Over 40,000 Records, Oral Histories, Photos, and Videos Released Online
On May 15, the 5.18 Memorial Foundation announced the official launch of its archive, which consolidates a wide range of records related to the 5.18 Democratization Movement and the outcomes of commemorative projects carried out by the foundation.
The '5.18 Memorial Foundation Archive' is a web-based archive designed to allow anyone?including citizens, researchers, and educators?to easily and conveniently access the records.
The archive consists of sections such as: introduction to the archive, photo archive, collections, content, oral histories, record search, and usage/application. It also provides access to existing photo collections by Na Kyungtaek and Lee Changseong, as well as major content such as 'Ten Days of Uprising' and 'Response to Distortion and Investigation of the Truth about the 5.18 Democratization Movement.'
Of particular note in this launch are the Korea Ilbo's on-site photo collection from May 1980, which is being made available online for the first time, and digital images of slide films personally taken by the late Jurgen Hinzpeter in Gwangju at the time. These materials were secured through local collection efforts in Germany and are being released for the first time after a process of organization and digitization. In addition, the foundation plans to sequentially disclose the late Jurgen Hinzpeter's personal belongings, which have been continuously collected since 2023, through future organization projects.
Users can view the materials released on the archive's webpage. However, as usage conditions vary depending on the copyright status of each record, those wishing for additional access or use must contact the foundation's staff separately.
The opening of this archive goes beyond simply making records public; it provides a broad resource for research and educational materials on the 5.18 Democratization Movement, and serves as an open space of collective memory, enabling future generations to more easily access the truth and spirit of May 18.
A representative of the 5.18 Memorial Foundation stated, "Starting this year, we will actively expand our digitization and record organization projects, and will continue systematic updates and further enhancement of the archive for materials held by the foundation," adding, "Through these efforts, we aim to establish the archive as a public record asset that allows anyone, both domestically and internationally, to share the values of May 18 on a digital basis and to shed new light on its significance."
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