Myung-Sook Cha, at age 19, was one of the young people who joined the May 1980 GwangJu Democratization Movement in South Korea. She was eventually captured by the military police, charged of being a North Korean spy, tortured and imprisoned for two years. She was subsequently exonerated and, after years of silence, decided to tell her story at events in Korea and among Korean diaspora communities to raise awareness about what happened at Gwangju and its role in the broader struggle for democracy in South Korea. She joined Jerome to talk about her role in the Gwangju movement, with executive director of the HANA Center Inhe Choi translating.
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05-30-2019
Los Angeles, CA: Gwangju People's Uprising freedom fighter Myung Sook Cha met with 67 Korean American, Asian American and Latinx community members at KRC on May 24 for a special Uprising 39th anniversary talk on the theme of "Gwangju People's Uprising: Women's Stories". Back in 1980, during the uprising in the city of Gwangju, Cha led street announcements atop another activist's car from May 19th to 21st, exposing crimes against humanity perpetrated by South Korean government soldiers. Cha said "someone had to tell the citizens that people were being killed by the soldiers. Whenever we got our hands on speakers and a microphone, we organized street announcements." At this event, commemorating the 39th anniversary of the uprising, and also the 36th anniversary of KRC's founding, four students were awarded with a $1,500 scholarship.
05-13-2019
On KRC’s 36th anniversary, KRC is remembering and celebrating the 39th anniversary of the People's Uprising in the city of Gwangju with May 18 activist Myung Sook Cha. Through her experience, she will be sharing her reflections about the struggle and fight for democracy in Korea. KRC hopes to educate members about what happened on this historic day, reflect on how this mirrors our current movement, and inspire generationsto move forward with the valuable lessons learned on May 18th. KRC will also announcing its annual scholarship awardees.
05-05-2010
a panel discussion in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the 5.18 Gwangju People's Uprising
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the May 18th People's Uprising (5.18) in South Korea - a seminal political moment that sparked the movement for democracy in Korea and human rights in Asia.
05-18-2008
We do not participate in the movement for Korea's democracy and reunification merely out of patriotic longing or a burst of nationalism. We are immigrants in the United States, the epicenter of capitalism, seeking to lay our roots here for generations to come. A society built on individualistic values may lead us to into forgetting about our own identity as Korean Americans, dismiss our neighbors and society in general - even our parents and siblings. We may be drawn to worry solely for our own well being and personal success. To do so will weaken our human spirit and prevent us from laying our roots in this land and passing on a prosperous future for our children.
05-18-2008
I first met my "sunbaenim," (senior brother) Yoon Han Bong in May of 1983, when I was a foreign graduate student in New York. I met him with a group of students concerned about the path of our homeland. We were urban and full of intellectual pretentiousness; we thought we would meet a guy in a suit, with a refined speech. When he walked in, he did not look like what we expected at all... he resembled a handyman idling around Seoul's Union Station, with rugged hands. I thought: "this can't be him, right? Is someone else coming behind him?" and looked for others. Sometimes I remember that first encounter as if it happened yesterday.