hankyoreh

By Ahn Kwan-ok, Senior Staff Writer　

Events have begun across the country to commemorate the spirit and meaning of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, which marks its 31st anniversary this year.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Gwangju held a memorial mass at Gwangju’s Nam-dong Catholic Church at 2 p.m. Monday, led by Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong and attended by about 500 believers.

At the mass, hosted jointly with the Catholic Alliance to Stop the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, Kim said in his sermon, “We must continue the Gwangju spirit, which protected the people’s right to freedom from the state violence of May 1980 and brought peace.” Kim added, “The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project and the Lee Myung-bak government’s policy of dependence on nuclear energy was an instance of ignoring the sovereignty of the people in a form different from that of the 1980s.　

“The archdiocese will spend $90,000 this year to support overseas democratization and human rights movements through the Gwangju Human Rights and Peace Foundation, established by the archdiocese last year,” said Kim. “We will concentrate our support on Myanmar, from which refugees are streaming due to a civil war this year, and Sri Lanka, which has been experiencing a series of human rights problems due to a civil war in 2009.”

The Gwangju Archdiocese’s Justice and Peace Committee held an event to mark the opening of a photo exhibit showing the destruction caused by the Four Major Rivers Restoration project in format of the Gwangju Catholic Center at 1 p.m. About 300 Catholics from Suwon, Daegu, Daejeon, Masan, Andong and elsewhere, after eating rice balls - a symbol of the Gwangju Community of May 1980 - walked about 3km to Nam-dong Catholic Church chanting “Flow, four rivers!”

A committee to commemorate in Seoul the 31st anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement will also begin its memorial ceremonies with a memorial exhibit at Seoul Square at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The exhibit will show off photos and art taken or created between 1980 and 1997, as well as writings, drawings and photographs that received awards in the May 18 Memorial Youth Competition. At 11 am Wednesday, they will hold a memorial ceremony and pass out “May 18 Rice Balls.” At 7:30 p.m., they will hold a memorial concert to mark the 31st anniversary of the Gwangju Democratic Movement and the 20th anniversary of the May 1991 Struggle. Performing will be singers Han Yeong-ae, Jeon Gyeong-ok, Son Byeong-hwi and the group Kkotdaji. Inquires can be made to (02)774-5518 or www.518seoul.org.

A memorial committee in Busan said Monday it would convene a memorial ceremony and memorial debate at the small stage of Busan Democracy Park in Yeongju-dong at 6:30 Wednesday.

At the debate, My Country 21 committee member Cheon Jun-ho, Power to the People Executive Director Kim Du-su, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy Deputy Secretary General Park Won-suk, and Institute for Democratic Society committee member Cha Seong-hwan will speak for 10 minutes each about “Finding the Way for Citizens’ Political Movement.” Afterwards, the speakers will debate amongst themselves and with audience members, led by MC Kim Min-ung, professor of Sungkonghoe University.

Participants will debate fiercely the topics of the meaning and importance of citizens’ political movements in South Korea, the achievements and tasks of citizens’ political movements currently underway, public attitudes and political conditions as seen through the results of the April 27 by-election, plans for a proper opposition alliance and selecting unified opposition candidates that can move voters and the formation of democratic citizens’ political movements.

On May 21-22, about 100 youth from Busan and South Gyeongsang Province will participate in a history camp in which they’ll tour around the site of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. Participants will leave from Busan and arrive in Gwangju around 5 p.m., pay their respects at the May 18 National Cemetery and then participate in hands-on programs at 8:30 p.m.

At 9 a.m. the next day, they will move to Geumnam-ro, where the Citizen Army fought with the security forces in May 1980, to participate in a ”May 18 Youth Cultural Event.“ The event, which has taken place since 2003, is a historical trip that takes youth - the next generation - around the sites of the May 18 Democratic Movement to allow them to think about democracy. This year, the theme is ”Owol-ro,“ toward May, and as participants walk that street named for the May movement, they will head back to that time and place.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]