«The Wounds Have not yet Healed»
Interview with Hoo Nam Seelmann About South Korea’s Democratization Struggle
«A Taxi Driver», Asia Society Switzerland’s pick for its second Movie Night on October 23, revolves around the democratic uprisings in the South-Western city of Gwangju, Korea. Hoo Nam Seelmann, contributor at Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and Korea expert, talks about the historic context of the movie and the legacy of the Korean democratic movement.
Asia Society Switzerland: South Korea’s democratization process has been long and rocky, with many setbacks. Can you give us a brief overview of this eventful historical period?
Hoo Nam Seelmann: Korea had long been a kingdom but lost its independence in 1910 when Japan colonized the peninsula. The colonial occupation lasted until 1945 and ended with Japan's surrender to the Allied forces. Both main actors, the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, each wanted to secure their own sphere of power. So, to the misfortune of all Koreans, the country was divided along the 38th parallel north – a decision made not by the Korean people. As a result, the Korean War broke out in 1950 and ended with a ceasefire in 1953.
Since Korea had no democratic experience, the path to democracy could only be thorny and protracted. In 1961, Park Chung-Hee, a military general, seized power and established a military dictatorship. It ended only temporarily in 1979, when Park was assassinated. Chun Doo-Hwan, also a general, succeeded him in 1980 and brutally crushed every opposition he was facing. When students and citizens revolted against the renewed military dictatorship in Gwangju on May 18, 1980, the military massacred the civilian population. The film «A Taxi Driver» gives account of what happened in Gwangju during those days. The Korean people, however, did not let themselves be intimidated and continued to fight for democracy. A turning point was reached only in 1993, when the first civilian president elected by the people took office. Since then, democracy has gradually taken a foothold in South Korea, which today is considered one of the most democratic countries in all of Asia.
What was unique about the governmental suppression of the democracy protests in Gwangju?
Overall, there have been countless protests in the struggle for democratization, but the massive military operation in Gwangju entailed the largest number of victims on a single occasion. Nearly 600 people died immediately or subsequently due to injuries. The uprising in Gwangju revealed the unprecedented brutality of the military dictatorship – a fact that hit the Korean people all the harder. All of a sudden they lost all hope that military rule would finally come to an end after the death of Park Chung-Hee. The reaction to the military aiming weapons at its own population was fierce and laid the ground for severe resistance. A broad political protest movement emerged, which dominated the 1980s and finally forced the military government to abdicate. Today, Gwangju is a symbol for the democracy movement.
How has this movement shaped today's society in Korea? Does it still have an impact on current politics?
The long-standing democracy movement made a major contribution to the South Korean people's political awareness. Democracy and freedom are being valued highly nowadays. South Koreans are very active politically: They raise their own concerns and implement them politically at very different levels. The fact that democracy only remains alive if political participation is guaranteed has taken root. The belief that one can bring about political and social change through one's own actions is also firmly anchored. The «candlelight protests» in 2016 and 2017, which forced President Park Geun-Hye to resign because of abuse of power, clearly showed that the South Korean democracy is mature enough to overcome a crisis non-violently and by democratic means.
Early after taking office, President Moon ordered an investigation into the happenings of the Gwangju uprisings. Moreover, Chun Doo-Hwan is again facing trial in Korea. Why is this part of history currently being discussed so passionately?
The gap between the political camps in South Korea is very deep: There is the conservative camp, rooted in the military dictatorship, and the progressive camp that led a long struggle against the junta. When the conservative camp came to power, it tried to hide and conceal its own dark past. The last two conservative presidents, Park Geun-Hye and her predecessor, Lee Myung-Bak, for example, did little, if anything, to pay due tribute to the victims of the democratic struggle. With the new president Moon Jae-In taking office, who himself fought against the dictatorship, everything changed fundamentally. On May 18, 2017, only nine days after taking office, he visited the cemetery in Gwangju and honoured the victims as people who brought democracy to the country. A thorough historical reappraisal was initiated, and new facts have already come to light. Subsequently, the dictator responsible for the massacre, Chun Doo-Hwan, who has so far denied having given the order to shoot demonstrators, is faced with new questions. It took decades, but today we can largely reconstruct what happened at that time. It must nevertheless still be painful for the relatives that many of the perpetrators were not held accountable for their actions.
The film «A Taxi Driver» was very successful in Korea. What does this say about the current political situation in South Korea?
The film was truly a huge success, which says a lot about the dominating feeling about what happened in Gwangju. It shows that people have not forgotten, and that the wounds have not yet healed completely. The German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter plays an important role in the film because he has reported on the events in Gwangju under very difficult conditions and Koreans are still very grateful to him.
Additionally, «A Taxi Driver» hit Korean cinemas during the transition period to the current Moon-administration, a fact that certainly contributed to its success – besides its cinematic quality, of course.
Hoo Nam Seelmann was born and raised in South Korea. She studied philosophy, German and art history at the Saarland Universität in Saarbrücken/Germany. Seelmann wrote her PhD thesis on Hegel's philosophy of history and was a scientific assistant to Karl-Heinz Ilting, a co-editor of Hegel editions. She works as a contributor on East Asian topics, especially in the «Neue Zürcher Zeitung» and is author of the book «Lautloses Weinen: Der Untergang des koreanischen Königshauses».