May 18 Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The Gwangju Massacre Memorial outside Gwangju. There are surprisingly few good images available on the net, of this imposing monument, to the hundreds, (& perhaps thousands?), of university student protesters, gunned down by the Korean Army & police, between May 18th & May 21, 1980. The students were protesting against the military dictatorship of ROK Army General, Chun Doo-hwan, who took control of the government through the Coup d'état of December Twelfth, 1979.

More info here:

This is a link to Wikipedia

"There is no exact death toll of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. According to the May 18 Bereaved Family Association, at least 165 people died between May 18 and 27. Another 65 are still missing and presumed dead.

23 soldiers and 4 policemen were also killed during the uprising."

These days, Korean University students protest against more benign things, like increases in cell phone charges. Speaking of which, there is a Korean at the base of the twin pillars, on his cellphone, to provide scale.

Taken just before sundown, when the park closes. I've added a Workshop, with more a detailed view of some of the statues.

pastadog, Matthew-Watt, hgupta, Wahclellaspirit, kiwi_explorer, snunney, saylan-cb, ribeiroantonio, pablominto, thaprem has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pastadog (12821) 2008-01-30 0:54

Hi Chris, and thanks for the informative note and shot to illustrate it. Excellent POV to capture the monument, esp. the high structure which "touches the sky", regards, Daniel

Paolo (40694) 2008-01-30 0:55

Hi Chris, good one, with nice composition, good quality and beautiful tones too.
thanks,ciao

Matthew-Watt (4463) 2008-01-30 1:04

Hey Chris,

Pretty good. I have never have heard about this place before, it sounds quite reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square protests. The person at the base of the tower provides that crucial scale we needed to understand the size of the sculpture and tower. My only slight criticism is that the image might be a little bit soft around the edges; they appear to be not as sharply defined as they could be. Might just be a combination of lighting/compression...not a major thing, just being picky. Looks good as an entire piece.

Matt

hgupta (1320) 2008-01-30 1:14

Hi Chris,

Really impressive image. I loved the POV which takes us all to the sky looking deep in the sky along with the architecture.
Regards,

Hemant

carper (64612) 2008-01-30 1:38

imposant memorial Chris,
well place on the photo, good composition and interesting note, good trekearth stuf, good photojob, have a nice day.
gr, jaap

Wahclellaspirit (3017) 2008-01-30 1:43

Hello Chris,
An excellent showing of this memorial to those that were lost by the despot's orders.
Impressive shrine...
Steve

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2008-01-30 2:08

Hi Chris,
A grim reminder of the dear price these students had to pay for democracy in which most of the free world takes for granted. Wonderfully captured and presented. Very informative notes too. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

snunney (34684) 2008-01-30 2:15

Hello Chris,
A good capture of this imposing and somewhat unusual memorial. Good point of view with colours and clarity to match. Very illuminating note.

saylan-cb (12726) 2008-01-30 2:31

Hi Chris
Very nice composition and good details...
Great POV,excellent work.
TFS/Regards

ribeiroantonio (21885) 2008-01-30 3:31

Wow, this must be a impressive monument if we pay attention to the person at the base of the tower. The composition is good but I feel that I would prefer to have an idea of the whole art work on the left. Anyway, it is a well done picture.
Antonio

UnTrained (0) 2008-01-30 6:29

Hi Chris,
impressing perspective for the monument. The POV including also a human element let the sculpture reach the sky. Good workshop addition for a better view on the group.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Cormac (26449) 2008-01-30 7:46

Very good shot! The monument towers over the scene, seeming to reach the sky, and the statues of the people at the lower left emphasizes that. The whole photo has a very strong uplift to it because of the figures looking up. Nice work!

Gustaw (21670) 2008-01-30 8:00

Hi, my friend!
Interesting view about art. Interesting art architecture. Good colours and interesting composition. Well done.
Marek

barrufeto_77 (25715) 2008-01-30 8:26

Hi Chris.

Excellent, excellent sky. The POV is lovely!

TFS, Oscar

Graal (57717) 2008-01-30 23:48

Bonjour Chris,
interesting historical remind, good shot and informations. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

pablominto (40488) 2008-01-31 3:47

Hello Chris,
An interesting background story, and I admit I had forgot all about this terrible happening!
Good point of view resulting in a well balanced composition!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Miha2ou7 (4907) 2008-02-03 5:08

Hey Chris,

A great motive. The perspective is very engaging, so are the colors and the contrast between them, the sky interacts nicely with the whole composition. Congrats.

Enjoy

Angshu (33585) 2008-02-06 0:33

Namaste Chris
I'd not seen any picture from this place...good note as well. An imposing memorial...I wish you could have included the full sculpture on the left...your WS gives a good idea of the sculpture. Good one!
Regards
Angshu

thaprem (2472) 2008-03-05 7:27

Chris,
Again your sense of composition on landscape is amazing!.
Very engaging & riveting POV for this note.
Cheers,
Prem.