Revealing the World Drawn by the Women of May
CHA Yeong-gwi [Senior Researcher, Sogang Global Korean Studies Initiatives, Sogang University]
For a long time, we have viewed the world with one eye closed. Thus, our view of the world has inevitably been incomplete. Only by opening both eyes can we see the world clearly. In photographs and videos from the May Uprising, numerous women can be seen. Women appear in various places: by the fountain in front of the Provincial Office, along Geumnam-ro Street, at Yangdong Market, Daein Market, and throughout downtown Gwangju. They are visible in the windows of buses spreading news of citizens' struggles, as well as across Jeollanam-do province, wherever the uprising spread: in Naju, Yeongam, Mokpo, Haenam, Jangheung, and beyond. Female middle and high school students, together with middle-aged women and grandmothers— women from all walks of life were present. It was such a common sight that it felt entirely natural.
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Remembering the uprising and sharing its significance is a collective effort. I am even more glad that this work is not the result of an individual’s leadership alone, but rather the outcome of a collective endeavor. I hope that the outcome of this work could resonate with the concerns of different generations and countries. I also hope that this work will inspire reinterpretations in various forms, similar to that of Lim Younghee's Yangnimdong Girl, and thus be remembered in the hearts of many as the Song of May.
Revealing the World Drawn by the Women of May
CHA Yeong-gwi [Senior Researcher, Sogang Global Korean Studies Initiatives, Sogang University]
For a long time, we have viewed the world with one eye closed. Thus, our view of the world has inevitably been incomplete. Only by opening both eyes can we see the world clearly. In photographs and videos from the May Uprising, numerous women can be seen. Women appear in various places: by the fountain in front of the Provincial Office, along Geumnam-ro Street, at Yangdong Market, Daein Market, and throughout downtown Gwangju. They are visible in the windows of buses spreading news of citizens' struggles, as well as across Jeollanam-do province, wherever the uprising spread: in Naju, Yeongam, Mokpo, Haenam, Jangheung, and beyond. Female middle and high school students, together with middle-aged women and grandmothers— women from all walks of life were present. It was such a common sight that it felt entirely natural.
.
.
.
Remembering the uprising and sharing its significance is a collective effort. I am even more glad that this work is not the result of an individual’s leadership alone, but rather the outcome of a collective endeavor. I hope that the outcome of this work could resonate with the concerns of different generations and countries. I also hope that this work will inspire reinterpretations in various forms, similar to that of Lim Younghee's Yangnimdong Girl, and thus be remembered in the hearts of many as the Song of May.