Looking back on the 5-month internship at the May 18 Memorial Foundation

Ji-Yoo Shin
March 24 to August 23, 2021

 
I still remember the first day that I came to work here. On March 24, I felt the sweet flagrance of spring flowers at the tip of my nose amid the cold wind of winter.

I grew up in Gwangju, and read and heard about the May 18 Democratization Uprising. Yet, I didn't quite feel close to it since I haven’t experienced the incident in person. To me, the May 18 Memorial Foundation was an unknown world since it is deeply related to this great historic uprising and undertakes related businesses. I started my internship in March, feeling a little nervous but excited about what I would experience here, with a little bit of wondering, too. Time has flied and it is already August. I have come to the end of my time at the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

As an intern at the International Solidarity Department, my responsibilities were as follows;

First, my main job was work related to the Myanmar Gwangju Solidarity. I assisted to prepare working-level meetings held every Thursday and plenary meetings held every 2-3 months. In addition, I listed up organizations and individuals who make donations. I participated in meetings with various civic groups around the country, and translated Korean and English materials, all of which were new experiences to me. While working on the 3rd round of donation to Myanmar, I began follow-up work with the goal of making the donors remember Myanmar and paying them back for their kindness? We prepared souvenirs (key rings and post-its) and will continue to distribute them in the future.

Second, I assisted the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights and publication of the webzine, called MayZine. What I did was to organize the lists of past candidates and recommenders of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in the 2000s. While checking the names and biographies of prominent human rights activists who were often covered in the media, I learned why the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights is called the Nobel Peace Prize of Asia. While assisting the publication of MayZine, I had the opportunity to learn about current issues by reading and organizing scripts sent by contributors in various specialized fields.

Lastly, the 2021 Gwangju Democracy Forum which I assisted in May meant a lot to me. Just as the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights ceremony, the Forum was attended by distinguished guests from various fields. My job was to edit graphics of the session booklet of the forum, and to prepare schedules (Korean/English) and profiles of session participants uploaded to the website. In particular, it was a very interesting and rewarding experience for me to work on a camera for online transmission for the first time. While watching, listening and assisting the operation of the sessions both online and offline, I leaned how much sweat and effort are put into all of these activities.

The past five months, which could be short or long, gave me a lot of lessons. The May 18 Democratization Uprising is an important milestone in Korea's democratization. While we might feel complacent on the peace we enjoy at this moment, the Foundation is supporting Myanmar, which is struggling to achieve democracy just as Gwangju did, and does not turn a blind eye to the desperate stories from Hong Kong and Thailand. I gained much greater confidence here, beyond achievements.

I would like to thank everyone at the May 18 Memorial Foundation for the support and encouragement they gave me over the past five months.

Responsibilities

• 1. Gwangju Democracy Forum (GDF) 2021
  • Proofread and revise the GDF 2021 homepage
  • Produce GDF 2021 pre-application form and Google form
  • Collect zoom link schedules of sessions, and email links to participating organizations
  • Produce session participant profiles and Google form
  • Collect and list up the logos of participating organizations
  • List up presentation form/presenters and produce separate sheets for each session
  • Collect, write and produce the GDF 2021 presentation package
  • List up reporters who attend the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Ceremony & the opening ceremony of the Gwangju Democracy Forum
  • Translate the plaques and winner biographies for the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
  • Take photos at the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Ceremony and the GDF 2021
• 2. May 18 Democracy/Human Rights Contents Contest
  • Translate application forms (Korean/English) submitted to the May 18 Democratic/Human Rights Contents Contest
• 3. May 18 Academy
  • Collect and list up instructors (nationality/ affiliated organization) of the May 18 Academy
• 4. Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
  • Organize the nomination forms – collect related materials
  • List up candidates and recommenders of the 2011-2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
  • List up nominees to 2011-2021 Special Awards
• 5. Translation (Korean/English)
  • Chairman’s speech at the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights & the opening ceremony of the Gwangju Democracy Forum
  • Winners announcement statement of the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
  • Biographies of winners of the 2021 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights & Special Prize (Anon Nampa & Watchdoc Documentary Maker)
  • Review and proofread Korean/English translations of press releases related to Thailand, Myanmar, Hong Kong, etc.
  • Review and proofread Korean/English translation of the May 18 Memorial Foundation's Introduction of the May Memory Repository
  • Review and proofread Korean/English translation of the Gwangju Resolution on Myanmar's Democratization

I returned to Korea in spring, April this year, and came to work after 14 days of self-quarantine. While I was much worried about COVID-19, the immigration process went smoothly and the Foundation gave me a lot of help, so I felt relieved when I entered Korea. I had been to Gwangju a few times before, but never settled here as resident. So, my life in this city was quite new to me. Before, it was winter when I came to Gwangju, which was then covered with white snow, but this time I saw Gwangju basking in the warm sunlight for the first time.

I am currently taking a doctorate course in Arts and Culture Criticism at Kingston University in London. While preparing my doctoral thesis, I started to research the May 18 Democratization Uprising, movies based on true stores about the Uprising, collective memory reproduced in videos and cultural memory expressed in them. I’ve lived as resident or student in many countries, and as a result the great spirit of democracy and the Democratization Uprising in Korea and people’s noble sacrifice became the core of my socio-cultural background painted in many colors. As such, I have long been very much interested in the May 18 Democratization Uprising.

Unfortunately, I have learned about the Uprising only from secondary materials and media contents such as books, papers, journals and movies, and hence it was very important to me that I came to Gwangju and capture in person the traces of the past that remain in this city. Above all, I was deeply impressed by the efforts of the Foundation to commemorate and remember Gwangju in May 1980 to firmly establish and maintain the identity of the May 18 Uprising. What I’ve learned and experienced through this internship will have a huge impact on my doctoral thesis and research topics, but will also serve as an important indicator for broadening the horizon in my life.

In particular, various sessions held at the Gwangju Democracy Forum, diverse background knowledge of the participating organizations which were strong companions, and various efforts made across the world gave me a great inspiration. The Gwangju Solidarity reaching out to join the Democratization Uprising of struggling Myanmar under the control of the military, the Foundation raising voices toward Thailand and Hong Kong, and unknown Gwangju citizens supporting other countries in a united mind touched my heart so deeply. I will remember their passion and unwavering hope and cherish them for a long time.

When I go back to the UK, I will focus on my doctoral thesis drawing on the valuable experience that I gained working at the Foundation. Right after the internship ends, I am scheduled to make a presentation at a conference at the end of September, and I am going to share what I experienced and learned here. If possible, I would also like to participate in various conferences and share my experiences in Gwangju with people around the world. I will continue to inform the historical significance of May to students in Kingston who attend my Korean language and culture lectures. We will continue to explore and study various fields and move forward in the right direction.

I began this internship around mid-April, and it was a solid bridge that connected me to Gwangju of May. I would like to thank the Foundation which gave me an opportunity to be here in Gwangju in May. My special thanks also go to the officials of the International Solidarity Department at the Foundation who helped me a lot to settle down and quickly adapt to this place, the research institute that gave me great support on thesis topic and research, the members of the May 18 Memorial Foundation who welcomed me with a warm heart, and Gwangju for giving me precious relationships and new opportunities. I would like to thank everyone for all of this. I hope to see you again. Till then, I will work hard towards my goal.