May 18, 1980
I knew it had significance, and that it was probably related to some kind of war, but I didn't understand it until I researched it and found this website.
The Gwangju Uprising is a significant event that the people of this city initiated on May 18, 1980. While most South Koreans were sitting inside their homes, afraid of their government, the people of Gwangju didn't want any more of it. They wanted a government by the people, for the people. Their bloody fight for democracy against their own government and their West-backed dictator, General Chun Doo-Hwan, took place over the following week.
After a short lived victory that was brutally gained by the people on May 21, the people fell to their government six days later on May 27. It took seven years of struggle before a nationwide uprising was organized that finally won democratic electoral reform in South Korea.
Though it was largely surpressed in the media, it started a chain of similar events across the whole of Asia, such as the public cry for democracy by Chinese students in Tiananmen Square.
Take a minute to read the article and you'll get an idea for the spirit that the people of Gwangju have within them.
Source: http://libcom.org/history/1980-the-kwangju-uprising
All of the above photos of the Gwangju Uprising were found online. I do not own any of them.
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