Gwangju Uprising memorial sees spike in visitors: report
A total of 242,503 people in May visited the graves of those who participated in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980, according to local media reports on Tuesday.
The monthly visitor count at the May 18th National Cemetery was the highest since 2018 and marked an on-year increase of over 40,000 from to May 2024, the Korean-language news agency News 1 said, citing the operators of the government facility under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
The number of visitors usually peaks in May around the anniversary of the nationwide protest against Chun Doo-hwan's junta, which took power via a military coup in December 1979. The highest figures for any other month in 2025 and 2024 were 12,287 in April this year, and 11,202 in April last year.
The number of May visitors had usually exceeded 300,000 prior to 2019 but hovered in the 200,000 range over the past three years, plummeting to 5,822 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The political turmoil following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law in December is thought to have renewed public interest in the historic citizens' protest against the military regime.
Yoon's martial law decree, which led to his impeachment and removal from office, was the first to be imposed in the country since 1981, under Chun's authority. Chun was not yet president when martial law was extended nationwide on May 18, 1980, but he had effectively been leader of the junta since the coup a year before. Yoon's much-disputed martial law declaration led to comparisons with Chun.
The results of the June 3 presidential election showed that 84.8 percent of voters in Gwangju voted for Yoon's political rival and eventual successor, Lee Jae-myung, who also garnered over 80 percent of the vote in both North and South Jeolla Provinces.
Lee himself drew a comparison between Yoon and Chun at a commemoration of the Gwangju Uprising's 45th anniversary last month, when he attended as a presidential candidate. He said the spirit of the Gwangju citizens that refused to back down in the face of military oppression in 1980 has been inherited by those who opposed the dispatch of troops to the National Assembly under Yoon's martial law decree.
Those who have been recognized by the state as having died while participating in the Gwangju Uprising are entitled to be buried at the May 18th National Cemetery, in accordance with the Act on the Honorable Treatment of Persons of Distinguished Service to the May 18 Democratization Movement. Those who have relinquished their Korean nationality or have been convicted of certain crimes can have their burial rights revoked.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
![[Robert J. Fouser] Japan lurches right](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F07%2F24%2Fnews-p.v1.20250724.3531c2cf50c74e47b90e2c7eec5e6df7_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[Robert J. Fouser] Japan lurches right](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
8 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
[Robert J. Fouser] Japan lurches right
To date, an election for the House of Councilors, the upper house of the Japanese Diet, would not have been big news, but results from the recent election on July 20 changed that. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito party, lost their majority while recently formed populist far-right parties performed surprisingly well. In particular, the Sanseito party led by right-wing provocateur Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats, pushing up its total in the chamber from one seat to 15. The upper house is the weaker of the two houses of the Diet, but the results offer insight into the direction of Japanese politics. They were also a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after less than a year in office. What happened in Japan and where is the nation headed? Since the right-wing populist wave that began in 2016, first with the Brexit vote in the UK and then with the election of Donald Trump as president in the US, populism has swept across Europe and attracted support in other important democracies, such as Brazil and, to a lesser extent, South Korea. Only Japan, long noted for its stable, consensus-driven politics, seemed immune. Not anymore. The reasons for the right-wing turn mirror those in other places: economic insecurity, fear of immigrants and the rise of alternative media. These trends feed on each other, giving life to politicians who rage against immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, the mainstream media, big tech, green policies and whatever else 'globalists' support. In the process, fringe conspiracy theories grow and become mainstream. The right-wing populist script is similar but takes on a different cast as it spreads from one country to another. In Japan's case, the Sanseito emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic with YouTube videos promoting conspiracy theories and vaccine skepticism. Kamiya threw anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment into the mix and campaigned on the slogan 'Japanese First.' He has stated that he drew inspiration from Donald Trump's MAGA movement in the US. Support for the Sanseito in Japan came primarily from younger voters who feel that the 'Japanese dream' of a stable job, a house and a secure retirement is slipping away from them. After years of stable prices, inflation has hit 3 percent, and home prices are rising while wages remain stagnant. The influx of foreign workers exacerbates feelings of insecurity. Younger generations elsewhere share these feelings but have different outlets for expressing them. In the US, Trump consistently underperformed with younger voters in 2016, 2020 and 2024. His strongest support has come from voters 45 and older. Younger voters in the US lean left and have fueled progressive insurgencies in the Democratic Party. In South Korea, meanwhile, younger voters have split by gender, with more men supporting the conservative People Power Party and women supporting the Democratic Party of Korea in ever larger numbers. In the German election earlier this year, the youth vote split into two extremes. The left-wing Die Linke won the most youth support, whereas the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland came a close second and mainstream parties did poorly. In Japan, older voters continue to support the LDP and the slightly center-left Constitutional Democratic Party, the main opposition party. While the LDP saw a sharp drop in percentage of votes, the CDP remained stagnant. The Japanese Communist Party, meanwhile, which attracted younger voters in the late 20th century, has failed to do so in recent years, and its core support base continues to age. To young voters in Japan, as elsewhere, the established mainstream parties represent the status quo that they want to change. In theory, the two left-leaning parties, the JCP and the smaller left-wing Reiwa Shinsengumi party should appeal to younger voters because they support drastic change. The problem is that younger voters view them as old and tired as well, with little chance of getting close to power. This leaves the far-right as the most attractive vehicle for young people seeking easy answers to their worries. The Sanseito and the other far-right party, the Conservative Party of Japan, together won 17 percent of votes in electoral districts, and 21 percent of the national proportional vote. Those numbers put them behind only the LDP in terms of votes earned, which suggests that they have staying power. Japan has clearly entered a period of political instability. The big question is what the center will do. Will it embrace a new direction that renews the 'Japanese Dream'? Or will it hunker down on the past and let the far-right grow? Robert J. Fouser, a former associate professor of Korean language education at Seoul National University, writes on Korea from Providence, Rhode Island. He can be reached at robertjfouser@ The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed.
Korea Herald
8 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Securing a fair deal
Korea must secure tariff terms no worse than Tokyo's as investment and export stakes grow As Japan and the United States conclude a high-profile tariff agreement, attention has quickly turned to South Korea. Tokyo's willingness to open its agricultural market, commit to joint energy projects and pledge a record-breaking $550 billion in US-bound investment has earned it a reduction in reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent — a benchmark now hardening into a minimum standard for Washington's other major trading partners. South Korea finds itself in a more compressed timeframe. The bilateral 2+2 ministerial trade talks scheduled for July 25 in Washington were postponed because US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had an urgent scheduling conflict. Seoul's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol was informed just before departure, though Korean industry and trade officials already in Washington are continuing working-level consultations. Seoul has emphasized that the postponement does not reflect any change in negotiating intent. But with the reciprocal tariffs slated to resume on Aug. 1, time is growing short. The Japan-US deal has raised the stakes. In addition to securing a 10-point tariff cut, Japan agreed to increase US rice imports by 75 percent, purchase 100 Boeing aircraft and participate in the Alaskan liquefied natural gas project. The US government claims the agreement will generate hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs and boost strategic industries. For South Korea, where more than 60 percent of 2024's $66 billion trade surplus with the US came from automobiles, a failure to match Tokyo's deal could erode competitiveness in a key export sector. Automakers like Hyundai and Kia, which compete directly with Japanese peers in the US market, would be particularly exposed. In anticipation of this, Seoul has assembled a proposed investment package exceeding $100 billion, drawing on commitments from major conglomerates such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai and LG. The plan, modeled loosely on Japan's, may expand further as talks progress. Additional participation in LNG development, including through public financial institutions, is also under review. However, Tokyo's massive pledge — roughly double Korea's in proportionate terms — and its acceptance of politically sensitive concessions raise the bar significantly. Washington's pressure tactics remain blunt. US President Donald Trump has warned that only countries that open their markets will be rewarded with lower tariffs, threatening 'much higher' duties otherwise. His administration has also criticized South Korea's non-tariff barriers, from digital platform regulations to agricultural restrictions. While Seoul has ruled out rice and beef as bargaining chips, citing food security, the government is reportedly exploring other forms of market access, including in digital trade and manufacturing partnerships. In parallel, Seoul must navigate additional entanglements. US demands around defense cost sharing, semiconductor collaboration and regulation of Korean digital platforms all intersect with the trade agenda. Meanwhile, reports indicate the European Union may also be nearing a 15 percent tariff agreement with Washington — a sign that may further isolate South Korea unless it can close a deal soon. Tokyo's agreement is not without trade-offs. Much remains unclear about the terms and timelines of Japan's commitments. But the symbolism of its 15 percent tariff outcome is already shaping expectations. For South Korea, the goal must be to avoid terms materially worse than those given to Japan or the EU. Any outcome perceived as inferior would carry real consequences, both economically and diplomatically. Protecting high-employment, high-surplus sectors such as automobiles and steel must be a central priority. To that end, South Korea's negotiators must aim for a calibrated strategy: offering proportionate concessions, targeting returns in industrial cooperation and investment, and securing transition support for exposed sectors. As deadlines near and peer deals take shape, the challenge is no longer just to reach an agreement, but to secure terms that protect South Korea's standing in its most critical export market.
Korea Herald
9 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee's top security aide meets US officials ahead of tariff deadline
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday he has met with senior officials of the Donald Trump administration during his recent visit to the United States to support ongoing trade negotiations as the tariff deadline looms. In a press notice, Wi said he accompanied Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo for talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during his stay in Washington earlier this week. He also held a phone consultation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and met with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker during the visit. "The visit to the US was part of a broader strategic dialogue encompassing both security and economic issues between South Korea and the US, with the aim of supporting follow-up discussions on specific economic matters," Wi said in the notice, without elaborating. His second trip to Washington this month comes at a critical time, as Seoul faces mounting pressure to strike a deal with the US to stave off the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Korean exports before the Aug. 1 deadline, through a comprehensive trade and investment package. The finance and trade chiefs of the two countries had been scheduled to hold "2+2" high-level talks in Washington on Friday. But Seoul announced earlier in the day that the meeting was postponed due to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's urgent schedule.
