Glocal Democracy after the COVID-19 pandemic : Present and Future

Anselmo Lee
Advisor & Moderator of the Gwangju Democracy Forum 2021

My heart and body are aching. Not a single day passes by without hearing sad news from Myanmar and that brings back painful memories of Gwangju 41 years ago. While I could not know what happened back then because of media control, I am now aware of the situation in Myanmar but there is nothing I can do to help in person, which makes me feel even more frustrated. I felt a sense of guilt about Gwangju and now I feel helplessness about Myanmar. Nevertheless, Myanmar's bloody democratization movement is awakening the DNA of democracy and justice in all Koreans, especially citizens in Gwangju.

Under these circumstances, the Gwangju Democracy Forum is starting anew on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. The Gwangju Democracy Forum was built upon the Gwangju Asia Forum with renewed contents and formats. Under the main theme of < Glocal Democracy after the COVID-19 Pandemic : Present and Future >, the Gwangju Democracy Forum will conduct comprehensive analyses of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on democracy and democratization movement. Also, the current status and tasks of democratization movements in East Asia, especially Myanmar, will be discussed in depth.

More specifically, about 25 sessions will take place under five themes ; ▲ State violence, impunity and transitional justice, ▲ Crisis and challenges of democracy in Asia, ▲ Inclusive and participatory democracy, ▲ New challenges and opportunities for democracy, ▲ International democratic movement and civil society. Discussion results will be summarized under the title of < Gwangju Democracy Agenda 2030 > and will be used as input to establish the mid-to-long-term agenda and strategy of the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

Contents of concurrent sessions under five themes

The first theme, “State Violence, Impunity and Transitional justice,” represents the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. At sessions under this theme, the experiences and trends of other countries will be discussed in connection with the campaign to designate May 18 as the Universal for of Militarism and . In addition to a session jointly planned with the UN Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice, concurrent sessions will be organized also by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Transitional Justice Asia Network (TJAN), and the Gwangju Trauma Center.

Under the second theme, “Crisis and challenges of democracy in Asia”, aspirations and movements for democratization which have recently erupted in East and South Asia including Hong Kong, Thailand, and Myanmar will be analyzed from various viewpoints, such as human rights, election, and civil society, and effective activities to promote international solidarity and mid- to long-term action plans will be established. In addition to the first Gwangju Democracy Summit involving the winners of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, concurrent sessions will be organized by the Asian Democracy Network (ADN), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM_ASIA), Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), JeonBuk National University Institute for Southeast Asian Studies/Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies, Korean civil society groups to support Myanmar’s democracy, the Committee to Overthrow the Military Dictatorship in Myanmar, and the alumni network of the Program of Master of Arts in Inter-Asia NGO Studies (MAINS) at SungKongHoe University.

Under the third theme, “Inclusive and participatory democracy,” the current status and challenges of democracy will be discussed from the perspective of social minority groups such as migrants and refugees who are marginalized and excluded from the transition to democracy and formal representative democracy. From Korea, Democracy and Social Movements Institute at SungKongHoe University, Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), and Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) will participate in related sessions.

Under the fourth theme, the ‘New Challenges and Opportunities for Democracy,’ democracy, civil society, press freedom, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be discussed. From abroad, CIVICUS, International Institute for Democracy (IDEA), Asia Center, Asia Civil Society Partnership for Sustainable Development (APSD), and Asian Development Alliance (ADA) will join related sessions.

For the fifth theme of 'International Democratization Movement and Civil Society', discussions will take place on such topics as Korea’s democracy and public diplomacy, Asian democracy and Official Development Assistance (ODA), grassroots democracy and human rights cities, global democracy and UN reform, and the role of youth for democracy and peace. Discussion will take place. Korean Association for Public Diplomacy (KAPD), Korea Association for International Development and Cooperation (KAIDEC), Korea Association of Human Rights Studies (KAHRS), Democracy Without Borders (DWB), and Pyeongchang Youth Peace Ambassador (YPA) will participate in sessions.

Since its establishment in 1994, the May 18 Memorial Foundation has learned about the May 18 Democratic Uprising and Korea's democratic movement through various international projects. Through those programs, the May 18 Memorial Foundation provided venues and opportunities for Gwangju citizens and Korean civil society to communicate with the international civil society. Such a platform is a great asset created by the international solidarity and public diplomacy of Korean civil society.

From the shrine to the hub of democracy

Hundreds of human rights and democratic activists from the international community, especially in Asia, have visited Gwangju over the past 20 years. Just as Christians visit Jerusalem and Muslims visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the Geumnam-ro Square and the Mangwol-dong Democracy Cemetery have become the shrines of democracy to pilgrims from around the world. In April 2019, about 3,000 democratic activists and Cambodians who lived in Korea gathered to hold a candlelight vigil in Gwangju. It was an incident which confirmed Gwangju was beyond a shrine of democracy and has become an international hub of democratic movements. Following Hong Kong and Thailand, Myanmar’s democratic movement has highlighted the importance of an international platform that promotes democracy in Asia more systematically. Accordingly, the international community is pinning high hopes on Gwangju.

In the history of democracy in Korea, Daegu is regarded as the birthplace, Busan as the main base and Gwangju as the shrine. By the same token, the Philippines with the People Power Revolution in 1986 is considered as the birthplace of democracy in Asia, Korea is the main base and Myanmar is turning itself into a shrine. Being a shrine means there were many victims sacrificed for the cause of democracy. Gwangju went through a democratic movement once in 1980, but Myanmar had two ill-fated democratic movements in 1988 and 2007, and is shedding more bloods in its third movement this time. The spirit of the 5.18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising is to make sure such sacrifices do not go in vain. In that sense, the Gwangju Democracy Forum should serve as a process and opportunity to express and analyze the blood, sweat, and tears shed by so many citizens through words and images and reflect them in discussions, policies, and strategies for the democratic movements.

The May 18 Memorial Foundation will commemorate its 30th anniversary in 2024. Korea's democracy has often gone through ups and downs, but from a long-term perspective, it has been a journey towards a more consolidated or mature democracy. Korea has nurtured resilient democracy while overcoming various crises. However, as seen in the case of Hong Kong, Korea and Myanmar, democracy in East Asia is facing the risks of 'short-term stimulus and long-term stagnation'. I hope that the Gwangju Democracy Forum will innovate the strength and assets of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, thus helping to trigger Asia’s great journey towards the democratization of the world.