FRIENDS OF KOREA
  • Welcome
    • O'Donnell Distinguished Friend of Korea Award - >
      • Call for Nominations - closed
      • 2022 Honoree - Sukhee Kang
      • O'Donnell Award - previous honorees >
        • Photos of O'Donnell Honorees
    • Peace Corps - an essay by G. Krzic
    • A Simple Prayer - a musical tribute
    • Remembering in the time of COVID-19
    • Photos and Videos >
      • Photo Gallery: Biwon in Winter
      • Video Gallery
      • Photo Gallery: Arriving in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: TB Program in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: Road Show 1981
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Reflections on Service
    • Statement on diversity and respect
    • Board of Directors
    • Annual Reports
    • Honorary Membership
    • KOICA/World Friends Korea
    • FOK Blog
    • Past Annual Meetings >
      • 2018 Annual Meeting >
        • 2018 annual meeting - slide show
      • 2017 Annual Meeting >
        • 2017 annual mtg photo gallery
      • 2016 Annual Meeting >
        • 2016 annual mtg photo galllery
      • 2015 Annual Meeting >
        • 2015 Annual Mtg Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • FoK Webinars - 2023 >
      • FoK Webinars - 2022 >
        • FoK Webinars - 2021 >
          • 2020 Webinars
          • Korean Studies and Peace Corps Volunteers
    • Korea Times column
    • Newsletters >
      • Yobosayo - June 2020
      • Yobosayo - Nov 2019 >
        • Suggestions for further reading
      • Yobosayo - March 2019
      • Yobosayo - May 2018
      • Yobosayo - November 2017
      • Yobosayo - April 2017
    • News about Korea
    • News Sources
    • Korean Cultural Treasures
    • Korean Food >
      • Dining Out in North America: Korea Style
    • Blogs of Interest
  • Events
    • 2023 Annual Meeting - details
    • 2022 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2021 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2020 Annual Meeting - video
    • Revisit Trips >
      • Impressions of the revisits
      • Slide Show - Korea, Then and Now
    • 2018 Reunion - LA >
      • In Remembrance - A Tribute
    • Upcoming Events - Universities
    • Upcoming events: KEI & Korea Society
    • Upcoming events: Korean Cultural Centers - DC, NYC & LA
    • Past Events >
      • Seoul in Sept 2016
      • Korean Cultural Day in LA, June 5
      • ROK the Rockies - June 19-21, 2015
  • Projects
    • Giving Back
    • Project Bridge - Youth Ambassadors
    • USC Archives - PC Korea
    • The Korean Transformation
    • Photo Exhibit >
      • Slide Show - Opening of Photo Exhibit in LA Jan 2012
      • Scenes from Ohio Exhibit
      • FOK Publication -- "Through Our Eyes"
    • The Museum Project >
      • Exhibit opening
      • Museum Slide Show
      • Video -- MOU signing & volunteer interviews
  • Support Us
    • Join us
    • Donate
    • Join offline
    • Other Ways to Give (NEW!)
    • Give the gift of membership
    • Zazzle - Peace Corps Korea Store
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Event to share?
    • Update your address
    • News to share?
    • Publications Update Form

5/18/2019

The Gwangju Incident (May 1980): how to get the story told

2 Comments

Read Now
 
This is the second in a series of blogs by Paul Courtright who is on a personal revisit in Korea.

The Seoul sky was tinged with Mongolian dust on May 4th when my plane touched down.  It was good to be back.  
​
Settling into my hotel in Seoul I figured that I would have a few days here to see friends, talk to students at Yonsei and Heart to Heart Foundation, and start the process of diving back into Korean language—the first goal of my three weeks here in Korea. 

The second goal of my time in Korea was to be back in Gwangju to make sure I had accurately captured the sounds, smell and feel of the place in my book.  I’m about two-thirds the way through my second revision of a memoir of 13 days around the Gwangju Incident and my plan is to have it ready for publication at the end of the year.  

Was I in for a shock! Within the first couple days I learned two things: [1] the story of the Gwangju Incident has not been captured. There is no accepted narrative of all that happened.  [2] The Gwangju Incident has become a politically contentious issue.  

Unbeknownst to me, the news media has been clamoring for stories about the event.  Although it was not part of my plan, when I arrived colleagues asked if I would talk to the media.  Three interviews (two newspaper and one TV) have been completed and it looks like there might be more down the line.  I have found it hard to say “no.”  

How to tell the story?   There is no single story.  The Gwangju Incident happened over a number of days, involved thousands of people, and covered an area much bigger than Gwangju.  No single person could witness it all.  The only way that the Gwangju Incident can be told is by capturing the stories of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Gwangju as well as the surrounding towns. Damyang to the north and Naju to the south both have to contribute.  I can only tell my story—it is just one small piece of a much bigger story. 

More than once I heard that the stories of foreigners in Gwangju are critical—because foreigners are “considered objective”.  I don’t know how true that is. I have to admit that I was profoundly shocked that the military would kill civilians.   

President Moon has requested the establishment of a bipartisan (or non-partisan) commission to do a deep dive and compile the full story of the Gwangju Incident.  If this can be successfully undertaken then there is some chance that that, by the time of the 40th anniversary in May of 2020, the next steps to healing the old wounds can begin.  I am hopeful.
    

Share

2 Comments
Linda Mark
6/25/2020 12:39:59 am

HOW I GOT MY LOAN FROM THIS GREAT COMPANY

Hello my dear people, I am Linda McDonald, currently living in Austin Texas, USA. I am a widow at the moment with three kids and i was stuck in a financial situation in April 2020 and i needed to refinance and pay my bills. I tried seeking loans from various loan firms both private and corporate but never with success, and most banks declined my credit ,do not full prey to those hoodlums at there that call them self-money lender they are all scam , all they want is your money and you will not hear from them again they have done it to me twice before I met Mr. David Wilson the most interesting part of it is that my loan was transfer to me within 74hours so I will advise you to contact Mr. David if you are interested in getting loan and you are sure you can pay him back on time you can contact him via email……… (davidwilsonloancompany4@gmail.com) No credit check, no cosigner with just 2% interest rate and better repayment plans and schedule if you must contact any firm with reference to securing a loan without collateral then contact Mr. David Wilson today for your loan.

They offer all kind of categories of loan .
Short term loan (5_10years)
Long term loan (20_40)
Media term loan (10_20)
They offer loan like
Home loan............., Business loan........ Debt loan.......
Student loan.........., Business startup loan
Business loan......., Company loan.............. etc
Email..........( davidwilsonloancompany4@gmail.com)
When it comes to financial crisis and loan then David Wilson loan financial is the place to go please just tell him I Mrs. Linda McDonald direct you Good Luck.......................

Reply
Manuel Franco
6/24/2023 08:53:31 pm

I just want to say Thank You to everyone who supported me through the years. My name is Manuel Franco, New Berlin, Wisconsin. My story of how I won the Powerball lottery of $768.4M is a bit of a tale. I have been playing Powerball tickets for 6 years now since I turned 18. I bought my first ticket on my 18 birthday. I was feeling very lucky that day because I had contacted Dr. Odunga Michael to help me with the winning Powerball numbers. I really had that great great feeling that I looked at the camera wanting to wink at it. I only did a tiny part of it and trusted him. He gave me the numbers after I played a couple other tickets along with it for $10. I checked my ticket after the winnings came online and saw the numbers were correct including the Power play. I screamed for about 10 minutes because it felt like a dream. I had won $768.4M. You can check my winning testimony with the lottery officials just with my name search. Thank you Dr Odunga. Well, his email is odungaspelltemple@gmail.com and you can also call or Whats-app him at +2348167159012 so you guys can contact him


FIX THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS TO ALL ACROSS THE
GLOBE ON:

Get your ex back spell
Lottery Spell
Love/Reunion Spell
Pregnancy Spell
Protection Spell
Freedom From Prison Spell
Marriage spell
Killing/Revenge spell
Healing/Cure spell


Contact him for any of these today at:
EMAIL: odungaspelltemple@gmail.com OR Call and WHATS-APP HIM +2348167159012

Reply



Leave a Reply.

Details
    Picture

    Friends of Korea

    This is a BLOG for and about Friends of Korea.

    Archives

    May 2019
    August 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    K-Pop

    RSS Feed

Friends of Korea 
fostering cultural awareness and friendship between Americans and Koreans

Picture
Picture

​​2021 L Street, NW
Suite 101-403

Washington, DC 20036

contact@friendsofkorea.net
​Copyright © 2013-2023 Friends of Korea

  • Welcome
    • O'Donnell Distinguished Friend of Korea Award - >
      • Call for Nominations - closed
      • 2022 Honoree - Sukhee Kang
      • O'Donnell Award - previous honorees >
        • Photos of O'Donnell Honorees
    • Peace Corps - an essay by G. Krzic
    • A Simple Prayer - a musical tribute
    • Remembering in the time of COVID-19
    • Photos and Videos >
      • Photo Gallery: Biwon in Winter
      • Video Gallery
      • Photo Gallery: Arriving in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: TB Program in Korea
      • Photo Gallery: Road Show 1981
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Reflections on Service
    • Statement on diversity and respect
    • Board of Directors
    • Annual Reports
    • Honorary Membership
    • KOICA/World Friends Korea
    • FOK Blog
    • Past Annual Meetings >
      • 2018 Annual Meeting >
        • 2018 annual meeting - slide show
      • 2017 Annual Meeting >
        • 2017 annual mtg photo gallery
      • 2016 Annual Meeting >
        • 2016 annual mtg photo galllery
      • 2015 Annual Meeting >
        • 2015 Annual Mtg Photo Gallery
  • Resources
    • FoK Webinars - 2023 >
      • FoK Webinars - 2022 >
        • FoK Webinars - 2021 >
          • 2020 Webinars
          • Korean Studies and Peace Corps Volunteers
    • Korea Times column
    • Newsletters >
      • Yobosayo - June 2020
      • Yobosayo - Nov 2019 >
        • Suggestions for further reading
      • Yobosayo - March 2019
      • Yobosayo - May 2018
      • Yobosayo - November 2017
      • Yobosayo - April 2017
    • News about Korea
    • News Sources
    • Korean Cultural Treasures
    • Korean Food >
      • Dining Out in North America: Korea Style
    • Blogs of Interest
  • Events
    • 2023 Annual Meeting - details
    • 2022 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2021 Annual Meeting - video
    • 2020 Annual Meeting - video
    • Revisit Trips >
      • Impressions of the revisits
      • Slide Show - Korea, Then and Now
    • 2018 Reunion - LA >
      • In Remembrance - A Tribute
    • Upcoming Events - Universities
    • Upcoming events: KEI & Korea Society
    • Upcoming events: Korean Cultural Centers - DC, NYC & LA
    • Past Events >
      • Seoul in Sept 2016
      • Korean Cultural Day in LA, June 5
      • ROK the Rockies - June 19-21, 2015
  • Projects
    • Giving Back
    • Project Bridge - Youth Ambassadors
    • USC Archives - PC Korea
    • The Korean Transformation
    • Photo Exhibit >
      • Slide Show - Opening of Photo Exhibit in LA Jan 2012
      • Scenes from Ohio Exhibit
      • FOK Publication -- "Through Our Eyes"
    • The Museum Project >
      • Exhibit opening
      • Museum Slide Show
      • Video -- MOU signing & volunteer interviews
  • Support Us
    • Join us
    • Donate
    • Join offline
    • Other Ways to Give (NEW!)
    • Give the gift of membership
    • Zazzle - Peace Corps Korea Store
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Event to share?
    • Update your address
    • News to share?
    • Publications Update Form