E2024-G085

Tales from the Outside: Foreign Witnesses’ Accounts of the May 18 Democratic Uprising

Narrative

Several foreigners were in Gwangju at the time of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. They helped to document and spread word of the events to the outside world, despite the city itself being locked down and the government attempting to keep the incident under wraps. Among them were reporters, such as Bradley K. Martin of the Baltimore Sun, Jürgen Hinzpeter (1937-2016) of the German ARD Broadcasting, and Norman Thorpe of the Wall Street Journal. There were also members of the Peace Corps, including Paul Courtright, David Dolinger, and William Amos, among others.

Thorpe took photos inside the interior of the provincial office after martial law forces subdued the civilian militia there and before it could be cleaned up, while Jürgen Hinzpeter’s story later became the basis for the 2017 hit film, A Taxi Driver. Amos wrote a book inspired by the events, named The Seed of Joy, while Courtright and Dolinger documented the events in their memoirs, Witnessing Gwangju: A Memoir and Called by Another Name: A Memoir of the Gwangju Uprising, respectively.

Resources

type	resource	title	description/caption	URL
Text	Paul Courtright	Personal Website		https://www.pcourtright.com/
News Article	Korea Times	David Dolinger granted Gwangju honorary citizenship in recognition of 5.18 role		https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/globalcommunity/20250518/david-dolinger-granted-gwangju-honorary-citizenship-in-recognition-of-518-role
News Article	Gwangju News	Called by Another Name: A David Dolinger Memoir of 5.18		https://gwangjunewsgic.com/features/may-18/called-by-another-name/
News Article	Gwangju News	Tim Warnberg’s Legacy Deserves Notice: Part I		https://gwangjunewsgic.com/features/may-18/tim-warnberg1/
News Article	Hankoryeh	Gwangju anniversary: the final interview of a martyr for democracy		https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/744396.html
News Article	Hankoryeh	Final moments of Gwangju Uprising captured by foreign journalist first revealed		https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/994307.html
News Article	Los Angeles Review of Books	The Gwangju Uprising from an American's Perspective: a Q&A with The Seed of Joy Author William Amos		https://lareviewofbooks.org/blog/the-korea-blog/gwangju-uprising-americans-perspective-qa-seed-joy-author-william-amos/

Story Map

• May 18 Legacy: Voices of Democracy and Remembrance
  • UNESCO Human Rights Documentary Heritage Archives
  • Chonnam National University: Where the Call for Democracy Began
  • Witness to History: The Jeonil Building and Former Jeollanam-do Provincial Office
  • Remembrance through Revitalization: Jeonil Building 245 and Democracy Square
  • Tales from the Outside: Foreign Witnesses’ Accounts of the May 18 Democratic Uprising
  • The Role of Catholic Leaders in the May 18 Democratic Uprising
  • The Role of the YWCA in the May 18 Democratic Uprising
  • Representing the People in the May 18 Democratic Uprising: The Citizen Emergency Headquarters
• Global Witnesses: Foreign Eyes on Gwangju’s Struggle
  • Tales from the Outside: Foreign Witnesses’ Accounts of the May 18 Democratic Uprising
  • Journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter: Showing the May 18 Democratic Uprising to the World
  • Japanese Artist Tomiyama Taeko: A Voice Against Imperialism
  • Zainichi Collector of Minjung Art and More: Ha Jung-woong