ISC This Month

We went down to Gwangju on the 36th anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. On our way to Gwangju, we learned about why we were going down there. Our first stop in Gwangju was the 5.18 Memorial Foundation. Its building was in what used to be the Catholic Center in Geumnam Street. It was founded upon the motto that “a history that does not tell the truth nor remember the past is bound to repeat it.” After learning about the Gwangju Democratic Uprising from our museum guide, we went to the fountain in front of the provincial office where the citizens had gathered and discussed what to do during the Gwangju Uprising. Then, we went to the provincial office, where the people’s army refused to surrender and made their last stand. Then, we stopped by the building where countless bodies of the killed were stored. Our last stop was Mangwoldong Cemetery. After a small ceremony in the Old Cemetery for the martyrs, we visited their individual gravesites learning about their lives and sacrifice. After making a stop in the New Cemetery, we left for Seoul. We got to visit where history was made and learn the correct history, especially in this time when history is being so distorted.