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Witnessing Gwangju : a memoir / Paul Courtright.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Carlsbad, CA and Seoul : Hollym, c2020Description: 192 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 9781565914957
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 951.95044092 C8361
Summary: "The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to 27, 1980. Gwangju citizens took up arms when local Jeonnam National University students, who were demonstrating against the martial law government, were fired upon and killed by government troops. The incident marks the critical beginning of the democratization of South Korea. It is also known as the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Young Peace Corps volunteer, Paul Courtright was helping leprosy patients in the countryside of South Korea in 1980. He enjoyed cooking eggs and listening to music. On his way back home from his medical checkup, he got caught in the middle of the Gwangju massacre. Between Peace Corps policy and frustration, he decided to act. He escaped Gwangju and reported what he saw to the US embassy. Courtright was unable to stop writing notes about what he witnessed. It was the only way he could process what he was seeing. "Witnessing Gwangju" is based on his massive amount of detailed notes. This memoir is not only a record of the Gwangju Uprising, but also a personal narrative of transformation and how the incident changed a young man's life within a brief amount of time"-- Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Vol info Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Books Books Library, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Window on Korea Non-fiction 951.95044092 C858w (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 2020 01 Available WOK000133
Total holds: 0

Published simultaneously in Korea.

"The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to 27, 1980. Gwangju citizens took up arms when local Jeonnam National University students, who were demonstrating against the martial law government, were fired upon and killed by government troops. The incident marks the critical beginning of the democratization of South Korea. It is also known as the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Young Peace Corps volunteer, Paul Courtright was helping leprosy patients in the countryside of South Korea in 1980. He enjoyed cooking eggs and listening to music. On his way back home from his medical checkup, he got caught in the middle of the Gwangju massacre. Between Peace Corps policy and frustration, he decided to act. He escaped Gwangju and reported what he saw to the US embassy. Courtright was unable to stop writing notes about what he witnessed. It was the only way he could process what he was seeing. "Witnessing Gwangju" is based on his massive amount of detailed notes. This memoir is not only a record of the Gwangju Uprising, but also a personal narrative of transformation and how the incident changed a young man's life within a brief amount of time"-- Provided by publisher.