When I visited the memorial site for the Gwangju uprising movement, I was impressed by the courage of the people who fought for justice. There were exhibitions of clothes, shoes, and Korean flags with blood stains. Looking at the things that belonged to the people who were actually fighting at that time hit me differently from when I only heard about how people died in the name of changing society.
There was an illustration that described the power balance between the people of the country and the army from the government. In the picture, the people were drawn fighting with sticks and stones or something, while the government was pictured as a huge man who would be able to kill the people standing in front of him, and he yet has tons of weapons with him. It helped me to feel the powerlessness and fear that the people at that time must have felt as well.
Also, when I went to the memorial site for the Sweol Ferry incident, I learned the importance of actually visiting sites instead of just hearing or learning about the story. When I saw the news, the number of students who died did not hit as much as it should have. But when I saw the video of a song made with the names of victims with their pictures, even two or three people were too much to digest. But it kept going for so long time, and it was sad enough to understand the weight of the lives that were lost in that incident.
Comments