Trip To The May 18 Park and Gwangju National Museum

The May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju is considered to be the symbol of the Korean democratic uprising. It was a righteous civil resistance against the military dictatorship. The May 18 Memorial Cemetery in Mangwol-dong is the place where the victims of the uprising are buried. People from all over the county continue to visit to admire the spirit of the dead protectors. Sangmudae was the military building where innocent citizens were prisoned, but now its site has become the future-oriented center of the newly-developed town. The May 18 Memorial Park and May 18 Liberty Park are located near the old site of Sangmudae.

Another attraction of our trip was set on the edge of Biennale Park, the Gwangju National Museum was built to house the treasures rediscovered from a sunken Chinese ship. The building itself is quite beautiful, a white, columned Asian-style building. Upstairs houses the artifacts from the Chinese ship, which are from the Chinese Song and Yuan dynasties. The collection is mainly ceramics. Upstairs also includes a prehistoric collection. While many displays include English, there is lack on many pieces and there is hardly any in depth explanation in any of cllections. Downstairs is my favorite collection: Korean Buddhist Art. There are some excellent representations of Buddha in all forms. There is also a room of art scrolls with some beautiful pieces.

Some of the photos during the trip are attached in this page.