Korean Elders React to Death of South Korea’s Last Dictator | Street Interview 

'He hadn't fulfiled his duty as a respectable human being' wow what a quote

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.

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.

There’s something so enriching of listening to elder people talk about the past. Thank you Asian boss for bringing this to us!

its hard to believe how some of the most evil people end up living the longest

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

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.

I wish we heard more from the guy who was from Gwangju and lost three brothers in the uprisings. It sounds like he had a story to tell!!

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".

This is perhaps Asian Boss's best interview till date in terms of content.

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.

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.

As a russian citizen i hope we could make this kind of interview one day...

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.

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.

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.

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 hope someday you make an episode interviewing elders about the reunification!! That would be so interesting!!!

4:46 Best quote "The fact that he died naturally makes me question if there is a god"

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.

Wow, just caught this one as it was posted! Interested to learn about the Chun dictatorship from this video, since I'm not versed in korean history yet

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.

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?

Highly recommend "A Taxi Driver". Excellent movie about the Gwanju Uprising.

Great interview. Much respect to the generation who lived through the difficult transition from the dictatorship to the democracy of today.

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👍👏💯❤

The Abeoji who referenced the Roman Dictators.... Is a smart man. Sadly nobody talks like that in our society nowadays.

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.

It’s very good to hear the elders viewpoints on what happened to SK

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 a Burmese fighting the dictatorship right now, I hope I can enjoy the word ‘last dictator’ soon. I’m very happy on behalf of South Korean

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)

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.

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.

15:37 very good question!

Thank you. I love listening elders, their point of view from the past, we can learn a lot listening others more than books.. Stay healthy everybody 🌷🌷

The man with the flat cap speaks so calmly and eloquently

I Love listening to our older citizens! Thank you for this video!

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.

I’d love to see longer detailed videos of interviews, please, thank you

I always love listening to old generations talk about their old days be it good or bad It makes me curious about their daily life back then💜

It’s sad some many innocent people died under his watch! Evil Dictator’s won’t be missed. They will pay for their crimes in the afterlife.

Absolutely enriching! Love when Asian Boss does videos that include history and culture.

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.

Incredible. Always take care of your elders and listen to what they've experienced and learn from it so you can pass it on.

Excellent video: Interesting, genuine, insightful interviews.

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 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.

One can still feel the pain of people! Thanks for leting them speak up.

I hope we get to see a interview with people of gwangju about this same topic

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.

That was authentic and awesome. The dialogue between generations is not smooth. Thank you for a great video.

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.

I have lived in Korea for a couple of years now, but didn’t know much about this man. Thank you for this upload! I learned a lot from it :)

These interviews are a piece of history.

talking to elderly people is amazing, so active in their conversations lol. this was a great video.

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.

"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.

Great interview! Very in depth

This was a very meaningful video. Thank you Asian Boss for taking the time to film and edit these conversations

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.

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

Love how honest they are. Hope democracy can come to all countries of the world.

Man this was a really good one. Great job guys.

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 :)

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

I never would have heard about this massacre and subsequent dictatorship if it wasn't for this video. Thank you for educating me on the subject.

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...

Hi Asian Boss, looking forward to you presenting some positive and uplifting stories on here again!😇☃️☃️☃️🌻🌻🌻

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.

Just learned about this in school, it’s crazy what those poor people in Gwangju went through

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.

I have seen a movie about this. The question if anyone outside of that city knew what was happening was very good. Good job Asian boss keep the hard work and give us more knowledge about history of asia 👍👍👍

Comparing to dictatorship regimes in other countries; South Korea was very lucky in its dictatorship, which made the Korean economical miracle.

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.

That gentleman who is first on at about 1:17 tells it like it is, and also has great taste in hats.

Thank you.👍

You all need to interview more of elder folks please.

South Korea, has come a LONG way.

I am glad that there were other perspectives you would not expect along with those that believed it was entirely wrong. It is interesting to see how some believed it was necessary for stability. Or that it was wrong, but the leadership should be accepted, and the leader should just do things right after the incident instead of just ousting the leader. It is especially interesting that some of them, who had even lived through it, thought that we may have become "too free". You typically would associate that way of thinking with younger individuals who did not go through such an incident. Good video!

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

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...

6:09 the way this man speaks reminds me of my grandfather and he wasn't even Korean . 👋🥺the wise words, the tone of his voice. .

This video episode should be the great lesson for all the other dictators in another countries

one day we will have this kind of interview in turkey too. hopefully soon

She’s a great host / reporter. Keep up the good work in Korea please.

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! ✊

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.

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!!!

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.

South Korean dictator reminds me of the Indonesian dictator Suharto, they used the military to oppress the people and labeled the opposition with communism

Love ya South Korea, keep growing! 🇺🇲🇰🇷

The gentlemanly elder with the flat cap who first appears at 1:18 really has a lot of wisdom.