(Adnkronos) – It had been 44 years since martial law was declared in South Korea. The last time was in May 1980 following the military coup, the second in a year, led at the end of the previous year by General Chun Doo-hwan. To stop the demonstrations of the student movement demanding democratic reforms, on May 17 Chun forced the government to extend martial law to the entire country. Universities were closed, political activities were banned and freedom of the press was further restricted. To enforce martial law, the military was sent to various parts of the nation.
On May 18, 1980, the citizens of Gwangju rebelled against Chun’s military dictatorship and took control of the city. During the uprising, citizens took up arms to defend themselves, but were eventually crushed by the army in a massacre that went down in history. In the end, at least hundreds of people were counted dead, but some speak of thousands of victims.