[van-announce] WEDNESDAY , SFU Harbour Centre, 7pm: Gwangju People’s Uprising

[design at resist.ca]

The world joins with Korea's powerful People's Movement as it looks back
25 years to the Gwangju People’s Uprising. Under the watchful eye of US
military command hundreds were killed as they demanded democracy and
self-determination. Now learn about this pivotal chapter in Korean
history, and how it can inform our own struggles in Canada. A US/Canada
tour lands in Vancouver this Wednesday at SFU Harbour Centre Fletcher
Challenge, Theatre, June 1, 7pm.

The event is produced by the Korea Truth Commission-Joint Office, in
collaboration with Korean Students Network Against War (KSNAW), Axis to
Grind, and CYNAPS (Canadian Youth Network for Asia Pacific Solidarity),
and endorsed by StopWar.ca, M.A.W.O., Don Baker (Director, U.B.C. Centre
for Korea Research), Y.C.L., S.F.P.I.R.G., Canadian Latin-American
Collective (member of Cafe Rebelde Coalition), and other local groups.

This event is part of a US/Canada speaking tour organized by the Korea
Truth Commission http://www.koreatruth.org/ and local communities across
North America. In Canada, guest speakers will be visiting Windsor,
Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver on May 26, 27, 28, and June 1,
respectively.

May 18 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Gwangju People’s Uprising, a
pivotal moment in the movement for Korean democracy and human rights. On
May 18, 1980, the people of Gwangju organized spontaneous resistance to
liberate their city from the military dictatorship of General Chun Doo
Hwan. Their martyrdom and the struggle for democracy and
self-determination that followed sparked a fundamental transformation of
South Korean society that continues to reverberate to this day. Now a
national holiday, the Gwangju People’s Uprising is revered as a source of
inspiration for activists around the world and as a point of unity for the
Korean people.

As part of this commemoration, two activists from Gwangju are visiting the
United States and Canada on a speaking tour to discuss the legacy of the
Gwangju People's Uprising and the prospect of peace on the Korean
peninsula, as well as their current involvement in the anti-war movement
against the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Korea. The broad aims of
this speaking tour are to commemorate and raise awareness of this historic
event, make connections between the past and present in Korean history and
between different struggles, as well as create a point of unity for the
Korean people and the peoples of the U.S. and Canada.

The activist coming to Vancouver have been part of the Korean democracy
and human rights movement since 1980. Kim, Hyo-Suk participated in the
1980
Gwangju People's Uprising as a high school student and became a political
prisoner. Mr. Kim teaches at Song Won College and is president of May
Light, an organization established in 1998 to promote human rights and
peace. Mr. Kim is also a representative of the Life and Human Rights
Division of Buddhist Action Solidarity.

For general information about the tour visit:
www.koreatruth.org. In addition to speakers, there will be a new 15-minute
video that is accompanying the tour, along with other Kwangju and Korean
political history videos, a photographic display, brochures and other
materials to inform participants about the Gwangju Uprising and its
legacy, plus time for
discussion.

In Solidarity,

Korean Students Network Against War (KSNAW)
www.axistogrind.com
CYNAPS (Canadian Youth Network for Asia Pacific Solidarity)