[KS] Re: Book on Kwangju

Linda S. Lewis llewis at wittenberg.EDU
Thu Oct 8 09:56:39 EDT 1998


On Wed, 7 Oct 1998, Bryan R Ross wrote:

> 
> I received in the mail this week a letter advertizing a book entitled
> Ch'uk Eul Nom O Sit'ae ui O T'um Ul Nomo or Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death,
> Beyond The Darkness Of The Age. The book is supposed to have been written
> by Jae-Ui Lee and contain an Intro by Bruce Cumings and a section by Tim
> Shorrock. The letter was from Kap Su Seol and Nick Mamatas and they claim 
> that several professors are planning on using the book in Korean Studies
> courses. Does anyone know anything about this book?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Bryan Ross
> History Dept.
> Univ. of Hawaii
> 
> 
To respond to your question:

> > The book (rendered in English as The Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death,
 Beyond the Darkness of the Age) was written in 1985 by Lee Jae Ui at the
 behest of the then Chonchongryun, or South Cholla Youth Association for
 Democracy.  Working with a small group of fellow student activists (all
 of whom had been part of the same circle at Kwangju's Chonnam University
 in 1980), the author spent about 6 months secretly collecting documents
 and interviewing key players in the Kwangju uprising, and writing the
 text. 

 Needless to say, at the time this was dangerous work; the authors
 wanted to produce the most objective and accurate account possible, but
 of course political conditions at the time prevented them from getting
 many details that have since been made public.  Publishing the book was
 also a problem.  Not only did the author(s) fear using their own names
 and affiliation, but the publisher also wanted a famous name as cover,
 to help the book's sales and credibility.  Thus, the book appeared as
 "compiled" by the South Cholla Social Movement Association and written
 by Hwang Suk-yong.  Copies were immediately seized by the government,
 but the book circulated as an underground best seller.  It was legally
 published in 1987, and a few years ago Lee was recognized as the real
 author. 

 Lee was a junior in college in May 1980, and personally  witnessed many
of the events recounted in the book.  His friends were also in the
middle of the action, and many of them died.  Lee today is a journalist
for the Kwangnam Daily (in Kwangju), and the book reflects his
considerable skills as a writer.  The original is very detailed (and
includes numerous maps), and reconstructs the uprising on an almost 
minute-by-minute basis.  It is full of interesting annecdotes and
first-person stories that give it an immediacy that engages the reader. 

The original, properly understood in the context in which it was 
written, is a wonderful document, and an important milestone in the long 
struggle to "tell the truth" about May 1980.  It was one of the first 
accounts that offered an extended narrative of the uprising from a 
Kwangju-centered perspective.  It focuses on the actions of the 
citizens, rather than the movements of troops, political machinations in 
Seoul, or the role of the US. etc., and as such captures the feeling and 
spirit of the event, from inside the city. 

 One of the book's major contributions, I believe, is in the details it
provides about the complex, shifting, contentious leadership during the
days of "Free Kwangju".  It captures well the uncertainties, conflicts,
and confusion of that period.  While the massacre of innocent citizens -
the atrocity stories - are by now well-known (and well-supported - in the
Korean language materials, at least- by visual documentation and often
eloquent personal testimony) what went on in the provincial office
building, the rebel headquarters, is less familiar.  Ordinary citizens
were not privy to this, and of course many of those directly involved are
dead and thus cannot tell their own stories.  The personal accounts
available elsewhere by those who survived (most notably the Citizens'
Settlement Committee) naturally offer a different perspective from that of
Lee's book.  I believe part of Lee's purpose in writing this was to make
sure the stories of the true heroes of 5.18 - for him, his friends who
died - came to light. This book is an important historical resource for
those who want to get beyond the sheer bloodiness of 5.18, to think more
seriously about what this event was really about, who "made" the
revolution, and its meaning in the context of Korean (and other) social
movements.

Over the past 18 years the Kwangju Uprising has been repeatedly
appropriated - by the Korean democracy movement, the workers' movement,
the international human rights community, a succession of Korean
governments, those interested in reunification, American foreign policy
analysts, those who oppose US actions in Asia, and (last but not least)
academics on both sides of the Pacific.  The list is endless, and
constantly shifting.  What has rarely been heard, especially outside
Korea - due to both government censorship and problems of language - is an
authentic Kwangju voice.  Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness
of the Age is such a voice.

Linda Lewis



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