"Like That Day in May 1980"...Old Jeonnam Provincial Office Revived After 46 Years

Restored Under the Principle of Preserving the Original Form
Embracing the May Spirit, Returning to the Citizens
Trial Operation Begins on February 28

Park Youngman, curator of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Former Jeonnam Provincial Office Restoration Promotion Team, is explaining the exhibition content at the former Jeonnam Provincial Office in Dong-gu, Gwangju, on the morning of the 24th. Photo by Min Hyunki

The old Jeonnam Provincial Office, which was the site of the final resistance during the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980, has been restored to its original appearance after 46 years and will be returned to the public.

The Restoration Promotion Team for the Old Jeonnam Provincial Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a briefing on the trial operation of the exhibition hall for the press on the morning of the 24th at the old Jeonnam Provincial Office in Dong-gu, Gwangju, and unveiled the restored site for the first time.

The team invested a total project cost of 48.7 billion won and 9.86 billion won for exhibition contents starting in November 2023, completing the restoration work in about 2 years and 5 months. Based on historical facts and meticulous verification, they reorganized the space with "preservation of the original form" as the top priority principle.

The exhibition hall consists of six buildings in total: the main building of the former provincial office, the main building of the Provincial Police Bureau, the Provincial Police Bureau civil affairs office, the provincial office conference room, the Sangmugwan, and the annex building of the provincial office.

The most eye-catching features are the vivid immersive contents and the first-ever exhibition in Korea of an actual bullet. Traces of bullet marks left by the martial law forces, which are evidence of the resistance, have been preserved throughout the interior and exterior of the main provincial office building, and real bullets extracted directly from the outer wall are displayed together. Visitors can experience becoming members of the May 18 Mobile Strike Force that defended Geumnam-ro, the area in front of the fountain, and the provincial office to the very end in 1980, through hologram videos and realistic sound. At the main gate entrance, a citizens' army jeep is also on display for visitors to ride.

The restoration of the provincial office conference room, where the resistance of the citizens' army was fiercest, also stands out. The traces of the first basement floor, which was used as an armory, and the second floor above ground, which served as a dining and rest area, remain intact.

The main conference room where the body of martyr Yoon Sangwon, who was the spokesperson of the Citizens-Students Struggle Committee, was found has been recreated exactly based on photographs taken at the time by foreign correspondent Norman Knopf. In addition, at the locations throughout the old provincial office where the bodies of victims were temporarily placed, their names and ages are fully recorded, adding to the somber atmosphere.

The Sangmugwan, where the victims were temporarily laid to rest, has been transformed into a memorial space that engraves their memory 365 days a year, and a comprehensive library equipped with May 18-related specialist books and information search functions has also been established on one side.

Before the official opening, the team will open the provincial office to the general public in the form of trial operation from February 28 to April 5.

Jung Sangwon, head of the Restoration Promotion Team for the Old Jeonnam Provincial Office, said, "The old Jeonnam Provincial Office is a precious symbol of the May 18 Democratization Movement and a space that holds the historical memory of the May Spirit," adding, "We will carefully review the various opinions from citizens gathered during the trial operation period and do our utmost to ensure that, when we officially open in May, we can welcome visitors with a more complete and safer facility."