Karl Martin, Ph.D., Represents EHHS in Remembrance of Korea’s Democratic Uprising

--Written by: Karl Martin, M.F.A. ’81, Ph.D. ’18

I was fortunate to be the Education, Health and Human Services representative, funded by the Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education, from Kent State as part of a peace studies exchange in Gwangju, South Korea. The Korean delegates had already visited Ohio for the May 4 remembrance, and we were to be at Chonnam National University for their May 18, observances. We engaged with the spirit and memory of Korea’s Democratic Uprising, immersed in history and culture. When David McCullough was asked if he was working on a book, he noted that they were using the wrong preposition: “I’m in the book, in the subject, in the time and the place” (McCullough, 1999, para. 22). That well-describes our teaching and learning experiences.

The May 18, Democratic Uprising International Conference, hosted by the Korea Heritage Service, and 44th anniversary oral histories of the memory of their May 18 uprising emerged: “…when the memories of May engraved in me an immortal sage, are combined with collective memories of the community, our May could become clearer and more completed as such every single piece comes together to complete one big puzzle picture” (KIM Hokyun, May 18, 2024, p. 6). Please read Dr. Kim’s words again: engraved. He – and they - believe that preserving their tragic history is vital. They continually teach, reactivate and revitalize the history so that it is not forgotten, and through his voice I could feel an origamilike binding of the stories of May 18, 1980, in Korea and May 4, 1970, at Kent State.  Trends toward a historicism aren’t new phenomena, so continual education is vital to a democracy: “Social responsibility is integral to what we label as historical memory. Education is vital to a democracy.” (Martin, 2024, p. 127).

A memory struggle still exists at both Chonnam National and Kent State Universities. Continual inquiry, research and education are necessary to both preserve the history and apply ethics to the educative process. I have already written about the history of May 4,1970 at Kent State University. The new wrinkle has become the braiding together of May 18 in Korea and May 4 in Kent.

My intent is to revisit the memories of the victims’ tragic lives and history, and then synthesize the implications for teaching and learning. This will not be meant to quiet their voices, nor one that will give them peace. However, their stories may offer some amount of peace to the rest of us. Indeed, the dedicated scholars at Chonnam National University are continually doing so. They have experienced devastating tragedies on campus as at Kent State, but it is heartening that we can now come together to commemorate, learn, and understand why events like these happen and how to move forward in a positive direction. 

Finally, I would like to thank Amanda Johnson, Ph.D., at the Center for International and Intercultural Education for sending me to South Korea. It was a transformative experience.

Included are a few examples of a multitude of sites we toured that are integral to May 18, history, new to us but easily recognizable to Koreans.