Main content

The Gwangju massacre

The South Korean army crushed a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju on 27 May 1980. Demonstrators had taken control of the city and were demanding an end to military rule.

The South Korean army crushed a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju on 27 May 1980. Pro-democracy demonstrators had taken control of the city and were calling for an end to military rule. Hundreds of people, many of them students, were shot and beaten to death. Mike Lanchin spoke to Kim Jong and Linda Lewis who were living in Gwangju at the time.

This programme is a rebroadcast.

Photo: soldiers beating men in Gwangju in May 1980. Credit: 5.18 Memorial Foundation/AFP via Getty Images

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Thu 28 May 202003:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Wed 27 May 202007:50GMT
  • Wed 27 May 202011:50GMT
  • Wed 27 May 202017:50GMT
  • Thu 28 May 202003:50GMT

Podcast