Gwangju Uprising Research Paper

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Gwangju Uprising is a revolution about Gwangju citizens and local students against the South Korean military government. It took place in the South-West city of Korea, Gwangju between May 18 and 27, 1980. A lot of people died in this revolution because of suppressing of government. Although many citizens sacrificed in the protest, the result of this protest helps Korea to become a democratic society. In 1962, Park Chung-Hee became the president of the Republic of Korea. He repressed the political opposition, the personal freedom of South Korean citizens and controlled the press and the universities. He also introduced the Yushin Constitution in 1972, which increased the presidential power and created a virtual dictatorship. People were disappointed toward President Park’s rule and he was assassinated on October 26, 1979. After he died, Chun Doo-Hwan who was the general of South Korean Army became the new president. Back to the time when Park Chung-Hee was still alive, he suppressed the nation’s democratization movements. He repressed the political opposition and the personal freedom of South Korea’s citizens and controlled the press and the universities (Chong, 2017). Lots of unions were formed to ask for the end of the martial law and democratization. These activities culminated in the anti-martial law demonstration at Seoul …show more content…

Kim Dae-Jung, the politician from Gwangju who had been sentenced to death on charges of fomenting the rebellion, received a pardon and ran for president. He did not win, but would later serve as president from 1998 to 2003, and went on to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 (Szczepanski, 2017). Even though Chun Doo-Hwan suppressed it that time, this protest led to the direct presidential elections indirectly and Kim Young –Sam became the first president elected by the Korean people. Gwangju Uprising has a significant impact on the Korean people and the politics of

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