S2023-201d

The May 18 Democratic Uprising: Witness and Remembrance 》Remembrance through Revitalization: Jeonil Building 245 and Democracy Square

Story

• The Jeonil Building, located on the main thoroughfare of Gwangju, Geumnam-ro, and situated across from the Former Jeollanam-do Provincial Office, was built in the 1960s. It served as home to several newspaper and broadcasting companies, namely Jeonil Broadcasting and the Jeonam Ilbo newspaper.
• During the May 18 Democratic Uprising, the provincial office and the square in front of it became the main battle ground between the civilian militia and army. Thus, Jeonil Building, as the tallest building in the area at the time, came to overlooked the events of the uprising. In fact, the rooftop was used by the martial law army to watch the events and to shoot the demonstrators protesting below.
• That same day, a military helicopter shot into the building at close range with machine guns, targeting the journalists inside. There were several witnesses to the event. Notably an eyewitness account and testimony of the incident was given by the Catholic priest and activist Cho Pius. However, it was denied by others, including President Chun. However, when the building was remodeled in 2017, remnants of over 245 bullet holes were discovered, including shots that had to have been fired from above the height of the uppermost 10th floor based on the trajectory. This showed that the shots had to have been fired by a helicopter.
• After being remodelled, the building was reopened under the name Jeonil Building 245, to remember the incident. The building houses the Gwangju Contents Hub, exhibition halls, a rooftop garden, an archive, and other public facilities.
• The square overlooked by the building was also renovated and renamed May 18 Democracy Square.

Semantic Data

Node Description

id	class	groupName	partName	label	hangeul	hanja	english	infoUrl	iconUrl
S2023-201d	Story	Episode		Rememberance through Revitalization: Jeonil Building 245 and Democracy Square			Rememberance through Revitalization: Jeonil Building 245 and Democracy Square	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/wiki/index.php/S2023-201d	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/icon/episode.png