Gwangju Uprising
The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980 in which it is estimated that around 600 people were killed. During this period, Gwangju citizens took up arms (by robbing local armories and police stations) after local Chonnam University students who were demonstrating against the martial law government were fired upon, killed, raped and beaten by government troops. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (May 18; ), in reference to the date the movement began. The uprising is also known as the Gwangju Democratization Struggle (), the May 18 Democratic Uprising, or the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement ().