Books Distorting the May 18 Movement Still Found in Schools Nationwide, Including Gwangju
Chun Doo-hwan's Banned Memoir Still Available for Loan
Civic Group Warns of Students' Misunderstanding of History
It has been confirmed that 386 books distorting or disparaging the May 18 Democratization Movement are openly placed in elementary, middle, and high school libraries across the country. There is growing concern that even at schools, which are sites of history education, such distorted books are not being filtered out and are left unattended, potentially spreading incorrect historical perceptions among students.
The education civic group 'Citizens' Coalition for a Society without Academic Cliques' announced on the 24th that, after analyzing the national reading education platform 'Dokseoro', a total of 386 books distorting the May 18 Movement are held in school libraries nationwide. The group criticized, "Although education offices claim to be strengthening history education, in reality, books distorting May 18 are openly placed beside students at schools."
At a reading meeting held at Gwangju 5·18 Democracy Square, a citizen is holding the book 소년이 온다 (The Boy Is Coming). Screenshot from Instagram
The most representative example is 'Chun Doo-hwan Memoir Volume 1', which has been banned from sale and distribution by the court. This book, which was found guilty of defamation for referring to the late Father Cho Bi-o, who testified about helicopter shootings, as "Satan, a shameless liar," is still held in eight schools nationwide, with most copies available for loan. A private school in Gwangju owns all three volumes, but announced that it would remove them following collective complaints.
In addition, it was found that 163 copies (7 titles) of books by Ji Manwon, who was sentenced to prison for calling May 18 citizens "North Korean special forces" and labeling the Catholic Justice and Peace Committee as "communists," and 213 copies (2 titles) of books by Kim Daeryeong, who claimed "March for the Beloved" was a North Korean propaganda song, are held in school libraries.
Even in Gwangju, a city with strong symbolic ties to May 18, 26 distorted books were found in some school libraries. The civic group pointed out, "The fact that a distorted historical perspective can infiltrate the educational field in Gwangju, a symbol of democracy and human rights, is even more serious."
According to school library operation regulations, the operation committee is supposed to deliberate on whether to purchase or discard books, but it appears that many books are brought in through donations or placed on shelves without proper content review due to perfunctory deliberations.
The civic group emphasized, "This investigation result clearly shows the lack of guidance and supervision by education offices," and urged, "The city and provincial education offices nationwide, including Gwangju, must immediately conduct a full-scale investigation and take strict follow-up measures."
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