Video Fwd: Resurrection of Oppression: May, Month of Uprising

* Video informed at the PKAR




The video informed at the PKAR (Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification) was screened on the May 12 press interview for the release of the six arrested unification activists under the National Security Law. The press interview was participated by more than 100 people from the 80 organizations.

The video compares the current situation of the oppression by the Lee, Myung Bak government, South Korea to the oppression of the military dictatorship, in the city of Kwangju during the two weeks since May 18, 1980 when the general and soon-self-becoming President, Chun, Doo-Hwan murdered more than 2000 Kwangju citizens for cementing his regime, against the Korean people’s wish of the Democracy, called “The Spring of Seoul”, after the death of the precedent military dictatorship, Park, Jung-Hee who had been murdered by his staff months before.

The video parallels the current scenes( violent Yongsan crack down which killed 6 people on January 2009; arrest of the unification activists on May 7, 2009; and oppression in all the progressive area since the launch of the Lee, Myung Park regime) with the scenes of 80’s Kwangju in the 1980 and people’s uprising in 1987. the scene ends with the letters of the 'Abolish the National Security Law' and 'People Shall Overcome".

The title of music is ‘Burning Thirst’, originally a famous poem by the poet, Kim, Chi-Ha who had been jailed and tortured himself for his poetries wishing for the democracy in the 70s under the military dictatorship, Park, Jung-Hee. The song is sung by Ahn, Chi-Whan, one of the representative singers in the late 1980s of the peoples’ uprising in Korea.

The song says,

“ My mind having forgotten you for a long time, My foot trace having forgotten you for a long time. The only ray of the thirst memory from the burning heart, Long live, democracy, long live democracy”

It is time for many Koreans to remember the 1980s again, live with the song again.

* You can see another versions of the music videos on the protests in the 80s and 60s, here.


* Related Blogs:

http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2009/05/koreans-thirst-for-democracy.html
Sunday, May 17, 2009
KOREANS THIRST FOR DEMOCRACY

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/05/text-fwd-urgent-action-justice-for.html
Friday, May 15, 2009
Text Fwd: [urgent action] Justice for Yongsan

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/05/text-fwd-global-network-letter-to-human.html
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Text Fwd: [ Korean translated: Global Network] Letter to Human Rights Office, Republic of Korea Consulate-General Office