王庆民
王庆民

中左翼社会民主主义者;希望为没有话语权的边缘人群发声者;致力于改善民权民生,做些实事

Korean drama "Fifth Republic"(제5공화국/第5共和國 Je-O Gonghwaguk)

The Korean TV series "The Fifth Republic" has been widely circulated on the Chinese Internet and has received excellent reviews. Because there are many similarities in modern Chinese history.


The Fifth Republic (Part 1): Aborted Democracy and Resurgent Despotism 1

The Fifth Republic (Part 2): Intriguing power struggles and successive democratic movements 4

The Fifth Republic (Part 3): Only by remembering the history can we have a future 7




The Fifth Republic (Part 1): Aborted Democracy and Resurgent Despotism

     The Korean TV series "Fifth Republic", which was released in 2005, fully presented the process of the dictatorship of the military group headed by Chun Doo-hwan after the assassination of Park Chung-hee, and also described the indomitable struggle of Koreans pursuing freedom and democracy.  The best drama of political history in the 1980s, the era of the Fifth Republic.

     After the subtitles were translated by interested people, this play spread among some Chinese people who care about politics and history, and it aroused considerable repercussions.  This is largely because the history of the Fifth Republic of Korea is quite similar to that of China. For example, the "Gwangju Incident" is quite similar to the "June 4th Incident" in China, so it can resonate with the people of the country.  However, due to political reasons in China, it is currently impossible to shoot films about China's modern and contemporary political history, which also makes people put their love on this Korean drama.

     Unlike most Korean dramas that focus on love, ethics, and legends, "The Fifth Republic" is a serious historical drama.  In addition to the artistic processing and interpretation of the details of the characters and events in it, the main content of the play is strictly based on historical facts, with sophisticated historical materials and excellent production.  Through this play, you can get a general understanding of the era of fierce competition between autocracy and democracy, conservativeness and progress in South Korea (of course, if you want to do professional work such as academic research, you still need to read official written historical materials).

     In the opening part of the play, the assassination of Park Chung-hee and the changes in South Korea's political, military, and intelligence fields for more than a month (October 26 to December 12, 1979) were restored in detail.  The description in this article is based on the play and historical materials.

      Kim Jae-gyu, who was the head of the Central Intelligence Agency at the time, killed the chief of the guard Cha Ji-chul and Park Chung-hee, the dictator of the Fourth Republic, at the same time due to personal grievances. Originally, South Korea might have ended the so-called "restoration system" (that is, the dictatorship established by the Park family.  system)” to achieve democratization.  The three most powerful men at the time, Chief of Staff Chung Seung-hwa, Acting President Choi Kyu-ha, the titular national leader, and Kim Jae-kyu, the assassin of Park Chung-hee, all favored ending military interference in politics and moving South Korea toward democracy.  The opposition democrats, represented by Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, have been committed to the cause of democracy in South Korea.  After the assassination of Park Chung-hee, the opposition forces secretly congratulated him, thinking that democracy was coming soon.

     But at this moment, Chun Doo-hwan, a confidant that Park Chung-hee cultivated in the army during his lifetime, was dissatisfied with the pro-democracy attitude of the temporary rulers and his indifference to the assassination of Park Chung-hee, and quietly prepared to attack the latter.  Park Chung Hee is kind to Chun Doo Hwan, and Chun Doo Hwan is also very loyal to Park Chung Hee.  Chun Doo-hwan relied on the secret organization "One Heart Association" mainly composed of graduates of the Korean Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy to convene a large number of senior military officers who are conservative in thinking, loyal to the "reform system", hostile to progressive forces, and opposed to the implementation of democracy, including Roh Tae-woo, Jeong  Ho Rong, Huang Yongshi, Yu Xuesheng, Park Hee-do, Zhang Shidong and others are planning to launch a coup to continue the autocratic system of the Park Chung-hee era.

     Regarding the coup plot, Zheng Shenghe and other temporary powers knew almost nothing, and did not announce the opening of democratization. Instead, they arrested Kim Jae-kyu and compromised with Park Chung-hee's "restoration party".  Democrats such as Er Jin in the opposition are too optimistic about the situation, ignoring the strength of Park Chung-hee's legacy, and underestimating the danger of military intervention in politics again.  The factions supporting democratization lacked mutual trust and interaction, failed to effectively unite, and did not actively build a framework for democratic politics, nor did they mobilize the people to participate in the defense of democracy, leaving South Korea at this time in an actual political vacuum.  This gave Quan Douhuan and others an opportunity to seize power in a coup.


On the night of December 12, 1979, Chun Doo-hwan and his party in the army staged a coup.  They first used the 30th Guards Regiment and the Security Command stationed in the capital to arrest the Chief of Staff Zheng Shenghe in a "catch the thief first" approach.  Then, the coup troops scattered all over South Korea, such as the 1st Air Transport Brigade and the 3rd Air Transport Brigade, quickly marched towards the capital.  Jang Tae-wan, the commander of the capital's security forces, and other anti-coup soldiers tried to fight back, but Chun Doo-hwan had already taken the lead. He also mastered the advanced military telephone monitoring system at that time, and knew every move of the anti-coup party.  This allowed the coup army to successfully pass through strategic locations such as the Hungju Bridge and arrive in Seoul smoothly.

     Under the coercion of Chun Doo-hwan and others, Cui Kyu-ha, the nominal supreme leader of the country and acting president, signed a document agreeing to arrest Zheng Shenghe, which is tantamount to tacitly acquiescing the legitimacy of the coup.  Cui Guixia was actually under house arrest at this time, and it is understandable that he was forced to sign.  However, Roh Jae-hyun, the top representative of the military and Chief of National Defense, chose to take his family and escape from the official residence after the coup, which made it impossible for the coup parties and counter-coup parties to find him at the critical moment.  Roh Jae-hyun's behavior objectively condoned Chun Doo-hwan's coup.  If he had stood on the anti-coup side and called for resistance in the name of the chief of defense, the coup might have been quelled.

     In the "Double Twelve Coup", the struggle against the coup was scattered, sporadic, and passive.  On the contrary, Chun Doo-hwan and other coup soldiers were highly united, well-planned, clear-cut, and swift in action, and very decisively stifled the germ of democracy with violent means.  Even at that time, the high-level government and the majority of the people generally believed in democracy, and it was difficult to deal with soldiers with live ammunition.  During important transitional periods and turbulent times in history, the attitude of military groups often plays a decisive role.  Especially when a large number of high-ranking military officers collude together out of interests and friendship, even the majority on the side of justice can sit and wait for death because they are unarmed.  With the barrel of a gun, history can be reversed.

     In addition, external forces are also very important for the failure of the coup and even the direction of the country.  Chun Dou-hwan's launch of the "Double Twelve Incident" was acquiesced by the United States.  From the assassination of Park Chung-hee to the coup d'état, the United States has always taken "non-intervention" as its basic principle. It only cares about the political and military presence of the United States in South Korea and the threat from North Korea, and does not care whether South Korea is a democracy or an autocracy.  This attitude was even more evident in the subsequent Gwangju Incident.

     Contrary to the intuitive impression of some Chinese intellectuals who regard the United States as a "beacon of democracy", the United States does not actively promote democracy around the world most of the time, but often supports right-wing authoritarian regimes.  From Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem to Chile's Pinochet, they were all promoted by the United States.  Before and after the Korean War, the Syngman Rhee government supported by the United States in South Korea was also a semi-authoritarian regime.  The biggest expectation of the United States for South Korea is to fight against "socialist countries" such as China, the Soviet Union, and North Korea, and to form an anti-communist fortress in East Asia together with Japan, rather than transforming South Korea into an American-style democratic country.  This determines that the U.S. launched the "Double Twelve Incident" against Chun Dou-hwan, and it will inevitably condone and condone, rather than intervene and block.

     After the coup was successful, Chun Doo-hwan quickly suppressed the democrats.  Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung were placed under house arrest, and key members of the largest opposition party, the New Democratic Party, were detained one after another.  The labor movement and the student movement were severely cracked down, and there was an atmosphere of white terror in South Korea.  In May 1980, against such a historical background, a large-scale mass movement broke out in Gwangju, and Chun Doo-hwan sent troops to suppress it, leading to the bloody "Gwangju Incident."

     At the same time, Quan Douhuan stepped towards the highest power step by step, and carried out a major shake-up of the government and the army.  Senior officials who favored democracy were dismissed and forced to retire one after another, and President Choi Kyu-ha was also forced to resign.  The group of senior military officers who participated in the "Double Twelve Coup" were all promoted and occupied various confidential positions in the military and political circles.  In August 1980, Chun Doo-hwan was "elected" as president by the parliament he controlled, marking the formal establishment of the autocratic system of the Fifth Republic headed by Chun Doo-hwan.

    So far, after the assassination of Park Chung-hee, the already crumbling autocracy has been continued, and the democracy that has just shown hope has been brutally strangled.  Among them, the orientation of the junta among the remnants of the old regime played a decisive role.  However, a series of mistakes and mistakes by people from all walks of life who lean towards democracy have fueled the arrogance of Park Chung-hee's remnant party and caused South Korea to fall into the military dictatorship again.

The Fifth Republic (Part 2): Intriguing power struggles and successive democratic movements

    As mentioned earlier, after the Fifth Republic was officially established, Chun Doo-hwan quickly placed his cronies in various important positions.  But his cronies were also divided into different factions, and in the following years they were caught in power struggles within the Five Communist Party regime.

    Quan Douhuan's trusted and appointed cronies, apart from the group of senior generals who followed him, are four young cadres known as "Three Xu and One Li".  They are Xu Heping, who was in charge of the creation of the Five Communist Party, Xu Sanshou, who was in charge of internal affairs, Xu Wendao, who manipulated public opinion, and Li Hepeng, who managed intelligence and "communist affairs."

    The common characteristics of these four people are young and capable, talented and highly loyal.  Specifically, the political attitudes and personality traits of the four are also different, rather than the autocratic eagle dogs with facial makeup.  Among them, Xu Heping is the most sharp-edged and has great political ambitions.  On the one hand, he actively suppressed the democratic movement and helped Chun Dou-hwan to be in power, but he was committed to promoting a kind of "political innovation" dominated by conservative forces;  Handling military and political affairs; Xu Wendao is a feudal defender, talented but stubbornly conservative, and became the "chief architect" who strangled the freedom of the press during the Five Communist Party period; Li Hepeng was responsible for suppressing the democratic movement everywhere like a "firefighting captain"  , The political enemy who attacked Chun Doo-hwan was the leader of the political thugs during the Fifth Communist Party, the right-wing version of Dzerzhinsky.

     Quan Douhuan appointed these four people not only because of their talent and loyalty, but also because he was trying to restrain the high-ranking generals.  Compared with Roh Tae-woo, Jung Ho-yong, Kwon Yi-hyun and other high-ranking military officials who were appointed as officials of the "outer court", "three Xu and one Lee" are the backbone of Chun Doo-hwan's "inner court".  And Zhang Shidong, who was later appointed as the Minister of Security and Enterprises, can also be counted as a member of the "Inner Dynasty" most of the time.

     After the establishment of the Fifth Communist Party, not only fierce conflicts arose between the two factions, but also serious discord within each faction, and all parties fought openly and secretly for power.  The major fraud case "Zhang Lingzi Case" that occurred in the early days of the Fifth Communist Party ignited conflicts among various factions, and also involved and affected Quan Douhuan's wife Li Shunzi and younger brother Quan Jinghuan.  Xu Heping tried to take this opportunity to overthrow Chun Doo-hwan's "relative gang" and suppress the group of senior generals in order to realize his political ambitions.  But in the end, Xu Heping was exiled to the United States by Quan Douhuan, and Xu Sanshou was later squeezed out of the power center.  On the other hand, Xu Wendao and Li Hepeng "struggled to the end" for Chun Douhuan's autocratic rule.

     The relationship between Chun Doo-hwan and No. 2 Roh Tae-woo is also an important clue to the power struggle of the Five Communist Party.  For Lu Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan has both trust and defense.  Chun Doo-hwan took into account the issue of successors at the beginning of his administration.  After weighing, he thinks Lu Tae-woo is the most suitable candidate.  While supporting Lu Tae-woo to become the No. 2 figure of the Communist Party of China, he did not want Lu Tae-woo to threaten his presidency.  The two were sometimes close and sometimes estranged. Roh Tae-woo spent seven years in Chun Doo-hwan's government like "accompanying the king like a tiger".  Of course, in the end, Roh Tae-woo succeeded Chun Doo-hwan without any risk and became the first president of the Sixth Republic of Korea.  The delicate relationship between Quan and Lu is something that dictators and successors of all countries will face.  Compared with the political struggle between the "boss" and "second child" in the Soviet Union, China and other countries, Roh Tae-woo can be considered quite lucky.

     Although there were constant political struggles in the era of the Fifth Communist Party, Chun Doo-hwan's political methods were quite superb, and he did not let the power struggle affect his major policies, and the regime has always maintained a high degree of stability.

     Simultaneously with the power struggle, there is also a democratic movement launched by South Korea's opposition and non-government forces.  Although the Gwangju democracy movement was brutally suppressed, the struggles of all walks of life in South Korea never stopped.  Among them, the most active ones are Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.  Jin Yongsan and others established the "Democracy Promotion Association (Democracy Promotion Association)", organized group mountaineering and other methods to connect and hold meetings, and insisted on fighting against Chun Doo-hwan's authorities.  When the struggle was fierce, Kim Young-sam also resorted to hunger strikes and other means.  Although these measures failed to directly shake Chun Doo-hwan's regime, they kept the fire of democracy and kept the South Korean people with considerable opposition forces.

Kim Dae-jung is even more feared by the authorities.  Kim Dae-jung, who narrowly lost to Park Chung-hee in the presidential election, was a thorn in the side of Park Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan and their minions.  As early as 1973, Lee Hoo-rak, then Minister of South Korea's Central Intelligence Agency, decided to kill Kim Dae-jung in order to make contributions to Park Chung-hee in order to restore his political power.  However, the assassination was detected by the US intelligence agency, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force prevented the South Korean intelligence department from drowning Kim Dae-jung.  After Chun Doo-hwan came to power, Kim Dae-jung was thrown into prison and sentenced to death (later changed to life imprisonment).  In 1982, under pressure from the international community, Chun Doo-hwan authorities exiled Kim Dae-jung to the United States.  During his stay in the United States, Kim Dae-jung became a visiting researcher at Harvard University and continued to devote himself to the cause of Korean democracy.  In 1985, Kim Dae-jung returned to South Korea and became the leader of the opposition after Kim Young-sam again.

     During the Five Communist Party period, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung took cooperation as the mainstream, but they did not completely merge.  On the contrary, the political views and personalities of the two are very different.  Kim Young-sam tends to compromise with conservative forces, and his thinking is more moderate; Kim Dae-jung is a clear-cut opposition with a clear left-leaning color.  Kim Young-sam's influence in his hometown Gyeongsangnam-do is unmatched, while Er Kim Dae-jung has an overwhelming advantage in Jeollanam-do, each of them has their own foundation.

     Under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, the two actively communicated and cooperated most of the time, and had many important meetings.  However, at the end of the Fifth Communist Party, the two eventually parted ways due to political disagreements and disputes over political interests.  In the 1987 presidential election, the two officially split.  This allowed Roh Tae-woo, who was originally in a disadvantaged situation, to win the general election unexpectedly under the situation of "one rupee against three golds (there is also Kim Jong-bi of the Republican Party)", and the end of the rule of the conservative authoritarian forces.  After the opening of the Six Republics, it continued for several years.

     The Chun Doo-hwan regime racked its brains to suppress the successive democratic movements.  For opposition political leaders like Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, tactics such as house arrest and exile were adopted.  As for ordinary democratic movements, student movements, and social activists, more direct violent measures are used.

     The Chun Doo-hwan regime established the "Three Cleans Education Team" on the grounds of combating the underworld, and sent tens of thousands of people, including social activists, young students, and soldiers who opposed the Jeon regime (such as those who had personal grievances with Chun Doo-hwan)  Former Security Commander Jiang Changcheng), delinquents and other "socially unstable elements" were imprisoned in camps similar to China's labor camps, where they were subjected to various abuses such as frequent beatings, forced labor, corporal punishment, and starvation.  All told, more than 400 people died and thousands were disabled or mentally ill.  The Quan Dou-hwan regime used such means to suppress the forces that threatened the system, maintained social stability, and achieved good law and order on the surface.

     In response to the student movement, the Chun Doo-hwan regime also carried out a disintegration campaign dubbed the "Greening Project."  The military intelligence department used coercion and lure to make some targeted or arrested students act as spies of the regime, infiltrate the student movement organization, provide relevant information to the military intelligence department, and then arrest the key members of the student movement and destroy the cause of the student movement.  Some weak-willed young students were forced to act as spies of the regime, betraying their classmates and revolutionary colleagues.  These methods have indeed dealt a heavy blow to the South Korean student movement, many of the backbone of the student movement were arrested, and it also led to mutual suspicion among progressive students.  There are also students who acted as spies after betraying their classmates, leaving a suicide note and confessing to suicide because of guilt.  These tragedies are all caused by Chun Doo-hwan's regime's divisive actions.

     As for the press, Chun Doo-hwan adopted Xu Wendao's suggestion of "abolishing and abolishing public opinion", implemented a news censorship system, and strictly controlled the news reports of "Chosun Ilbo", "Dong-a Ilbo", "Central Daily" and other media.  Publish information that is unfavorable to the Chun Doo-hwan regime.  Although its strength is far inferior to that of neighboring countries across the sea, this set of speech controls is also the most stringent and systematic since the founding of South Korea.  In the process of suppressing press freedom, Xu Wendao, who was born in the media and took refuge in Chun Doo-hwan, played a very bad role.  Xu Wendao is a typical dangerous product with talents but no morals. He is a highly educated villain with both journalism talent and extremely conservative thinking.

     Like all dictatorships, Chun Doo-hwan's regime also uses external threats to enhance the legitimacy of its own rule and win the hearts of the people.  The Chun Doo-hwan regime exaggerates the threat of North Korea's construction of the Mount Kumgang Dam to South Korea, diverting public attention from domestic constitutional reform and electoral system issues, and reducing the pressure on the regime to reform.  In addition, South Korea's intelligence agency also used an ordinary criminal case to concoct a false "golden jade division of espionage incident" to strengthen white terror and use this as an excuse to intensify efforts to attack domestic left-wing forces.

     While wielding a "big stick" to attack opposition forces, Chun Doo-hwan's regime also distributed "carrots" to the people in due course.  Chun Doo-hwan followed the suggestion of Sejima Ryuzo, chairman of Itochu Corporation, to downplay the impact of the Gwangju incident by bidding for the Olympic Games, trying to immerse the people in illusory national pride and entertainment.

     The series of moves by the Chun Doo-hwan regime have indeed maintained its dictatorship in the short to medium term and hit the forces pursuing freedom and democracy.  From 1980 to 1987, Korean society seemed to be relatively stable, and the economy continued to grow at a high speed, inheriting the "Han River Miracle" of the Park Chung-hee era.  But these achievements are obviously at the expense of democracy and human rights, and the beneficiaries are mainly high-ranking officials and plutocrats.  The majority of workers are brutally exploited and squeezed, intellectuals are suppressed, government and business collusion is rampant, military intelligence agencies are rampant, people's political rights and freedoms are deprived, and social conflicts are intensifying.

     In 1987, sparked by the death of college student Park Jong-chul under torture, the National Democratic Movement broke through the regime's suppression, and a single spark turned into a prairie fire.  In June of that year, the movement had evolved into a national political movement covering all major cities in South Korea, and the death knell of Chun Doo-hwan's regime was about to sound.

The Fifth Republic (Part 3): Only by remembering the history can we have a future

     In June 1987, pro-democracy protests across South Korea reached their climax.  Chun Dou-hwan once tried to use force to suppress it again, but was resisted by some senior military officials.  Unlike the June 4 incident in China where only a few generals such as Xu Qinxian resisted, most senior military officers and key members of the ruling party in South Korea at this time tended to oppose the use of force against the people.  Although Chun Doo-hwan is a political strongman, he has to consider the general public opinion including the top leaders of the ruling group.

     Chun Doo-hwan finally decided to compromise.  On June 29, Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan's successor, announced that he would amend the constitution, implement direct presidential elections, and release political prisoners, the "June 29 Declaration."  This marks a major victory for South Korea's democracy movement and heralds that democracy is just around the corner.

     For Chun Doo-hwan, he hopes that Roh Tae-woo can continue his domestic and foreign policies through democratic means and save him from trial.  Chun Doo-hwan didn't really trust Lu Tae-woo unconditionally, but he had no other choice.  Rather than being replaced by left-wing progressive forces, he naturally prefers to let the "like-minded" Roh Tae-woo inherit his mantle.

     Then came the campaign for the 1987 presidential election.  As mentioned earlier, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung parted ways and both announced their candidacy, splitting the opposition democratic camp.  This is not only due to the inherent grievances between the two, but also due to the deliberate provocation of the autocratic government.  In any case, the split of the two golds has seriously weakened the competitiveness of the opposition democratic forces and benefited Lu Tai.  However, under the pressure of the election, Roh Tae-woo had no choice but to promise to hold the participants of the Gwangju incident, including Chun Doo-hwan, accountable, and settle historical issues.  In the end, Roh Tae-woo won 36.6% of the votes, beating Kim Young-sam's 28% and Kim Dae-jung's 27% (the combined votes of these two people obviously far surpassed Roh Tae-woo's), and was elected the first president of the Sixth Republic of Korea.

     Under pressure from the opposition party and strong public opinion, Roh Tae-woo decided to put Chun Doo-hwan under house arrest and refused to allow him to attend the opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.  After that, Chun Doo-hwan was formally arrested.  However, Roh Tae-woo was an important member of Chun Doo-hwan's regime, and he has always been able to delay the liquidation of the old regime and perfunctory the public.  It wasn't until Kim Young-sam came to power that the work of rectifying the chaos and rectifying the history took off on a fast track.  In 1995, even Roh Tae-woo was arrested.

     In 1996, the South Korean court tried Chun Doo-hwan and others for launching the "Double Twelve Incident" and creating the Gwangju Incident. The first and final trials sentenced Chun Doo-hwan to death and life imprisonment respectively.  Lu Taiyu was sentenced to 17 years in prison, and other relevant responsible persons were generally given light sentences.  At the end of 1997, the incoming new president Kim Dae-jung announced the amnesty of Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo to achieve social reconciliation.

     However, after being pardoned, Chun Doo-hwan has not shown an attitude of repentance in the past 20 years until now. Instead, he reversed black and white and whitewashed tyranny by publishing books and speeches.  Most of the other ex-military, police and intelligence agency personnel who were pardoned or exempted from being held accountable did not show sufficient remorse. Instead, they took advantage of the freedom given by the new regime out of good intentions and tried their best to justify the atrocities they created.  For example, they generally describe the Gwangju incident as "citizen riots", "Northern (North) infiltration", "citizens kill soldiers first", etc., looking for excuses for the military's suppression.  They also paid for Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan's reign with partial achievements such as rapid economic development and social stability.  This situation has continued until today, and the shadow of South Korea's conservative forces and authoritarian politics has always shrouded the south of the peninsula.

     Regarding the light punishment and pardon of Chun Dou-hwan and other core figures of the old forces, whether the benefits outweigh the harm or the harm outweighs the benefits, there are different opinions.  Some people think that this is conducive to social reconciliation and democratic transition, and it also ends the history of political hatred of retribution.  But I disagree.  Without a thorough liquidation, a huge remnant of the old forces will be left behind, making social progress elusive.  It is even more unfair and humiliating for the victims of the autocratic period, such as the victims of the Gwangju incident, to tolerate these executioners living well and twisting right and wrong.  What's more, the political situation in South Korea has not eased due to this round of pardons, and the political struggle is still brutal. The imprisonment of many South Korean presidents in recent years is an example.  In my personal opinion, tolerating the old forces does not have much positive effect, but it does endless harm.

     Autocracy is over and democracy is here, but that doesn't mean history is over.  The remnants of the autocratic regime are still powerful, and they are tirelessly tampering with history and distorting facts.  More importantly, the old forces have deep roots and have extensive connections in today's political, military, police, emotional, and business circles, and they are still a huge and solid community of interests.  The establishment of a democratic system has not cut off these interest links, and there are still long-standing abuses such as privileged politics, collusion between officials and businessmen, and military intelligence agencies interfering in politics.  For example, the suppression of progressive forces after the Park Geun-hye regime came to power (such as the blacklisting of nearly 10,000 progressive artists) is a frenzied counterattack by conservative forces under the guise of democracy, once again revealing the dictator's blue-faced fangs.  (This is not only in South Korea, the remnants of the old forces in many countries are confounding right and wrong and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack)

     It is for this reason that progressive forces in South Korea have been fighting against the remnants of the old regime.  Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in are all committed to eradicating long-standing abuses, reforming the administration of officials, and promoting justice, but they encountered fierce resistance.  Both Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun failed to die well, which shows the sinister political environment in South Korea and the difficulty of resisting the old forces.

    South Korean intellectuals, on the other hand, are trying to record history, refuse to forget, and fight lies.  Among them, the Korean literature and art circles have always been at the forefront of remembering history.  Movies "Taxi Driver", "The Defender", "Gorgeous Vacation", "29 Years", "Excavator", "1987: The Day When Dawn Comes", "Love in Color"...all reflect the incident in Gwangju  That bloody history and the dark years before and after those years have made the Korean people never forget the cruel and authoritarian era.  And this "Fifth Republic" shows a panoramic view of the historical changes of Chun Doo-hwan's authoritarian era, and of course includes the historical facts of the Gwangju democratization movement from its rise to its suppression.

     Many Chinese cannot understand why Koreans remember the Gwangju incident so much.  In the modern history of South Korea, the people of Gwangju have written an elegy of pursuing democracy and resisting power with their lives.  These film and television dramas reflect the greatness and fragility of human nature, and the people's yearning for justice and light.  Through these works, we can see that many people are defending their dignity and rights as human beings with their lives, and fighting against evil and atrocities at all costs.  This is something that many people who have been domesticated by autocracy do not understand.

     Only when a country or a nation deeply reflects on the tragedies and disasters in its own history can it learn from the pain, realize the shame of tyranny and the value of human rights, and realize lasting democracy and peace.  Otherwise, historical tragedies will repeat themselves in various forms, the nation will continue to suffer from tyranny, and the dignity and interests of the people will be trampled on.  Facing history squarely is the prerequisite for healing national wounds; digging out the truth is the basis for safeguarding civil rights.  On the contrary, if history is forgotten, the nation will have no future; if the truth is ignored, the era will be covered by lies.

     South Korean political circles, intellectual circles, and art circles have always kept history in mind, in order to fight against the behavior of the former authoritarian regime leader and his minions who turned black and white and distorted the facts.  Because Chun Doo-hwan and others have been whitewashing the ugliness of the autocratic period and covering up the truth about the atrocities of that year, it is even more necessary for someone to stand up to refute the lies and tell the truth.  The struggle between autocracy and democracy at the political level has come to an end, but the confrontation over values ​​and the right to speak is far from over.

For a country like China that is still under the cover of autocracy, it is of special significance to understand the history of the struggle between democracy and autocracy in other countries.  China after the reform and opening up and South Korea during the Park Chung-hee-Chun Doo-hwan regime have a very similar history. For example, both are experiencing high-speed economic growth and superficial social stability, while being under political pressure and depriving/violating civil rights.  universal.  And how similar the Gwangju incident is to the June 4th incident in China, both were bloody suppressions by the military against peaceful protesters in the country, both of which changed the course of history, and the subsequent country sank under autocratic oppression.  The difference is that South Korea walked out of autocracy seven years after the Gwangju incident, and achieved even partial justice within more than ten years.  And China not only repeated the mistakes of Gwangju in 1989, but is still under the shackles of autocracy in 2020, and democratization and transitional justice are nowhere in sight.

     In China, the 1986 Student Movement, the 1989 Democracy Movement, and the June 4th crackdown are all sensitive topics that cannot be mentioned publicly. Related film and television dramas and literary works are completely banned in mainland China, the truth is buried, and the people are deceived  .  How can we not feel sad and anxious when we see a series of Korean works recording the Gwangju incident, and then look at the June 4th incident that has not been rehabilitated and justice has not been done in the past 30 years?

     The consolation is that many people are already comparing and alluding to China by understanding and evaluating this period of Korean history.  This "Fifth Republic" was translated by someone with a heart, and it was widely disseminated and aroused great repercussions. This is an example.  This proves that not all Chinese people are brainwashed and deceived, there are still many people who know right and wrong and yearn for the light.

     I believe that in a democratic China in the future, there will be an endless stream of film and television dramas and literary works about historical tragedies such as the Anti-Rightist Movement, the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution, and June 4th.  Democracy and the rule of law, fairness and justice are precious, reshaping the morality and soul of Chinese people.  We may be far away from such an era of creative freedom, but such an era will come eventually.

     Don't forget the tragedy, don't forget the pain, don't forget the history.  Forgetting the past means abandoning the victims, betraying the family, the country and the world, and being irresponsible to the future generations.  The road to the future is paved by the past and the present. Only by taking history as a mirror, correcting errata, strengthening the righteous and eliminating evils can the country and the nation have a bright future.

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