The research institute at the May 18 Foundation holds symposiums, awards well-written theses concerning the May 18, and outsources research projects to establish a stable foundation for the research on the May 18.
The May 18 Symposium
Goals
- To encourage researchers to inherit the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Movement and to nationalize and globalize knowledges on the May 18
- To build a network for researchers who work on the May 18 and build a solidarity among them
Contents
- Conducting researches for the truth finding of the May 18 and to make the research outcomes available on national and international level
- Holding seminars and conferences to take prompt actions on the May 18 related issues
Performance
| 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Date | Contents |
| 5, April | Symposium commemorating the 38th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement and the 30th anniversary Gwangju National Assembly Hearing |
| 28, September | Seminar on sexual violence during the May 18 |
| 24, October | The first conference on 505 Security Forces |
| 31, October | The second conference on 505 Security Forces |
| 29-30, November | International Symposium 'May 18, crossing the borders of generation and the world' |
| Date | Theme |
|---|---|
| 29-30, November, 2018 | International Symposium 'May 18, crossing the borders of generation and the world' |
| 5, April, 2018 | Symposium commemorating the 38th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement and the 30th anniversary Gwangju National Assembly Hearing |
| 26-27, May, 2017 | Joint Symposium with the Korean Society for Western History which commemorates the 37th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement “The crisis of democracy and seeking alternatives in history” |
| 17, April, 2017 | Symposium commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision on Chun Doohwan and Roh Taewoo “Judicial decisions and current situation of Korean democracy with a focus on political amnesty” |
| 21, October, 2016 | Seminar commemorating the 68th anniversary Yeosun Incident “Yeosun Incident, its new approaches and a new start” |
| 13, May, 2016 | Symposium commemorating the 36th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement “The politics surronding the May 18” |
| 16, December, 2015 | Symposium on the May 18 Movement in Busan area and Buma Democratic Protests |
| 3, December, 2015 | Symposium on correct history |
| 16, May, 2015 | Symposium commemorating the 35th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement “The truth of the May 18 and protection of democratic values” |
| 19, December, 2014 | Joint Seminar “An era of globalization and what we need to do for Honam region” |
| 3, December, 2014 | Seminar on the Marching for our Beloved |
| 14, October, 2014 | Symposium commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Buma Democratic Protests “From Buma to Gwangju” |
| 29, August, 2014 | International Symposium commemorating the 35th anniversary of the May 18 Foundation “Peace, Human Rights, and Democracy in the 21 century East Asia and the role of public” |
| 25, June, 2014 | Participatory administration and self-governing community |
| 9, May, 2014 | Seminar commemorating the 34th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement “The May 18 and the media : A reflection on democracy and the memory landscape” |
5·18 Theses Awards
Goals
- The Foundation consigns its work to a specialized agency without providing any public offering or evaluation procedures to drastically enhance the fairness and expertise of selection compared to the foundation’s arbitrary screening evaluation system, as it is an examination through inventory of work efficiency and academic journal publishing agencies.
- Facilitates academic access to the May 18 Pro-democracy Movement by enabling students and ordinary citizens to learn self-reliance through academic gathering support.
Contents
- Annual support of Memorandum of Understanding signed researchers’ excellent academic papers.
- Selection and support of five outstanding academic papers by researcher.
Performance
| Partner Institutes | |
|---|---|
| The dates of the MOU signed | Institutes |
| 24, February, 2017 | Institute for Humanities, Chosun University |
| 3, July, 2018 | Institute for Honam Studies, Chonnam National University |
 |
 |
| Year | Thesis Title | Researcher |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 「Political ideology, discourse, and practice for community making」 | Park Gyungseop |
| 「Going beyond nation within nation: questions on the 『Imagined Communities』」 | Lee Yeongjin | |
| 「Research on the representation of death in the 1980s」 | Kang Sohee | |
| 「A study on Lim Chulwoo's early novels」 | Kim Jooseon | |
| 「Civil war and current democracy」 | Kim Hang | |
| 2017 | 「‘Memory-Affect’ an era of war and struggles in literature: Han Kang's 『Human Acts』(2014)」 |
Kim Mijeong |
| 「Memory and testimony and the new approaches of journalism」 | Park Jinwoo | |
| 「How we hear and from whose experience: Mass suicide and testimony」 | Shim Jeongmyung | |
| 「Muselmann, and the ethics of testimony: Agamben and orientalism」 | Lim Gyunggyu | |
| 「Levinas and the dilemma of testimony: By detouring Hannah Arendt and Primo Levi」 | Lee Eunjeong | |
| 2015 | 「How photography reveals the truth: The Gwangju Uprising and the role of photography as a bearing witness」 |
Kim Sangdeok |
| 「Germany's legal responses against Auschwitz denial」 | Kim Jaeyoon | |
| 「A study on hate speeches on democratic movement in 2012 and 2015: With a focus on case study of how a civil organization in Daegu acted against hate speeches on the May 18」 | Jang Jieun | |
| 「How to take legal actions against denials of crimes against humanity and historical distortion : A case study of Germany and European Union」 | Jeong Myungsoon, Park Hakmo | |
| 「The May 18 spirit and 6·15 North-South Joint Declaration Article 2(Unification Article) : Contents and directions for its concretization」 | Choi Yanggeun | |
| 2014 | 「The May 18 as media narrative and the representation of collective memory」 | Joo Jaewoon |
| 「Generation gap and collective memory on the May 18」 | Heo Seokjae | |
| 「The May 18 and people-centered self-governing community : With a focus on 『Contentious Kwangju』 and its "Absolute Community"」 |
Seo Yookyung |
5·18 Research Outsourcing
Goals
- Establishing a long-term plan and conducting research on the May 18
Contents
- Suggesting a direction for research and memorial project of the May 18 Democratic Movement
Performance
| Year | Theme | Principal Researcher |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Research on the May 18 commemoration projects and development plans for the May 18 Foundation | |
| 2016 | Writing a textbook on the May 18 for university students | Eun Woogeun (Research and Business Foundation, Gwangju University) |
| Establishing a basic plan for publishing the May 18 official history book | Research and Business Foundation, Chonnam National University | |
| 2015 | Collecting oral histories on the May 18 memory struggle | Lim Wangtaek (Chairperson, The Association for the May 18 Commemoration in Seoul) |
| ‘Deciphering situation records of the May 18’ | Roh Yeonggi (Chosun University) | |
| ‘Collecting oral histories commemorating the enactment of the May 18 Special Law’ | Jeong Hogi (Chonnam National University) | |
| ‘Collecting oral histories on the May 18 Democratic Movement with a focus on buddhism | Gwangju Institute | |
| Research on cooperative management for the May 18 archival materials | Kim Ikhan (The Research Institute for Korean Archives and Records) |
|
| Publishing the official history of the May 18 Foundation commemorating its 20th anniversary | The May 18 Research Institute, Chonnam National University |