E2024-G029

From Protest to Performance: Civilian Militias Remembered Onscreen and Onstage

Narrative

During the May 18 Democratic Uprising, the citizens of Gwangju organized themselves as civilian militias in resistance to the military regime’s oppression. These groups became symbols of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and their courage and solidarity continue to be remembered through various forms of media. The real-life figure known as “Kim Gun (Mr. Kim)” is commemorated in the documentary Kim-Gun and with a statue in Gwangju Park, while Yun Sang-won (1950-1980) is remembered through the drama Civilian Militia Yun Sang-won. The film May 18, which portrays the civilian militias as a whole, was later adapted into a musical, and the musical Gwangju also dramatizes the formation and resistance of these groups. Through these works, the civilian militias are remembered not merely as historical actors but as enduring symbols of communal dignity and the struggle for democracy.