An English book chronicling the Kwangju democracy movement of May l980 has been recentliy published in the United States.
Edited by British journalist Henry Scott Stokes and Lee Jai-eui, an official of the Kwangju City Administration, “The Kwangju Uprising—- Eyewitness Press Accounts of Korea’s Tiananmen” vividly tells of the brutality of soldiers and bravery of innocent people during one of the most tragic struggles for democracy in Korea.
The book’s foreword is presented by President Kim Dae-jung, who himself was a witness and victim of the Kwangju massacre and is now regarded as a guardian of Korean democracy.
“This book is a work of history. It records what foreign correspondents and Korean journalists saw in Kwangju in May l980. The journalists had a duty to record what they saw, brushing aside an official cover-up.
“Here are confessions, accounts of personal conflicts, and instances of introspection,” President Kim wrote.
The book portrays the Kwangju massacre, which is burned into the minds of Korean people as the Tiananmen incident is in the minds of contemporary Chinese, and delivers eyewitness reports by foreign correspondents and Korean participants and observers.
It also contains black and white photographs, detailed street maps and dramatic woodblock prints, all featuring the unfiltered situation of Kwangju at the time of the struggle.
The Paperback is priced at $l8.95.