After President Park Chung-hee’s assassination on October 26, 1979, the new military regime came to power after a military coup on December 12. In the following spring, large pro-democracy protests took place all across the nation. The military regime declared nationwide martial law on May 17, 1980 and shut down colleges. On May 18, martial law forces facing off students in front of Chonnam National University in Gwangju used excessive violence to suppress the students. When Gwangju citizens heard this news, they joined the protesters. Martial law troops brutally suppressed the demonstrators and even fired shots at them. The May Democratization Movement ended on May 27 by the military’s ruthless suppression, which left countless civilian casualties.

The past eight decades are the history of Korea’s democratization as well as economic growth. The freedom we take for granted now was gained by the sacrifices of those who had fought hard for democracy. The history of Korea from now on will be the extension of the March 1st Independence Movement, the April 19th Revolution, the May 18th Democratization Movement, and the June Democratic Struggle.