18 May 1980: Gwangju uprising

On this day, 18 May 1980, workers and students in Gwangju, South Korea, rose up against their brutal US-backed dictator, Chun Doo-hwan. Peaceful protesters were fired upon, with many shot and others beaten and stabbed to death by paratroopers. This sparked an uprising across the city, as local residents raided local armouries and police stations, seized weapons and eventually succeeded in driving out government troops. Workers and locals then took control of the city, running it collectively for several days, until paratroopers invaded once more and bloodily suppressed the rebellion, killing hundreds. Though unsuccessful in meeting its immediate goals, the uprising contributed to the end of decades of dictatorship late in the 1980s.We spoke with participants in the rebellion for our podcast episodes 53-56: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e53-the-gwangju-uprising-1980/Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History