Gwangju News

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Lee, who wrote “Kwangju Diary,” and co-edited “The Gwangju Uprising” and who worked as a journalist while Korea lurched toward and changed from its newfound democracy

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The Gwangju News asked the Director of the Jeonnam Nano Bio Research Center’s Bio Control Center, Lee Jay Eui, about the ramifications of the achievement of Democracy after the 5-18 uprising. Lee, who wrote “Kwangju Diary,” and co-edited “The Gwangju Uprising” and who worked as a journalist while Korea lurched toward and changed from its newfound democracy, gave this answer:

“The influence of the uprising has been very strong. To me it is important to compare life before and after the uprising. Before (5/18/1980), the Korean social and political situation was under the control of dictatorships. Between 1980 and ‘87, the characteristics of the dictatorships changed. The basic structure of the social status was changing, but direct control of the mass media, and other controls by the police and investigation units, continued.

“People were very angry, and worked to change the agony felt by the dictatorial control. Very difficult politics and a poor economy made life so hard. Political and military power groups cultivated financial systems that gave them control of the Chaebol companies, thus growing their own power. The quick growth of the Chaebol groups polarized society because so much money went to such a small group of people. No one with abilities could access those jobs unless they also had a relationship with the top group, and this created a contradiction between the ruling and non-ruling classes. People wanted to change this to gain opportunities.

“The main point of the people’s movement, and the labor movement in 1982 and 1983, was to change this system. The labor unions focused on small and medium sized companies. Students devoted their lives to the poor people’s unions, which was very civil work, which often led to being arrested. Many devoted their entire lives to creating these changes.

“In about 1984, the Democratic Youth Federation became a very open organization. Before, the movements had to be secretly organized, but with more people involved in the groups, more arrests occurred. Still, the momentum continued through labor unions, and by 1985 others got involved, like farmers groups, and peasant advocates. They were inspired by the ‘Gwangju Families of the Sacrificed’ organization, which was the vanguard in this area. This led to networks that were unbreakable. Anti-Americanist sentiment also flourished then, so networks were based on different beginnings.

“In June, 1987 The People’s Democratic Movement achieved a very historical first vote. The May Uprising Families Association had inspired the networks that achieved a direct democratic vote. By July and August of 1987, huge and unexpected labor rallies and strikes occurred at companies like Dae-Woo and Hyundai. This was amazing because no union effort had been made at the Chaebol companies, yet the unions of those companies were in solidarity, and came out to say so. Better working conditions and better pay were demanded.

“The Teacher’s Union was a big player, as its ideology was effective as a leadership point for other unions. This process also included Buddhist and Catholic and other Christian religions who worked together for change. Keep in mind that, for one year, 1961, South Korea also had local autonomy in its government, but that disappeared until 1989. Local autonomy was an important final step in democracy, because it allowed localities to create their own social codes to an extent, without interference from the national government. This changed the educational system.

“Teachers rewrote textbooks, and brought what had been a covert ideology directly to the students. History and other subjects that are influenced by philosophy and ideology were changed. I was a Gwangju Daily News reporter at the time, and made reports about recent history, uncovering facts about the time between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Korean War.

“The ownership of land was a huge issue when the Japanese left, because they had owned all the farm land. A scramble for ownership ensued, with farm workers claiming the land and its buildings. But, a corrupt land ownership company called Shinamgongsa distributed property to those who supported the US. Freedom of the press gave us liberty to cover these past, but still relevant events, and we were encouraged by many readers to find out as much as possible. This information was like a lit fuse on a bomb, and caused many to cross over to the North out of anger about what had happened in the South.

“It wasn’t until the 1990s that reunification issues surfaced. This added to the democracy politically and socially. The 1997 IMF crisis created another amazing historical moment: people donated everything from money to their gold wedding rings to help solve the crisis. This led to more consensus, and a wider democracy. Political leaders in the 1980s were worried about chaos, so they used that fear to their advantage. But economic growth in the 1990s shifted more power to the people. Yet, productivity rose even in the “disorderly” 1980s. But productivity and hard work rose much higher in the 1990s, when workers knew that hard work could mean real gains for their families. This liberation occurred because in the 1980s wage gains were impossible, so people did not work as hard, because it wasn’t going to gain them anything. Labor unions created an atmosphere where harder work meant better pay, no matter what your job was.

“Meanwhile, the financial system, both fragile and corrupt, was weak by global standards. Even after the IMF crisis, privileged families were not compelled to open up their books. Finally, a more transparent system is now evident. The administration of Noh, Moo-Hyun developed a new globalized financial system, but globalization has caused a difficult climate for progressive ideals, which have limitations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It is important that not just individual nation’s economies improve, but that labor conditions improve worldwide. This is a very difficult task under the current agreements.

The current global economic crisis makes it hard to factor in the needs of the workers. Traditional capitalism has limits. Additionally, the reunification issues of Korea are now in the global spotlight, as they are comingled with strategic and security concerns. Lastly, our people should be prepared to accentuate the point of view of the middle class, and to deal with conservative viewpoints. This is because current policies and economic realities are a severe threat to the middle class. We need to develop a secure middle class.”

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