The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement, was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'etat of 17 May by which General Chun Doo-hwan strengthened his power. Chun had already seized power in the coup d'etat of 12 December 1979 and had gone on to impose martial law, arrest opposition leaders, close the universities, ban political activity and suppress the press. The uprising began when soldiers fired on, beat and killed Chonnam National University students demonstrating against martial law; some Gwangju citizens took up arms, formed militias and seized local police stations and armories, and were able to control large parts of the city before soldiers re-entered and suppressed the uprising, killing between 600 and 2,300 people.
Facts
Death Toll, Low Estimate Connections
Caused By
Why this is disputed. Indirect: Park's assassination opened the power vacuum that Chun Doo-hwan filled by coup, whose martial-law rule the Gwangju Uprising rose against; Park did not live to see the uprising itself.
Additional Source Wikipedia: Park Chung-heeLead section (edge: caused-by Park Chung-hee)
In Era
Source Wikipedia: Gwangju Uprising
Participant
Additional Source Wikipedia: Chun Doo-hwanLead section (edge: participant Chun Doo-hwan)
Kim Dae-jung was arrested on 17 May 1980 during Chun Doo-hwan's coup, the same coup the uprising protested; he was not a combatant but the opposition figure whose release the demonstrators demanded, and the government later convicted and sentenced him to death for allegedly instigating the uprising.
Source Wikipedia: Gwangju Uprising
In the Other Atlases
Took Place In
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Gwangju Uprising
WikipediaLead section
The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement (Korean: 5·18 민주화 운동), was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'état of May Seventeenth by Chun Doo-hwan that strengthened his power.
Infobox (dates)
These protests culminated in the 15 May 1980 demonstration against martial law at Seoul Station which involved over 100,000 protesters.
Infobox (start year)
These protests culminated in the 15 May 1980 demonstration against martial law at Seoul Station which involved over 100,000 protesters.
Infobox (location)
Gwangju, South Korea
Gwangju Uprising: Event Type
The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement (Korean: 5·18 민주화 운동), was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'état of May Seventeenth by Chun Doo-hwan that strengthened his power.
Lead
Between 600 and 2,300 people were killed.
Participant: Kim Dae-jung, 18-21 May section
Demonstrators shouted slogans demanding the release of Kim Dae-jung and called for the end of martial law.
In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph and infobox, dates
The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement (Korean: 5·18 민주화 운동), was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'état of May Seventeenth by Chun Doo-hwan that strengthened his power.
View the Source Wikipedia: Chun Doo-hwan
WikipediaParticipant: Chun Doo-hwan, Lead section (edge: participant Chun Doo-hwan)Quote, Participant: Chun Doo-hwan, Lead section (edge: participant Chun Doo-hwan)
Chun ordered it to be immediately suppressed, sending in shock troops armed with heavy weaponry such as armored tanks and helicopters to retake City Hall and ordered the troops to exercise full force.
Wikipedia: Park Chung-hee
WikipediaCaused By: Park Chung-hee, Lead section (edge: caused-by Park Chung-hee)Quote, Caused By: Park Chung-hee, Lead section (edge: caused-by Park Chung-hee)
In 1979, Park was assassinated by his close friend Kim Jae-gyu, director of the KCIA, following the Busan-Masan Uprising.
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