40th Anniversary 5·18 Minjung Uprising 'Buhwalje' to be Held on the 27th

Diverse Memorial Events Including Sangyeo Sound Performance at 5·18 Minju Square

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The 40th anniversary 5·18 People's Uprising Revival Festival will be held under the theme "Remember the May Spirit! Let the Great Harmony Blossom!" on the 27th at 7 p.m. in front of the 5·18 Democracy Square.

According to the 5·18 People's Uprising Commemoration Event Committee on the 26th, the (Corporation) 5·18 Detained and Injured Association will hold a memorial event through the revival festival to comfort and commemorate the spirits of the May martyrs, with about 100 members and officials from various institutions and organizations attending.

About 50 people, including 5·18 bereaved families, will perform a sangyeo sori (funeral bier sound) procession, carrying a bier from Geumnam Park to 5·18 Democracy Square starting at 6:30 p.m. before the main event.

About 20 banners will lead the procession, with a pungmul band and sangyeo sori experts guiding the bier, marching together with the bereaved families of the victims to 5·18 Democracy Square in a ceremonial procession.

After the sangyeo sori performance, a memorial rite and flower offering ceremony for the 5·18 spirits will continue as a pre-event.

The official event begins with the national ceremony and recitation of a dedication poem, followed by memorial speeches honoring the spirits of May 1980, reaffirming the spirit inheritance and determination for revival.

Following the greeting by Moon Heung-sik, President of the 5·18 Detained and Injured Association, memorial speeches will be read in order by Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City; Kim Ik-joo, Chairman of the Administrative and Autonomy Committee of Gwangju Metropolitan Council; Jang Hwi-guk, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education; and Ha Yoo-sung, Director of Gwangju Metropolitan Veterans Affairs Office.

Next, the May Community Award ceremony will take place. The May Community Award is a newly established award this year by the 40th Anniversary 5·18 People's Uprising Commemoration Event Committee to honor individuals and organizations that practice and spread the spirit of changing discrimination and unfair daily life, sharing and solidarity, community, and the great harmony world.

The first recipients of the award, each receiving a prize of 5,180,000 won, are Together with Public Interest Lawyers, Migrant Workers' Labor Union, and Kim Nam-cheol, Director of the Naju Student Independence Movement Commemoration Association.

The Wonpung Comrades Association, which received a special award, will be awarded a prize of 2,450,000 won. The memorial song "March for the Beloved" will be sung, and the post-event will conclude with a cleansing ritual and a great harmony festival for the 5·18 spirits.

The revival festival has been held annually since 1984 to honor and inherit the spirit and values of the 5·18 spirits who sacrificed their lives fighting against state violence to protect democracy and human rights during the 5·18 People's Uprising.

Meanwhile, the (Corporation) 5·18 Detained and Injured Association will hold a Noje (memorial rite) from 6 a.m. on the same day at the old Jeonnam Provincial Government Main Building, performing a memorial service and reading a memorial address for the spirits who died defending this place on May 27, 1980.