutality toward the innocent as "keeping South Korea free".
How was he heavily supported? They only recognized him after he promised he would not develop missiles with a range longer than 180 km or capable of carrying greater than a 453 kg warhead. Not to mention, the influence from America stopped him from developing a nuclear weapons program.
This sounds very much like the Marcos regime in the Philippines that lasted for more than 20 years. Fighting the so-called "communists" was his justification for using violence and establishing martial law. The Americans also supported him for this. It was during the cold war period where the USA was very serious about fighting communism and keeping the Soviets from expanding their influence. The so called "democracy loving" American government supported abuse against human rights just to maintain their global hegemony. Now most Filipinos, being blinded by current populist rhetoric, are supportive of the Marcoses and their cronies.
5:17 I lived in Korea for 7 years. Gwangju Jeollanamdo was my first city. The people are fantastic (the food and soju). I learned enough Korean to talk to the older Koreans; there is so much to uncover about the Gwangju Massacre.
This part made me so sad..it's so good to learn from history, which is why these videos are so special and important. Especially when heard from the people who went through it.
Honestly like even the suppressed emotion from the man talking about his brothers and father made me tear up a bit. That’s also my dad’s hometown, luckily he was in Seoul at the time- but I met one of his friends who is still suffering from PTSD
This is excellent! I had just recently learned about President Park's assassination (I used it for a "this day in history" in my classroom), so it's very nice to learn about what came after, and about S. Korean history in general.
got here so fast, and it's so amazing to see such diverse opinions and worldviews among these people. they all have such insightful things to say. you really picked a good bunch to interview
I think Filipinos should watch this and reconsider supporting the son of a dictator who is now running as a President of the Philippines next year election.
Yea, I heard that recently. In Indonesia, the son of our second president actually tried to run for last election, but people really turned on the second president's family and he's treated as a joke essentially. It's widely known that he and his siblings basically used their dad's position a lot to gain financial advantage for themselves back in the day. Like it was both one of the best and truly the worst periods of Indonesian history post - independence.
@@thethugjesus2887 I think you kind of referring to Park Chunghee, not Chun Dohwan. Park Chunghee was the Korean dictator that “ushered” South Korea’s economic sucess.
@@Tamaki742 The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
Agreed, it would be beneficial for the younger generation to have those thoughts on record. Sometimes with all of the rapid socioeconomic progress, it feels as if the topic has taken a back seat with them unfortunately.
That's just story. Don't learn history from movie. Other side many Korean respects Chon doo hwan as he made Korean economy really wealthy. Because during he was the president it was safe in Korea and reduced the crimes and made it happened 88 Seoul Olympics. He supported all the Korean sports games and traditional culture.
@@lifeissooofun That's very true. All Korean movies about the democracy movement in the 80's are biased and spread leftist propaganda. His achievements make me a proud Korean as they made Korea a great nation. The ironic thing is that a lot of college students who fought against the Chun Do-hwan regime support Socialism, and some of them are now politicians in the current regime that controls media, implements many restrictions and nonsense policies.
@@ns-4438 That’s… blatantly untrue. Almost nothing of the semi-documentary films covering the Gwangju Uprising or any pro-democracy protests in the ROK were spreading so-called leftist propaganda. You can call it sensationalist sure, because that’s what movies do, but these are literally criticisms of the government and its wild antics which never went far. Westerners/Americans continuously espouse anything leftist as the great evil because of a decade of McCarthyism and the Red Scare. The USSR and China were literal authoritarian regimes, and had little to do with Communism or Socialism. That said, there is a huge grey side to South Korean modern history given how whack the past leaders were towards human rights while stimulating the economy, but there’s a line to be drawn if you decide to praise a leader even if they were notorious for doing exactly what the Soviets or the Maoist regime did, cracking down on any vocal dissidents through sheer terror of its secret police (aka KCIA). Having a superficial notion to uphold tradition or having the bucks isn’t close to enough to what we want to call a good leader. Having no morality for its own citizens to the brink of protests already signifies the corrupt, tainted nature of the government.
I like how that one guy just dismissed the other people's answers to whether Chun did anything good. That said, it seemed that a few of them mentioned the US being an ally to South Korea now as a factor for the country not slipping into a dictatorship again. But wasn't the US allied with South Korea during the dictatorship as well?
The ironic part is that the US government gave the Chun Doo Hwan dictatorship the green light for the Gwangju massacre. It was because Chun Doo Hwan was very pro-US and US was fighting a cold war with the Soviet Union. The US was afraid of leftist governments taking over South Korea which might be friendlier with communists and might cause them to lose influence in South Korea.
The history of the US is rife with dark and questionable moments. Thankfully SK and US are currently on the just side when it comes to democracy. Still, what the US had done in the past cannot ever be erased.
Very true. As a Korea, I think it often comes from the mindset that Korea lacks in many aspects. While Koreans are very proud, they also are very critical of Korean society and some people still don't truly see it as a developed country. Some of my friends, for example, think that S.Korea will lose in 1:1 war against N.Korea without the help of US
@@AndrewLee-vb1rr It's good and justified to be critical, but it needs to be moderate and balanced. I personally feel that Koreans are capable of amazing feats, but they tend to be overly harsh on themselves and the people around them. Perhaps it may be due to the culture of the society, but I believe that everyone could be happier if they're able to let go of certain things.
@@forcexjr1566 I agree. That is the "Korean paradox." There is coexistence of proudness and criticalness, and only recently did Koreans start to think of themselves as advanced country, especially with success of BTS, Parasite, and Squid Game. Now more and more ppl are gaining confidence, but still there are ppl that will look down on Korea compared to countries like US, Germany, Japan, etc. I think this dichotomy has to do with the sudden surge in popularity of K-culture. And to add, just like you said Koreans tend to be harsh on many things in general - in my opinion this is due to extreme competition in the society and so Koreans have to excel in what they do, so anything subpar tends to be viewed critically
I did not know anything about this military dictatorship in South Korea. I found it interesting, now I'm going to look for more information on this topic. Thanks Asian Boss, you're the best👍👏💯❤
I feel elated and envious for them because they are well-aware of their horrible past under the dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan. They are clearly determined not to repeat their experiences under a dictatorial rule--the exact opposite that is happening in my country. In the case of the Philippines, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos is glorified and deemed as the golden age of the country (despite the staggering number of violations against human rights and the prevalence of corruption during Marcos' dictatorship). The proliferation of fake news pertaining to his regime as well as the efforts done by the Marcos family to revise history further aggravate the situation of our country. Now, the son of the dictator is running for the presidency in this upcoming elections. This is such an insightful video. I hope Asian Boss covers about the Marcos regime here in the Philippines as well.
Watching this, I thought what if a video like this was made about Marcos? If you ask Filipinos about him, the views will bei divided unlike this one. Some see him as either the greatest thief or the greatest president the country has ever had. A debate might happen in the comment sections if a video were to occur. As a fellow Filipino, it sucks how Marcos’ dictatorship is being overlooked by people of all generations just because of the infrastructure projects he made during his presidency. I know people who claimed that the Martial Law was good, but that’s because the main issue didn’t center in our area, it was in Manila, which is a thousand kilometers away from my province. It sucks having to tell people to stop invalidating the tortures and killings that occurred just because life was ‘peaceful’ in our province. This is what happens when history is not taken seriously as a subject. We merely memorize facts without figuring out the root of the problems. Aside from that, we lack passionate history teachers who are willing to teach kids about issues like these. Honestly, while watching the video, I thought I might hear an answer that the late Korean dictator was good because you’ll get used to it here. But I salute these Koreans for really acknowledging what had happened in the past and never backing down on their beliefs. I just hope the same goes to the Filipinos.😩😩😩
Funny how the military dictatorship that went down in Brazil in 1964 (also backed by the US) is also praised here by some as the golden age of the country. Goes to show how much damage the US does all around the world, even today.
i had a trip to korea 2 months after the edsa revolution. the airport was in kimpo, there was no big airport like incheon then. i was stopped at the immigration and brought to an office. fearing for being arrested for some unknown reason, i argued that i am a legitimate tourist. but it came out that the young employees, 5 of them, wanted to know if what happened in edsa could possibly happen in korea. i told them filipinos are mostly catholics and could not possibly run over priests and nuns, nor ignore the rosaries and crosses that faced them, and i said i doubted whether their soldiers will act the same.
One of my elder relatives who passed away a few years ago was a college student who got arrested by this dictator. Because of the torture he had to endure, he couldn't return to everyday life, and remained home and just wrote books all his life.
This important video documents the history of the democracy movement from first person accounts. They so clearly describe the importance of the peoples' effort, voice, sacrifices, freedom of press, and reading about your own country from foreign news. Whenever I hear about the myth of the docile and obedient Asian, I point to the Korean democracy movement. The Korean people have achieved a great deal very quickly. Of course, there's always more but much as been accomplished in just a few decades. These elders remember how different it was not too long ago. More historical interviews with elders please! Their memory is our treasure.
As we've witnessed so many countries step closer to becoming a fascist state, it takes the right set of circumstances for a dictator to emerge. I'm so glad SK emerged from that dark past. May it never happen again. Thank you for this insightful interview. I especially enjoyed the gentleman with a beret.
Thank u so much Asian Boss for bringing such great content for us..Truly thankful to get to know so many things and listening to people's opinions and their stories. You guys are doing a marvelous job.
This is a reminder that we must all do what we can to defend our freedom. It's amazing to see how quickly South Korea has developed into a prosperous, free democracy.
Thank you for the nice comment! And I agree with you! Korea, like all countries, still has its problems even if its is the most democratic country now in Asia. My father reminisced what happened when we were watching the news about Myanmar. He said that when he was a teenager like me, they fought for democracy and Korea was amazing because it managed to achieve being a full democracy from being a military dictatorship as the most advanced democracy in Asia in such a short span of time. The answer he always said to me was, the sacrifice of the Korean people and the unbroken spirit of Koreans during its shaky history during the 20th century.
they also send the most missionaries (born again Christian) to the world. usually the trend is countries that take this path usually end up developing quite quickly into a prosperous, free democracy
As a Brazilian citizen I can relate to this because we also had a military dictatorship back in the 60's-80's, however there are a lot of people who are openly speaking about enjoying and praising our current president who is in favor of those times (and probably want to put another dictatorship here)
As a Korean, Korean society still shift back and forward with complicated politic circumstances such as Korean war, which was one of the causes of Cold war from 1950s to 80s. As a matter of fact, Korea was, like some of other countries, divided by other forces. (I don't want to refer to them directly) I think every issue on Korea blurs everytime it comes out. we live in the world of extremity now.
@@jeffgrace7266 American militery should keep staying. Some people ask me I should be disagreeing US militery staying in Korea if I think so. but I'm just talking about the fact. Is there anybody who thinks Korea by itself divided itself? Two Koreas are still on the extension of the war in 1950 and cold war.
@@jeffgrace7266 Well, I underdtand why they protest(ofc, there must be some North-Korean spies lol). they argue Korea take whole control of combat operation which has been given over to US, and even require to reduce US militery, or its general withdrawl. Well, I think a country should be prepared with its own militery forces against invasion and war, but US militery stay is not a battle-related issue any more, but It's very intricated with Asian peace and Korea-USA alliance. Korean should not merely try to get back or build its pride.
I got to know about gwangju uprising from the drama YOUTH OF MAY. I felt like its a good way to let the world know about Korea's historical and political issues through dramas since it's the major source of entertainment for people. To think that people of that time are still living without recieving a formal apology for their loss, breaks my heart
I can relate to the frustration and loathing of the elderly towards Chun Doohwan. I’m Filipino and I grew up hearing stories of the horrible Marcos regime. My parents’ generation grew and matured under his reign and only reminisce the terrible situation of the era.
@@ianhomerpura8937 I feel like it's almost like how it is in my country. Some people suddenly looked towards the second president's reign, a dictatorship that lasted 32 years, as better than it is now when his ex son in law ran for presidency for the 4th time. It's not a significant amount of people though, because while the infrastructure and economy got better, it's also a long period rife with corruption, suppression of press, kidnappings of activists, indiscriminate killings of civillians, massacres, discrimination of Chinese descents (my father who's 3rd generation Chinese descent was scoffed at when applying for the top national university by the admin staff member, neither him nor his friends who are also of Chinese descents were accepted in the end), and by the end of it things blew up in their face with the Asian economic crash. That's how you get people even angrier. His son actually tried to run for election last time and he's very much treated like a joke. Though I don't get why his ex son in law is treated much better by people, but eh, he still lost all of his attempts in elections.
Goosebumps all over my body. I just finished reading Han Kang’s Human Acts, and I’m so invested to research and know more about the Gwangju uprising, and South Korea’s democratic history in general. Great video.
5:19 Today is human rights day. We must ALWAYS remember our humanity. My heart goes out to the families of the people who died. It may be a news report to some. But to the families of those who died it’s a tragedy.
I'm just sad the guy with 3 brothers whom were shot during the incident didn't get more time so we many better understand his perspective. His eyes are red, still is hurt by it even today after all those years. Maybe he didn't want to say any more after that fact during the interview, but it's a shame we didn't get any more footage of him and his recounting of the experience, but I can see why there's a reason the whole interview isn't played. Edit: On a brighter note the guy in the tan outfit with the tan hat sees the whole situation for what it is. He is truly an articulate smart man. He sees facts and connects the dots.
Seo Taiji and IU's music videos for Sogyeokdong seem to express some of the things these elders are talking about from this time quite well. You can find them on RU-vid. Thank you for interviewing elders on this Asian Boss!
This is so interesting, I also come from a country that lived under a dictatorship. just to here about the story and lives of the people make me relate so much to also my own history, bc we didn’t discuss what the people thought at that time since it’s such a taboo topic.
Actually, This is why South Korea is one of the countries that has the highest level of Freedom to Speech in Asia. Against to the Dictatorship and protect the Democracy. That's why koreans protest for Hong Kong,Taiwan,Myanmar,Thai and other countries that pressured by the dictatorship.
Funny enough, you guys supported USA. The biggest bully that ever happened to asia after imperial japan. Dont think we'd forgot what've you did to your fellow neighbour during imperial japan and USA/allies time!😡 That's rich of you for saying that!
@@nfspbarrister5681 Kinda funny. If you don't participate in politics and don't care, a guy like you appears. You think democracy fell from heaven so easily? Hell no! We obtained democracy with blood and sweat! Think about it. If Korea is not a democratic country now , Korean entertainments didn't get this big either! Kpop like PSY, BTS? These are nothing without democracy just a dictatorship!
@@nfspbarrister5681 USA is the biggest proper democracy (India is sorta unstable) in the world. Also they liberated and fought agaisnt nk for us. Who else would we support
@@kevinkim3199 Well--NOBODY Likes Foreign MILITARY People living in THEIR Country FOREVER...Even a FRIENDLY War/Battle ELEPHANT can Knock THINGS Over and STEP On PEOPLE..PLUS Make Very LOUD Noises---Especially when DRUNK On ALCOHOL... 50 THOUSAND Americans DIED in YOUR Korean CIVIL War--and I Know OLDER Koreans STILL Appreciate THEM---But THAT Was almost 70 YEARS Ago... NOW---YOUNG Drunk and MEAN American Military BOYS (And GIRLS TOO Now??) are doing Hateful and Obnoxious things in YOUR Country...and to Your PEOPLE--like Urinating on YOUNG Trees and Beating on Young Korean MEN---and (In SOME Cases)---Raping YOUNG Korean Women and GIRLS...Also KILLING Koreans with CARS and Military VEHICLES... Question---How LONG do YOU think SOUTH Koreans will Continue to TOLERATE Our Young American MILITARY People???.. What do YOU Think Pyongyang NORTH Koreans would SAY to THAT???...
I wish you guys can make an interview asking locals of their view on other dictators like Ferdinand Marcos, Suharto, etc. By the way it's quite interesting to hear elders talk about the past :)
I'm a Filipino and I was curious about how they will answer the questions because their history is quite similar to ours. I hope that we could also unify and reflect on history just like how koreans did so we could progress and grow into a better nation. These days, historical revisionism is rampant due to the upcoming elections which is very unfortunate for many of our Filipino anscestors, to the Filipino youth and our future generations. I hope we could also be a nation that will not accept violence to trample on our dignities. Hope this interview will open the eyes of many, not just my own people but everyone who seeks peace.
@@moon_wei The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
@@schnappueber The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
@@JayJay-xy5ch people are blandly blind. difference is not only our economic but also how koreans and filipinos have different perception to the dictator who ruled the country. koreans are aware and have knowledge, look at their explanation and reasons. while here in ph, i just don't understand how they perceived the marcos dynasty. plus, ofc they will have an economic growth because of their music, products (samsung, lg) and entertainment while philippines where we should get our resources for our economic to grow? none. i believe that's why they have economic growth despite the dictator is bcos of its people, unlike to ph who still glorify the marcoses.
As much as I am a fan of Snowdrop, it would be nice to conduct street interviews about the controversy surrounding the drama and also where one draws the line with fiction & history
Thank you Asian Boss for such amazing content as always. Korea is arguably THE most democratic country in the world - just look at what happened in 2016 - the prime example of what a peaceful transition of power should look like. I wonder if China will ever wake up...
Listening to the testimonies of these citizens is like listening to those who lived through the Spanish dictatorship with Franco. Terrible times that no country should live. Dictatorships followed the same pattern of conduct in both the East and the West. And, in my opinion, no dictator should die in his bed, wrapped up in his own and at such a long age without paying for what they did. As here in Spain, I doubt that today's generations know how to value all the effort and sacrifice that our families made and what they went through to ensure a state of well-being and fundamental rights that today they take for granted. This is where I think education fails here in Spain.
A great video and I really appreciate you guys didn't edit the portion on the gentleman who shared the context of Korea after the assassination of President Park....if he didn't take control then and let politics play out, I wonder how the 80s and 90s turned out to be...
Watching this video makes me think of the future, too. I'm in my early 20s, but I imagine that if I reach that age, I would recount the current world events in much the same fashion as these Korean elders are doing now. When that elder was able recount the exact date of the uprising, it sent a shiver down my spine (especially since, as an American, I know the January 6 coup of this year could potentially live up to that same line of infamy). Watching the elderly recount their stories is always moving, but when it comes to their recounting of the darker events of history, it's always chilling because they are our living, primary sources and were the ones who were affected directly by everything going around them. I wouldn't be surprised if I and many of my generation will grow up to be seen by our descendants in a similar fashion.
It's quite interesting how all of the interviewees agree that a similar dictatorship could not be reinstated today, and name the US being a SK ally as one of the reasons. The US has been an ally of SK uninterruptedly since the end of the second world war, and did not interfere in the dictatorships that preceded the democratization of South Korea.
The US government did tho. Reagan especially urged Chun Doo Hwan to hold discussions with protesters and establish democracy. If US hadn’t don’t anything SK would have turned out like NK.
Very true. As a Korean, I think it often comes from the mindset that Korea lacks in many aspects. While Koreans are very proud, they also are very critical of Korean society and some people still don't truly see it as a developed country. Some of my friends, for example, think that S.Korea will lose in 1:1 war against N.Korea without the help of US
Worse, the US military actively helped in the repression of democracy throughout the reign of the dictators. The US was there to prevent communism and promote capitalism - democracy was never important to them during the Cold War.
Not only he was a dictator, military who had all the power as much as him, they all did horrible things to citizens, killing, torture, rape women, and what's so sad? Victims still lives with those pains but there are no suspect to charge the crime they accrue.
South Korean dictator reminds me of the Indonesian dictator Suharto, they used the military to oppress the people and labeled the opposition with communism
It is interesting that they have such confidence that things wouldn't go south. Just looking at the USA as an example , it shows democracy is fragile and majority needs to protect it or risk it being destoryed. No system is infallible, and we shouldn't take for granted on the things we have. What is there can be taken away easier than we thought.
I was thinking this exact thing. We don't own our phones or the internet, we never have as long as someone else controls the way we use them (telephone lines, slowing our phones down, just to say a few examples) There was one man who was basically listing the steps to recognize the rising of fascism and the others who were saying that because they have these things, it would be impossible but that's exactly how it starts. This applies to all "free" countries though, it's always important to watch the necks of your own vs thinking you're unreachable
The main factor is, that south koreans have it still in fresh collective memory and it will take at least 2 other generations when it will might show first signs of destabilisation of democracy ideas in society. US never even had a war directly at their doorsteps so they dont know how it is to be devasted by war. They never had authoritatian government so they dont know what it really means to not have a freedom. You can also see this difference in mentality between western and eastern europe. In western, the last conflict was the 2nd ww. But eastern europe was living under communism regime until the end of 80s very beginning 90s. In balkan you still had wars in middle of 90s. And some eastern countries still being bullied by r..ssia.
I completely agree, and I also agree with the other comments. It still amazes me and shocked me that there are many people here in Italy who support Mussolini even though they were born after Mussolini's demise. The mere thought that the extreme right wing could come back to power today scares me because yes, I agree, democracy is so fragile.
"Youth of May" k drama is a good story while characters are fictional the tragic story of the Gwangju Uprising is told. My heart still hurts hearing this tragic event and for the lives lost.
A big hug to all politically and socially conscious people like the guy with the beret. Spoken only the truth. Fight on and resist brothers and sisters! ✊
I'm not surprised that most people don't even care for Chun Doo-hwan passing away given his involvements in the atrocities where many innocent lives were taken and the very restrictive society people were living in. To pay mind and attention to Chun Doo-hwan would mean that said person would care about said individual. Although it's not likely someone like Chun Doo-hwan would forcibly take over and become the leader of South Korea, there's still a chance that someone like like that could try and take over; especially during the possible reunification of North and South Korea. If that was something that was considered or actually put into practice, there is likely going to be a lot of people against it (from both sides).
i learn about gwangju demonstration , when i watched the movie " "taxi " i t was abt a taxi driver and foreign reporter it was so interesting because it was a true story now i realised more abt korean history , thanks asian boss for this information
I love this... listening to older ppl talk about the past.. opinions & lessons we can learn.. things they went tru... and we should appreciate wht we have now. Nothing is ever be perfect but its definitely much better now.
My linguistic anthropology teacher was a kid growing up in South Korea when he was “president”. While she never regaled me with too many tales from the time, she would mention how per parents always remembered to tell her to be careful of what she says or the government might get wind of it. Imagine being a kid with that kind of terror in the back of your head
I just visited Gwangju to learn more about this event and to sit with everything that happened while paying my respects. This was a really interesting to watch from people of older generations. For future videos, it would be interesting to hear the differences of people/perspectives interviewed outside of Seoul and in different provinces in Korea, as well as in Gwangju (for this video topic in particular). Thanks for this video. It’s important to not forget the lives lost and their fight for a better tomorrow. I hope they are resting in a better place now.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, a brutal dictator was given a spot in the Cemetery of the Heroes last 2016 and is being celebrated because of the rampant historical revisionism that’s happening in the country.
The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
Was never ever taught or aware of him,how is that Koreans can go through a war followed up with dictatorship,yet th culture still remains beautifully th same,respect too th elders from hard times!!!
2:00에 보면 할아버지가 자신을 "갑종출신"이라고 하는데 영어 번역이 그냥 high ranked officer 이라고 나와있습니다. 이는 명백한 오역입니다. 갑종장교는 해방후부터 60년대까지 존재했던 사관학교 외 육군장교 모병방법 중 하나였습니다. 이들은 주로 야전에서 피흘리며 진급을 한 장교들이 많았고 전두환이 속해 있던 육사 출신의 하나회 와는 라이벌 관계 였습니다. 이후 하나회 주도로 권력과 요직에서 전부 숙청됩니다. 따라서 할아버지 입장에서는 전두환이 더 미울것입니다. 미세한 차이지만 이유를 알고 보면 더 많은 감정의 선이 보이는 장면 이라고 생각합니다.
Chun Doo-Hwan's brutal dictatorship in South Korea is very similar to Ferdinand Marcos' Martial Law era in the Philippines. In South Korea where people were labeled as communists and were subjected to torture, hundreds of Filipino people were also tortured and killed especially those who were vocal in their call for genuine reforms and demands of accountability from the government. While it is fortunate that South Korean citizens remember the horrors of Chun Doo-Hwan's dictatorship however, it is the other side of the coin for Filipinos who became victims of historical revisionism, claiming that the Marcos' dictatorship was the best era.
The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
@@helljumper6969 The only difference is Korea became an economic Power. Meanwhile philippines didn't even change a single bit after the marcoses. And Duterte Carried the marcoses, if not for the Duterte narrative, the marcoses will not be back in due time.
My uhmma is from Gwangju and grew up extremely poor. She’s 66 years old. When my mom was 19 she immigrated to the U.S where she met my dad. It’s crazy to hear more of the history of my mom from that time. She suffered a lot of trauma so she doesn’t speak about her past too much. So this is enlightening.
And his children lives top 1% luxury life from wealth he took from citizens tax! And he said what? He has $26 in his bank account? Disgusting human being.
The Gwangju uprising just happened to occur at precisely the same time as the Mt. Saint Helens eruption in the United States. It never made the news here...
Well, Chinese can only make constructive criticism like government policies, that's China improve day by day. No one can improve without being criticized or listen to opinions, CCP included. Please note that China has 1.4 billion of people, if the government stop listening to it's people then that's game over for them. Of course, hate speech towards the leaders or try to overthrow the government or start a separatist movement is another story 🤣
@@jasonsoo6138 Exactly. So government action goes unchecked outside of how much cautious those in power have about arousing the hostility of their citizenry. They have quite a bit of wiggle room in what they can get away with considering the current military resources at their disposal. Many will face quite a bit of horror before choosing annihilation.
Weird that some pro-government people there frame democracy as a supposedly "time-consuming process" and would thus affect their push for economic development. Political and economic development can be done simultaneously, but somehow people don't realize it.