May 18 th National Cemetery

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK) is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. About 25 million people, around half of the country's population of 51 million, live in the Seoul Capital Area.

South Korea today is famous for its Kpop and Drama, but did you know that South Korea used to be a poor country and a country that has a low democracy index. South Korea's economy improved under President Park Chung Hee, who at that time was dubbed the Miracle of the Han River that passed through the capital Seoul. Park Chung Hee's death in 1979 caused political instability until the 1980 Gwangju uprising occurred.

This tourist destination is related to the events of the Gwangju uprising, namely May 18 ^th National Cemetery which is located at 200, Minju-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, South Jeolla.

Discussing the Gwangju Uprising Incident which has another name, namely 5.18, the Gwangju Democratic Movement, and the Gwangju Massacre, is a fairly heavy topic.However, the discussion of the history of this movement will be kept to a minimum. If Asian Destination Readers are lovers of Korean Drama or Korean Films, you will find films with backgrounds related to this event, including Taxi Driver, The Man Standing Next, to the drama Youth of May. 

The people of South Korea, especially Gwangju City, prefer the term Gwangju Democracy Movement to the Gwangju Uprising. This movement is a response to the death of President Park Chung Hee where the people of Gwangju took to the streets to voice their aspirations for a more democratic South Korea. However, the response from President Choi Kyu Ha's government was to assign General Chun Doo Hwan to take action to prevent demonstrations in Gwangju City. The Gwangju Democracy Movement was spearheaded by students starting on May 18, 1980. The demonstration was initially peaceful and turned into a resistance using firearms, due to the repressive actions of the police and paratroopers that caused the death toll among the demonstrators. The protesters' movement also made peace by forming a Settlement Committee, but failed. The military succeeded in ending the Gwangju Democracy Movement on May 27, 1980. This failure did not make the demonstrators give up and stop moving, but the demonstrators continued to fight for the implementation of democracy as a whole. This struggle resulted in the 1987 June Revolution which turned South Korea into a more democratic country. The surprising thing about the existence of this Movement was when the citizens of Gwangju experienced mass massacres and experienced a blockade of both territory and communication blockades. In other parts of South Korea apparently did not hear about this heartbreaking event, what's worse is that when someone heard of the incident they even heard rumors that there were Communists in Gwangju so they had to be exterminated even though it was just Chun Doo Hwan's excuse to justify his behavior. repressive in quelling demonstrations by the citizens of Gwangju. 

Under the Kim Young-sam administration, there was a movement to make May 18th National Cemetery a democratic shrine. The previous May 18th Cemetery, or the "Mangweol-dong Cemetery" ( 구 묘역 ), was the former burial site of Reviews those who Died during the May 18th Democratic Uprising and the proceedings of democratic movement. Some of those interred there for 17 years were delivered to the cemetery in garbage trucks. Due to the cemetery's reputation as a Mangweol-dong, a "holy ground for democracy", the military had plans to destroy the graveyard. Those plans never came to fruition.    

Following the democratization of Korea, a plan to create a National Cemetery was announced in 1993, giving rise to the New National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising. Construction began in November 1994 and the new cemetery was opened in May 1997. Bodies from the Mangweol-dong Cemetery were exhumed and re-interred in the new location, while the old cemetery was restored to its former state. The new cemetery was promoted to the status of a national cemetery by presidential decree by Kim Dae-jung on July 27, 2002, and renamed the National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising on January 30, 2006. An annual commemoration is held each May , in which people pay their respect to those who died at both the old and new cemeteries  

The tourist destinations this time are not related to tourist destinations that are entertaining in nature, but more to tours that can generate historical knowledge and are pilgrimages. As well as the May 18 ^th National Cemetery is a symbol of the resurrection of South Korean democracy.

Gwangju is famous for its bus transportation, you can use the bus. Free fees, other than that this place is very English friendly as there are tour guides all around. The 5.18 cemetery includes a 40 minute video presentation. It should take you about 2 hours there to see everything.

What you must do if you are a Korean drama or film lover, you can look for the tombs of figures buried here such as the tomb of  Lee Han Yol, the character played by actor Kang Dong Won in the 1987 film: When the Days Come.

We recommend visiting this place on May 18 because there are usually festivals related to the commemoration of the events of the Gwangju Democracy Movement and the anniversary of democracy in South Korea. other than that on weekdays you can visit around 09:00-18:00. If you visit during the afternoon hours, don't forget to bring an umbrella to protect from the sun, especially if you visit in the summer. Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) • For more info: +82-62-268-0518. The nearest place that can be visited is Gwangju Family Land where zoo tours are suitable for families.

 

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_18th_National_Cemetery

Eui, Lee Jae. (2017). Gwangju Diary : Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the age. Gwangju : May 18 Memorial Foundation.

https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264266

https://www.tripadvisor.co.id/Attraction_Review-g304129-d2224837-Reviews-May_18th_National_Cemetery-Gwangju.html#/media-atf/2224837/?albumid=-160&type=0&category=-160

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea