I didn’t want to believe it. South Korean President Yoon declared an “emergency martial law”, accusing the opposition party of paralyzing the government with anti-state activities. A blaring statement in the middle of the night, which would now settle in the annals of history as an infamy in the Korena peninsula for years to come.
I was ready to go to bed when I heard the news. Wondering what was going on, I turned on the TV with my dorm mate, and soon, one by one, our friends crawled out of their beds, huddled around a TV set in the lounge. Glued to the screen, we couldn’t sleep, as we tried to follow the news. After all, we were in Jeju, an island most remote from Seoul, which made it more difficult for us. Though safe from the danger that could brew in Seoul, I was unsettled by the feeling that something could happen to my home in Seoul, and of course, my mother.
I have only heard of martial law from my dearest mother. She was merely in primary school when the former president Chun declared the martial law on May 17, 1980. His resolve meant sending troops to far corners of the country to suppress any protest. The next day, on the 18th, the citizens of Gwangju paid the price, as troops stationed in the city fired on its people, killing some 200 civilians, including women and children.
To this day, 5.18 is known in Korea as the Gwangju Uprising. The uprising began when Chonnam University students demonstrating against martial law were fired upon, killed, raped, beaten and tortured by the South Korean military. Some Gwangju citizens took up arms and formed militias, raiding local police stations and armories, and were able to take control of large sections of the city before soldiers re-entered the city and suppressed the uprising. While the South Korean government claimed 165 people were killed in the massacre, scholarship on the massacre today estimates 600 to 2,000+ victims. Under the military dictatorship of Chun, the South Korean government labelled the uprising as a ''riot'' and claimed that it was being instigated by "communist sympathizers and rioters".
Does our history teach us nothing?
Korea is a robust nation, a country thriving in the world, offering the best of its K-culture to the world. The dark underbelly is what its history couldn’t remedy all along. The polarization between political parties cannot be reconciled. Too many ills from the past continue to haunt us, unrelenting to the forces of democracy. Yes, democracy is that fragile.
Shockingly, of course, the martial law was retracted as quickly as it was declared. The whole thing now seems like a farce. International media outlets are confounded by what just happened in Korea. But what is done is done. And for that, Yoon is done. He is on the chopping block, whose choice is one or the other – face impeachment or resign from presidency.
Today is another day. What awaits this morning?
